[justin]

The comments in this thread are painful and seem to be based on a lack of understanding of investor motivations and basic spreadsheet math. YC (and the rest of Silicon Valley)'s biggest successes are companies that make money and have real, innovative business models and products. Talent acquisitions almost always happen before companies reach this stage, and while they get a lot of attention because they are "news", they aren't where investors make the most money.

Investors aren't investing in technology companies in the hopes they get acquired for $10m in Google or Facebook stock -- they are looking for large sustainable companies that generate revenue (and profits). The difference between YC and traditional investors is that YC doesn't block founders from taking talent acquisitions, which may be one reason it seems like there are more of them.