[Heinleinian]

Last I checked you still have to get users/customers to be a winner in business. YC has clout with investors, so their companies are more likely to get investment, but that's not the right measure of who is a winner.

The millions of consumers you need as customers (or, if B-to-B, say fortune 500 companies) don't give a damn about the YC stamp of approval.

Increased investment only turns into increased "wins" if you use that money to get more users/customers, i.e. with a better sales team, more marketing dollars. Is this happening? I don't know, it sure seems like a lot of software companies are eschewing traditional marketing and sales and counting on viral growth to be a success, but you can't just hire more engineers and increase a product's viral-ness. I don't think anyone truly understands what makes a software product catch on.

[brazzy]

But if the end result is an acquisition, the YC brand may actually matter much more.