[e1ven]

I do agree that one of the great things that YC brings to the table are early users, who are willing to try thing sout and point out the problems.

The people who are spending time following YC companies are the ones who are more likely to give the site a shot- They're also often people who CARE about UI, Ease of use, and the other features that teams often Need reminding about.

Having 10 e-mails in the morning yelling that the new change makes things tougher, or that the background color causes eye-bleeding helps to avoid a Myspace-like situation.

Having the "Right" first users is crucial, and YC helps bring them (As does Reddit, if you're up to making it there, but that's a tough crowd at times.)