[Iftheshoefits]

The number of people who are smart and also go to those schools and get hired by those companies is a small number compared to the population of "smart people" at large.

A bias toward people coming from those places indicates that the same old fashioned "good ol' boys" style network is a much bigger factor in "success" than intelligence or any other measure of capability.

[mattgreenrocks]

The frequent defense is that "schooling doesn't matter much," but the halo effect of the Ivies always seems to magically help differentiate. It's a damn shame; tech becomes incredibly less interesting the more it slides into the realm of who you are (as opposed to what you can do).

But, hey, there's lots of money flowing, so that's cool, right? We can all sit around and grasp at success for the rest of our days!

(This is not an indictment of Muse; they sound like they know what they're doing.)

[Iftheshoefits]

I think the issue here is more that our society in general selects these people for "success" more than those "without pedigree" by virtue of various complicated socioeconomic conditions. I don't think it's an active (or even "unconscious", if you'll permit the flawed adjective in describing a group of people) bias that YC has against any one group or another.

The simple fact is that it's easier for persons with these backgrounds to be less conservative in their entrepreneurial endeavors than for, say, the guy who struggled through a B.S. or B.A. program and who came from poverty. That sort of conditioning lasts for life almost every time. As a result, the population of people who are likely to put together a truly acceptable YC application are more likely to be found in the "pedigreed" group. It's a flaw in society at large, not necessarily with YC itself.

[untilHellbanned]

"It's a flaw in society at large, not necessarily with YC itself."

YC is getting a big pass here. Just like the grade inflation in those good ole ivy leagues.

[mattgreenrocks]

> YC is getting a big pass here.

The mistake is to regard YC/SV as disruptive. It isn't; it's about generating excess returns for a bunch of previously successful people. They have zero interest in fixing a broken status quo as long as they can continue to benefit.

> Just like the grade inflation in those good ole ivy leagues.

I only heard about this recently. The practice is abhorrent and further reinforces the entitlement complexes of some people.

[Iftheshoefits]

I think if YC's mission were to reach out to people who aren't traditionally thought of as "entrepreneurial", but had a bias toward the "pedigreed" people then I could agree. I'm not sure that's the case (in either respect--I haven't actually seen data regarding the provenance of the people who comprise the companies YC has accepted).