[joshvm]

The application process is probably similar to large companies like Google and Facebook. The barrier is high, but not stupendously - you have to be good and a little bit lucky. Certainly Google aims for a very low false positive rate when hiring; plenty of top people get rejected, but that's the only way you ensure you don't hire chaff by mistake.

As the saying goes "You don't need to outrun the bear, you just need to outrun your friends". YC only has a finite amount of money, and presumably an annual budget. If you're good, but there are 30 companies better than you who take up that money then you're out of luck.