Web 2.0, techcrunch, ycombinator - these used to be the path of the outsiders. Little by little, the community has recreated exactly the kind of pedigree/ladder system that folks there were trying to avoid. If you're someone who followed techcrunch in the early days, it's crazy to think that having the right funding and pedigree is what gets you featured. We've come full circle.
Any scarce resource ultimately ends up in the possession of the most worthy, and over time possessing it can have more symbolic value than utilitarian.
Well, I have a feeling ycombinator does a pretty good job of combating this considering they regularly take very young founders.
EDIT: On the flip side, it's reassuring to know that if you believe in yourself and are persistent, you'll eventually get access to these scarce resources.
That's unfair: YC doesn't bias against "outsiders". The point of YC is to find smart people with good ideas from anywhere. For example: you hear stories about people flying around the world to interview.
One of their main benefits is the connections they give you: connections they've cultivated with their "insider" clout. I would consider them a bridge between the insiders and outsiders: they take outsiders, find the best ones, and bring them in.
However, even that's overstating the amount of insiderness that exists. It's amazing how easy it is to network your way into the valley fold. Sure, that requires you to actually be out here, but that's a byproduct of the benefits of in-person networking, not some kind of elite mentality.
People have said it here several times already: TechCrunch caters to an audience. This audience likes to follow YCombinator, and Ron Conway, and a bunch of other well-known programs and people. It's business plain and simple, fairness doesn't come into play.
I made a similar comment about a year ago when in one write-up, PG was saying that in a certain domain former Google employees would be suitable applicants to YC. I said that this creates the same credentials based mentality that they were talking against in the beginning.
Any scarce resource ultimately ends up in the possession of the most worthy, and over time possessing it can have more symbolic value than utilitarian.
Well, I have a feeling ycombinator does a pretty good job of combating this considering they regularly take very young founders.
EDIT: On the flip side, it's reassuring to know that if you believe in yourself and are persistent, you'll eventually get access to these scarce resources.