Unless something has changed in the last few years, there are still plenty of startups with plausible ideas that don’t get funded by Y Combinator or anything similar. Y Combinator clearly evaluates a lot more startups than I’m willing or able to evaluate, but it’s not obvious that they’re being less selective than I am about which ones they fund.
I think the EA hotel is trying to do something different from Y-Combinator—Y-Combinator is much more like EA grants, and the EA hotel is doing something different. Y-Combinator basically plays the game of get status and connections, increase deal-flow, and then choose from the cream of the crop.
It’s useful to have something like that, but a game of “use tight feedback loops to find diamonds in the rough” seems to be useful as well. Using both strategies is more effective than just one.
I think the EA hotel is trying to do something different from Y-Combinator—Y-Combinator is much more like EA grants, and the EA hotel is doing something different. Y-Combinator basically plays the game of get status and connections, increase deal-flow, and then choose from the cream of the crop.
It’s useful to have something like that, but a game of “use tight feedback loops to find diamonds in the rough” seems to be useful as well. Using both strategies is more effective than just one.