It seems to me that (and my knowledge of YC is limited) the success of YC boils down to pg, similar to how Apple's success is driven by Jobs. Of course, the team <i>is</i> important, but the vision, driving force, quotes, etc. comes from a single person.<p>I was also musing if the YC as Harvard analogy is well-chosen: Both are prestigious, but from an outsiders POV, they seem to be <i>the opposites</i>, Harvard the epitome of buttoned-up-ness, where future McKinsey'ers and presidents get educated versus YC, which, to me- represents the quintessential anti-tradition, "if it works do it", fly by the seat of your pants, revenge of the nerds. It's like saying Apple is the Google of Silicon Valley, because they're both big, where in fact the cultures are completely different (visit their campuses for 15 minutes and you can easily see this BTW, without talking to anyone).