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Stripe could have still painted a $10Bstory easily.

Agreed with the rest, though in 2017 gaming ecosystem business is more of a thing than it was in 2009.

To be clear: I think they would all likely be the same valuable businesses. My point is that not one of these companies would be funded by YC today.

They succumbed to credentialism. They traded hackers for MBAs. The proverbial John Sculley has fired Steve Jobs and taken over.

Wasn't YC always a place of credentials? Its founders hail from Harvard/MIT, and even early admits were from elite institutions.