I think the most important thing is managing to convince dozens of sweat-shop, conveyor belt startups per year to give you equity for almost nothing, thereby guaranteeing at least some equity will eventually be worth billions merely by chance. Good job, YC.

I wouldn't go that far. All those things are important. I'm a tech founder too, but for some more credible citations, I'll defer to Sam Altman[1] and PG[2].

[1] https://startupclass.samaltman.com/courses/lec01/

> It's become popular in recent years to say that the idea doesn't matter. ... But the pendulum has swung way out of whack. A bad idea is still bad and the pivot-happy world we're in today feels suboptimal. Great execution towards a terrible idea will get you nowhere. There are exceptions, of course, but most great companies start with a great idea, not a pivot.

[2] e.g. http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html. Controversial, but I'm a believer.