Dave's interpretation of the YC alumni network is quite interesting to me. I'm curious to those of you who are YC alumni: does it ring true to you? If you're thinking of raising a round, do you talk to YC alumni about it? Are they helpful?
As for his main thesis that VCs don't eat their own dog food, that strikes me as absolutely true. If the VC industry was any other industry, VCs would be trying their best to help a startup disrupt it.
I can only speak for myself, but if a YC or 500 founder I don't know emails me, I'll make helping them in any way I can my top priority.
I am not altruistic by nature, so this is done purely for self-serving reasons:
1. Everyone I've met through YC or 500 is absolutely brilliant at something in their field. I usually end up gaining much more wisdom than I share.
2. Top tier funds like YC or 500 are very selective, so I know anyone I meet with has a nontrivial chance of being one of the world's top entrepreneurs in a few years. It pays to get to know them before they are famous.
In short, meeting with someone endorsed by YC or 500 is guaranteed to be worthwhile. That removes a lot of risk in choosing to invest time to help them.
Not to mention they're generally nice, interesting people. I love the number of people I meet in YC that I would enjoy having a drink with - the ratio has been unmatched anywhere else so far.
As for his main thesis that VCs don't eat their own dog food, that strikes me as absolutely true. If the VC industry was any other industry, VCs would be trying their best to help a startup disrupt it.