The top comment in this thread is pretty accurate. Most founders (YC and other) I know came on a visa waiver originally, and moved to an O1 visa to stay long term.

Blindly following what other people have done for a situation rather than the appropriate path for your country/status/education/etc. is a fantastic way to get deported or denied entry.

OP should consider himself lucky for the contextual information rather than a stats dump.