Nevertheless, the fact that yc invested pre-pivot only reinforces my point, as ZP wouldn't even exist had YC not taken a chance on the team and then helped them find a more promising idea.
I see your point, that the team is the most important part and YC invested in that. My feeling is that YC can be more effective at funding those types of ideas and teams. That the hit rate can be higher by focusing on a different class of idea. Perhaps that means more pivots or different ideas accepted at the start. I'll try to flesh this out more.
P.S. Unrelated, but thank you for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it
There's always room to improve, but it's likely they are making fewer mistakes than you think.