https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28951278
While I still think many of those points apply to this essay (yes, whether or not it's a sales pitch "in disguise", it's still a sales pitch), they don't bother me as much here because pg is specifically talking about his experiences in YC and startups in general. If there is one person who I think has earned the title of "expert on early stage startup experiences and lessons learned" it is Paul Graham.
Yes, he touches on a lot of different points, but I still found it to be a useful read. If anything, I'd be interested in some more pointed follow-up, e.g "Here are some of the top common problems startups hit", with specific examples, or "Here are 5 times founders ignored our advice, and what happened".