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Comment by tmpz22 | Hacker News Reader

This but unironically.

YC wants companies with huge upside that are of the size and timing they have experience and ability to assist in.

After that they pick founders and engineers that they deem to have a higher chance of success - which are usually FANNG engineers or tenured founders.

If you want to get in outside this clique you need to offer something compelling - and most applicants will not have something more compelling then FANNG experience.

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does FAANG even mean much anymore? The hiring standards at those companies dropped massively in the last 5 years and the majority are just leetcode grinders who would make terrible founders in most cases

The hiring standards at FAANG continue to be high - but only on leetcode. They are literally hiring code monkeys who can type fast. Imagine hiring a robotic keyboard powered by chatGPT. That's basically it.

What's worse about FAANG? The work culture itself is terrible. It's all about politics and PIPs and processes. The only people who continue working are people who need the money, not necessarily the brightest.

Which FAANGs in particular are you talking about? And where do the brightest go?

this was my gut feel about it, FAANG hiring process other than Amazon really puts no emphasis on actual product/business skills. Google is the prime example of what happens when you have a bunch of people really good at leetcode with minimal focus on entrepreneur type skills. Results in a bunch of stuff getting built and then shut down a few months later

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