Great article! While I have some technical background, I'm not a coder and I'm also a single founder applicant. From his comments, it seems that YC wants what everyone who is passionate about their career wants in a teammate. Drive.

I work in a neuroscience lab and I've trained a lot of undergrads, lab techs and grad students. From a state school to IVY league schools I continue to see the same thing. Drive, ambition, and motivation are way more important than technical knowledge. This is a winning combination of traits that always works as the people who have those traits can typically pick up anything you throw at them. My best students have been those with OK GPAs but and a serious competitive nature to them.