Agreed, although, the aim here is not to focus on the 'why' part? It's to focus on the 'where to go from here' part. The 'why' will always be anecdotal as it's one perspective vs another. The key to this post is really honing in on the fact that the best entrepreneurs can take setbacks yet still move on to succeed in their endeavors to build amazing companies with our without YC. Which 'anecdotally or otherwise' makes for the best YC applicants.