I highly disagree. The "non-technical reddit co-founder" is both humble and awesome -- but if it's the same event I'm thinking, you might have misinterpreted his joke about serving orange-colored kool aid at the event.
Also, June 2014 was the first NYC Startup School. You might be talking about the "YC in NYC" event in September 2011. That was more of a talk by PG about how NYC had overtaken Boston as a clear #2 startup hub, followed by what makes a startup hub work (basically startup and investor density, which creates more chance encounters). Other founders spoke, but those were hiring pitches, not really the same kind of advice talks you get at startup school.