I think the the things they highlight are all attributes that define hungry/ambitious people, and/or they correlate to things that would hold people accountable and keep them on track.

For example:

Ivy League School and working at a prestigious company? You don't get either of those by being a slacker.

Younger team, woman co-founder and more than one founder? You better believe there is going to be more pressure to prove yourself and not sell early or give up (vs. being a single founder or an older proven founder).

Standing out from the crowd at demo day or getting noticed out of all the noise of social media? That takes some dedication. I guarantee that the people who did get noticed that way didn't just send one email or one tweet. They were hustling their idea hard.

Great read though. I loved the point that startups don't have to come from SF or NYC to be successful!