EDIT: And here come the downvotes, so let me clarify my stance. I haven't a clue what Snappr does, or what their definition of 'photogenic' is. But here is the dictionary definition of 'photogenic':
(adjective) (especially of a person) looking attractive in photographs or on film.
So my impression was that this metric was to do with how attractive perhaps the founders were. The overall impression here is YC somehow rates the aesthetic qualities of people in order to select who is 'in'. That sort of impression can do untold damage to their brand, and I am surprised that they let this be a thing.
Matt from Snappr (maker of YCDB) here - your point is totally fair, 'photogenic' is not the best word for it. I just went ahead and changed it to 'most aesthetic' for clarity. Thanks for pointing that out.
Of course it is. The whole site is made by them[1]. Clever marketing move!
[1] YCDB is made in San Francisco by the team at Snappr, which is a YC company (W17). Why? Because we love YC companies and discovering new ones! Edited by Matt Schiller.
EDIT: And here come the downvotes, so let me clarify my stance. I haven't a clue what Snappr does, or what their definition of 'photogenic' is. But here is the dictionary definition of 'photogenic':
So my impression was that this metric was to do with how attractive perhaps the founders were. The overall impression here is YC somehow rates the aesthetic qualities of people in order to select who is 'in'. That sort of impression can do untold damage to their brand, and I am surprised that they let this be a thing.