The article was above average for accuracy. But average is not very high: newspaper and magazine articles tend to contain a lot of mistakes.
The most misleading thing in the article was the whole guru theme. Maybe it made the story seem more interesting, but there is very little dispensing of abstract wisdom at YC. 99% of the conversation I have with people is about the specific problems of individual startups. Car mechanic would be a more accurate metaphor than guru.
To me, one of the more interesting pieces of the article was when it talked about the years you spent from '91 - '95 in a kind of consulting/painting period where you would consult for a while then stop and paint until you ran out of money then repeat until eventually you decided it was time to make some "real money", which was apparently when you decided to start a company. My question is, were you considering other options at that time (such as just getting a regular job) or were you always dead set on starting your own company?
The most misleading thing in the article was the whole guru theme. Maybe it made the story seem more interesting, but there is very little dispensing of abstract wisdom at YC. 99% of the conversation I have with people is about the specific problems of individual startups. Car mechanic would be a more accurate metaphor than guru.