That actually makes sense. VC is a reputation-driven system. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. I'm not talking about YC but in general here: there are people way dumber than I am who can put in a good word for a startup and bump its perceived value (and, arguably, its expected return, because reputation is so big in this game) by 50% or more.
In fact, I always held a pretty negative view of YC's prior low valuations. It struck me as PG monetizing his (admittedly, well-earned, because his Lisp chops are really strong) reputation, and the low infusions, to me, indicated that the target audience was young people without families.
I'm afraid to say this, for fear that people are thinking I'm losing my edge by saying something nice about an investor, but I actually like Sam Altman so far. I think he's making a lot of really good decisions.
In fact, I always held a pretty negative view of YC's prior low valuations. It struck me as PG monetizing his (admittedly, well-earned, because his Lisp chops are really strong) reputation, and the low infusions, to me, indicated that the target audience was young people without families.
I'm afraid to say this, for fear that people are thinking I'm losing my edge by saying something nice about an investor, but I actually like Sam Altman so far. I think he's making a lot of really good decisions.