How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders

YC’s Trust Model and Startup Economics

• Commenters note YC normalized trusting early founders and letting them pivot, counter to older, more controlling VC norms.
• Some argue this “mission tactics” / “commander’s intent” approach (high autonomy, clear goals) works best in dynamic markets; in mature markets, investors often replace founders with managers.
• Others insist it’s “never smart” to trust people with incentives to lie, but acknowledge YC showed that founder trust can be net-positive.

Can the YC Model Apply to Games?

• Many see games as uniquely brutal: hit-driven, B2C, entertainment spend is discretionary, with a deep “failure floor.”
• Some push back: there are cheap, profitable indie games; the real challenge is making something good and getting exposure.
• Comparison to movies: a minority of hits subsidize many flops; any publisher that can beat average hit-picking becomes powerful.

Predatory Monetization and VC-Scale Outcomes

• Several argue VC-sized wins in games mostly come from gacha/lootboxes/whale hunting or from distribution monopolies, which they find morally unacceptable.
• Others highlight successful, non-predatory cases (e.g. bundles, respectful F2P studios, hit indies) and say big successes don’t require exploitation.
• Debate over whether ultra-predatory models are short-term “ring of fire” strategies or a durable, rational business.

AI, YC’s Focus, and the Games Industry

• Some criticize YC’s current AI-heavy portfolio as hype-driven and culturally off-putting; others argue most future billion-dollar companies will be AI-related, fitting YC’s “small team, cutting edge” sweet spot.
• On games, one side sees AI as a tailwind: faster prototyping, small teams doing bigger work, potential industry growth.
• Skeptics say AI assistance is incremental (like procedural generation), won’t solve “fun,” and LLM-driven NPCs are unlikely to deliver deep, coherent characters.

Founder Quality, Fraud, and Early Employees

• There’s concern about “nepo founders,” weaker company quality in recent YC batches, and visible scams or overhyped hardware plays; defenders reply that high failure and pivots are inherent to early-stage bets.
• Several note that while YC improved founder–investor trust, early employees often get low equity and sub-market pay, making them worse off than big-tech jobs despite startup success.