Im sure a ton of the companies who apply to YC and dont get in are still Grade A. But you have to trust YC knows what they are doing, and the A+++ companies will be picked over before they hit second or third tier.
You have to remember that investing in companies is a lottery game. Most angels/vc's profits are made on that 1 in a million company with a 1000x return.
If YC wants access to truly the best companies, they need to institute a rolling admissions. Otherwise, these scrappy second tier incubators will get lucky a few times when a nervous founder takes a bird in the hand over two in the bush. The policy only hurts YC itself.
But you have to trust YC knows what they are doing, and the A+++ companies will be picked over before they hit second or third tier.
IMO, there is still too much luck involved to make this true to the extent it matters in this case. YC has picked several things that didn't pan out, and of course several that did. There have also been multiple follow ups from YC rejects that went on to be much more successful than some companies that WERE picked
You have to remember that investing in companies is a lottery game. Most angels/vc's profits are made on that 1 in a million company with a 1000x return.
If YC wants access to truly the best companies, they need to institute a rolling admissions. Otherwise, these scrappy second tier incubators will get lucky a few times when a nervous founder takes a bird in the hand over two in the bush. The policy only hurts YC itself.