Relevant PG essay: http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

*submarine

Made me wonder how likely it was that "Funded by YC" was one of the criteria used by the analyst to come up with the list.

It has to be. Many people know how to write software, only few get ongoing advice from the industry's top advisors and have a line out the door to fund them. King-making is a thing, even if only a partial thing.