Hmmm, that's not how I saw it at all going through YC. The companies on the top of this list are the ones I look up to, and it's cool to see people sticking it out after 3+ years and kicking ass. There was healthy competition inside the batch to do things like launch and have new stuff to show off each week, but it always felt motivating not mean-spirited.
Well...that's usually the feedback we hear from YC-founders themselves. There is competition, but it is friendly, not adversarial like the tech press likes to paint.
But, if I recall correctly, I distinctly remember PG & gang bristling when they hear this - because they don't want to feed any competition at all.
Well....that's just my impression, as an outsider looking in anyway.
Either way, this is an intriguing concept for sure :)
This will likely exacerbate that, so I am interested to see what PG thinks about all of this.