This is an email exchange between Paul Graham of YCombinator, and Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures - i.e. two of the most important investors in the startup scene - about AirBnb - probably one of the most successful YC startups, once it exits. It's rare to see an email trail of this kind, so worth posting despite the lack of excitement or insight found inside...
Most people look at it as an example of how hard Paul Graham pushes YCombinator startups, but it's worth pointing out that Airbnb was a startup that Paul believed in from the start. Not all startups will benefit from such enthusiasm. In fact, Paul himself states:
Maybe [our effort on other startups is] not quite that persistent, but I've definitely tried to sell investors on startups that didn't end up doing very well. Even by the end of the 3 months we are far from perfect at predicting who the big winners will be.
