They very well could be. But more likely, the people that would meet there could go on to do great things together and perhaps YC would be a part of that.
I met my cofounder at the TC Disrupt Hackathon in 2011, were selected as one of the winners, and have worked together ever since. We even did YC last batch.
"the people that would meet there could go on to do great things together"
+1
I don't think you have to look much further than comments by sama and pg about building YC into an institution that lasts 100 years. It's the network that creates sustaining value. I have no insider knowledge, but this event seems like a great way to expand and grow that network.
Love to see it. Love to see YC continuing to do and try new things.
I was wondering the same thing! But I'm pretty sure YC knows what to expect from even the best hackers at hackathons - 24 hours of hacking is not the same as months/years of customer discovery and polish.
(Not saying hackathon hacks can't be viable or polished, I've seen many that are absolutely both.)
Are people interviewing with more than frameworks these days? A bunch of cycles back, I had one friend—who was accepted—interview with a weekend hack that he put together, launched, and saw it just take off, after being invited to interview for a startup that just wasn't gaining traction.
