<i>&quot;The key features of a tech start-up are this: it has no customers and a strong chance of going broke. What most of these businesses do is funnel capital (investors’ money) into work nobody asked to be done. They build a product for which there is no market, exhaust their funds, close. They’re a bit like a make-work project.&quot;</i><p>YC in 2014, &gt; 640 startups worth USD20B from 2014 numbers. [0],[1]<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bloomberg.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2014-02-25&#x2F;y-combinator-owns-stakes-in-startups-worth-more-than-20b" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bloomberg.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2014-02-25&#x2F;y-combinat...</a><p>[1] 13B in 2013: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;paulg&#x2F;status&#x2F;422815186437685248" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;twitter.com&#x2F;paulg&#x2F;status&#x2F;422815186437685248</a>