"Not everyone has Sam's deal-making ability. I myself don't. But if you don't, you can let the numbers speak for you."
PG you have hundreds of people applying to make a deal with you (through YC) and once you agree to make a deal--a decision that takes you 20 minutes--you are rarely rejected. Plus, when you are rejected the people who reject you usually fail. I appreciate the modesty but by no means do you seem like a poor deal maker.
I feel that no matter one's starting point they should work on there deal making ability so they can have more then just the numbers. You need the steak and the sizzle.
Just as startup founders in order to make a good product need to be persistent, intelligent and understand the technology; in order to make good deals the founders still need to be persistent and intelligent but also need to understand the components of what it takes to find and close deals.
So how can startup founders learn to be good deal makers?
The solution is to apply the YC principles that fit for you and still live your life and to not get overly caught up in the message and let it block out outside reasoning.
Google may have lost some of its feel and culture as it has grown but for such a large company it is a really cool place to work.
You mention since they can't find smart people to hire fast enough they can either lower the bar or hire less. The third option is to work more on recruiting people and that is just what they are focusing on.
I am in the midst of learning to program in PHP. I am working hard and loving it. I realize the value of the skill. I met with one of the founders of a YC company and got inspired. I now plan on graduating early and working full time on my startup at that time.
1) Despite high school not being easily deferrable he can get a GED instead and go to community college
2) We are not most startups. We may still fail and we accept that. We believe the process has inherent learning value. So we win regardless of financial gain.
3) Due to our youth we will have to prove our competence in other ways. We will work extra hard to make people take us seriously. Age is only a biological number. Maturity is different.
4) I am making sure we both work hard to learn. Learning is part of the process. There is always more to do so we want to work as hard as possible.
I will do my best to remain calm and keep the team level headed. That is some important insight.
I agree with you about the importance of collaboration on the different elements and we will check and help each other.
Sometimes seemingly common sense advice is necessary.