> If anything YCombinator and others help make acquiring that knowledge easier.
Err, I seriously doubt that. He talks about these sorts of power dynamics in his Gervais series, and personal experience leads me to believe that it can't be taught. It can only be learned by making real power plays with real stakes, and losing. If you're really sharp, as Zuckerburg was, you can develop savvy early. Otherwise it takes lots of hard lumps. YC in my estimation wouldn't be any better or worse for learning power than just going it alone.
I'll assume you are not intentionally mis-stating my argument. I separated Zuckerberg's strengths into two parts: (1) savvy and (2) knowledge of how investors operate. (1) is intrinsic or learned through experience and nothing external in the current milieu precludes it's use. (2) can be taught, as it was to Zuckerberg.
Err, I seriously doubt that. He talks about these sorts of power dynamics in his Gervais series, and personal experience leads me to believe that it can't be taught. It can only be learned by making real power plays with real stakes, and losing. If you're really sharp, as Zuckerburg was, you can develop savvy early. Otherwise it takes lots of hard lumps. YC in my estimation wouldn't be any better or worse for learning power than just going it alone.