I definitely see your point and by no means am I advocating for your typical "send it to China or India for $100" gig. My point is that if you are not a programmer and trying to enter this arena, it's not the end of the world. The value is in your idea, your ability to network, market yourself and create a solid team with well-rounded skills.
Ycombinator definitely has some diverse ideas many of which are fantastic. Like any start-up catalyst, sure, they have backed some ideas that have already been out there to some degree or are no longer around--but that is totally to be expected. There will always be some overlap and like any regular distribution bell curve will show us, some will fail, some will surpass our expectations and rest will be in the middle. I have a great deal of respect for all that Ycombinator does and the people involved. Good luck guys!
Guys, remember, Ycombinator is a great resource but you'll see that some of the ventures they've backed are either completely stupid, already invented by google or simply not existing today because even they failed. Ycombinator seems to be seeking a very specific set of ideas and type of team. My personal opinion is that this lack of diversity in type of ideas and teams doesn't contribute much to the growth of their endeavor. Why just programmers? The real value is in the vision and outsourcing is easier than ever today. Overall, keep at it! I guarantee that many of the ventures Ycombinator didn't accept are going to do well. Good luck.
Ycombinator definitely has some diverse ideas many of which are fantastic. Like any start-up catalyst, sure, they have backed some ideas that have already been out there to some degree or are no longer around--but that is totally to be expected. There will always be some overlap and like any regular distribution bell curve will show us, some will fail, some will surpass our expectations and rest will be in the middle. I have a great deal of respect for all that Ycombinator does and the people involved. Good luck guys!