They had a chance to become profitable and started taking away suscribers from netflix... there is a great podcast by Wondery on this https://youtu.be/qaDGUdJSlb0
I liked the sound assist. I actually prefer this to a regular podcast format, which tends to get monotone sometimes. Reminds me a little bit of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibuiUXOTE4M
Amazon is benefiting from decentralized local retail stores. 90% of goods a person needs can be located within 15 mile radius. Instacart or Uber needs to setup a central inventory system that locals can shop and get their products within 1 hour instead of 2 days.
I am not sure about the tight credit. We were approved for something we would not be able afford (too much house). It seems like the new wave is to target prime accounts with over the top amounts. Those account can quickly become subprime if the economy adjusts.
This is our 3rd time applying. S15 - Rejected. S16 - Invited then rejected after the interview. S17 - Rejected (we grew to a much higher MRR since S16 with a stronger product). YC's decisions can be unpredictable and I believe you have to get lucky with the batch (your startup showing more promise than others in the pool).