For the curious, the original submitted title was:
For All Rejected w2018 YC applicants, a sprig of hope
If you want to learn the fine art of self-deprecating humor, read the Bessemer article and then watch this video:
They're VC's... so a much higher standard of proof is required to establish integrity. (cough cough Eduardo Saverin)
Gotta remember, all angels and VCs are desperate to increase their "deal flow", that means they need startups to know their name when they go looking for money. So the VC puts on a sort of phoney humility... a kind of "hey we're worth billions but same as you its been hard!" type thing. "Look at how we made mistakes where instead of making tens of billions we only made billions". That way when you are looking for money you might think "Hey those Bessemer guys seemed pretty down to earth, like me!"
It's more like a good PR agency wrote it than 'refreshing'. No one there actually writes... they're al playing golf. It was Sally at the PR agency who wrote the thing that evoked a sense of integrity from you. She needs a pay rise.
okay, so, I don't have hard evidence of their strong moral principles, that said, to be in the VC business that long must be a fairly good indicator that their services are trusted, and their behaviour is befitting of their duty.
"With $4 billion under management, Bessemer invests from $100,000 to $75 million in innovative companies like LinkedIn, Yelp, Skype, CornerstoneOnDemand, Pinterest, Box and Twilio. Over 100 Bessemer companies have gone public. Last year alone, Bessemer had 5 IPOs, 7 M&A exits, and 20 new investments. "
But I'm glad I looked. This is hilarious!
(And it has nothing to do with YC or YC applicants. The actual title is much better: "Honoring Those We Missed: The Anti-Portfolio")
It also makes me feel not quite so bad about some of my own personal mistakes...