> The fact that TS would be just as good without the founder isn't necessarily a positive sign.
If they have 'productized' the process so that they get, rather than one charismatic, super smart guy like PG, a series of founder types who go in and talk and mentor their startups, perhaps it can be made to "scale" to some degree, rather than be a program based exclusively on the brilliance of one individual.
Although, to be fair, YC seems to be taking on new people as well.
TechStars has only recently started trying to replicate their model on a wide scale. They're very far from proving that they can.
The fact that TS would be just as good without the founder isn't necessarily a positive sign.