I don't think that's how it works. YC didn't decide that 'its time to add two partners' and then start looking for candidates. What actually happened is that there were people who were already acting like partners in everything but title, and this is just a formalization of that.
according to the interview with Paul B in the LA Times, "Paul Graham had mentioned it several years back but I was looking to start FriendFeed at the time. It’s hard to do anything else when you are trying to start a start-up. He mentioned it again this summer and it got me thinking again." So it sounds like they actually _did_ seek out at least one candidate.
Not exactly. Before and during his time at FF, PB was informally involved with YC by dropping by often to chat with startups, and probably in other ways. Saying to him "let's get you involved more and formally" is not the same as seeking out a candidate, because "seeking a candidate" implies that there are a few people available for a position, and you choose one. In the YC case, however, it was probably "either with PB or without PB", not "either with PB or with someone else"
i was surprised to see this downvoted. it seemed to me that i had introduced a fact that directly contradicted YuriNiyazov's point above. people on HN pride themselves on being evidence based. what am i missing?
Actually, what you are missing is the subtext of my original message. I have to go now and tend to my startup, but if you want to email me directly I'll respond when I can
in other words, they didn't bother to think about the risks of reinforcing their blindspots (or the opportunities to counter). a couple of guys were there and doing the job so they formalized it.
