Actually the thing that struck us most this last cycle was the huge number of (often unpromising) startups that had already raised several hundred k. If anything it seems like there is a glut of early-stage money, not a dearth.
It would be an interesting control if you re-interviewed YC companies 6, 12, 24 months out from YC, to calibrate the interviews. I guess you can just watch the video of the interviews of the successful or unsuccessful startups.
Obviously in the case of an unpromising startup, you don't care, but how does that 200k+ change your perception of a potentially promising startup? You've blogged a bit about this before, but have you ever asked yourself (or the applicants) "Why are these guys even sitting in front of us?"
