>- startups that are rejected and fail, but would have thrived had they been accepted
PG has specifically stated that this is not a bug (it's a feature). The goal of YC is not to take mediocre or bad startup teams and turn them into wins, but to take the winners and turn them into Super-Winners(Dropbox).
As far as maximizing YC's impact, I think Dropbox maximizes it more than small wins from teams that would have lost had they not been in YC.
PG has specifically stated that this is not a bug (it's a feature). The goal of YC is not to take mediocre or bad startup teams and turn them into wins, but to take the winners and turn them into Super-Winners(Dropbox).
As far as maximizing YC's impact, I think Dropbox maximizes it more than small wins from teams that would have lost had they not been in YC.