Of course they are associated. Y combinator gets cred for hosting a platform for ‘real hackers’, the hacker news users like the association with a prestigious incubator. The domain name chosen for hacker news reflects this.
Layervault is trying to do the same trick for their brand.
Do other people go around bragging to their friends "Yeah, I comment on HN stuff all the time!"... or is there some other benefit I have from "being associated with a[n incubator]" (I'm quite sure HN wouldn't want me to go around saying I'm "associated" with them.)))
Hacker news reputation means something mainly in the context of the hacker news community, surely. But the Hacker news community manages to centralise a lot of discussion in the tech community, and how does it work that people are attracted to and stay loyal to HN? I do think the Ycombinator / Paul Graham brand has played a part in that.
Layervault is trying to do the same trick for their brand.