It was, hands down, the best and most important thing our company has done.
And we were profitable before YC began, so we didn’t need it.
The value of getting accepted and how that acts as a filtering mechanism to prime venture firms. The network: YC alumni, investors, executives in the industry, mentors, etc.
In other words, getting into YC will usually: enable you to raise venture capital from the best VC firms far more easily; it'll open doors that you previously likely could not open (especially for newer entrepreneurs); it'll help you with recruiting talented and experienced employees (critical to success); it's a halo, by getting accepted into it, you get to borrow reputation from what YC has built up.
In a year since YC we've more than tripled the team to more than 30 people now, of which again: most have kids. Ultimately for us, the network among other things has been the best part. I would definitely do it again.
That being said, my anecdotal opinion: A weak point for YC is enterprise. If you want additional customers, there are a few big YC companies, but not many. Even then, when we did it, we found some help and still got great advice.
If you sell to startups though, it's actually a great way to get customers.
Something that hasn't really been around long enough yet, but also potential is the new vertical accelerator. Our batch was a bit too early for it, but they are trying to solve real problems these companies h ave.
This is who YC funds. That's like saying it might be interesting for technology companies.
Except YC funds plenty of founders with kids.
It does help to have a low personal burn rate. If you have high expenses, it’s difficult to quit a decently well paying job to start a startup. But that doesn’t have anything to do with YC. If anything, it’s marginally easier with YC backing because at least you can slow down the personal burn.