You know what, I'm not part of a startup. And I probably won't be able to get one going until I have something to start with (monetarily that is). I'm trying to start writing apps for Windows Phone 7, because I think it's going to be a great platform, with a big margin for expansion. Microsoft hasn't really had a great reputation for wireless OSes, but I really think WP7 is a winner.
To tell you the truth, I'm pretty drunk right now, but I'm still confident in my ability to write code. If I just had enough money to buy a WP7 phone and pay for a plan to go with it I would be set. I've been hacking on the emulator so far, but you can't really get a decent sense of how everything works until you actually have a device. I have done an internship over two summers at the same company doing iOS stuff, so I think I can genuinely say that I have a decent amount of experience with mobile development.
My name is Evan, I'm drunk, and I want to start a company. 500 bucks would definitely be enough for me to buy a phone, start developing, and eventually release some products into the wild. Think about it.