YC is now the best deal that exists.
YC may be the best deal for a crew of wet-behind-the-ears startup virgins, I'll grant that.
150k is not going to get a company very far, and certainly not far enough to reinvent the startup model completely. Building a team is still a critical part of building a YC (or any other) company, as is honing a product and bringing it to market (which is primarily what they help you do). Saying that those things aren't part of the YC model just because you get some extra free money on great terms is disingenuous.
Also, more and more experienced entrepreneurs are going to YC, because of the effects of the network and because the money really isn't that expensive. People always bring up that it isn't a great deal for experienced entrepreneurs, but you can ask my friend Steve, who just sold Reddit, went back to YC, and just raised a fat series A for hipmunk whether it was worth it.
The YC model is something like this: Founders are recruited, then weeks are spent building a prototype whilst attending dinners/lectures about the next step: fundraising.
YC is out of the picture once teambuilding, product honing begins. Its explicitely NOT part of the YC experience. As I understand it.
To expand on my 1st remark: the shoestring bootstrap model is just one; others solicit Angels to fund development in a more structured manner. The reasons to bootstrap are usually, you are not known and cannot convince Angels to cough up. If for instance you have a success behind you, it may be possible to dispense with the grinding poverty phase.