If those guys are reading, I'd follow up with a question of what's really important to them: - Control of the business (key capital & strategic decisions) - Long term gains on an individual basis - Contacts & network needed to establish distribution, deals, and partnerships - Minimizing the number of relationships that need maintenance
If, as there article indicates, they really want to be in control of their success and failure, there is a number of ways to achieve total control without owning 100% of the company. So they should really think about the various options they have available to them. I can appreciate the desire to not have investors - even non-controlling minority interest ones, as even those people need to be nurtured and relationships developed.
So, as a message to the authors, would hope that they seek out some additional inputs as there are a number of clever ways for them to structure their business to achieve their goals, and to gain the benefits that come with YC.