I don't want to give up 5-10% of my company and the ~$10k would not make a difference, however I would love to be more involved in the community, and am particularly jealous of this paragraph:
"When you’re accepted into Y Combinator you are part of a community of 172 startups, that take every opportunity to help one another. Being part of this community is invaluable. Six months after our session of Y Combinator ended, the founders of S09 regularly meet, and I would consider us a close group of friends."
Is there any way for a non-YC startup to become an honorary member of this group?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value
If you don't want to give up equity for that little of an amount, and you've got something, then go pitch an angel investor directly. YCombinator is not the end all be all. I think it's important for newbs like us to get our feet wet so we have an idea of how much (or how little) bargaining power we have, and where we stack up against other entrepreneurs. Finally, everything in this world is negotiable. You could apply and work out the numbers with them, and I don't think there's a requirement to accept if you're accepted (correct me if I'm wrong).
What I would envy is not getting into that sort of club. For a moment (however small that moment is), it makes you wonder how you could ever possibly make up for not having that advantage (that being said, lamenting about such a thing is unbecoming of an entrepreneur, and the motto of "be endlessly resourceful").
He only gets 5-10% of your current company, while you get his help, a ton of connections, and the YC networks and friendships for life
However, even though I am not part of YC, I'd love to meet up with fellow SF startups -- I have never found an online community I identify more with than HN. Also, surely many people who give advice to YC startups are not on the payroll and would be happy to talk to me, if I had their contact info.
Maybe I'm wrong since I'm not part of the group, but I feel like the identity of "young, full-time startup" is much more important than "young, full-time startup [yc funded]".
Certain things about taking investment are binary - percentage ownership is nothing, investor's rights are everything.
"and friendships for life"
I've heard this same exact argument from friends who were justifying why they were hazing for fraternities in college. Not a criticism, just an observation.
- I would like to hang out with like-minded, serious startup folk in San Francisco.
- I would like to meet a seasoned entrepreneur and have a chat about my plans.
- I would like an introduction to a few investors to bounce some ideas off of.
For those three things, I am not willing to give up 5-10% of my startup, which is profitable, and relatively mature compared to YC investees. Additionally, I am sure a full-fledged YC investment offers far more than those three points. ;)
If you want introductions and advice, you need an angel with a background similar to PG (made money in tech, invests in startups).
The reason the alumni are so close is because they all go through something very hard together. I don't think YC was planning for such a supportive alumni network, rather, its just the magic that follows when something special is created.
The YC founders are a pretty cohesive group, so if you get into their circle you get a lot of the benefit. This goes for SV/SF based startup founders generally, too.
Since it's such a closed group, if you make friends with people at one meet up you'll end up expanding your circle to several. There are some open meetups (e.g. Hackers and Founders) and also meetups on technologies (e.g. SF Javascript).
