The best way to look at the uncapped note is like investing in an index fund.<p>Rather than picking and choosing specific companies, the money behind YC VC is betting that the basket of companies as a whole is going to perform well on aggregate (thanks to power law).<p>It's really putting faith in the YC selection process / mentoring multiplier as a whole rather than any particular company (which they can do later after demo day).
If there was one change I'd like to see YC make, it's this: expand the franchise outside of the Bay area. Open a branch on the East Coast (Raleigh/Durham would be a nice location!).<p>OK, yes, I'm being selfish here, but this is just the way it is for us... moving, even for 3 months, just isn't an option and may never be. But that's really the main thing preventing us from taking a stab at doing YC.<p>Of course, we do have a similar accelerator/incubator here in The Startup Factory, but competition and more choices are a Good Thing. :-)
I'm a bit confused.<p>The YC VC program (and it's earlier incarnation) made sense to me because VCs wanted access to YC deal flow. But now with the new program traditional LPs are investing at the same time (i.e., acceptance to YC) as YC LPs, but with much worse terms.<p>Maybe I'm missing something here?
Does anyone know how these investments/loans have actually performed overall? We don't know what the catalyst for this move is. It makes me wonder if the smart money (from VC's) has decided that the YC model isn't generating ROI, leaving YC to go searching for dumb(er) money (from LP's).
This is good for YC startups in the long run. When you're out raising a series A, you really don't want the negative signals when Horowitz or Khosla decide to pass.
We apply to YC S14, and I think, it does not matter. That's why - if your product team will selected, you still get access to best community. Anyway, you get as much money from VC on Demo Day, as your product look. And you still YC alumnum. So, don't worry. Just work harder.