[aaronrc]

I know it's been said over and over but why don't all these YC and now YC rejects just get on with it. Build their products, start their businesses and make some money. Why the obsession with being a YC'er and now a not-a-YC'er. Can't they see the whole thing is just a distraction from their already difficult task?! nikcub hit the nail on the head with his comment, it's just a shame YC doesn't lend itself to a plithy title such as "Boo Hoo" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo.com).

[robryan]

Well having a support group and something structured like weekly meetups to drive the startup forward week to week seems like a good thing to me. I don't think it's so much a YC obsession but an obsession with giving a startup the best possible chance to succeed.

[ascendant]

Y Combinator has shown that it adds significant value to the process. Seed funding, access to like-minded entrepreneurs as well as heavy-hitters in both the tech and VC world. Obviously Y Combinator has a brand name associated with it now but the whole incubator concept has proven it is worth it for at least some of the population interested in starting their own companies.