[paxys]

> We, however, were not in this position. Eric and I still had full-time jobs when we were accepted. While we had been meeting regularly for a few months to discuss different ideas, we had absolutely zero traction, no working product, and very little validation.

This is the key part IMO. It's easy to give up 10% of what is essentially an idea in your head in exchange for $500K and some legitimacy from a big brand. That is exactly how an "accelerator" is supposed to work. If you have spent time (sometimes years of your life) and significant money actually building a product, finding a market fit and gathering customers, YC's terms will likely be much harder to swallow.

[waithuh]

YC did so well because they never really asked for the qualifications other investors did and put an end to potential founders deciding that its not worth it/procrastinating

[moneywoes]

Given YC seldom invests in solo founders that equity stake just hurt I imagine