[arciini]

I did YC when I was 27 after trying to do a tiny bit of fundraising, and kinda agree with you, but I think you can replace "22 year old" in your comment with "anyone not super-well-networked in the startup scene".

The truth is, even if you have pedigree (top-tier college, worked at FAANG and startups), the very first time fundraising is going to be pretty hard and annoying unless you've already been going to a lot of founder meetups, want to start something in a hot field, or have VC's in your personal network. This is especially true after the money wave from pre-2022 receded.

I do feel like I probably could've raised on better terms, but I'm not sure it would've improved the trajectory of my life or expected value. YC taught me a lot about fundraising that I didn't know I didn't know. Compared to other VC's we've worked with (who have all been pretty great), YC has provided more specific advice to our stage, better technology, and a slightly better network.

[moneywoes]

ultimately, was YC worth it in retrospect?

[arciini]

For me, definitely! It helped us raise our first round of funding, without which we may have failed during the pandemic. I also learned a lot and found the online platform useful.