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Of 7 awesome developers on my team, only 2 have a CS degree. And 2 have no college degree at all.

Granted, we don't exactly do bleeding edge research or anything, "just" web applications.

A degree makes it easier to get your foot in the door, especially at larger companies where computers screen resumes for keywords and HR is on a different floor from engineering.

A CS education will make it easier for you to learn and excel at the "hard" parts of software development. Data structures, algorithms, optimization, cryptography, embedded and firmware, OS development. You can learn those things outside school, of course. But even the first couple years of a CS program will teach you a lot about how computers work and how software is architected.

In turn, there's a lot you gain from practical experience that you aren't taught in school.

I'd say if you're happy building web and mobile apps for startups, the degree is strictly optional. If you want to dive deeper into technology, school will give you a head start.