Genuinely confused when I see people post about @ycombinator “not being a fit for certain startups”. Maybe you can go out and raise large amounts of capital on better terms… but even still… YCs value is so much more than capital. For us, YCs value has had everything to do with their conviction in us. They chose to back us because they believe in us. They go to bat for us. They have our back and they always will. They’re highly ethical. They always tell us the truth (whether it’s a taboo investor topic, harsh feedback, or something we don’t want to hear but need to). Everything is shared in mutual confidentiality. They demand honesty from us and we share a mutual trust. Other value adds… They give us tailored advice, but only once they have all the context. They know what they’re talking about (perhaps better than any other pre-PMF investor in the world). They also know what they don’t know (which is probably more important). If they don’t have the answers, they help us find them. They don’t waste a minute of our time. Every single minute is high impact. They are no BS and no fluff. They’re always available. Anytime we slack them, they respond in minutes. Whenever we need to chat, they hop on the phone. They push us, expand our vision, and surround us with the brightest people in tech. As we near the end of our batch, it's difficult for me to think of a scenario in which I wouldn’t do YC again. Shoutout to @snowmaker and @nateps for an amazing batch.