There is a saying I have often heard about having no regrets and it goes like this:
“For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'"
If those are the saddest words one can speak, then I can tell you the happiest words a founder or entrepreneur can utter surely are: "I Got Into Y Combinator." It is without a doubt the most overwhelming and exciting thing that can happen to an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and here's why.
It is 10x more valuable than securing funding. Securing venture capital funding is like a getting a shot a morphine for a severed leg. Everything feels great for a bit, but once the high runs off you've still got a severed leg. Getting into Y Combinator is like a 3-month double rainbow. It doesn't mean you'll automatically be successful, but it does mean you'll have a chance to meet and work around the smartest technology minds in the world. You'll get access to intimate chats with amazing entrepreneurs, investors, and founders.
Getting into YC today is what landing a job at Google was 6-7 years ago. It means you were able to get through a hiring process second to none. No one fools Paul Graham - or so it seems. If you make it through the gauntlet to the other side a tech heaven awaits you with virgin laptops and Naked juice.
Michael Arrington doesn't 'king' startups, but PG does. Mike has been wrong too many times to King anyone. PG seems to mind control companies to success in some sort of Jedi-induced spell. He and his partners can take what appears to be a near defunct startup and turn them into the next billion dollar money tree. They turn decent entrepreneurs into great ones.
Getting into YC is like going to business, code, and startup school all at the same time. The difference between YC and real school is that everything you learn at YC is applicable to your job - nothing in real school seemed to be. Everything evolves around helping you build your company. It's the Matrix download of startup education.
YC is a lot more important than the other incubators, and it's not even close. I don't fully understand why. There are great reasons why 500 Startups or TechStars should be on the same plain. They have great track records and founders too, but everyone knows that a YC founder could easily get into 500 startups or TechStars, but not the other way around.
I spent a significant amount of time in 2011 trying to build a team and startup worthy of entrance into the PG pearly gates. I have applied and been denied twice. I will save my application videos for another post, but I don't feel bad at all about the time I spent. The time and effort was well worth the potential reward. But it is important and I would encourage anyone with a chance of getting in to apply and give it your all. Nothing can mean more to your company than getting in. Ignore the fact that you need to not only get in but put yourself at the top of the food chain within your class. If you get in you forever brand yourself with the YC scarlet letter on your chest.
Y Combinator along with startups like Pinterest, Facebook, Stripe, and others are the reason the future is bright for Palo Alto and Mountain View. They live at the heart of these communities and keep engineering talent flowing into this area.
And finally back to my original reason for writing this post. I got an email tonight from a friend that was accepted into YC's latest class Winter 2012. He's a talented guy whose startups have been really interesting but not massively successful yet. Getting in YC is a game changer for him. It elevates his status as an entrepreneur, and he'll be looked at in a whole new light. I've seen a few of these emails before and it is hands down the best email you can receive as a friend of an entrepreneur. Look forward to it enough and hopefully at some point you're be the one that sends it.