You are wrong. So, so, wrong.<p>If you were allowed to, the best thing you could possibly do for your early stage company would be to go take $100,000, nay $500,000 plus 30% of your stock and give it to Paul Graham in exchange for being let in to YC.<p>It&#x27;s not just the education you get, nor the peer pressure of being in a &#x27;class&#x27; with other companies, it&#x27;s also the social cache, the network of other YC funders, the access to investors, and lately, the benefits of YC punishing investors who treat their portfolio companies badly.<p>Good&#x2F;Great investors are all people you would always pay to have on your board, and gunning for your company. The money they give you helps keep the lights on and grow, but it&#x27;s really a proxy for getting (and holding) their attention and focus on what you need to succeed.