YC is different. We didn't even think of it as a company at first, just an interesting project. It has turned out to be one of those cases where a side project takes over your life (sort of like Facebook, though much more gradual), but that wasn't planned. We just kept getting more applications and either had to grow or start rejecting people we thought were good.
I never considered what I'd do if someone wanted to buy YC, because companies like YC aren't buyable. But even if someone wanted to buy it I could not imagine selling it, because I don't need the money and it wouldn't be worth the risk that the acquirer would ruin it.
I think those are the exact arguments Steve used about Apple (and Mark about Facebook). It was an interesting project; didn't plan it; it took over his life; other people would ruin it; the money was't an important factor.
"because I don't need the money and it wouldn't be worth the risk that the acquirer would ruin it."
last night i watched the movie "meet joe black" and that sentence reminded me of a quote that "william parish" said when he realized he was going to die.
"I don't want anybody buying up my life's work! Turning it into something it wasn't meant to be. A man wants to leave something behind. And he wants it left behind the way he made it. He wants it to be run the way he run it, with a sense of honor, of dedication, of truth. Okay? "
i'm not saying it's the same thing, but, it did remind me of the movie.
I never considered what I'd do if someone wanted to buy YC, because companies like YC aren't buyable. But even if someone wanted to buy it I could not imagine selling it, because I don't need the money and it wouldn't be worth the risk that the acquirer would ruin it.