That resonates deeply with me, and I've been struggling to put across all of that when all I hear from peers is the intention to flip or IPO and on the importance of grabbing as much money as possible whenever possible.
Not to say YC isn't the answer. There's certainly many good reasons to do YC or something similar (the two biggest being the people/network and the atmosphere/environment - from what YC alumni have said), but I would say that unless your business needs the money... try and do without it.
I know what company I run: it's an indie company, currently ramen profitable after a few months full-time and probably with an unconventional path in front of us.
Not to say YC isn't the answer. There's certainly many good reasons to do YC or something similar (the two biggest being the people/network and the atmosphere/environment - from what YC alumni have said), but I would say that unless your business needs the money... try and do without it.
I read this last month and it also resonated with me: http://bryce.vc/post/17396972172/rise-of-the-independents
I know what company I run: it's an indie company, currently ramen profitable after a few months full-time and probably with an unconventional path in front of us.