I agree completely. I'm curious how recruiters view it because my parents think the risk is so much that they adamantly advised me against applying to YC (and still adamantly oppose me interviewing). I'm interested in starting a company in its own rite because I feel like I can contribute more when I am self directed, however it would strengthen my argument to have any evidence showing that even if I fail it won't be a waste of time (which I know it won't be).
YC isn't a place you go to learn how to start a company though. You have to apply to get in, and most successful applicants have started companies before and many of them have gone through YC in the past. Unless you're willing to drop out of school and redirect your entire life to your company, you're better off spending your summers interning, soaking up all the free knowledge you can, and then once graduated going off and do your own thing if you still want to. Most successful start-ups though are successful because the founders are passionate about the product they are building, rather than about building the company itself. The company is usually a by-product or side-effect of building the product, rather than the other way around.
I'm aware. I've started a company in school and my team is interviewing for this batch. The company came out of an idea for a product, and YC seems like a way to accelerate our growth.
At the end of the day I'm going to work on this but there are two scenarios, one where my parents approve of my life decisions and one where they don't. Even though I might not always agree with them I think that even failed startup founders (for reasons you mentioned) are more likely to start more companies because they have gained valuable experience.
Ok, first of all, Congrats on getting an interview!
Second of all, there are a lot of variables you should consider for this decision. If you've done any market research, you may be able to tell whether this is the optimal time to enter the market aggressively, or if you could bootstrap it for a couple more years and make a more aggressive move once you're out of school. The reason for this being, there are still a lot of valuable lessons to be gained at school.
That said, if you feel that now is the most appropriate time for your product to launch (there is demand, the market is educated in the sector) and delaying that launch could/would open up room for a competitor or competitors to saturate the market, then try not to be afraid to stand by your belief that this is right for you, difficult though that can be.
IF all the stars have aligned, you are confident in your product and your team and you get accepted to YC, I'd say go for it. The experience is incomparable, and an education can always be completed later and/or elsewhere. Building your own company is extremely education, and having Paul and Sam and the whole YC as mentors is indescribably invaluable.
This isn't actually true. The majority of successful applicants have not started companies in the past, and the vast majority of accepted applicants have not gone through YC in the past. YC is in fact a place for learning about how to build a company, given that you already know how to build a product. You see this reflected in the fact that YC will often accept smart "hacker" types that have never run companies (or even held leadership positions at all).
