Is $5k really worth 5%?
apinstein: Your question is nonsense.I'll assume for a moment that you are presently a "good software developer contractor" and you currently gross "$10k" a month.Given that, $10k a month is your opportunity cost for doing something else, for instance, doing a startup.That fact has little to do with your question "is ycombinator worth 5% of my biz for ~$15k"?If you want to do a startup, then you'll be giving up your $10k a month to build something that scales beyond your time. I recommend doing this, if you have the risk-tolerance for doing a startup.IFF you decide to do a startup, THEN you have to decide how to fund it. YCombinator offers your team ~$20k for 5% of the company to kick off your startup efforts. Plus, they offer you the "prestige and access" you'll get due to YCombinator. The alternative is bootstrapping, or "normal" funding channels.From what I know about YCombinator, it's definitely an outstanding opportunity if you can get your idea accepted. If you're young and inexperienced and mobile, do it.Alan