People do this because they want to earn equity and build a business from scratch. That's how wealth is built from nothing in a capitalist society. The situati

People do this because they want to earn equity and build a business from scratch. That's how wealth is built from nothing in a capitalist society. The situation is that YC helps engineers and designers and product people build something from scratch and own it, instead of working for other people. The correct analogy would be actors who own the studio who are trying to make the next Disney. They get to act and own the means of production at the same time.