Yeah, this is just the VC-backed model, not specific to YC. The reality is that for startups that choose to go this route, if you can't raise then you're dead.

Yeah, this is just the VC-backed model, not specific to YC. The reality is that for startups that choose to go this route, if you can't raise then you're dead. Happened to the last company I worked at. It's not great (though the flipside is that if you do succeed, you're able to scale quickly), but tough to judge the founders for optimizing for the thing they need to keep the lights on.