We're (TicketStumbler) a pretty good example of a startup that hasn't really been affected by being a YC company. [1] I did YC because it seemed interesting an

We're (TicketStumbler) a pretty good example of a startup that hasn't really been affected by being a YC company. [1] I did YC because it seemed interesting and I needed a good excuse to quit my job. [2] Tom was bored and wanted to get out of Ohio. When we launched on Techcrunch, we were met with widespread apathy. Techcrunch readers, by and large, weren't our target market and didn't give two shits about a ticket site. We expected this to happen, and it was still cool to be featured on Techcrunch anyways :). We weren't creating a new platform or becoming the next facebook - we were just solving a simple problem (finding tickets). The investors we met with didn't care that we were with YC (many didn't even know), they cared that we were making money in an expanding market. Also, our most targeted/best traffic has been from places that didn't know/didn't care who YC was (e.g. Ticketnews.com, Thrillist). Same situation for our users. Finally, as Paul alluded to, the YC name can only do so much for you, if you don't have a good product none of it matters. [1] - I'm only talking about the YC brand name/credentials, not the program itself, which certainly had a positive impact on TicketStumbler. [2] - When much of your family lives in Detroit and has been recently or is, unemployed, it's difficult to say your ditching a cushie 60k per year job to do a startup. Having "backing" makes it much easier.