The key issue I take away is the success rate: 1.25% and assuming that fact is accurate, I suggest the following: If the goal of your company is to be a billio

The key issue I take away is the success rate: 1.25% and assuming that fact is accurate, I suggest the following: If the goal of your company is to be a billion dollar business, then I would say that just applying for and getting into YC is enough, and you should not join YC. YC apparently is very good at picking winners, but not necessarily making winners--being selected by YC means you have a higher chance of of succeeding, but attending YC does not. However, I would expect that there are tangible and non-tangible benefits for going through YC that are not readily apparent when looking solely at becoming a billion-dollar business, and those would be the reason to join YC should they matter to your startup.