You'd think a site called YC Universe would actually know about YC. The $20,000 is absolutely not meant to last a year. It's meant to last a summer, only enoug

You'd think a site called YC Universe would actually know about YC. The $20,000 is absolutely not meant to last a year. It's meant to last a summer, only enough time until the startup can raise their first round which should ideally be the end of the summer. Maybe a bit after if they're having difficulty. Any startup trying to survive for a year on $20k has already failed. Also, from a linked article, this gem: [1] > The terms originally made sense because YC was unproven and only funding eight companies at a time. Almost ten years later, Y Combinator has turned into a semi-annual factory of 50 companies... That's precisely why terms can stay this way. Funds with less of a reputation and track record have to kick in more money, not less, because they bring less to the table without it. A VC like YC could effectively give $0 and probably still be worth the 7% for the connections/track record alone. 1: http://ycuniverse.com/y-combinator-companies-potentially-worth-13-7-billion-new-investments-still-get-same-low-offers-since-2005 http://ycuniverse.com/y-combinator-companies-potentially-wor...