Especially when travel costs $400+ for flight alone. I know it’s great opportunity to meet other startup people and some YC members, but how much meaningful contact can you have in a few hours?
Don’t know how many people were selected but the venue is a 2100-seat theater.
Dang, no answers? Would really like to know, too.
I guess it really depends on what you're hoping to get out of it. If you're founding a startup you might make a connection or two but don't expect to pickup a funding check or anything. You'd probably get more beneficial information out of a private mentor session. It's more like attending an intro to startup class with 2,000 other entrepreneurs and hearing some funny anecdotes from successful people. Most valuable takeaway you can hope for is some form of strategic alliance or possible JV opportunity with another entrepreneur while networking after the main presentations. You can get just as much out of going through Sir Richard Branson's tweets and articles about what he learned from his startup mistakes. I'm sure some people might be mad that I don't find Y combinator that valuable but it is what it is. Tell you what, Tweet me @hookemgriff if you'd like some customized advice and I'd be happy to provide you with some free coaching that would probably help you more than Ycombinator.
They'll be livestreaming the talks on their site -- so I'd recommend you check them out there. And I'm not sure where you're from, but they're also doing their Startup School event in London (July 26) and in Silicon Valley (October 11).
I went to San Francisco about 6 months ago for Startup School. I thought it was a unique experience. I wasn't perusing my start up full time and could have positioned myself better. But overall, it was an amazing experience filled with so much positive energy. Everyone has a startup.