This article could just as easily be "why you should not try to be a rock star", or "why you should not try to be a college professor". Both are non-ergodic pursuits where the chance of success is low and the expected financial ROI across all aspirants is negative. Coincidentally, I've done both and failed at both and I don't regret either one.
But contrary to the article, I did get valuable non-financial rewards from these experiences. I wouldn't trade my rock-band experiences for anything. Twenty-five years have passed since the last time I seriously got on stage with my guitar, but my old bandmates are still my closest friends. My PhD taught me so much about how to tackle big ambiguous problems, how to think deeply about things, how to be patient when clarity comes slowly, and how to drag a hard painful project over the finish line. I also made career contacts that were invaluable later.
It sounds to me like YC might be worth trying once, especially for a young person, and when you get to the point where you have to pivot, you should take what you've learned and bail. If the terms of the agreement make that impossible, then maybe it is a bad deal.
But contrary to the article, I did get valuable non-financial rewards from these experiences. I wouldn't trade my rock-band experiences for anything. Twenty-five years have passed since the last time I seriously got on stage with my guitar, but my old bandmates are still my closest friends. My PhD taught me so much about how to tackle big ambiguous problems, how to think deeply about things, how to be patient when clarity comes slowly, and how to drag a hard painful project over the finish line. I also made career contacts that were invaluable later.
It sounds to me like YC might be worth trying once, especially for a young person, and when you get to the point where you have to pivot, you should take what you've learned and bail. If the terms of the agreement make that impossible, then maybe it is a bad deal.