We were in a similar spot, and applied and got through to interview stage twice, once in 2013 and once again in 2015. We went to the interview in 2013 and didn't make it, and we had reasons to not follow through in 2015.

Everyone I have talked to who went to YC said it was great. They've accepted older/mature companies in the past (Quora as an extreme example), who have joined purely for the network and the mentorship.

We decided not to go with it for a few reasons:

* Over the years we had gathered a couple of angels in the cap table. And YC was unlikely to budge from their $120k@5m terms for us, which would have ruffled some feathers from the others.

* We'd outgrown (ie us cofounders as individuals) the "hustle or die for my startup" mentality -- being a profitable business where we make our own rules was nice and valuable and we are extremely happy with it. We don't want to live as the stars of a Silicon Valley episode, it's nice watching from the sidelines in a profitable, fun business.

* I did not have a US visa at the time and it would have been a logistical nightmare to colocate with my team in Mountain View, which is (was?) non-negotiable to YC. Americans underestimate how much of a showstopper immigration to their country can be.

>* I did not have a US visa at the time and it would have been a logistical nightmare to colocate with my team in Mountain View, which is (was?) non-negotiable to YC. Americans underestimate how much of a showstopper immigration to their country can be.

A very valid point that you bring up and it's not even to do with the current political climate.

My co-founder left US and moved to Australia with me. There are plenty of people like him (and even my wife) who are pretty adamant to not even visit US, even for a day.

We used to live in Brooklyn and the number of times we saw/heard gun violence is staggering.

Once you get used to the ultra-safe communities like EU/Australia/Canada you can just wonder why would you even think about visiting US risking your life and your families life?

> Once you get used to the ultra-safe communities like EU/Australia/Canada you can just wonder why would you even think about visiting US risking your life and your families life?

This is why I love Waterloo, Ontario. You can walk around the sketchiest allies at 2 am in the morning and feel safe.