There were a lot of questions and concerns about this (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2380567) in the original post on why LSVP gives away money, office space, etc. in exchange for no equity. John Vronis - who runs the program gives a really good explanation of this here.
John is honestly a great guy and we had an excellent experience with the program. I'd highly recommend Lightspeed for anyone looking for an alternative to the summer incubator route (though it's important to be aware that, as John states in the blog post, it's NOT an incubator.)
I did the program last summer and John was our team's mentor. He was really helpful in brainstorming idea and mentoring. We had a really good experience!
John is incredibly helpful and smart. He takes a risk offering the program without any guaranteed upside for himself or Lightspeed. Genuinely generous.
There's an office building right next to LSVP's offices, and they have an entire suite there that the teams use. It's actually a great space, although when we were there the AC was off during nights/weekends.
