Gained great traction and received funding from a top tier angel a month ago. Thanks for asking - it is an interesting thought experiment to look back and consider "alternative" futures.
Because we did not get into YC, we were able to iterate freely on a big idea and get to where we are right now. But we took longer than expected in a much more painful way.
My sense is that if we did get into YC, we would have a much easier time, but probably would have settled on a smaller goal.
Is it possible your smaller goal was the very reason why you did not get into YC?
So to further your thought experiment, you may only have gotten into YC if you agreed to make your goal bigger, you would have had an easier time, and your startup would have been sold for hundreds of millions of dollars by now..
Because we did not get into YC, we were able to iterate freely on a big idea and get to where we are right now. But we took longer than expected in a much more painful way.
My sense is that if we did get into YC, we would have a much easier time, but probably would have settled on a smaller goal.
Worth pondering over.