Financially, having the option to do X has a certain value, even if on average X isn't valuable. (If X has volatility)
Startups has a certain risk characteristic that is different that what you can find on the public equity market. Theoretically, an efficient market should dish out higher reward to compensate for higher risk and poor liquidity of investing in startups. It may be beneficial to individuals to use startups to diversify their overall portfolio.
Startups in general might not be a great investment. The subset of all YC startups might be.
Researching and investing in startups is fun and educational.
Financially, having the option to do X has a certain value, even if on average X isn't valuable. (If X has volatility)
Startups has a certain risk characteristic that is different that what you can find on the public equity market. Theoretically, an efficient market should dish out higher reward to compensate for higher risk and poor liquidity of investing in startups. It may be beneficial to individuals to use startups to diversify their overall portfolio.
Startups in general might not be a great investment. The subset of all YC startups might be.
Researching and investing in startups is fun and educational.