To be honest, I think it's pretty short sighted to think that attending YC equates "scrounging for the YC chump change". This comes up every so often, and I think it's been essentially agreed upon that very few (if any) people attend YC for the money. They do it for the alumni/connections/mentoring/advice network.

YC isn't about money, it's about the relationships and the network of YC alumni and the prominent angels and VCs who show up at demo day.

I've never thought of the money as the major selling point of YC.