But are you giving away control by giving YC 7%? YC isn't a traditional investor. You don't need to raise money on demo day and are free to go back to being a small business that puts profit before growth. YC isn't going to send you an angry email or frankly even remember you if you don't stay in touch and continue to do office hours.

Perhaps not. Maybe the contacts you will recieve and the amount of money is enough to help you bootstrap stuff faster.

I have never actually started a company myself, so I wouldn't know. I just think I would be extremely satisfied if I could sustain myself without any investor money.

Seems like a better way to grow in my mind, if you're not aiming to be a billion dollar company anytime soon.