I think a larger amount would definitely have convinced me to apply to YC, but 150K is waaaay more than I'd need. My issue is that I'm not 19 and I have a high cost of living--I don't fit either profile.
My real problem is that they, and other incubators to an even greater extent, have cultivated a hippy atmosphere where scraping by on peanuts is glorified and everyone drones on with a humorless "I'm not in it for the money." Pass.
* continued exponential growth in income
* released an iPhone game
* began my first start-up, learned how green we are in our first pitch to potential investors, fired a partner
* got better at math
* got really into machine learning