[shmatt]

I dont know the reasoning behind this comment, but YC isn't a charity. The investment was made with the hopes of making 100x return without customers paying fees. Obviously there are other cashflows in play

[mguerville]

Or the investment was made under the assumption the business model to gain traction isn't the same as the future one that generates cash flow. Plenty of company start with a free or cheap product then up their pricing once the value is proven and there's a percentage of their users that fears the switching costs

[is_true]

Maybe they are expecting for an exit from a company buying them and then raising fees