Value of Startup Accelerators (Why we attend) [Weekly Thoughts #2] — 2min
Find the introduction to this series
Originally written: Sep 4, 2020
Editing: None
Lucas’ Updated Notes: We in fact did attend all three accelerators here.
Value of Startup Accelerators (Why we attend)
I am currently applying to three accelerators:
- Google (which we accepted)
- Scaleup by Laziridis Institute in waterloo
- Biology at Endless Frontiers (NYU)
How valuable are accelerators and incubators? The truth is no one really knows. Unlike what you might see in the news or the startup ecosystem, I expect all of these programs to be of weakly positive value. With the exception of maybe YCombinator, most accelerators are of unknown value. The costs are almost exclusively my (and other attendees') time (sometimes some travel costs as well). And the benefits vary but can include:
Valuable Advice
If 10% of advice is valuable, that's a good incubator.
Most of it will be from people without context or knowledge of our stage/sector. I don’t think we have ever gotten useful technical advice from one of these programs though I hope that changes with google. We have gotten some useful strategic and industry advice.
Network and connections
Various programs have different types and structures for their mentors. Getting one good mentor out of a program can make the entire thing worth it. For example, in the San Francisco Canadian Technology Accelerator we had one mentor who had done BD in pharma and helped us with our discussions with one of our largest partners.
Marketing and FOMO
Particularly in the case of investors, these programs can help create a bit of an auction for fundraising. You get access to numerous investors simultaneously and they get to see the progress you make (hence hopefully incurring FOMO). It is efficient because of how concentrated the audience is.
As we get closer to needing to fundraise, I will be doing more activities like these. High risk (because you can get zero return), high reward (because you can get 1 lead investor or customer) activities.
