How startup accelerators can take your business to the next level
There are quite a few ways for startups looking to bolster their early game success, with a popular option being through startup accelerators. While similar to incubators and angel investors, startup accelerators do offer some unique offerings that might make it the best option for you and your budding team.
With more than 170 accelerators in the US alone, larger accelerators can receive five to six thousand applications per class, making it a competitive field when trying to differentiate yourself from your fellow applicants. It’s a very active field, which can make the whole process seem overwhelming, but in a way, that’s exactly what these organizations are for, helping the process of creation.
Before you even really get to the steps of choosing accelerators to apply for, you need to evaluate what you have and ask yourself a couple questions.
One,
does my startup actually need to be accelerated
and two,
which accelerators fit my needs?
For the first question, it can be a bit tough to describe but you should basically be looking for a couple of key factors. Do you need the guidance or does your team possess all of the members necessary to cover the vast array of assets you’ll need in order to bring success to the business? For many teams, this cannot be feasible, so accelerators can help fill in some of the knowledge and experience needed. If you’re only in need of funds, a startup accelerator is most likely not the best choice, either. Accelerators usually run for a small time frame, so if you’re looking for long term guidance and expertise, an more traditional advisor experience may be more desirable.
For the second part, many of the questions you asked yourself above will be how you should go about finding the accelerator that could be the best benefit to your vision. Find the right type of accelerator for your not only your sector, but for what you are missing. Different accelerators go for varying lengths of time, you’ll also need to make sure this works for you.
Accelerators work both ways, however, and you will need to keep that in mind. They do not simply provide charity, as they have certain expectations and requirements, as well.
Plug And Play Visit
Last week, I had a chance to visit one of the most legendary accelerators in Silicon Valley, Plug And Play. While there, I had the chance to speak with Neda Amidi, Investment Director, and she pointed out some important factors that accelerators looks at when determining what startups they will work with:
- Team and founder’s background (universities they went to)
- How unique is the technology?
- Traction
I’ve actually posted the full tour here —
How does the whole acceleration process benefits the startup?
There was so much good information to take away from during my time at Plug and Play Tech Center, but three of the main things I personally found to be most interesting:
- Accelerators have access to large companies. Moreover, accelerators like Plug And Play mix startups with large companies in one large office space in Sunnyvale. Bumping into prospective clients in the same building is a good way to start a dialog.
- Investor introductions. There is a large network of investors around any accelerator. They come to demo days, they read about the latest investor batches in the media. There’s a high chance that you will harvest the next round through accelerator networking.
- Networking with fellow startups. There are frequent opportunities to pitch, fine-tune, then pitch some more. The audience ranges from other startup founders, to mentors, to strategic investors, to a conference stage with 200 attendees.
My name is Savva Osipov, me and my dad are working on a Kickstarter campaign for the gaming console project, WOWCube. If you are interested in learning more and being kept up-to-date, subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on Facebook.
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