1M/1M: How We Differ From YCombinator
We are getting this question often: How does 1M/1M differ from YCombinator and other accelerators and incubators? Here is the answer:
First, 1M/1M doesn’t reject anybody. If you want to use the program to learn entrepreneurship, you can. YCombinator and almost all other accelerators are extremely selective and investment oriented. They work only on companies that are investment-worthy in their assessment. And they invest in and take equity in a small group of companies, and reject the rest.
Also, 1M/1M doesn’t invest in companies. We help companies become investment-worthy, or even develop strategies such that they can build sustainable businesses without any need for external investment, by connecting them to customers and channel partners. Overall, we believe customer financing – meaning, revenues – is better than equity or debt. Our focus is to delay your financing and help you to build value and valuation, rather than have you give up large chunks of equity upfront for little money.
In addition, YCombinator requires that you move to Silicon Valley to be on location. We are a 100% virtual program.
Our business models are different. The investment-oriented incubators typically do not charge a fee to join, but they always take equity against a small investment (or no investment, just services). We charge a $1,000 annual membership fee for the premium program, but we do not take any equity. In addition, when I get involved in negotiating business development deals actively, I do revenue sharing arrangements. [See: Alternative Financing Using a Channel Partner]
If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask here, and I will clarify further. Also, please take a look at this FAQ on the 1M/1M site.
This segment is a part in the series : 1M/1M
. An Interview With Wayne Hurlbert . Ambassador Program . Ambassadors Finalized . Internships . Does It Need A Bank? . Receivables Financing . Entrepreneurs, What Do You Need? . Entrepreneur Grant Harris On CNN . Facebook Cause . Need Twitter Help . Rural America's Outsourcing Potential . Local E-business Joins Global Effort To Boost Economy . Oct 6 Video Conference . Alternative Financing For Startups Using A Sales Channel Partner . A Policy Suggestion To President Obama . How We Differ From YCombinator . VCs, Angels, Incubators, Accelerators - What Are You Doing With Your Rejects? . VCs, Angels, Incubators, Accelerators - What WE Do With Your Rejects . Outsourcing Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . Cloud Computing Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . Web 3.0 & E-Commerce Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . Vision India 2020 Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . Mobile and Social Apps Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . Healthcare IT Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . Online Education Module Of The Curriculum Is Ready . The Entrepreneurship Curriculum . How We Will Interface With AngelList . Video Message Based On Recent Talks . Affiliate Network For Entrepreneurship Blogs . Corporate Sponsors, Affiliates, Incubators - Business Models for Partnerships . OrangeScape Wins TiE50 . Message To Incubators . Self-Assessment Tool . Premium Member FreshDesk Wins Microsoft India Startup Challenge
Interesting business model, win win situation for everybody, especially helpful for non – US startups and also to the ones which have less access to mentoring resources.
[...] I close today’s recap, I want to point readers to a blog post from last week explaining how 1M/1M differs from YCombinator and other such programs. It’s a question that we’re getting often, so I felt that it would be worthwhile to discuss it [...]