The Accelerator Conundrum: Navigating Your Path to Startup Success

Alright, let’s cut through the noise and get to the brutal truth of the startup accelerator world. Many entrepreneurs, starry-eyed and naive, leap headfirst into 3-month accelerator programs without truly understanding the long-term implications. It’s time for an incisive commentary, a necessary dissection.

1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Financing

Raising money to build a startup is a huge challenge. To be able to raise any money at all, you must first understand how investors think. We have developed the following courses catering to entrepreneurs in different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: AngelList Founder Naval Ravikant (Part 1)

Some of you have read my recent post AngelList, CapLink and Financing Marketplaces, in which I publicly supported the work Naval Ravikant and others are doing to increase liquidity in the seed capital portion of the market. Following that, Naval and I decided to sit down for a more comprehensive chat. Over the next several days, we will publish the interview here as part of the Seed Capital from Angel Investors series. >>>

Featured Videos

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Julia Rosen, Associate Vice-President For Innovation And Entrepreneurship, Arizona State University, Venture Catalyst At ASU — Scottsdale, Arizona (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Julia Rosen, associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship at Arizona State University about the Venture Catalyst program at ASU.

Irina: Hi, Julia. Let’s start with a brief overview.

Julia: The Venture Catalyst is the new entrepreneurial platform at Arizona State University that combines several previously separate programs. Our first program was launched in 2004. The Venture Catalyst is a broader platform than that first program, which focused on training entrepreneurs in the greater Phoenix area. It was not necessarily a physical place where people could come and learn and advance their ideas. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Kerry Rupp, Managing Partner, DreamIt Ventures – Philadelphia And New York City (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

I am talking to Kerry Rupp, managing partner at DreamIt Ventures, which is an intense three-month location-based program where entrepreneurs receive seed funding, mentoring and peer support, and introductions to potential investors and partners. DreamIt’s goal is not only to support entrepreneurs’ efforts but to truly challenge them to reduce key risks, prove their customer segmentation, and develop strong revenue models and customer acquisition strategies. Founded in 2008, DreamIt currently runs two sessions a year, in New York City in the summer and Philadelphia in the fall. >>>

Seed Capital: Mark Solon, Co-Founder And Managing Partner, Highway 12 Ventures — Boise, Idaho (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Mark Solon, co-founder and managing partner of Highway 12 Ventures, which is a $75 million venture fund in Boise, Idaho. Highway 12 invests in high-growth start-up companies in the Intermountain West. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion, TechTown — Detroit, Michigan (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Praveen Karoshi

I am talking to Ebony Johnson, Entrepreneurial Programs Champion at TechTown, Detroit’s research and technology park. TechTown was established in 2000 by Wayne State University, General Motors, and the Henry Ford Health System with focus on emerging high-technology industries including advanced engineering, life sciences and alternative energy. The 12-block park includes TechOne, the 100,000-square-foot business incubator facility, which now hosts 70 growing companies. >>>

Business Incubator Series: Interview With Ken Kousky, CEO, MidMichigan Innovation Center, Midland, Michigan (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Ken Kousky, CEO of MidMichigan Innovation Center, which is a privately funded, nonprofit organization working to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses in central Michigan. MMIC operates a 112,000 square foot business incubator with significant support from The Dow Chemical Company. The center operates with minimal staff and uses resources from around the region to create collaborative partnerships for the benefit of its tenants, virtual members, and aspiring entrepreneurs. >>>

Business Incubator Series: An Interview With Paul Bragiel, Managing Partner, i/o Ventures, San Francisco, California (Part 1)

By guest author Irina Patterson and Mridula Velagapudi

I am talking to Paul Bragiel, managing partner of i/o Ventures, which is a three-month accelerator program for technology entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. The partners of i/o Ventures come from companies like MySpace and BitTorrent, and their mentors are from Yelp, Digg, Mint, Mochi Media, and OpenDNS. They invest up to $25,000 if a startup is selected, and in return for the investment and mentorship, i/o Ventures usually gets 8% of the company in common stock. >>>

Business Incubator Series: An Interview With David Cohen, Founder And CEO, Startup Accelerator TechStars – Boulder, Colorado (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to David Cohen, the founder and CEO of TechStars.

Irina: Hi, David. Let’s start with a brief overview.

David: I’m the founder and CEO of TechStars, which is a mentorship-driven startup accelerator for Internet companies. Tech Stars funds 10 companies at a time in each of four cities each year. The cities are New York, Boston, Seattle, and Boulder. The mentorship program is three months long. At the end of the program, the companies get to pitch their ideas to investors. About 70 percent of the companies go on to raise outside capital after the program. >>>

AngelList, CapLinked, And Financing Marketplaces

AngelList has been generating  a lot of buzz recently. Today, Business Insider has a piece claiming that they are scaring VCs to death. Really? I have a hard time believing that! In any case, I thought this would be a good time to give readers my perspective on AngelList, as well as other fund raising services that are coming into the market like CapLinked, which has recently raised money from star investors like Peter Thiel. Other related services are SecondMarket, Kickstarter, ProFounder and Invested.In, the latter three specifically focused on crowd funding (not CapLinked’s approach), while the first is more of a brokerage.

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Business Incubator Series: An Interview With Dr. Tom O’Neal, Executive Director, University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program — Orlando, Florida (Part 1)

By guest author Irina Patterson and Mridula Velagapudi

I am talking to Tom O’Neal, executive director of the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program which is a University-driven community partnership that provides training, infrastructure, and professional services for entrepreneurs in central Florida. >>>

1M/1M: VCs, Angels, Incubators, Accelerators – What WE Do With Your Rejects

Last week I wrote the post VCs, Angels, Incubators, Accelerators – What Are You Doing With Your Rejects? following which I had a number of significant private discussions which I curate here for the benefit of others who have the same kinds of questions. Overall, I think it will help the ecosystem better understand how we simply supplement existing resources and add value. Existing resources include incubators, accelerators, financing marketplaces like AngelList, and of course VCs and angels. >>>

Business Incubator Series: An Interview With Skip Simms, President And CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK — Ann Arbor, Michigan (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Skip Simms, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, a nonprofit business development consortium in Michigan that works in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the state’s economic development agency, to help early-stage entrepreneurs and growing companies. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Tim Cartwright, Chairman, Tamiami Angel Fund – Naples, Florida (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Tim Cartwright, chairman of the Tamiami Angel Fund. Created in October 2010 in Naples, Florida, this member-owned and -operated fund, offers early-stage capital in the range of $250,000–$750,000 to high-growth companies located anywhere in the state of Florida. There are 30 investors in the fund, who each put in $50,000. Tamiami Fund is the first angel fund for southwest Florida. >>>

Business Incubator Series: An Interview With Chris Heivly, Executive Director, LaunchBox Digital (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

I am talking to Chris Heivly, executive director of LaunchBox Digital, an accelerator program for  entrepreneurs based in Durham, North Carolina. The program structure and workings are similar to Y Combinator and TechStars. >>>

An Interview With Debera Johnson, Founder And Executive Director, Pratt Design Incubator For Sustainable Innovation (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Today I am talking to Debera Johnson, founder and executive director of the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation. The incubator is a part of the Center for Sustainable Design Studies at Pratt Institute, which is an art, design, and architecture college in New York City.  Since its inception in 2002, the incubator has supported the launch of 15 companies, of which 12 are still in business. In 2010, its companies generated more than $4.2 in revenue and are currently employing 36 employees. >>>