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.

An Interview With David Monkman, President And CEO, National Business Incubation Association (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-ninth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to David Monkman, president and CEO of the National Business Incubation Association.  Athens, Ohio–based NBIA is a trade association that services business incubation programs around the world. Founded in 1985, this non-profit organization today has about 2,000 individual members, representing about 1,000 organizations in 65 countries worldwide.

Irina: Hi, David. Where are you from?

I was born in Illinois, raised in the States. I lived in Northern California for about seven years. I lived in New York for a couple of years. I lived in London for a year, the Netherlands for a couple of years, South Africa for five years, Pakistan for three, and the rest in the States. >>>

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Revenue-Based Financing (RBF) For Entrepreneurs: Andy Sack, Co-Founder, RevenueLoan (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-eighth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Andy Sack, who is a co-founder of RevenueLoan, which gives entrepreneurs unrestricted capital for growth in return for a small percentage of future years’ revenues. In operation since mid-2010, the size of the fund is $6 million. Based in Seattle, RevenueLoan is focused on the Pacific Northwest.

Irina: Hi, Andy. Why don’t you start with your background and how you arrived at this point?

Andy: I’m a graduate of the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Sloan School [of Management]. Coming out of business school, I’ve been a serial technology entrepreneur since 1994. I’ve started a handful of companies – depending on how you count, four or five, and I had three successful and one unsuccessful exit.

[Andy was co-founder and CEO of Judy’s Book, a local search social network. Prior to founding Judy’s Book in 2004, Andy co-founded three successful Internet technology companies: Kefta, a provider of real-time customer interaction solutions (acquired in 2007 by Axciom); Abuzz, an enterprise knowledge management solution (acquired by New York Times Digital in 1999); and Firefly Network, an Internet company that pioneered internet personalization technologies (acquired by Microsoft). Andy also spent time as an entrepreneur-in-residence for SOFTBANK Venture Capital (now Mobius VC), where he founded and served on the board of three companies: BodyShop Digital, Quova, and Kefta.] >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Brian Cohen, Vice Chairman, New York Angels (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-seventh interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Brian Cohen, vice chairman of New York Angels. The group offers early stage capital in the range of $250,000 to $750,000. Since 1997, the group and members of their predecessor group have invested over $28 million in more than 65 companies.

Irina: Hi, Brian. Why don’t you start with your background and how you arrived at this point?

Brian: I guess, to some extent, if I wax a bit poetic here, I grew up in Brooklyn, and there’s an attitude, perhaps to some degree, about people who grow up in Brooklyn and New York City of being a bit more aggressive, being more opportunistic. When you grow up in Brooklyn, there’s a sense of wanting to get out of Brooklyn. The old history of Brooklyn is made up of a lot of very interesting people who like to create things. Perhaps there’s a bit of that Brooklyn DNA in me. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Saad Khan, Partner, CMEA Capital (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-sixth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Saad Khan, partner at CMEA Capital, a San Francisco–based venture firm. His focus is seed investing in early stage tech entrepreneurs.

Irina: Hi, Saad. Why don’t you briefly start with your background.

Saad: I went to Stanford, and I studied symbolic systems, which is a cross between linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and philosophy. So, things like computer interaction and artificial intelligence, and any kind of problem that deals with mapping machines onto the human mind and vice versa. >>>

Working Capital (Debt) Financing For Entrepreneurs: Heather Onstott, Director Of Small Business, LaunchCapital (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-fifth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Heather Onstott, director of small business at LaunchCapital, a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based seed investment firm with a twist. In addition to traditional seed-stage venture funding, they also offer a non-recourse blend of equity and debt financing up to $150,000, which is rather unusual in the VC world. >>>

Seed Capital: Jim Jaffe, CEO, National Association Of Seed And Venture Funds (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-fourth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Jim Jaffe, the CEO of the National Association of Seed and Venture Fund (NASVF).

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania–based NASVF is a global non-profit with over 600 individual members in 43 states and four countries that connects investors, economic development organizations, public and private funds, and tech transfer professionals. Its core mission is to advance formation of innovation capital programs and by doing so facilitate early stage entrepreneurship and job creation. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Kiki Tidwell, Board Member, Northwest Energy Angels (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-third interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Kiki Tidwell, an angel investor and board member of the Northwest Energy Angels, a membership organization of private investors who are interested in funding cleantech entrepreneurs. Founded in 2006 and based in Seattle, they’re investing in deals nationwide. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chris Rivera, Co-Founder, WINGS, The Washington Medical Technology Angel Network (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-second interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Chris Rivera, co-founder of WINGS, the Washington Medical Technology Angel Network. Based in Seattle, the group invests in medical devices, diagnostics and healthcare IT, primarily in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest, but they will review a high-potential deal from anywhere worldwide.

Chris also serves as president of the WBBA, the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association.  Both organizations, WINGS and the WBBA, focus on accelerating the translation of medical technology innovation from the lab bench to patients. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Brian Garrett, Co-Founder And Managing Director, Crosscut Ventures (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the forty-first interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Brian Garrett, who co-founded with a partner Crosscut Ventures, a Los Angeles–based seed stage venture capital firm in 2008. They invest purely in  digital media, such as social, mobile, gaming, infrastructure, and analytics, focusing primarily on companies in Southern California. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Anurag (Anu) Nigam, President, Sand Hill Angels (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the fortieth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Anurag (Anu) Nigam, president of Sand Hill Angels, which is an angel investing group in Silicon Valley with more than 60 members. Anu is also the founder and CEO of BuzzBox, a startup focusing on personalized news service. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Michael Gruber, Founder and Managing Director, Cornerstone Angels (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the thirty-ninth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking Michael Gruber, founder and managing director of Cornerstone Angels, a Chicago-based group of angels that seeks to provide financial capital and mentorship to early-stage companies in the greater Midwest. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Christina Brodbeck, Silicon Valley (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the thirty-eighth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Christina Brodbeck, a Silicon Valley angel investor and the co-founder of a soon-to-be-launched startup called TheIceBreak. Christina was part of the YouTube founding team. She designed YouTube’s first user interface and later was responsible for creating interface that brought YouTube videos to cell phones. She invests primarily in the Bay Area. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Mike Hirshland, General Partner, Polaris Ventures (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the thirty-seventh interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Mike Hirshland, General Partner at Polaris Ventures. The firm invests in seed, first round, and early stage technology and life science businesses. Headquartered in Boston, it has currently over $3 billion under management and investments in more than 100 companies, primarily in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Eric Pozzo, Fund Manager, Oregon Angel Fund (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the thirty-sixth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Eric Pozzo, fund manager at the Oregon Angel Fund. It is a professionally managed, investor-driven angel organization that launches a new $3 million fund each spring and invests in companies in Oregon and southwest Washington. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Venktesh Shukla, Chair, TiE Angels (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the thirty-fifth interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. I am talking to Venktesh Shukla, chair of TiE Angels.

TiE Angels is an angel investment group formed by charter members of TiE Silicon Valley, the flagship chapter of TiE organization globally.

TiE global is a not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship. It is spread across 55 chapters in 13 countries comprising 2,000 experienced entrepreneurs and business executives and 13,000 aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals as members.

TiE originally stood for The Indus Entrepreneurs, reflecting the South Asian background of the individuals who chartered the organization in 1992. Over time, TiE has come to represent Talent, Ideas and Enterprise, or The Innovative Ecosystems, through its activities and influences, lending a number of meanings to its acronym.

TiE Angels is a group of about 50 angel investors with approximate net worth of over $2 billion and investment focus on Northern California at the time of this interview.

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