Tim Wut from TechZulu did a wonderful recap of our “Accelerator & Incubator” event. Check it out…
So you have a startup idea, perhaps some level of execution or traction, but you or your co-founders are doing it blind; you trudge along with a little advice or knowledge you’ve picked up in torrented audio books after finally having made that decision to quit the 9-5. You continue to build your venture as lean as possible and hit a personal make it or break it point with a couple of unsuccessful investor meetings and very little guidance. So what’s the next step? You have faith in your idea and your company but the littlest things are occupying the biggest blocks of your time and you feel like you’re getting tunnel vision.
Every entrepreneur at some point has probably felt like this and asked themselves the question: “now what?” Perhaps it is time to seek some funding, but how do you get advice from the same people that you’ll need money from? Perhaps you have been paying developers and really need more solid legal advice to keep things running smoothly. Well, perhaps it’s time to consider an incubator/accelerator program: Programs like Silicon Valleys’ Y Combinator which essentially put entrepreneurs through a 3+ month startup boot camp. These programs offer everything from mentorship meetings to collaborative work spaces to pre-scheduled investor sessions and pitch presentations. Great benefits and a no brainer for your ‘next big thing’ idea right? But big surprise, now your old questions are replaced with new ones. How do you apply for these programs? What criteria do you need to hit in order to qualify? What’s the working process like, is it even worth the time? etc. etc. etc.
Courtesy of upStart.LA, our very own local accelerator based out of Santa Monica, we were able to get some of these questions answered by some very real people. To a room of a couple hundred, they hosted a panel of four accelerator program alumni that went through the gauntlets of well known incubators and came out with stronger companies… Read more
Also, you can watch the video of the entire event…
