To accelerate or not accelerate? That is the question.
Things are getting overheated when concepts transfer into another realm.
And so it is with accelerators.
Today I came across an accelerator launch designed “to break the booze cycle and stop you drinking too much” at Academy Xi in Sydney. That begs the question, what is an accelerator? According to Susan Cohen, accelerators are a “fixed-term, cohort-based program that include seed investment, connections, mentorship, educational components, and culminate in a public pitch event or demo day to accelerate growth.”
What’s missing from this (and most) definitions is anything about creating a viable business. And by that, I mean one that will generate an income from, wait for it, drum roll. . . customers!
I guess it’s become my mantra. Instead of selling your idea short by giving away equity and learning how to pitch to investors (which seems remarkably expensive), spend your time finding customers who’ll give you money with no strings attached (which is remarkably cheap).
I call it Lean Commercialisation.
The nice thing is that I’m finding more sensible people are starting to say the same thing: customers first.
Co-founder & President of Ontogo Vascular Inc.
5 年Well said Brian!
Documentary Filmmaker
5 年Well said
Business Analyst, Manager, Strategist, Problem Solver, Cross Industry experience
6 年I agree 100%. I've often wondered wether an accelerator is truly teaching business principles i.e cashflow from customers or just how to raise funds from investors.
Director, Executive, COO Denteric,
6 年I'm currently working with SBE Australia who run a number of Accelerator programs for female founders at different stages of being a start up in tech or life sciences. To them its about connecting founders with the human or financial capital to help them accelerate faster than they would have on their own. Yes there is a bootcamp, yes there is first class mentoring. But ultimately its up to the founder to put in the grunt work and leverage off this to accelerate their business. No accelerator program can guarantee success, even with equity invested.
Translating scientific knowledge into applications and building businesses
6 年I think that strategic partnerships don't get enough attention, and without connecting to people who understand "fit" - creating a mutually-beneficial value for each party - early stage companies often have nowhere to go. Large established companies today are facing challenges from lean and nimble start-ups. I like the approach of co-developing products and services with established companies, sharing their resources and providing innovation by which capital is invested into the projects instead of for taking an equity stake.