In the startup world, accelerators and incubators are a hot topic. Pioneers Y Combinator and TechStars have mastered
the formula: Seed blue-chip teams with five- to six-figure investments, and provide heavyweight mentors and investor
hookups. But a new generation of copycats are stumbling. Insiders weigh in. BY AUS TIN CARR
ARE ACCELERATORS LOSING SPEED?
David Tisch
MANAGING DIREC TOR / TECHSTARS /
NE W YORK
RÉSUMÉ
Nearly 90% of startups that come out of
Tisch’s Tech Stars either reach profitability or raise venture capital. The accelerator’s portfolio companies have
raised a combined $200 million since the
program launched in 2006.
“The majority of accelerators are
not good for companies and will
fail. There are too many of them.
The idea of applying to just any accelerator is totally silly. A company
should do homework and figure
out which one is right for them.
Outside the vertical accelerators—
the ones that cover, say, health care
or energy—I would hesitate to do
any accelerator other than TechStars or Y Combinator. We have
proven results thanks to our alumni
network, investor network, and
mentor network. Why do I know
this works? It’s not because we’re
some new accelerator that opened
our doors yesterday, made up a list
of mentors, shoved it on a website,
and threw a demo day at the end. I
know it works because we’ve done
it before. And remember: Accelerators are not free! You’re giving away
a real amount of equity. So if an accelerator is charging more than
TechStars or Y Combinator, I would
ask why.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY RAYON RICHARDS
SEP TEMBER 2012 FASTCOMPANY.COM 51
