Incubators🔗

Incubators, as the name suggests, are for startups in their infancy that need a little nurturing to fully form and be ready to take steps. They tend to be specialised to support the ideation phase, sometimes even before a formal company is set up, especially in the case of university spinouts, for example. There is a heavy focus on intellectual property (IP) – that has or is being created – to try to establish if there is a market for said IP, if it needs to be productised and so on. The nurturing comes with lots of hands-on support from mentors and peer-networks, and they are often quite unstructured and centred around a shared space that the incubated ideas co-habit within. These are brilliant places for new ideas to percolate, gain traction, ad build early engagement with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and critical mentors.

Bootcamps🔗

I don’t tend to come across many of these in the North. ‘Accelerator’ as a descriptor is used quite liberally, but perhaps, to my earlier point on ecosystem development, there is further delineation to come when it comes to a separation of the two and a clearer distinction on offerings. As the name suggests, bootcamps are focused upon specific skills or topics that trouble early-stage founders who may be quite new to the ecosystem as a whole. Key topics might be fundraising or scaling quickly, and so they have a broad appeal for startups across multiple sectors. They are short, sharp, and structured.

Accelerator🔗

An accelerator is generally a programme of fixed duration and scope taking on batches of companies, sometimes multiple times a year, that have already developed an MVP (minimum viable product). They tend to have slightly longer yet intensive programmes with workstreams that focus on key challenges faced by startups – usually but not always linked to the sort of roadblocks that can inhibit access to investment. To that point, they usually also involve some element of investor engagement through 1-2-1s, pitching, and matchmaking. Accelerators vary in volume, and depending on who is running it, can have differing objectives for success measures that startups should be mindful of and use to their advantage. For example, if the accelerator is based within a particular tech or geographical cluster, it could be a great opportunity to build a network in a new place and find early adopters for your product or service. Alternatively, a more generalist appeal could be a great way to build networks quickly from scratch across a broader spectrum.

Are they worthwhile?🔗

You can probably tell that there is a maturity in progression from one to the other. Founders at the incubator stage are often in their infancy and have yet to define a market. At the other end of the scale, founders partaking in accelerators are more likely exploring investment and generally have an established market they are seeking to expand in – with the support of better insights and knowledge and investment.

Startups tend to cycle through multiple accelerators or bootcamps that are designed to suit their sector focus, or a particular challenge e.g. entry into a new market. But as with all things, quality varies. Without an underlying strategy or a discerning eye, a founder could invest their highly-valuable time into something that adds little to no value to the business at best, or at worst serves as a distraction from the overarching goal.

This is probably one of the questions I get asked most by early-stage founders who are likely flattered by offers to join X or Y, or overwhelmed by the choice of where to go next on their journey.

My response is always a variation of, “What are the challenges your business is facing right now?” and “Can this programme help you to tackle that?”

Be honest about why you’re doing something. I would adhere to the maxim of quality over quantity here, and remain laser focussed on outputs. Consider that time is the most valuable resource to an entrepreneur (because time is money after all!), so how much time commitment do you need to give it to get the most out of it? Is that time you have? Or is it just to get the free office space for six months?

Going and sitting in an accelerator is great, but is it going to distract you from building your product? Will it support you in meeting investors you otherwise wouldn’t meet, or could you have managed that investor interaction via other means, such as a warm introduction or approaching at a networking event?

Be mindful of how it might appear outwardly to the ecosystem, too. If you’re popping up here, there and everywhere, it can appear unfocused and messy. Investors do take note of ecosystems on their doorstep. And if you’ve been rattling around the same sort of spaces for 12 months and haven’t made any discernible progress, it can come back to bite you.