If you a startup building a product getting into the right startup accelerator would be one of the smartest moves you make simply because it helps you jump across the typical hurdles every startup faces.
Being at one of the best startup accelerators in Europe @ GammaRebels I am providing a real time preview of the advantages.
1. Seed money is the first step towards validation
Seed finance is the hardest form of financing simply because the risk involved is the highest. Being accepted into an accelerator program and getting the seed money that’ part of the deal is the first validation that theres an audience interested in your startup apart from the team itself.
2. co-working is great
Its amazing what a group of start-ups can achieve together and being plugged in to a pool of resources certainly helps E.g. we spent days trying to fix a CSS issue till one of our co-working colleges did it for us
3. free rent is a big bonus
You save a huge amount of money, enough said
4. Mentors
A good startup accelerator would have a fantastic set of mentors who can make a big difference to the success of your startup.
5. Access to a small but significant user base
Do a closed alpha first with your peers in the program and accept positive criticism. You would realize how far you are from impressing the customer.
6. Business Development
During our mentoring session a few mentors saw synergies with what we do and the services offered by their organizations, it was all about giving an their enormous existing user base a value add. This opened up doors at www.wp.pl , One of Polands largest online portals T-mobile Poland, PayPal Europe, Xing and others.
The doors are open and it’s up to us and the quality of our service to make these relationships happen. If we were not in the GammaRebels program it would take us years to even get to the front door.
7. Exposure in digital media
We got covered by TheNextWeb, ReadWriteWeb, MAM Startup, Antyweb etc
8. Build the product with user feedback & new ideas
This is one of the biggest advantages as your mentors, peers and other experts are there to give you constant feedback on your product, new ideas and better ways towards monetization.
9. The Pitch
It is all about getting your pitch right even to understand your own business better. The Pitch is not about how you convey what your business does; it’s about formulating it in a way that customers understand, subscribe and eventually buy into the value proposition.
At a startup accelerator you practise your pitch almost everyday
10. Investor contacts & getting funded
Your product has to be great, it’s obvious but most investors invest in start-ups whose founders they know and get to like and this is usually a 4-5 years relationship building process and this process is fast-tracked at a startup accelerator. Your chances of raising finance are much-much higher being in a startup accelerator program.
About Author: Ashwin Bhambri is a startup founder from India relocated to Warsawe, Poland. He is part of the GammaRebels startup accelerator program and Founder of Resmesh.
