Considering that the entrepreneur wave is at an all-time high the world over, the ecosystem too has been responding positively to keep up the tempo and give the rising trend a further boost. The fact remains that a majority of startups that are launched fail to survive past the crucial first year and the ‘great idea’ often dies with it. To better their chances of succeeding in the long run, they need handholding at various levels. They require mentorship and understanding of the business which can help them scale up. And to get the necessary support, they now have angel networks, mentors/advisors and accelerators/incubators to count on.
Accelerators and incubators offer mentorship, capital, seed funding, tech, infrastructural support and everything else they need to build a strong and lasting foundation. Though both accelerators and incubators serve as enablers for the startup ecosystem, it is important to understand how they differ from each other, so you know which way to go when you reach out for the necessary support.
A business incubator mentors and fosters a company completely in its initial stage by offering office space, business skill training, professional expertise and financial help; essentially offering the necessary advice and infrastructure for the business to stand on its own.
On the other hand, an accelerator play a pivotal role post incubation and pre-VC funding to enable the startups to build scalability and healthy business metrics. Just like guiding a teenager is the most trying period for any parent, similarly, this stage is very crucial as most new ventures get stuck in the trenches of day-to-day operations and the need for guidance is far from over. In the midst of all the hustle-bustle, drawing up long term strategic plans (that are extremely critical to give a clear direction to the business), takes a backseat. Here’s where an accelerator comes into the picture. Its pursuit is to grow the size and value of a company as fast as possible, and prepare it for the initial round of funding.
Apart from this, the amount of time a company spends in an incubation program can vary widely, depending on a number of factors, but the period is generally longer as compared to an accelerator program, which typically ranges from a few months to a maximum of 1 year. So, while incubators essentially jump start your business and then kick you out of the nest; accelerator programs are more intensive and aim for the startup to raise venture capital fund at the end of the program and therefore, entrepreneurs who adopt this program for their company should understand that it will demand aggressiveness not only from them but also from their teams.
Published on Inc42
