A recent PitchBook study that surveyed founders from top accelerators found that they are generally interested in just three things:
- Learning how to operate a startup
- Networking with potential customers
- Getting warm intros to VCs
But now that so many venture capital firms provide these services — along with marketing boot camps, personal coaching, founder/investor retreats and other value-adding activities — is getting accepted into an accelerator still as important as it once was?
“Starting a tech company today costs 99% less than it did 18 years ago when Y Combinator was started,” says Brett Calhoun, managing director and general partner at Redbud VC.
As a result, he says the accelerator model must evolve, as “nearly every early-stage VC will have a ‘platform’ component to support early-stage founders.”
