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Agreed. People with no clue how to create and scale a business have copied a formula developed by people who actually do understand this. This isn't just not

Agreed. People with no clue how to create and scale a business have copied a formula developed by people who actually do understand this. This isn't just not helpful, it's actively harmful. By anointing themselves as the local "conveyor belt" for interesting companies and talented entrepreneurs incubators have created confusion in the market that harms perfectly good founders who do not participate. People say... "you should apply for XYZ accelerator" and my reply is... "why?" Is there any reason to other than that other people do? It has become a sort of tax or validation stamp that we are all expected to seek out... and after that go on Shark Tank?! Then at some point we get acquired by Yahoo? Successful startup outcomes and solvency in the incubator world are not correlated well. The companies that are selected are carefully directed through a maze of expensive professional services controlled by the program directors. The bargain becomes... if you use this lawyer, this PR consultant and this accounting firm we will support you. What this means is that every failed startup isn't really a failure because in the end that company spends all their money paying off the incubator's network. It's an engine of corruption that takes advantage of people and companies that can least afford it. Whether they create any real startup success is not especially relevant to their continued survival, it's just a bonus. Many incubator programs also tends to select for people who are very well behaved, polite and have simple A to B ideas. True disruptive innovation is usually created by disruptive people who have very big ideas. I don't think incubators really intend to hurt founders or the market, but they do.

cardmagic 13y ago
YES! YES YES YES! You talk like a true craftsman founder. So many founders seem to think they have to do incubators because it is what is done. They treat it like traction. And they are completely indiscriminate. "I just got into the podunk incubator! #win #retire #done"
- djyaz1200 13y ago
  "They treat it like traction." Agreed! Just got an email tonight from a guy who is so pumped to get into an incubator and I was like... ummmm... You are being pimped. I sent him your post.
- borski 13y ago
  Thinking like this is dumb. I really hope people don't think like this. Incubators/accelerators are, like anything else, tools. You should do them if they provide value to you and your business, and create more value than equity they require. For us, that was decidedly true; we moved to the valley with a very small network, and I can directly trace many of the early successes we had (not that we're a success yet) to someone I met through the network at 500s. Do people really do incubators because they're the 'thing du jour?' I really hope not. It's a lot of equity to give up for just a name. We went in with the goal of completely blowing everything out of the water, being smart about what we used it for, and using it to learn and build our network. In that, I believe we were successful. Nobody should do it because of the name or because they think they can't do it on their own. I know we could have done it on our own, but this...ahem...accelerated us along that path.
- unclebucknasty 13y ago
  >You talk like a true craftsman founder. Yes! Perhaps he should subscribe to your blog, follow you on Twitter, and buy your book!
ixmatus 13y ago
You're casting a really wide net, which is not accurate. I will only speak to my own experience, but Techstars is not what you're talking about and of the friends that went through YC and 500, they seem to say similar things (that it was good, amazing, edifying). Disruptive innovations is created by all types of people - meek and quiet people, some people that have a lot of great energy but little focus, some people with great focus but no programming skill, women, men, and even small ideas can be innovative (to a lucrative degree). If you've been through each program then the size of your brush stroke is "just a little bit" more justified: diversity is a good thing, incubators aren't hurting anyone, and there are people making amazing stuff happen from every possible angle (bootstrap? incubator? wealthy family money? friends and family? payday loan investment? SBA loan? government grants? on-the side while working full-time? champion angel investor?).
- djyaz1200 13y ago
  I really don't mean to offend people running or participating in good incubators. I stipulate that YC, 500 and Techstars and others are run by people who know what they are doing and work to contribute to the success of their members. They are not the problem.
  - ixmatus 13y ago
    There is no offense, I just think it's important to characterize accurately and you can only do that with good data - I'm providing one (I think) good data point on the accelerator / incubator experience that I've had. I also think people that dish out a lot of exaggerated commentary on a wide and diverse subject are speaking about something they don't know very well (such is the case with the article's author). I do agree though that some incubators can be a problem - but really, the onus to select carefully is on the entrepreneur just as it is in selecting your board or investors.

cardmagic 13y ago

YES! YES YES YES! You talk like a true craftsman founder. So many founders seem to think they have to do incubators because it is what is done. They treat it like traction. And they are completely indiscriminate. "I just got into the podunk incubator! #win #retire #done"

djyaz1200 13y ago
"They treat it like traction." Agreed! Just got an email tonight from a guy who is so pumped to get into an incubator and I was like... ummmm... You are being pimped. I sent him your post.
borski 13y ago
Thinking like this is dumb. I really hope people don't think like this. Incubators/accelerators are, like anything else, tools. You should do them if they provide value to you and your business, and create more value than equity they require. For us, that was decidedly true; we moved to the valley with a very small network, and I can directly trace many of the early successes we had (not that we're a success yet) to someone I met through the network at 500s. Do people really do incubators because they're the 'thing du jour?' I really hope not. It's a lot of equity to give up for just a name. We went in with the goal of completely blowing everything out of the water, being smart about what we used it for, and using it to learn and build our network. In that, I believe we were successful. Nobody should do it because of the name or because they think they can't do it on their own. I know we could have done it on our own, but this...ahem...accelerated us along that path.
unclebucknasty 13y ago
>You talk like a true craftsman founder. Yes! Perhaps he should subscribe to your blog, follow you on Twitter, and buy your book!

ixmatus 13y ago

You're casting a really wide net, which is not accurate. I will only speak to my own experience, but Techstars is not what you're talking about and of the friends that went through YC and 500, they seem to say similar things (that it was good, amazing, edifying). Disruptive innovations is created by all types of people - meek and quiet people, some people that have a lot of great energy but little focus, some people with great focus but no programming skill, women, men, and even small ideas can be innovative (to a lucrative degree). If you've been through each program then the size of your brush stroke is "just a little bit" more justified: diversity is a good thing, incubators aren't hurting anyone, and there are people making amazing stuff happen from every possible angle (bootstrap? incubator? wealthy family money? friends and family? payday loan investment? SBA loan? government grants? on-the side while working full-time? champion angel investor?).

djyaz1200 13y ago
I really don't mean to offend people running or participating in good incubators. I stipulate that YC, 500 and Techstars and others are run by people who know what they are doing and work to contribute to the success of their members. They are not the problem.
- ixmatus 13y ago
  There is no offense, I just think it's important to characterize accurately and you can only do that with good data - I'm providing one (I think) good data point on the accelerator / incubator experience that I've had. I also think people that dish out a lot of exaggerated commentary on a wide and diverse subject are speaking about something they don't know very well (such is the case with the article's author). I do agree though that some incubators can be a problem - but really, the onus to select carefully is on the entrepreneur just as it is in selecting your board or investors.