Raise your hand if you have ever wondered what it would be like to be part of an accelerator? Keep your hand in the air if you have applied to an accelerator in the past, only to find the rejection notification in your inbox a few weeks later.
Hands down. Breath. It’s happened to the best of startups.
I’m assuming you’re an early-stage startup with a developed business idea, MVP and maybe some early customers.
So was Buffer when it applied to Y Combinator and was at the time, rejected (read their CEO’s rejected application here).
According to a report published by TechCrunch in 2014, only 4% of applicants ever make it into an accelerator.
“F6S found that, on average, 3.98% of applicants to the 1,564 Accelerator programs that ran their application process through F6S between February 2013 to February 2014, were accepted into Accelerator programs. The results are based on 62,262 applications from over 150,000 founders in 95 countries.”
Whoa. That’s a lot of rejection.
So how does an entrepreneur fight this battle? It’s called determination, which is composed of two primary ingredients: resilience and drive. As the author of the book Founder at Work, puts it:
“Resilience keeps you from being pushed backwards. Drive moves you forwards … [] Even if you are Airbnb, you are going to start out looking like an ugly duckling to most people.”
Our team at BeConnections knows what this feels like. Both myself and my colleagues have spent long nights filling out application forms to accelerators in the UK, US and Spain, a few of which have kindly been returned to us with a big fat no.
Luckily we’re passionate about our network and determined to make it work. Go hard or go home, right?
The good news is that our hard work has paid off. BeConnections was recently selected to participate in Dat Venture, an accelerator based in Boston that helps Spanish founders break into the US market. The 3 month long program can basically be summed up into 3 parts.
- Entrepreneurs take business courses once a week at Harvard University
- The rest of the week is spent at WeWork, a communal and collaborative office-space operator for startups and other small businesses in downtown Boston. Weeks alternate between personalized coaching received from former Techstar Mentors and other seasoned entrepreneurs/experts and practical coursework about different topics that affect the lifecycle of a Startup, such as product valuation, customer acquisition strategy, etc.
- Founders sleep at Krash, a network of shared living spaces where residents immerse themselves in the culture of innovation.
The acceleration process starts February 1st, which means that I’m moving to Boston in two weeks! I have loads of emotions that are clouding my thoughts, lately, many of which I will discuss in the upcoming days.
However, before moving across an ocean for my startup I would like to make a pledge to you.
- I pledge to write in my diary every week during our acceleration process.
- I pledge to tell you both the good and the bad about our experience in Boston
- I pledge to share honest and relevant information to help your startup grow
- I pledge to be your friend, to be reliable and to always get back to your comments
Never forget that incubators are shortcuts. They can help you improve your chances of success, but they don’t determine it.
Moral of the story? Don’t give up.
Pitch by Pitch 