Offering programs to get a business and their products or services off the ground, these organizations are very popular with entrepreneurs. Once the project has been initiated, the outlines determined and the concept launched, there often comes the desire to accelerate it. It can be useful to know how these structures are organized to better understand why you should use them. In your case, should you join a start-up accelerator?
Who are these solutions for?
Start-up accelerator programs highlight strategies. These make it possible to raise funds and get a business off the ground. They are therefore often less useful if you do not wish to raise funds or quickly grow your structure. They are generally located after the incubator, in which the project has matured and where it has asserted itself. The accelerator is often inserted at the time of the realization of the project.
Note that the selection process, however, turns out to be very competitive. Many entrepreneurs try the adventure but few of them are elected.
The programs of these organizations, intense and structured, aim to raise funds within a short period of between two and six months. A certain competition thus sets in between the different companies, which oblige to implement their strategy as quickly as possible. These programsThey tend to retain small teams of entrepreneurs rather than undertakingisolated neurists.
On his blog, Xavier Zeitoun, French serial entrepreneur, tells how one of these organizations contacted him. Fateed to “any disruptive project”, L’Accélerateur, now renamed Day One, had spotted the start-up 1001 Menus. He wanted to boost his project. Selected after two interviews, the entrepreneur confides that the strategies provided by this structure work “wonderfully” and that, thanks to them, he was able to relaunch his project and lead it to success.s.
THE main steps to integrate an accelerator
To follow one of these programs, you have to know how to convince. The selection is largely based on the ability of the project leader to defend their idea during their presentation pitches.
First step: apply. The candidate completes an online form, in which he answers questions precise concerning his approach and his project. Romain Amblard, expert in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and former director of acceleration at NUMA (pioneering innovation network), explained: “Even if they are not selected, a candidate will necessarily benefit from applying. He can see exactly what areas need improvement in his strategy and project. Being confronted with a point questionnaireyou and well designed allows you to ask yourself the right questions. »
The accelerators select, in principe, a good half of these applications, which then go through the pitch test. The issueFor them, it means presenting their project orally in a few minutes in front of a jury. We observe on average only 2.5% success at this stage. Unsuccessful start-ups still benefit from valuable feedback on areas to improve in their application.
Find direction before aiming for perfection
Integrating an accelerator does not necessarily imply that the project is perfect. On the contrary, a remodeling of it often turns out to be necessary, otherwise the accelerator would have little contribution.
Alain Baritault, creator of the Founder Institute Paris, which he directed for five years, and specialiste recognized support systems for start-ups, explains that “it is very rare that entrepreneurs are not required to make one or more pivots, to adapt their initial idea to the reality of the expectations of potential customers. One of the first sessions we set up was aptly called “Your idea stinks”, literally, your idea stinks, to make the creators realize that it was very rare that“an idea is both original and relevant and leads them to review their fundamentals.”
The accelerator is therefore not only a program to bring in the sum necessary for the successful completion of the project, it also allows us to question it and give it its final optimized form.
For the selected start-ups, the benefits of these programs often prove decisive. Above all, it is about understanding that selection is only the first step and most of the work comes later. If the project hasaccelerate, this also means that you, as a business leader, will have to acceleraterer.
