Are Startup Incubators Right for You?

One unique form of mentorship that's open to entrepreneurs is incubators. Incubators combine traditional investing with a streamlined mentoring process to help take beginning entrepreneurs to a successful exit. What is an incubator? Is incubator mentorship right for you? Let's take a look. ==> Incubator Basics An incubator is a business coaching program run by a very successful former entrepreneur. Typically, the incubator will provide $10,000 to $30,000 in funding and take between a 2% and a 10% stake in the company. Once you're in the incubator program, you'll have access to their facilities and network. You'll be able to work out of a shared office for free and take advantage of their in house legal and accounting services. You'll start your company at the same time as an entire group of other entrepreneurs. This helps create a sense of team spirit, of taking on a big task together. In addition to access to the primary mentor, you'll usually also have access to a whole range of other successful individuals. Incubators might bring in other successful entrepreneurs as mentors or speakers. They might also bring in alumni of the program to talk about their successes and give advice. ==> The Downsides to Working With an Incubator There are a few downsides to working with an incubator that you need to be aware of. First of all, they're very industry focused. The majority of incubators focus on the tech industry; though there are also incubators for green tech, biotech and industries. Most incubators are looking for quick equity cashouts. That means that generally speaking, incubators want to help you build out your idea then have your company acquired for a large sum in a short period of time. If you're looking to build up your company for the long haul, going with an incubator might not be your best bet. ==> It's a Very Specific Business Model Incubators work under a very specific business model. They fund a group of businesses, while expecting a good portion of them not to succeed. The ones that do succeed need to bring in enough revenues to cover the lost investments, as well as the overhead costs of the incubator itself. If your business fits under the model that the incubator's looking for, then you'd be hard pressed to find a better mentorship structure. You'll have access to experts in every realm of business development, from incorporation and getting started to eventually selling your company. If you don't want to sell or if you don't want to run a hyper-accelerated growth company however, then a startup accelerator might not be your cup of tea. Make sure you understand what you're getting into before you dive into the world of incubators.