Startup Choices In Incubation

Startups, like all businesses in the free enterprise system, are free to make choices. As it pertains to incubation and acceleration, startups really have three primary choices.

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Startups must decide:

1. Whether or not to join an incubator/accelerator.

2. Which incubators/accelerators to apply to.

3. Once accepted, which programs/services to participate in — and their level of participation/engagement overall.

For each of these decisions, incubator/accelerator managers must…

1. Show Value — Not simply saying “we offer this” (those are features) but “here’s how what we offer can help you” (those are advantages and that’s where the true value is found).

2. Tell a Story — Stories are incredibly powerful compared to statistics. Tell a meaningful, memorable, and sharable story about one of your current clients or graduates. How have they been successful? Can the entrepreneur you are communicating with envision themselves achieving the same results?

An important caveat:

Business incubation is not for every entrepreneur (and likewise, not for every startup).

Incubation/acceleration professionals are not car salesman. They’re more akin to automakers viewing concept cars and judiciously deciding which ones to assist in developing further.

The difference for the practitioner is a self-less willingness to help the entrepreneur, even if that means your program is not a fit for the prospective applicant at hand.

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