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I have a few ideas for a company, and plan to get started sometime this fall. I know of an accelerator that focuses on this vertical, and I have contacts there so reaching out to them would be pretty easy. Here are my questions/concerns.

Exit Strategy: I don't really want one. I want to start a company and work there for a long time. Will I get squeezed into selling to reward investors?

IP Leakage: A few entrepreneurial friends have been burned by people taking their ideas & running with them. Since this is a vertical specific accelerator, they have deep contacts in the industry. I have some concern that they'll run with my ideas.

Funding is good, but I think the biggest up-side would be the publicity and the contacts within this industry. I'm sure to get this off the ground much faster with their help, but there's a cost. I guess the core of my concern is that going through an accelerator feels like I'm giving up control. I'm not sure if that's warranted or paranoia.

Anyone here have experience with accelerators that they can share?

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3 Answers

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Giving up control is always difficult, but a necessary step as any business grows. Even without investors, as the business grows, you tend to take on employees, acquire important customers and move up the ladder of statutory accountability. These things mean you lose control, as there are always attendant responsibilities.

In short, don't let that put you off. The only way to keep control is to never grow, which is less than optimum for most businesses.

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Thanks for your thoughts. I definitely agree that I'll need to give up some control. Gaging how much & when is the trick. – Lenwood Jul 12 '12 at 12:56
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I believe avoiding early funding is critical because you 'll give too much future value for too little. Especially, if your niche is in the information technology, starting with low costs is very possible. If on the other hand it is on self-guided missiles...

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This strongly resonates. You've reinforce a couple of things here. This category is IT within a narrowly defined sector, so I feel the need to get something going before reaching out, if for nothing else than proving to myself that there's value here. Plus, bringing in seed funding really early could make a dramatic difference in how much I'm able to earn from this. – Lenwood Jul 12 '12 at 12:59
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You need to consider the role an investor / incubator plays.

They are not a bank - they make their money from portfolio companies doing next round financing, mergers / acquisitions, and going public. From what I can gather, you are looking for a career in a company you create - an acceptable strategy, if that is your goal. But not an acceptable strategy from an investor standpoint - they will never cash out then.

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