accelerators
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Crunch Network
Here’s what the top accelerators in North America are funding
The top startup accelerators have a history of seeing the future in ideas that sounded silly at the time. After all, who would have foreseen billion-dollar businesses based on renting your air mattress to strangers, or shopping for their groceries? So when prestigious accelerators invest around common themes, it’s worth taking note of what’s resonating. Read More
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A $150 million fund, The Engine, will back startups others find ‘too hard’
A fund and accelerator for advanced technology startups, The Engine, closed its debut fund at a robust $150 million this week, according to its president, CEO and managing partner, Katie Rae. Last year, TechCrunch reported that MIT was investing $25 million into The Engine, becoming the anchor LP for the fund. Read More
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Meet the 14 startups in Techstars NYC’s winter class
The entrepreneurs in the Techstars NYC program are going to spend today meeting with investors, reporters and other folks from the tech industry — but luckily, I had a chance to do rapid-fire interviews with most of them on Tuesday. Though Techstars may be increasingly known for the industry-focused startup accelerators it creates with companies like Comcast and Target, it still runs… Read More
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Crunch Network
Why this investor is ditching Demo Days
Demo Days are not the best way to help most entrepreneurs get the funding they need. And in the long run, they are not helpful for investors, or the broader ecosystem — in fact, they aggravate blind spots that investors already face. We need to rethink how we innovate, not just what type of innovation we’re looking for. Read More
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Hardware and robots to watch at the HAX IX demo day
An accelerator for hardware and robotics startups called HAX is holding its 9th Demo Day in San Francisco today. Startups pitching investors there span industries from education to agriculture and medicine. Examples include: FLASH Robotics’ “social robot” EMYS that teaches kids how to speak a new language; Amber Agriculture’s bean-shaped sensors that monitor corn… Read More
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Genesis Partners spins out $50 million fund, F2 Capital, to back early-stage startups in Israel
Three members of the senior investing team at Genesis Partners, a major Israeli venture firm, are stepping out with a new, early-stage fund of their own called F2 Capital. For the unfamiliar, Genesis Partners’ portfolio companies have been acquired by the likes of Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Sapiens over the past decade, and have gone public on the Nasdaq exchange in the U.S. as… Read More
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Inside Expa Labs, Uber co-founder’s take on the startup accelerator
There’s no shortage of startup incubators and accelerators, but there’s always room for improvement and iterations on an old operating model. Expa Labs, a six-month program for startups that spun out of Uber co-founder Garrett Camp’s Expa Studios, has a different take on the startup accelerator/incubator model. Last week, it wrapped up its first batch of startups. Launched… Read More
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‘The Engine’ is MIT’s incubator for tech and science companies straight out of the lab
MIT is getting into the incubator business in a big way with “The Engine,” a major fund and accelerator space aimed at nurturing early-stage companies solving big, difficult problems in tech and science. After The Engine raises its targeted $150 million fund, up to 60 companies at a time will benefit from the university’s equipment, services and considerable pool of expertise. Read More
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Dreamit accelerator ditches demo days, unveils 25 new health and education startups
Dreamit Ventures’ accelerator has ditched the demo day, according to Chief Innovation Officer Steve Barsh. That’s not the only change the early-stage venture firm and accelerator has made of late. Today, Dreamit unveiled a list of 25 new health and edtech startups launching from its revamped programs. A full list of those companies provided by Dreamit follows at the end of this… Read More
Latest Crunch Report
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Google.org, Omidyar Network backing Fast Forward, the accelerator for tech nonprofits
An accelerator that helps tech nonprofits develop their products and raise grant money, Fast Forward, has attracted $1.25 million in philanthropic funding of its own. Backers include big names in venture capital and tech. Omidyar Network, Google.org and BlackRock donated the largest share, along with AT&T, The Nasiri Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation. Fast Forward will use the money… Read More
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Crunch Network
The Erosion Of “Same Round, Same Price”
It seems most founders believe investors asking for “extras” on the side are simply greedy and short-sighted. While it’s easy to criticize investors, I believe this behavior is driven in large part as a response to conditions founders have created in early stage investing. I believe two trends, when taken together, have eroded the “one round, one price” standard. Read More
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Crunch Network
The Pros And Cons Of Accelerating Your Startup
Startup accelerators are an excellent way for early stage startups to get up to speed quickly, identifying their best growth strategy and a reasonable plan to achieve it. The number of accelerators has dramatically increased over the past few years. At the same time, competition for participation in these accelerators has increased. But is participation in an accelerator program the best next… Read More
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Crunch Network
The Rise Of Entrepreneurial Communities
This summer, as Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, I had the opportunity to honor an innovative business accelerator called First Batch. This isn’t your typical business accelerator. First Batch is a product accelerator in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, that focuses on helping entrepreneurs and makers bring physical products to market. It’s a great resource… Read More
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Crunch Network
Accelerators Are The New Business School
It’s no secret that most startups fail. What’s a bit less obvious is that most startup accelerators also fail. While a few top-tier programs get the cream of the crop unicorns of the future, the hundreds of others struggle to attract teams that will produce the investment-grade companies on which their models so depend. Read More
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It’s Time For VCs To Run To Their Bubble Bunkers
Techstars, one of the most prominent accelerators in the world, announced yesterday that it was introducing what it called “an equity back guarantee.” The idea is that founders who join the program can ask for their equity to be returned (or a percentage of it) shortly after their Techstars batch ends if they feel that the accelerator didn’t provide them with sufficient… Read More
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Crunch Network
Are All Accelerators Decelerators?
Hari, a smart and very savvy early-stage entrepreneur, emailed me to ask if it was worth joining a well-known accelerator. I texted an emphatic “No!” We then spoke to each other for over 30 minutes and I don’t recall having made such an impassioned argument. I almost felt like it was my duty to save an entrepreneur. Read More
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Corporate Accelerators Are An Oxymoron
Building a corporate accelerator is certainly in vogue these days. Wells Fargo launched a new accelerator program last week targeting financial services startups and has already unveiled its first class of three participants. The program follows the general recipe these days for corporate accelerators, providing some cash, mentoring, and networking to young startups interested in the industry. Read More
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After Moving East, AngelPad Tries To Bridge The SF And NYC Tech Worlds
Back in April, accelerator AngelPad held a demo day for 11 new startups at the San Francisco bar and restaurant 25 Lusk. The choice of location masked a big change — even though the accelerator was founded four years ago in San Francisco, and even though it still has offices there, AngelPad partners Thomas Korte and Carine Magescas have actually moved to New York City, and the… Read More
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Sam Altman (Reluctantly) Says Y Combinator Has An Accelerator Monopoly
If you think Y Combinator dominates the world of the startup accelerators, YC President Sam Altman agrees with you. In an on-stage interview at TechCrunch’s Disrupt New York conference, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington said he was trying to get something controversial from Altman, so he asked whether YC sucks “99.9 percent of oxygen out of the accelerator ecosystem.”… Read More
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Y Combinator Squares Up To 500 Startups, Takes Its One-Day Event International
Y Combinator, the mother of tech accelerators, says it is not planning to run its three-month YC program anywhere but Mountain View, but it is definitely starting to look further afield. Today YC announced that it would start running its Startup School, its one-day networking event, in cities outside of the Valley, starting first with New York and London. Read More
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