Interested in growing your startup? How to choose between business accelerators and business incubators

Properly establishing a startup can be incredibly challenging for any entrepreneur. It can be a costly process for the simple fact that you need to spend money before you can launch your business.

Nevertheless, there are options available to help get your feet off the ground. These include getting in touch with incubators and accelerators. But which one is suitable for you?

Aim to know the difference

Incubators and accelerators both guide startups in how to navigate the intricacies of building the business to become more valuable in the eyes of an investor.

Incubators help entrepreneurs when they are just starting out, just like how actual incubators support eggs before hatching. At this stage, the business is still just an idea, with no true business plan or model in sight. Resources are very much needed, from an initial space with which you can work on and hone your concept to access to a big network of potential business partners. This relationship typically lasts for 1-5 years, until the startup has strong foundations to stand on and is ready for launch.

Meanwhile, accelerators help new businesses keep their momentum going in order for them to prosper in a very competitive market. Accelerators assist in speeding up growth and work on correcting any tangles in a company’s administration, operations, and strategies. It is an intensive 3-6 months duration of mentorship and feedback from people who have vast experience in various industries, according to the Harvard Business Review.

Going through the application process

Per Entrepreneur, getting into an incubator program can be an arduous process. Aside from deliberating on a business idea that promises to disrupt industries, or at the very least proficiently sustains a given market, they also look at the teams working on that idea. Pitches are also important, as that will differentiate one startup from another—how well can the startup founder communicate his or her vision, and how does the team plan on executing it?

Knowing your business model from inception to execution will increase your chances of finding potential business partners and investors. (Photo by Teemu Paananen on Unsplash)

Accelerators, on the other hand, look at startups who have just launched their service or product (or about to) and consider their potential to go even further. They invest money in exchange for equity, so the programs can be quite competitive—requiring startups to know their businesses inside out, how it works, its potential market and competitors, as well as looming challenges.

A space where both can exist

In the end, if you cannot decide between the two, there are companies offering both accelerator and incubator services. One of them is Digital Arts Media Network (OTCMKTS:DATI), and it is on the lookout for startups brimming with potential, especially those who have innovative ideas in technology.

DATI’s core focus is to expedite a startup’s capital formation by providing angel and early-stage investors access to liquidity within 24 months.  Investors do not give up anything for this luxury.  Investors also gain from DATI’s overall portfolio value; comprised of future unicorn startups.  For a startup, having the ability to create liquidity for their investors within two years vs. 5 yrs, 7 yrs or 10yrs, increases the probability of an initial investment and continued investments in future rounds.

To support the startup’s growth, DATI teams up with other accelerators and incubators as well as venture capitalists and entrepreneurs to support tech startups. It also offers direct capital infusions with durations echoing both accelerators and incubators.

Startups can apply to avail DATI’s services, and they will undergo its public accelerator-incubator (PAI) program. They can also be selected for the program via acquisition or partnership.

In the program, small investors and private equity firms can partake in the capital investment’s early stages with the confidence of early liquidity. This will help selected startups to get the funds they need to fortify their business and expand sufficiently and successfully.

(Featured image by Diego PH on Unsplash)

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