Accelerator and Incubator programs go a long way in mentoring and helping startups to bring their products out to the market. Some of the popular ones include the Y Combinator, 500 Startups, TechStars, etc which have nurtured what are now successful companies like Dropbox, AirBnb and lots more. The experience of every founder who goes through such programs is a valuable lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs. Luke Deering , co-founder and CEO of VineUp, and creator of HowToWriteABusinessPlan.com has taken up the task of documenting the experiences of 150 such startup founders who have been mentored by accelerator programs all over the world! What is even more interesting is that he has chosen Kickstarter, the popular crowdsourcing site for funding his project – the Accelerate!
Let us have a chat with Luke to know more about his book.
Interviewing just one person requires a lot of time and effort but you have taken up such an insurmountable task. What was the motivation to come out with the Accelerate?
Since Y Combinator (arguably the pioneer of today’s accelerator programs) graduated its first class of 8 Startups in 2005, which included Reddit, various forms of accelerators have launched globally. Our latest estimate indicates that there are just over 150 accelerator programs around the world graduating around 3,000 startups over the past year. Accelerators can be a brilliant resource for startups, but quality wise they vary greatly. Because of this, I felt it was important to create a single resource where the world’s accelerator programs can be found along with advice and feedback from their graduates. The goal here is to help potential applicants find the right program for them.
Accelerate is the ultimate guide to business accelerator programs. Our goal is for Accelerate to become the go-to-source for information on accelerators, incubators and their graduates. We hope to launch an updated version of the book once a year, with this being the first book in the series.
It seems a bit ironic that you have chosen Kickstarter to fund your project, which has itself helped many entrepreneurs launch their products. What was the reason to choosing Kickstarter and how was the response?
KickStarter is a brilliant platform on so many levels
- It allows you to test the demand for your idea
- It helps you fund your idea
- It puts your project in front of potential angels, VC (Venture Capitalists), partners and even publishers.
The response has been amazing. We had a goal of £7,000 and we reached it with 9 days to spare!
So when can we get ourselves a copy of the book?
Those who have pledged through KickStarter or place pre-orders (you can message us through our KickStarter page if you wish to secure a first edition copy) will receive their hard copy or eBook by the end of July. The book will be available commercially shortly after that.
The people behind the book
- Foreword by – Brad Feld
Brad is one of the managing directors at Foundry Group, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage software / Internet companies throughout the United States. He is also the co-founder of TechStars, a mentor-driven accelerator, author of several books and blogs, and a marathon runner.
- Written by – Luke Deering
Co-founder and CEO of VineUp.com, which helps to solve the problems faced by recent graduates searching for employment. He is also a co-founder of SG3, LLC (SG3.us & iamlup.com), a custom design athletic wear company.
- Co-Authored by – Matt Cartagena
Co-creator of HowToWriteABusinessPlan.com
What we think of Accelerate
While information about startups are aplenty on the internet but there is usually no single place where you can get all the information you want and we think Accelerate fits the bill perfectly. If you are about to begin your journey as an entrepreneur or trying to figure out how to get some support for your project, then this book will be your guiding light. Go ahead and take a look at the Kickstarter page for more information.
