How the Accelerator Experience Improved My Startup
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Starting a business is a new and exciting venture. You’re full of
enthusiasm, and all of your friends are supportive. But soon, the
excitement fades, and long days and lonely nights set in. You realize
that being an entrepreneur is challenging. There are successes and
failures, excitement and frustration. You understand that you need
discipline, focus, and resolve to carry you through.
Starting a business is a new and exciting venture. You’re full of
enthusiasm, and all of your friends are supportive. But soon, the
excitement fades, and long days and lonely nights set in. You realize
that being an entrepreneur is challenging. There are successes and
failures, excitement and frustration. You understand that you need
discipline, focus, and resolve to carry you through.
Last summer, when my business partner and I started Credential Cabinet,
I was sure that we had all of these traits. We had taken on other big
challenges at different points in our lives and pulled through. Founding
a startup, I was sure, would be no different.
After building our minimum viable product (MVP), we thought it would be a good idea to join a startup accelerator
to get more business experience and access to capital. Little did we
realize how the accelerator experience would improve our company and
solidify our resolve.
At the beginning of November, Credential Cabinet was accepted into
the JFE Network’s fall accelerator class in New York City. This program
is an 8-week accelerator program that jumpstarts new businesses in the
tech sector.
Now, having nearly completed the program, I feel that we have
improved our business plan and sharpened our focus. We have gained new
insights we hadn’t thought of, such as strategies for pricing, sending
cold emails, and financial modeling. We are also more eager than ever to
be successful.
Why? Because of the mentorship, camaraderie, and the environment we were exposed to in the accelerator program.
Mentorship
The mentorship aspect of the accelerator helped to lay bare the value
of our business, our strengths, and our weaknesses. We feel more
confident about our product, and how to sell it. With respect to
weaknesses, we received perspectives from many mentors. Each had
slightly different opinions about the problems we presented, enabling us
to coalesce around what could be the best strategy.
Camaraderie
Being an entrepreneur can be lonely. Yes, you have your team, but
there are only so many folks who decide to step out and build a startup.
Your friends and family get to relax at the end of the day, but
sometimes your days don’t end. We found that each of the other teams in
the accelerator were in similar positions. There is comfort in knowing
that you are each experiencing the same problems. While each business
has different peculiarities, no one’s issues about teaming, sales,
strategy, or legal issues is really all that unique.
Environment >>>
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