RAINE MAGAZINE Volume 21 | Fashion & Style

BUSINESS | TRENDS
WHY EVERY TECH ENTREPRENEUR SHOULD
PARTICIPATE IN AN ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
An accelerator program is like a boot camp for early stage ventures.
They usually last anywhere from three to six months to help accelerate
their startup and most provide a small amount of seed capital. More
importantly, they offer experienced entrepreneurs who help mentor the
new entrepreneurs within the local community and other resources that
give ventures the fuel that they need to accelerate. Many accelerator
programs provide their entrepreneurs with a curriculum focused on
creating a viable business model.
The three resources I found most useful when participating:
COMMUNITY PERKS
One of the main goals of an accelerator program is to build successful
start ups, with the hope of increasing the entrepreneurship within the
local community. This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to take
advantage of potential local customers and partnerships. For example,
one of the reasons we were selected to participate in Velocity was our
target market, fraternity and sorority chapters. It just so happens that 40-
50% of national Greek chapters are headquartered in Indianapolis, which
was about an hour away from our office.
CUSTOMER DISCOVERY
One of the most valuable lessons we learned at Velocity Indiana was
learning to talk to your customers. The first two weeks the program highly
encouraged us to get out of the office and speak to our future clients,
something we never did during our first two iterations of Greekpull. I would
drive up to University of Kentucky and Louisville knocking on sororities
and fraternity doors asking questions like, “What are biggest problems
you are dealing with in your chapter?”, “What are you currently using to
try to solve this problem?”, “What would you like to see improve?” By
understanding our customers problems we were able to build a 500-dollar
MVP website, and started generating revenue.
MENTORSHIP
As young entrepreneurs there are tons of questions you constantly have
and don’t have an answer too. Like many entrepreneurs you learn by failing
and falling on your face. The biggest foundation an accelerator program
provides the entrepreneurs with is mentors to help along the way. Usually
they provide experts in all fields from accounting to product development
to marketing. Having such resources allows you to accelerate your start
up in a shorter period of time.
Eghosa (Iggy) Aihie is the Co-Founder and Head of Business for Alumnify.
Their aim is to improve alumni engagement by connecting alumni with
current students, and therefore also setting students up for success after
graduation.
Twitter - @iggyneversleeps
Facebook – eghosa.aihie
Image Courtesy of Rapid Eye Photo
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RAINE MAGAZINE - VOLUME 21