Why Startups Should Use Business Accelerators

Businesses are created every day; some survive, others fail. This ebb and flow begs to ask if there is a right way to start a business. Over the last several years, many startups have chosen to turn to business accelerators in order to maximize sustainability, but is this the right option to take?  Elton Rivas, a business expert out of Jacksonville, Florida, shares some insight on the top three reasons to enter into a business acceleration program.

1. An accelerator can help determine: what is the long-term focus and set of goals for your self, team and company?

While you may not have answers to all of these questions, your accelerator team can discuss your focus and goals to help determine what they should be. An accelerator will help morph, mold and shape your company and your team. More teams than not come out of quality accelerators with significant changes to strategy, team dynamics and financial structure than those that come out looking similar to when they started. 

2. Access to invaluable relationships.

Accelerators can be a valuable source of knowledge and relationships that they can bring to an early stage company/team. Through an accelerator you can gain access to people that seem unattainable at first glance - additional sources of funding, manufacturers, developers, designers and a host of other valuable resources. An accelerator can also help you gain media traction at the end of the program to build a captive audience around your official launch (or new product launches). After all, even if you have had the best training in the world and your business plan is indestructible, if you cannot reach your customers and inform them of your existence you will not make sales. 

3. Emotional and physiological support.

When choosing an accelerator do not follow the old adage, those who cannot do teach. As an entrepreneur you look for trusted advisors who have built successful startup companies and can warn you of mistakes to avoid, things they wish they would have done and generally speak from first-hand experiences. This is critical for strategy and tactics within the business. The part that many forget about is that serial entrepreneurs can also share personal life experiences that they have been through. The emotional challenges of startup life are many times more difficult than the businesses themselves. You’ll want to work with people that you can talk to about anything. Many of the most successful accelerators have been founded by those who have “been there and done that” and that is an invaluable resource entrepreneurs should seek out.