What is the difference between a startup Incubator and a startup Accelerator?
- Incubators are physical locations providing subsidized rent and some form of minimal guidance, support, and introductions for startups
- Accelerators are programs that (usually) take an equity stake in startups, in exchange for seed money and active mentorship
- Accelerator programs are usually for a fixed time period (3-6 months) and do not necessarily involve a physical office space
What are the Top 10 startup accelerators in the US? (according to TechCocktail’s ranking formula)
- TechStars ( CO, MA, WA, NY)
- Y Combinator (CA)
- Excelerate Labs (IL)
- Launchbox Digital (NC)
- Kicklabs (CA)
- Tech Wildcatter (TX)
- DreamIt Ventures (PA)
- The Brandery (OH)
- Capital Factory (TX)
- NYC SeedStart (NY)
What are the current Top 15 Venture Capital Firms? (according to General Catalyst Partners’ “InvestorRank” metric)
- Andreesen-Horowitz
- Sequoia Capital
- Accel Partners
- Benchmark Capital
- Union Square Ventures
- General Catalyst Partners
- NEA
- Kleiner Perkins
- Khosla Ventures
- Greylock Capital
- Bessemer Venture Partners
- First Round Capital
- Norwest Venture Partners
- Spark Capital
- Redpoint Ventures
Name the most highly trafficked web-based sources for tech and startup news
- Tech Crunch
- Venture Beat
- Hacker News
- Mashable
- Business Insider
- Gizmodo
- CNet
- Engadget
What is Venture Hacks?
- Venture Hacks is the best-known blog for advice for startups raising money from angels and VCs
- It was started by Babak Nivi and Naval Ravikant, two serial entrepreneurs and prominent angel investors
- AngelList actually grew out of Venture Hacks
Name a few prominent venues where startups can pitch to audiences that may include potential investors. (Not including individual accelerators’ “Demo Days”)
- Ultra Light Startups
- Founders Showcase
- TechCrunch Disrupt
- Vator Splash
- NY Tech Meetup
- Open Angel Forum
- Capital Call
- SF New Tech
What are the three leading web-based resources where you can find detailed information about angel investors (& their recent investments) in your particular field or region?
- AngelList
- ChubbyBrain
- CrunchBase
What is AngelList, and how does it work?
- AngelList is a site that helps early-stage startups connect with professional investors through its social network-like reference system
- The most successful startups show that they already have part of their round committed by other investors before listing on AngelList
- Profounder and GrowVC are recent competitors to AngelList
What is ChubbyBrain, and how does it work?
- ChubbyBrain offers a funding recommendation engine that uses an algorithm to suggest angel investors and VCs based on a startup’s market, size, stage, and location and the investor’s actual prior investments
- It uses data from CB Insights, a database which profiles private companies and associated financing & M&A transactions
What is CrunchBase, and how does it work?
- CrunchBase is a database of investors, Venture Capital firms, and startups that includes bios and investment histories
- It is mainly an information hub and is not necessarily focused on pairing startups with investors
- It is managed by the owners of the blog TechCrunch
What are “angel networks”, and how do they work?
- Angel networks are groups of early-stage investors who provide a central forum where entrepreneurs can pitch to many investors at once
- Sometimes angel networks even pool their money together and invest as a unit
- An example angel network is NY Angels
What is “500 Startups”?
- 500 Startups is a Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator and investment fund founded by Dave McClure in 2010
- Notable investments to date: MyGengo and Udemy
What are the largest, most prominent tech startup “meetup” groups in Silicon Valley and New York, respectively? (i.e. The largest venues to demo your startup)
- Silicon Valley New Tech Meetup
- NY Tech Meetup
What is “Hacker News”?
- Hacker News has become the most prominent web/mobile news feed for the tech community
- It was started by the startup accelerator Y Combinator
- It allows the community to “curate” the top news through the use of its “up-vote” process
- It also has a job board
What is Stack Overflow?
- Stack Overflow is the most popular free programming Q & A site
- It lets hackers earn geek cred for their participation in the forums
- It also has a well-known tech job board
What is GitHub?
- GitHub is a web-based hosting service for software development projects
- Developers can post their code for others to use, modify, or comment on
- Top contributors earn significant “geek cred”
- GitHub also hosts a well-known tech job board
What is 37 Signals?
- 37 Signals is the web application company that developed Ruby on Rails
- Pioneers in agile development and authors of the book “ReWork”
- Developers of the popular programs Basecamp, Backpack, Campfire, and Highrise
- Founded by Jason Fried