The startup world has seen a rapid boom in the past few years. Thousands of new businesses have emerged every day and it’s no surprise that new startups are popping up at an exponential rate.
However, starting a business is not always as simple as it seems. Many startups struggle to get off the ground because they don’t understand the intricacies of starting their own venture or know how and where they can find support.
These challenges only increase when you want to manufacture your product or service at scale and reach the largest number of potential customers possible with minimal costs and risk.
Given the covid-19 crises, which forced most of us to work remotely from home, many virtual startup accelerators have started and successfully worked with startups. With digitalization and access to capital becoming easier, there has never been a better time to start a business venture and get help from such virtual accelerators.
Today we will explore what are virtual startup accelerators and how exactly they can help your startup?
What Are Virtual Startup Accelerators?
Virtual startup accelerators are startup accelerators that provides mentorship, resources, and networking for startups mostly or completely remotely. Some people also loosely refer to virtual startup accelerators as virtual co-working spaces or virtual business incubators.
There are a number of virtual startup accelerators that have come up in the past few years that are listed in this article. Virtual startup accelerators provide a space for entrepreneurs to work on their ideas and get feedback from mentors and entrepreneurs.
Many remote startups use virtual startup accelerators to help them scale their businesses (source) and get access to experts and mentors they might not be able to get otherwise.
Remote startup accelerators are a great way for entrepreneurs to find support and resources for growing their business. More importantly, such accelerators aim to provide equal opportunities to those startups that have less possibility or access to support from the startup ecosystems.
How Does A Virtual Startup Accelerator Help?
Virtual startup accelerators provide the following types of support for new ventures:
- Mentors: Remote startup accelerators provide entrepreneurs with mentors, mainly remotely through Zoom sessions, who can provide guidance and feedback. Mentors can be peers or CEOs of other companies. It’s important to choose mentors who have experience working in the industry or area that you are in.
- Network: Remote startup accelerators provide entrepreneurs with access to other entrepreneurs and experts in the field through virtual events or other activities. It’s valuable to get advice from other entrepreneurs who have been through the same challenges that you are facing. This can help to get advice from industry experts and make better business decisions.
- Access to Resources: Remote startup accelerators provide access to resources, such as license to software, tools to grow your business and to test your idea and more. It’s helpful to have access to resources to make your business more scalable.
- Access to Investors: Most remote startup accelerators only allow certain startups to receive funding from investors. While this may decrease your risk of investing, it can also make it difficult to find people to invest in your idea.
Is a Virtual Startup Accelerator For You?
If you have a great idea, don’t want to deal with the hassle of trying to get funding and scaling the business, then a remote startup accelerator might be for you. With a remote accelerator, you can focus on developing your product or service and scaling it without having to worry about hiring employees and getting funding.
Before we uncover the advantages or disadvantages virtual startup accelerators, let’s first discuss if this type of program is right for your startup. There are many factors to consider when deciding if attending a startup accelerator is right for your venture.
The biggest factor is your current stage of development. If you are just starting out or you have already been working on your product for a while, a virtual startup accelerator could be a good option for you. This option makes a lot of sense particularly if you cannot find matching or high-quality accelerators in your vicinity.
You will also want to consider the following factors when deciding if a remote startup accelerator is right for you:
- How much time do you have to devote to the program?
- What resources do you have at your disposal, e.g. an office, developers, sales reps?
- Does your product have an existing market?
- What types of customers are you targeting?
- Do you have a viable marketing strategy and strategy for scaling your business?
- Do you have a viable business model?
- Is your product or service robust?
- Is your team ready to launch? What is your timeline for launching?
- Are investors ready to support your venture?
Benefits of Joining an Online Startup Accelerator
When you choose to enroll in a startup accelerator program, you will be able to collaborate virtually with like-minded entrepreneurs and business owners from around the world who are also looking to scale their venture.
This will give you access to feedback and mentorship from experienced professionals in the business world, as well as access to a network of professionals from within the startup scene.
Additionally, participating in an online startup accelerator program can help you build and strengthen relationships with other entrepreneurs and create access to a broader network of professionals and industry leaders.
Such online platforms will provide you with a unique opportunity to meet and get acquainted with top entrepreneurs and experts from the globe. Through these relationships, you can also help each other further your businesses.
By joining an online startup accelerator, you will also be able to save time and travel costs. You can attend your program from anywhere in the world through online classrooms and mentors.
You can also connect with other entrepreneurs and professionals from around the world, which can be helpful for entrepreneurs who move around a lot for work.
Disadvantages of Attending an Online Startup Accelerator
The biggest disadvantage of joining an online startup accelerator is the cost. Most remote startup accelerators charge a membership fee that may not be affordable for all entrepreneurs.
While it may seem like an ideal solution, attending an online startup accelerator program comes with a few disadvantages as well.
- Lack of Physical Interaction With Fellow Entrepreneurs: While online classes, mentors, and programs can be beneficial to learning, you will miss the physical interaction with your peers that happens when you are in a room together.
- Lack of Support From Your Peers: Attending an online program can make it feel like you are alone, at times, in your venture without any peers to help you navigate through the difficulties of starting and scaling a business.
- Lack of Mentorship From Experienced Professionals: Another disadvantage of attending virtual startup accelerators is that you will miss the type of face-to-face mentorship that you would get from experienced professionals from the business world.
Conclusion
Virtual startup accelerators can be a great way to start a business and grow it. However, it’s important to find a virtual startup accelerator that fits your needs and budget.
There are a few things you should look for when searching for a remote startup accelerator. Make sure it has successful events and experienced mentors. If it does, you’re in luck because these are the two most important things for a remote startup accelerator.
Lastly, enrollment in one of the top virtual startup accelerators can give you reputation and legitimacy to later on approach competitive venture capitalists and other types of investors.
