If funding, business savvy, and a proven business idea arenвЂ™t an issue for you, you might consider simply joining a coworking space. Incubators focus on preparing the entrepreneur or founder with the business model, plan, and mentorship necessary to confidently pitch their finished business plan to investors. Do you need funding now? If youвЂ™re looking for capital to grow your business, an accelerator might be a better fit.The last thing you need is someone advising you on your shipping business idea whoвЂ™s spent the last 30 years mentoring young restaurateurs.

Do they have the right mentors? Make sure your incubator can offer specific and experienced guidance for your business or idea.Things to Consider When Joining an Incubator: The incubator process usually lasts a few months - but is often open-ended - and ends with a pitch or demo day where the entrepreneur presents their business idea to the incubator community and/or investors. Intellectual property issues are also vetted and dealt with at this stage as well. Participants spend their time at the incubator networking with other entrepreneurs, fleshing out their ideas, determining product-market fit, and creating a business plan. Incubators also tend to focus on businesses or entrepreneurs from a certain geographic location - or require participants to relocate to their coworking space or local community for indefinite periods of time. For example, Monarq Incubator supports female-led startups through their programs. Some incubators are focused on specific verticals. Some incubators select candidates through an application process while others only work with companies or entrepreneurs passed along from within their network of advisors. Will you relocate? Many accelerators require you to relocate for the few months youвЂ™re participating in their program.If your growth plan is still developing, an incubator might be a better choice. How fast or slow are you growing? If youвЂ™re a fast-growing company, an accelerator might be the right fit.If youвЂ™re still searching for a co-founder or your first few employees, you may be a better fit for an incubator. Is it the right time? Make sure youвЂ™re joining an accelerator at the right time.Things to Consider When Joining an Accelerator: A businessвЂ™ time at an accelerator typically ends with a presentation sharing the growth and development theyвЂ™ve achieved during their weeks or months in the program.

The goal of the accelerator is primarily networking, mentorship, and resource allocation to skyrocket the success of proven business ideas. TheyвЂ™re often given a small seed investment and paired with mentors from the acceleratorвЂ™s vast network. Typically, the accepted companies have already demonstrated fast growth and a minimum viable product (MVP). Top accelerators like Techstars and Y Combinator are highly selective, accepting less than 2% of applicants into their programs. AcceleratorsДЄccelerators usually begin with a rigorous application process. The timeline for accelerators is a set few months during which the entrepreneur receives mentorship, funding, and networking help. Incubators operate on a flexible time frame ending when a business has an idea or product to pitch to investors or consumers. An incubator helps entrepreneurs flesh out business ideas while accelerators expedite growth of existing companies with a minimum viable product (MVP).

Business incubator