Category: Accelerators

I previously wrote that accelerator documents should be easy.  At the time, I thought accelerator documents should be easy primarily because of the potential adverse selection problem for the accelerator.  In other words, the more difficult the terms or onboarding process (including the investment documents), the more likely the best startups would choose a different…

Accelerators can certainly help a startup reach new levels. But when the relationship between the startup’s co-founders is already on shaky ground upon entrance, the only thing the accelerator (by no fault of their own) accelerates is the co-founder divorce and possibly death of the startup. The Problem In a co-founder divorce situation, rather than…

If you’ve been to accelerator pitch days, you’ve likely seen a presentation that either flat out mentions the specifics of a financing round in progress or the details of a proposed financing.  In the last couple years, however, some accelerators have been concerned that their demo days constitute, for their portfolio companies, a general solicitation for…

Documents in the startup ecosystem evolve. For example, convertible note documents are more complex now compared to 5 years ago (e.g., price caps and price cap regulators). Most of the evolution has to do with real-world experiences of investors and startups. Other times complexity can be chalked up to “deal over-engineering.” Some accelerators are guilty of…

Working to close a small seed round prior to your accelerator’s pitch day usually falls somewhere between a moderate distraction and a huge pain in the asymptote. It’s not worth the effort to close during this time period, especially if the seed round is for a very small amount. While seed round angel investors (those close to the…