New Tech Incubators Put Financials First
A new generation of accelerator programs designed to help entrepreneurs get their products and services off the ground is moving beyond technology, emphasizing financial training.
When Kristen Langenfeld and her co-founder began a white glove service for selling preowned children’s gear, they used Excel spreadsheets and QuickBooks to keep track of sales and expenses.
After a few weeks at the Boomtown Accelerator program in Boulder, Colo., the Good Buy Gear Inc. team realized they had more work to do charting their fiscal future.
“We had to figure out the drivers of our business,” said Ms. Langenfeld. The company wasn’t tying selling, general and administrative expenses to revenue-related milestones, she said.
Incubator programs designed to help young entrepreneurs get their products and services off the ground are popular proving grounds for startups. Techstars and Y Combinator have had thousands of entrepreneurs flow through their accelerator and mentoring programs over the years, with most of the work focused on the technology behind the product.
Y Combinator has invested in more than 1,400 companies since 2005, including Airbnb Inc. and Instacart Inc. Techstars has mentored more than 1,000 companies including Contently Inc., which connects writers with paid marketing assignments.
Now, a new generation of programs is placing more emphasis on the financial aspects of launching a successful business.
Read Full Article in The Wall Street Journal