Is Techstars accelerator worth doing? Should you do it? By a former Techstars COO (2024)

Last updated on Feb 6, 2024

Techstars and Y-combinator are by far some of the world's best startup accelerators, should you get accepted to any of these you should not take it lightly. The investment teams at both are highly skilled at choosing the right companies and usually have a ton of experience dealing with the right sort of companies. They know what they are looking for and what is hot in the market so they do not make their decisions easily.

Is it really that good?

Having been through the accelerator myself I'm happy to share some of the feedback and learnings and there is a ton of good stuff, but ultimately the choice is up to you and what you think is best for your company.

A community

One of the most important things for a startup is being in a community of like-minded people. Starting a company is difficult and you want to be amongst people who think the same way you do. You need support. You are not only trying to be killed by your competitors but also by your competitor's investors which can be public or private companies. Sometimes VCs will take meetings with you just to try to gather a ton of information about you. A founder has to be on his toes at all times.

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The Investment. Take it or leave it.

Obviously, with top-tier VC's you do not have a lot of wiggle room on negotiating the terms of your investment unless you are seriously good, you're not going to be able to move your valuation much so I would not go into this thinking like that.

Final thoughts.

Building a company is hard and you need to get all the help you can get. As I said earlier think carefully about how your company can maximize value from attending an accelerator. If you're getting a ton of inbound and growing a huge amount month over a month you may not need any help at all. Bootstrapping is always a good option. But if your a guy like me who needs some social support and being in a community is vital for your mental wellbeing it may be a good idea for you to join.

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This is what we built:

Lessons learned from Building Europe’s first OnDemand fuel station from itsCOOBefore Shell tap-up and Cafu and others, we built Europe’s first on demand fuel station. We saw the future, we had an amazing team and we were ready to go. I was the COO of pompfuel and we were there from the start.FounderBounty. Courses and mentorship to help start a business.Vlad Kozul

Read about antler:

Is antler or any accelerator worth doing to start my companyEntrepreneurs do need a lot of support and it’s not easy to build a company. The antler ecosystem is great and the networking with high caliber people is top-notch. If you are looking for an experience that combines motivation top MBA compared with seasoned entrepreneurs such as myself, (feel free t…FounderBounty. Learn how to build a startup and business with case studies, mentors and courses from the best entrepreneurs.Vlad Kozul

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Also, see this article about our YC interview with a YC Founder: (youtube) or the article below:

My interview with YC and how you can do better.I’m sharing my experience from interviewing with Y Combinator accelerator, one of the world’s best Venture capital companies. The YC interview is short quick, to the point, and also a great learning experience. Just getting an interview you are in the top 1% of founders so count yourself lucky. We t…FounderBounty. Resources needed to help your side hustle. Coaching with quality entrepreneurs to help start a business.Vlad Kozul

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