Used to be you applied to an accelerator to get the first progress going. No money raised to date – that was the point.
Now many really good funded companies are looking to accelerators to leap the seed to A chasm. Interesting.
What does it mean to you, founder?
Well if you are nowhere so far, then an accelerator app is likely not your first move. They won’t take you. You need more progress.
What does it mean for accelerators?
They seem to expensive for a company that has raised $1mm or more. 5-10% for 100k or less? Valuations take a big step back.
So they need more money to offer more cash, or they will only get dying companies.
It also opens up an exciting notion, that accelerators might be a multistage business. Suitable for companies even at later stages. For example when Softbank bought Alderaban robotics, they transformed the company’s prospects.