Top tip lessons learnt from multiple accelerators

Having worked in accelerators for the past six years, I've seen a hell of a lot of startups, and I've learnt some top tip lessons from one to another. But even though the startup vertical has varied completely, I've quickly learnt the lessons are very similar. So similar, I thought I'd summarise...

Life at Collider

Collider has just had some huge changes, and with a programme that’s always on so we never have to turn promising startups away, I’m really excited to see what the future holds. Really, it’s the perfect time to join.

We’re also tackling the corporate innovation world in a very different way – rather than a consultancy based, tell-us-your-challenges-and-we’ll-scout-the startups-to-fix-them method — Collider is about relationships and growth.

Having most recently come from a cyber security accelerator where most of the startups tech, due to the nature of that industry, sat across many verticals, the idea that these MadTech companies are disrupting a very specific industry with very specific challenges creates its own unique obstacles.

We’re not just here to offer business support to startups, but to provide meaningful connections to customers who are crying out for innovative solutions. This industry is being disrupted based on the consumers needs, and not just because.

I’ve spent the past few years working out what makes a good startup, and what makes a great one. With applications open for the first cohort of 2018, let’s see what impressive MadTech businesses we can find.

How to become an angel investor

Becoming a successful angel investor should not just be reserved for a few. You'd be awesome at it.

And to prove just that, we gathered together a group of the seasoned and the new to hear from Collider’s multiple-time angel Richard Fearn, and Super Mentor who led Unruly’s exit, Marion Bernard.

And now we’re sharing it with you.

Enter a community, don't go it alone.

As an investor, you need to pick the right companies – obviously, so why risk everything to begin with when there's a whole ecosystem out there looking to help you.

As Richard said, accelerators can solve problems before said problems kill a business. That's for sure a comfort to investors.

Your time is more valuable than your money.

If you're looking to invest, you'll likely have some pretty useful skills – so why not share them? Work out how you can add value to your companies, which actually might not be what you think.

Get good at being patient.

Once you invest, don't expect it to pay for itself within a year or two (or even five). You're playing the long game, so make sure you follow the company through from the start.

It's not just about investing for returns.

Really, there’s so much more than that. Make sure you allow yourself to enjoy the journey as you'll be surrounded by some of the most innovate startups and investors. It's quite infectious, really.

Check your record.

Learn the lessons from your track record; and if you haven’t got one, learn from those that do.

Amplify you.Position yourself in the market as you would with anything else.

Position yourself in the market as you would with anything else. Amplify what you can bring to get on the cap tables you want to be on. Amplify your value.

It really isn't just about your money, and the best startups will know that. They'll be looking at your connections, too.

It’s about your exit too.

Do your best to work out where you might like to follow on, and what would have to happen for you to not. Remember, you’ll likely get most of your money from just one or two exits.

Get up to £100k to fund your startup from the Collider accelerator

Collider is looking for the very best startups to join our next accelerator programme. We exist to shape the future of marketing and sales technology, and with over five years' experience, we know this space like the back of our hands. Get funded by the Collider Accelerator and apply today.

What's on offer

Cash We offer two levels of investment – £35,000 net (£50,000 in total) for early stage companies, and £70,000 net (£100,000 in total) for later stage (companies with some proof of value with commercial traction or prior fundraising). All of our investment comes directly from angels with incredible industry specific experience.

Coaching A three month programme and lifetime support to help you scale with speed.

Connections Meet the leaders in this industry, including the most relevant, senior team members from top corporates.

Community Our startups, scaleups, corporates, investors and mentors become your community too.

https://vimeo.com/234639816

What we're looking for

• Marketing and sales technology that's B2B focussed - that's B2B or B2B2C technology that helps corporates find, understand, engage, sell to or retain customers

• Early stage businesses with an MVP or later stage businesses with some proof of value - be that commercial traction or prior fundraising. We invest in startups with SEIS or EIS

• Impressive teams with personality - with a minimum of two co-founders.

Apply now!

5 Ways To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Into The Collider Accelerator

In fact, this works for VC’s, angels and new clients too. So, if you’ve got an incredible business, we want to hear about it, and we want to remember you above the rest. You can apply right here.

1. Get a warm introduction.

Have a read about the people who work at Collider – stalk us, it’s okay. Have a nosey on Linkedin and see if you have any connections in common, and get yourself an introduction. If nothing turns up here, have a look through Crunchbase or Angel List and see if you know anyone we’re associated with – perhaps an investor or an alumni startup? If you’re in the industry, it’s likely you’ll be connected to someone, just do your homework.

2. Come meet us.

We’re always at industry events, whether that’s at a booth, on a panel or offering mentoring sessions, and we also offer office hours. We’ll be impressed if you really go out of your way to get in contact with us.

3. Have a top notch application.

There are quite a few websites around to help you structure your ideas, presentation, one pagers, business canvas and to find and calculate the size of the market, among other things. Here’s a good one, and another, and another.

4. READ the application form.

Your time is precious, so make sure your idea fits what we’re looking for – a B2B solution to help corporates find, understand, engage with, retain and sell more to consumers. You’d be surprised how many applications we have that are in a completely different space. Spray and pray does not work here.

5. Be clear and concise.

Ask someone to read your application and explain the following to you:

• Problem you are solving and to whom • Size of the market and its opportunity • Traction and progress so far • Team (current investors, board members, advisors, etc) • Your unfair, competitive advantage • Go to market strategy

If they can explain the above, you are in the right path. If not, you will need to work more in your proposal.

Collider is evolving

Collider exists to drive the future of marketing and sales technology for startups, corporates and investors.

This will not change: we’ll continue to find the very best startups to invest in and scale, bring the right startup solutions at the right time to corporates, and ultimately deliver investor returns.

We’re still about winning customers, it’ll always be about building revenue, and it’ll never be about just finding the next round of funding, which explains why we’re working with more corporates now than ever before (and in Amsterdam too!)

We’re also still focused: focused on marketing and sales tech, and focused on scaling, and the impact of that is phenomenal. We’ve invested in over 40 startups now, which means we’ve built the expertise to make even better investment decisions and add incredible value to our portfolio.

So with over five years of in depth, first-hand experience, one exit and over £13m going into the next generation of marketing and sales startups, we’ve seen a lot.

That’s why now is the perfect time to change and invest more.

https://vimeo.com/232318078

1. Keep the applications rolling

You’ll now be able to apply to Collider UK ANY time of year.

One cohort a year was proving nowhere near enough, especially given the incredible startups we kept having to turn down.

We then dabbled with the classic accelerator model of two a year, but even that didn’t cut it, particularly when taking into consideration the needs of our corporate partners – the key way we give meaning to our accelerator name.

So we settled on four cohorts a year – a minimum of three investments per cohort and a maximum of six. That’s more application opportunities, more cohorts and most importantly, more startups as part of the Collider family, shaping the future of marketing and sales tech.

2. Put meaning back into ‘early stage’

You can now apply even if you’ve raised cash before.

We’ve always been clear on our entry requirements – you must have built an MVP, have a team, be focused in B2B marketing and/or sales tech and have your full SEIS available. But now, could you just rub out point four? That’s Collider Take Two.

Once again, we kept noticing just how many startups would come to us, perfect in every way, other than just how early stage they were – and that in itself is one big, fat contradiction.

So rather than missing opportunities time and time again, we’ll be investing in startups with both SEIS and EIS available. That’s early stage, and early stage. Or in other words, startups with proof of value.

3. Flex the investment model

There’s now options, not just one offer.

If we’re going to recruit startups at different stages, we needed to shake up our investment model too.

Each startup will now have two possible investment options: £50,000 of investment (£15,000 as programme fees) or £100,000 of investment (£30,000 programme fees), rather than one standard offer.

That’ll give us a wider range of companies and different stages in their journey, which is absolutely perfect for our community – the community of potential customers.

Remember – Collider exists to shape the future of marketing and sales technology for startups, corporates and investors. If that’s you, we will officially launch on the 4^th September, and we want to hear from you.

Are you a startup?

We’re looking for ground breaking, world changing, mind blowing B2B marketing and advertising technology startups. If you want to supercharge your growth and collide with the most incredible corporate innovators, apply here.

Are you an investor?

Our investor community is a little bit different, but no one wants the same old, do they? Made up of marketing and advertising experts, our angels also hold superpowers in finance, fundraising and tech – all an incredible benefit to our startups. If you want to help accelerate our startups alongside our other investors, get in touch.