Tips for Following Startup Incubators and Accelerators Part 2: Understanding Programs

There are many advantages for startups when following incubator or accelerator program. First, startups get comprehensive knowledge about specific business and leadership. Second, paving the way for startups to meet strategic partners, including business partners and investors. Third, helping startups re-examine various product and market share assumptions that have been defined.

In order to achieve this goal, after finish preparations pre-incubation/acceleration, startups need to optimize their participation in the program. In order to get the tips, we contacted several organizers or mentors of these activities. One of them is Donni Prabowo, General Manager AMIKOM Business Park (ABP), a startup incubator based in Yogyakarta.

According to Donni, the basic thing that founders must really absorb when joining an incubator program is to build entrepreneurial mindset. Only then will it enter the next stage, namely validation which includes: problem validation, product validation, to business model validation.

"In our opinion the most basic is related to entrepreneurial mindset. We have to forge startup founders to have a positive mental attitude, open mind, and never give up. High integrity and strong commitment are needed in building a business," said Donni.

Mentality development is also one of the most important missions stressed the Day of Sungkari in preparing the pre-incubation curriculum at BEKUP (BEKRAF for Pre-Startup). In the end, when a startup really jumps into market share, the character of the founder will largely determine the direction of the startup. According to Hari, today's digital business must be faced with foresight and an open mindset, therefore he emphasizes the founders of his education to always be ready to change.

"The BEKUP curriculum refers to Lean Startup, readiness to pivot is emphasized here. Founders must be willing to change, when a validated idea does not produce a response in consumers. This is what we want to emphasize, because BEKUP is here to create an agile startup founder mentality," explained Day.

Focus on product-market fit and partnership

In a interview opportunity, SEA Regional Manager of Fenox Venture Capital, Jeff Quigley, proponent of the GnB Accelerator program in Indonesia, said that the main focus of the accelerator program is helping startups find product-market fit, is no longer just validating ideas. One of them is done by inviting mentors from the startup ecosystem to discuss internal startup strengthening to expansion strategies. Strengthening the team will have an impact on faster performance, while the expansion strategy brings startups to new business potential.

"The purpose of the accelerator is to ensure startups that graduate from the program are ready to perform scale-up and have an impact on the startup ecosystem. We have a priority to ensure every startup meets the criteria for fundraising in the next stage," said Jeff.

Managing Director of Plug and Play Indonesia, Wesley Harjono, said that one of the goals of the acceleration program is to connect startups with corporate partners and other large organizations, including the government. Partnerships with big businesses are considered to open opportunities for fostered startups to make many business adjustments, learning from corporate experiences in dealing with market share.

Common problems

In Yogyakarta, the ABP program almost always deals with startups in the early stages (early stage). From existing experience, Donni concludes that there are fundamental challenges that startups often face and can be addressed in an incubator or accelerator program. These problems revolve around business focus, capital, and access to markets. It seems that this problem is indeed a common phenomenon everywhere.

"Many startups fail because they lose focus, due to many things, one of which is because they often make startups just to fill their spare time, not yet a top priority," said Donni.

Based on the experience of several startups, the failure to focus is also due to the capital factor. They feel they have to support startup operations by working. This minimal capital also makes startups recruit team members arbitrarily, not based on expertise. Therefore, incubator or accelerator programs usually help startups by providing early-stage funding. The hope is that the founders can really focus on developing their business.

The last is about access to the market. Incubator or accelerator programs are generally set up by investment companies or corporations. In addition to the education curriculum and capital, they are also present to bring startup connections to strategic partners. The hope is that it can accelerate startups to finalize their debut in the market after their products are well validated.