Marketing Ideas for Incubators and Accelerators
11 Tips to Make Founders Want You
I recently published a giant list of incubators and accelerators in Los Angeles. Existing best-of lists are incomplete snapshots that require you to research each program before you can tell if they’re even appropriate for your startup.
After spending a lot of time digging for details, here is my advice for the managers and operators of these offerings to help you better communicate your value and attract the best founders to your program.
1. Be an incubator or accelerator.
I excluded a number of companies on my list that were tagged with “Incubator” or “Accelerator” on AngelList because they really weren’t either. If we can’t find any reference to your program on your website, press, social media channels, or in mentions by companies listed in your portfolio, you’re either faking it (false advertising), hiding something (e.g. the program is now dead), or you don’t know how to use tags properly on AngelList.
If you’re a VC firm that offers services offered by other VCs (that includes office space), that is insufficient to qualify you as an accelerator or an incubator. (Comment/respond if you disagree!)
2. Be obvious.
If it’s a fixed-length program, how long is it? If not, explain why not. What’s the application process? Are there deadlines or program start/end dates?
Are there standardized funding terms? State them simply. If not, explain why they might differ for each startup.
Do you offer a different structure than other programs? Make that obvious and explain why you’ve made the choice to do it the way you have. We’re happy to give you the benefit of the doubt that you have a reason for your choices, but if you don’t make it obvious it looks like you’re disorganized or haven’t yet made a decision.
3. Productize.
If you have a structured program, productize it. Give it an identity that’s consistent everywhere it appears. Design a logo. Consider a dedicated Twitter account. Put someone in charge of promoting it and sharing news about alums and upcoming events and program milestones.
4. Use one name.
This is definitely part of productizing, but I saw so many programs using different names across social media, press interviews, and even within their own websites, that it’s worth being its own tip.
You must choose one name for your program. If it appears differently on Twitter and AngelList, it sends the message that it’s unprofessional at best, or a total sham at worst. If you don’t know who you are, how are we supposed to figure it out?
5. Avoid too many offerings.
If you have other services you offer, give the incubator/accelerator its own website. When you’re pushing a book, an event series, a short camp, and an accelerator, it looks like you’re trying to sell shit to wantrepreneurs.
6. Be specific to location.
Does the program occur somewhere specific — what’s the address? If you don’t have an address, explain why. Are you applying lean startup tactics and waiting to see if anyone will apply before securing space?
If you have multiple locations, carve out space for each of them on your website. No founder will be attending programs at all of your locations. Show portfolio companies filtered by location so we can gauge the quality of the managing team there.
7. List graduates of the program.
Lots of VC firms list their existing portfolio companies misleadingly close to their incubator/accelerator messaging. It would be disappointing to find out later that you have a crappy track record with actual graduates.
If you’re too new to have any graduates, that’s ok — just say that.
Share testimonials from graduates using your one name.
8. Be clear who the core team is.
A giant list of 50+ mentors looks like an event schedule with one-way communication between the speaker and attendees. Which mentors actually participate in office hours?
Who will be in the trenches with founders day-to-day? If no one is directly responsible for each participating startup, you might not be running an incubator/accelerator.
9. Include photos.
Just like when students are considering colleges, founders have to be able to imagine themselves attending your program and succeeding. The quickest way to help them is by using photos of actual alums in the location the founder will be attending.
The vibe of the photos is more important than the quality. What’s the spirit of the communication between founders? What does the environment look like when working with mentors? Give some context, too — what does the view from the roof look like or the street outside?
A photo of a group of older, white men watching a slide deck around a boardroom table is probably the least inspiring choice you can make here.
If you’re still new and haven’t had founders, mentors, and your team interacting yet, it’s ok if you don’t have photos. Get your camera ready and make it a priority to capture moments for this purpose.
10. Avoid jargon.
If you’re targeting google searches with your website copy are you really focusing on attracting the highest quality founders?
It’s fine to use specific industry terms if you’re an aerospace accelerator, but playing tech buzzword bingo makes you look like you’re trying to compensate for a lack of actually being great.
Avoid jargon on your AngelList profile description, too.
11. Show don’t tell.
Ditch the adjectives in your resources/perks list. “World-class” mentors? We assume that you’re not inviting mediocre mentors. Leave “amazing” out and make sure to name the mentors somewhere— we’ll see that they’re amazing.
Good Examples
Techstars does an excellent job at marketing their programs. Take a look at their new accelerator in LA, Techstars Healthcare Accelerator. They haven’t finished a batch yet, but they’ve already made space for their future portfolio companies and used that space to give a call-to-action to apply so that you can envision your company on that page.
LA-based SMASHD Labs is a really refreshing example because they leverage their differentiation, music and entertainment expertise, and turn up the dial on sexy multi-media to market their new accelerator. You can see all the crucial program details above the fold.
The leader in the accelerator space is, of course, Y Combinator. Check out how they use photos to communicate a lot of details quickly about the program. They couldn’t possibly make it easier to find the terms and structure they offer. That’s remarkable considering most founders already know how YC works. Lesser known programs will need to be at least that clear when marketing to startups.
See the Incubators and Accelerators of Los Angeles.
(Get in touch if you’d like help refining the brand and messaging of your incubator/accelerator.)
