Spot-on take! Too many accelerators promise the world but leave founders high and dry—your point about misaligned incentives really hits home. Everyone claims they’re competing with Y Combinator, but they’re not even close. Great read, thanks for calling it out!
No one should be competing with Y Combinator. Build what's distinct about your role in the ecosystem and do that better than everyone else - effectively, be a monopoly of your niche.
I think there may be a need for a "pre-incubator" program as well. Maybe a 3 day weekend seminar, on site, for people who might be thinking about possibly maybe starting something. There are lots of these sorts of things for franchise and MLM businesses, but nothing really out there for founders. The best I could do before going into Media Tech ventures' incubator was reading a lot of books about startups and especially the downsides. But I could imagine a mini-course where you check into a hotel and spend your entire weekend working... I mean 16+ hours Saturday and Sunday going over different "what are you going to do about X" scenarios with each other. End the class at 6:00 then blast out a phone call at 9:30 with some urgent need. Basically gamification/simulation, and in the end 90% of the people lose the game. Done right it could really open a lot of eyes. And it would be a great way to interview potential candidates for the incubator.
Take my case, I optimistically assumed the FAA actually wanted drones in the air and a democratization of the airspace. Nope. They're fine with destroying an upstart industry to preserve their status quo, and only after the startups wash out letting the legacy aviation industry come out with their 20X more expensive solutions. Who'da thunk that would happen? I didn't have the stomach to go begging once I realized that was only one of the many headwinds I'd face (including a customer base that was pretty happy with their current solutions), so now I work for the DMV. Someone out there will have the drive (or connections) to continue though, and I wish them well. Maybe Musk will get the FAA in line, but they're one of those 3rd rail agencies that hangs their hats on the success of aviation.
BTW, I never thanked you for letting me into the incubator. I really did learn a lot and if nothing else has allowed me to run ideas though the mill to see if there's anything there. That alone puts me way ahead of most people who want to build things.
Your idea of a pre-incubator—a high-intensity, immersive weekend that simulates the chaos and problem-solving required of founders—is exactly the kind of thing startup ecosystems are missing. There are plenty of conferences, meetups, and casual "founder schools," but nothing that really forces people to live the experience before they commit. Most accelerators (and even incubators) take people who have already jumped in, but there's a huge gap in programs designed to test whether someone should even start in the first place.
The gamification aspect is spot on. A controlled, high-pressure environment where participants are confronted with real startup crises—unexpected regulatory hurdles, investor pullouts, customer disinterest—could do more in a weekend than months of passive learning. And, as you pointed out with your drone venture, these harsh realities are often invisible to founders until they’ve already gone all-in.
Your FAA example is exactly why something like this is needed. Too many founders assume regulators, incumbents, or even customers want what they’re building. They assume the challenge is execution when, in reality, the fundamental premise of their business might be fatally flawed due to forces outside their control. Getting people to experience that before they quit their jobs or take on investors would save a lot of wasted time (and, frankly, reduce the number of delusional pitches in startup ecosystems).
Also, thanks for the kind words about the incubator. The fact that you walked away knowing how to stress-test ideas—and that you’re still thinking about ways to improve the process—tells me it was worth it. If you ever want to co-develop that weekend simulation idea, I bet we could make it happen. The startup world could use more founders who learn the game before they lose it.
Startups (founders) *aren't* the customer when your value proposition is connecting with investors or funding. You're in the business of making startups *better* which means they're your product.
Spot-on take! Too many accelerators promise the world but leave founders high and dry—your point about misaligned incentives really hits home. Everyone claims they’re competing with Y Combinator, but they’re not even close. Great read, thanks for calling it out!
No one should be competing with Y Combinator. Build what's distinct about your role in the ecosystem and do that better than everyone else - effectively, be a monopoly of your niche.
I think there may be a need for a "pre-incubator" program as well. Maybe a 3 day weekend seminar, on site, for people who might be thinking about possibly maybe starting something. There are lots of these sorts of things for franchise and MLM businesses, but nothing really out there for founders. The best I could do before going into Media Tech ventures' incubator was reading a lot of books about startups and especially the downsides. But I could imagine a mini-course where you check into a hotel and spend your entire weekend working... I mean 16+ hours Saturday and Sunday going over different "what are you going to do about X" scenarios with each other. End the class at 6:00 then blast out a phone call at 9:30 with some urgent need. Basically gamification/simulation, and in the end 90% of the people lose the game. Done right it could really open a lot of eyes. And it would be a great way to interview potential candidates for the incubator.
Take my case, I optimistically assumed the FAA actually wanted drones in the air and a democratization of the airspace. Nope. They're fine with destroying an upstart industry to preserve their status quo, and only after the startups wash out letting the legacy aviation industry come out with their 20X more expensive solutions. Who'da thunk that would happen? I didn't have the stomach to go begging once I realized that was only one of the many headwinds I'd face (including a customer base that was pretty happy with their current solutions), so now I work for the DMV. Someone out there will have the drive (or connections) to continue though, and I wish them well. Maybe Musk will get the FAA in line, but they're one of those 3rd rail agencies that hangs their hats on the success of aviation.
BTW, I never thanked you for letting me into the incubator. I really did learn a lot and if nothing else has allowed me to run ideas though the mill to see if there's anything there. That alone puts me way ahead of most people who want to build things.
Your idea of a pre-incubator—a high-intensity, immersive weekend that simulates the chaos and problem-solving required of founders—is exactly the kind of thing startup ecosystems are missing. There are plenty of conferences, meetups, and casual "founder schools," but nothing that really forces people to live the experience before they commit. Most accelerators (and even incubators) take people who have already jumped in, but there's a huge gap in programs designed to test whether someone should even start in the first place.
The gamification aspect is spot on. A controlled, high-pressure environment where participants are confronted with real startup crises—unexpected regulatory hurdles, investor pullouts, customer disinterest—could do more in a weekend than months of passive learning. And, as you pointed out with your drone venture, these harsh realities are often invisible to founders until they’ve already gone all-in.
Your FAA example is exactly why something like this is needed. Too many founders assume regulators, incumbents, or even customers want what they’re building. They assume the challenge is execution when, in reality, the fundamental premise of their business might be fatally flawed due to forces outside their control. Getting people to experience that before they quit their jobs or take on investors would save a lot of wasted time (and, frankly, reduce the number of delusional pitches in startup ecosystems).
Also, thanks for the kind words about the incubator. The fact that you walked away knowing how to stress-test ideas—and that you’re still thinking about ways to improve the process—tells me it was worth it. If you ever want to co-develop that weekend simulation idea, I bet we could make it happen. The startup world could use more founders who learn the game before they lose it.
Find someone who's running an escape room or does murder mystery parties.
It makes you wonder about the real agenda of the accelerators when they make money up front.
ding ding ding ding ding!
Startups (founders) *aren't* the customer when your value proposition is connecting with investors or funding. You're in the business of making startups *better* which means they're your product.