Welcome to our frequently asked questions page! Got questions? We’ve got answers!
Find information in this FAQ about our online startup incubator and accelerator programs, our resource library, mentoring, and more.
Our Most Frequently Asked Questions
“What types of startups will benefit the most from your platform and programs?”
Stage-wise: Early-stage startups from pre-idea validation, to pre-seed, to seed-stage.
Product or Service-wise: SaaS, IoT, marketplaces, physical products, and just about anything tech-based that solves a problem that your market faces.
“What’s the difference between your online incubator and accelerator?”
Incubator
Our online startup incubator helps aspiring entrepreneurs who are pre-product with not yet validated startup ideas. The incubator program helps potential founders to find out whether or not their startup idea is worth pursuing further. 42% of startups fail because there was no market need for their product. It would make sense to say that you should validate your startup idea properly before moving further with it.
We provide an idea validation/invalidation course and tons of resources to help you successfully test out your idea. This prevents people from wasting years and thousands of dollars on turning their startup ideas into startups that won’t pan out.
What’s more, the idea validation course also prepares you for our 3-month accelerator program or just building your startup on your own based on an idea that’s truly validated.
Accelerator
Our accelerator program is for startups who already validated their idea and are ready to start building, growing, and fundraising soon after.
It’s a three-month course that’s paired with a platform resources, however, you can take longer if you need to due to your own circumstances.
In the platform, we have lots of growth-based content in different verticals that will help you build your strategies, pick your tactics, and find what works best for your type of startup.
“Why don’t I have to apply to get into your accelerator?”
Most startups don’t get accepted into accelerators that provide investment and co-working facilities. Fewer than 10% of startups do.
We believe in equal opportunity for the startup community, and that means providing a quality 3+ month accelerator program available to any startup with optional mentoring subscriptions.
We have democratized startup acceleration.
“How long does the accelerator program take to complete?”
The accelerator program typically takes three to six months to complete, depending on factors such as your work pace, team size, and any outsourced projects.
While the program is designed to be completed within three months with consistent effort, you can take as long as you need to finish as long as you maintain an active subscription and submit all required materials.
Working on your startup for at least three to four hours a day can help you stay on schedule, but if you can dedicate more time, that’s even better. It’s important to find a balance and avoid burnout.
If you and your team work full-time jobs, you’ll be working on your startup part-time, which may extend the timeline.
Solo founders can expect a longer duration as they handle all tasks themselves until they build a team.
Regardless, meticulous planning, organization, and collaboration with your team are essential for productivity and success.
If you need support or guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, fellow founders, or entrepreneurs in your industry.
“Can I join the incubator or accelerator at any time or do I have to wait for a cohort to start?”
You can join at any time! We don’t have any cohorts because we don’t want to hold any startups up from joining our program. You’re building your startup on your time, not ours.
“Do you provide seed funding from your incubator and accelerator?”
We don’t provide funding right now. However, this helps you save equity for when you fundraise. Moreover, this will increase your startup’s valuation when those fundraising rounds occur because you’ll have more equity to use for fundraising.
“Do you help me find investors?”
No and yes. No because we do not directly help you find investors. But yes because the accelerator program teaches you how to find the best investors that will fit with your type of company. We also share really helpful lists and networks of angel investors and venture capital firms. They’ll help you find investors quicker (saving you 50+ hrs).
“Do I automatically get mentoring if I sign up for a paid membership?”
Unfortunately, no. We wish we could mentor everyone who signs up, but we can’t be sustainable if we do that.
However, you can get on-demand mentoring by signing up for a weekly or bi-weekly mentoring subscription. Mentoring once a month is too ineffective for startups so we don’t offer that.
We have a limited number of these plans available but we will be working to secure more mentors who are equally qualified as Carl to meet greater demand.
“Will you have a demo day with investors?”
This is something that we’re planning on doing, but it is not determined when. When we do have a demo day, though, it will be online only, you’ll have to apply to pitch, and you will have had to completed the accelerator program and submitted all of your necessary documentation for completion of the program.
“Can my venture capital firm or university entrepreneurship program use your platform?”
Yes – enterprise plans can be available for these types of institutions. Please reach out to us at sales @ startupdevkit dot com for a quote.
“Can our agency take part in your accelerator program?”
You can, but in order for it to be effective, you need to have a product for either yourself or a client and your client should have access to the accelerator program too. An account for teams is your best option in this case.
“When is the right time to start the accelerator program?”
The best time to start is once your startup’s idea validation phase has been completed and the idea has become refined and validated.
However, if you have already validated your startup idea and already have started building it, but you’re looking for more direction, help, processes, and resources, then our accelerator program is still going to be a good fit for you.
If you still need to validate your idea, then you can take advantage of our idea validation course before you start our accelerator program.
It’s vital that you complete your idea validation process first and we’ll tell you why. Going through the idea validation process will prepare you for this program, prepare you for having a healthy startup with a strong foundation, and will greatly lower your chances of startup failure being that 90% fail. You could be wasting valuable time and money if you’re pursuing an idea that does not have strong enough potential in the market to be profitable.
Again, 42% of venture-backed startups fail because there was no market need. We don’t want to see that happen to you! Do you?
“What should I know before I start the accelerator program?”
Assuming that you’ve validated your startup idea, your task is to keep your startup alive and make it thrive. You’ve jumped over your first of many hurdles. But the battle to be successful is fought not only in the market, but in our minds and within ours startups.
It’s a long and difficult journey and it’s not as glamorous as a lot of people believe it to be. It takes guts, grit, and thick skin. But it’s also important to have humility and seek feedback. Startups are not for the faint-hearted, so we hope this is something that you’re determined to do.
Despite the difficulties you will inevitably face, a positive attitude is insanely important.
As Henry Ford, the Founder of Ford Motors, said, and we’re paraphrasing, “If you think you can do something or think you can’t, you’re right.”
As long as your startup idea is validated, then you can do it if you align yourself with a positive mission.
Don’t build a startup just for the prospect of getting rich — do it for the passion of fixing the problem for the customers you serve and improving their lives. You will have a much more fulfilling experience and the money will follow.
“Is it the right time in my life to start a startup?”
Timing is so important and sometimes people aren’t at the juncture in their lives where they will have the time to pursue a startup. Sure, you can move slowly and have your startup as a slowly built side-hustle, too.
But speed is also important because there are other market forces in play that could change market need.
We recommend that pursuing your startup is something you really want to do and that you also have the ability to do at this point in your life and for the foreseeable future.
Also make sure that your spouse, partner, or even parents (for college students) are on board with you pursuing your startup.
Hopefully, now is the right time for you!
“Why pay for a membership to StartupDevKit when I can apply to a physical accelerator?”
Did you know that approximately 90% of startups applying to physical accelerators don’t get accepted in those programs? It’s easier to get into an ivy league university!
Physical accelerators also have fixed schedules, cohorts, and will generally require you to quit your job and work on it full time, adding more stress and uncertainty to your life with regard to your financial stability.
We don’t have cohorts. You can sign up at anytime. You can take as long or as little as you need to complete our programs. And you can do it from the comfort of your own home or office.
We de-risk your startup idea or startup through due diligence during the idea validation and foundation building phases.
You could always apply to a physical startup accelerator after our program. You will have a much better shot at getting in.
Moreover, 90% of startups fail and we help startups prevent the top reasons for startup failure through our program.
The startups do who don’t get accepted into physical accelerators search for alternatives or wind up bootstrapping and that’s where we come in.
With StartupDevKit, we have democratized our accelerator program so you get a 3+month process to follow via course content, on-demand mentoring, a huge platform of resources to help you, community, and more.
“How long does the startup idea validation course take?”
The idea validation course will generally take between two weeks and month to complete. It could take longer. But after that, there are next steps that we share with you if/once your idea is validated.
After the course, there’s still more to do in the program and tons of great resources in our libraries so you can extract as much value as you can from it.
And, once you finish all of that, you can upgrade to and purchase your accelerator program membership at a prorated cost.
“Are your startup resources just lists and checklists or is there more to it than that?”
While we have and share lots of great lists and checklists, we have much more than them on our platform.
It has curated and original articles from industry leaders, templates, excellent video series, select podcast episodes, presentation decks, and more.
However, there are a several lists in particular that you’ll find especially helpful: 1) Our startup tools list of over 550 startup tools, 2) venture capital firm lists, 3) a press contact list, and more.
What’s more, you will save $20,000 worth of time spent (~480 hours) from hunting for the right startup resources. Awesomeness!
“Who do you source your curated content from?”
Venture capitalists, their firms, successful tech companies, authors, serial founders, top-tier entrepreneurial sites, and leading universities.
We source our content from these organizations and more:
Nextview Ventures, First Round Review, NFX, Y-Combinator, HubSpot, 500 Startups, Harvard Business Review, Openview Venture Partners, Startup Grind, Sumo, The Startup Chat podcast, The Lean Startup, Lifehack articles, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and more.
“Do you have a startup network and/or an online community?”
We have a Facebook group and Slack community which are free to join and are for open networking.
We also have forums on our platform where you can ask questions or find answers to existing questions.
“Can I receive discounts from your partners?”
Yes, we have a member perks and benefits page with available discounts from participating partners. They’re available after purchasing a membership subscription of at least three months long.
Any other questions?
Shoot us a line to info at startupdevkit dot com (this helps avoid spam) and we’ll be happy to assist you. Thanks for checking out our FAQ!