
Disney Accelerator - nickmain
http://www.disneyaccelerator.com
======
spodek
Disney seems like a great place for a young copyright lawyer to learn how to
sue creative people, eventually to graduate to Monsanto and the like. Or to
become a lobbyist to extend copyrights ad infinitum. I'm sure this program
connects with other parts of the organization, but that's the impression I
have of the company.

I feel like this post might lead one of them to think of suing me.

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callmeed
You should apply to this program with a "Free 3D printing of Disney toys"
service :)

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hayksaakian
from a less cynical POV:

this might just be the ONLY way to do your hypothetical idea.

if you're in Disney's accelerator, I'm sure that comes with better access to
their copyrights.

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Stratoscope
Indeed it does.

> Each participating team will receive:

> $120,000 in investment capital

> Access to stories, characters, resources and relationships from across The
> Walt Disney Company, such as The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Animation,
> Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, ESPN, ABC, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney
> Consumer Products, and Disney Interactive

~~~
sitkack
I didn't have the finger energy to type it, but this call to action struct me
as an organization that is sitting on golden franchises with a vacuum of
ideas.

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zach
I'm totally in on this. This is an amazing development for the LA startup
community.

As an LA native (it made the radio news here on Wednesday), I'm very curious
where in the Los Angeles area this is.

Santa Monica/Venice is the startup juggernaut of this area, but media startups
tend to run farther afield and I don't know if Disney even has any offices
there (maybe ESPN?). I would think, given the realities of the startup world,
advisors and investors in particular, not to mention LA traffic, it would have
to be on the Westside, right?

Also extremely curious how the IP access works out. Time from, say, a Disney
Consumer Products artist to create new art is a big deal (and not cheap). And
could DA companies put Disney characters in the iPhone app they're going to
sell or is this just to make an effective demo?

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jshen
I really hope it isn't on the westside. I want some options for tech work that
don't require me to buy a house on the westside or drive 1 1/2 hour one way
for my commute.

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zach
Honestly, me too. I grew up in the Valley and used to live in Burbank and
commuted to Hollywood and (of course) Santa Monica — which is, yeah, a harsh
drive. It would be awesome if Disney could effectively bring technology
startups somewhere beside the Westside.

However, I have to think that Techstars, of anyone, has the data to back up
the arguments in favor of accelerators being located near a region's startup
ground zero.

Even if Disney was insistent, what would the first advice be from every
advisor? Put the central location on the Westside or you're a B player.

And I don't think Disney would necessarily be insistent. For example,
Grantland's offices are off on their own in downtown LA. Especially since they
can just do a deal with one of the many tech office spaces that operate on the
Westside.

Still, perhaps there can be a compromise, like two demo days (one in the
studio area, one on the Westside). But I've seen the Westside win too many
times to hold out much hope...

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LAMike
That's the best part of LA silly

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speeder
Kidoteca (my company) will apply, not because of the funding (although we are
lacking money, our investments are larger than what they are willing to
invest...)

But because the mentorship and IP access might be very interesting for us.

:)

This is the first accelerator that caught my CEO attention (he for example
have no intention of joining Y-Combinator)

EDIT: Why the downvote? :(

~~~
bradhe
> because the mentorship

Who are the mentors?

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james33
[http://disneyaccelerator.com/mentors/](http://disneyaccelerator.com/mentors/)

~~~
gus_massa
The first mentor in the list is:

> _Robert A. Iger; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney
> Company_

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Iger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Iger)

How many times a week can you visit him? How many times a week can any of the
teams visit him? I guess the fist half of the list is there only for politic
reasons, and the real list of mentors begins at "Friends of Disney"

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theplaz
I interned at Disney last summer and met with 1-2 of the people on the list
(after cold emailing them). I think many of the upper management of Disney are
super-sharp.

It's interesting to see such a broad list of execs. I'm guessing not all are
super excited about this (due to 100% participation), but I think the majority
would be engaged.

I would add that you probably would not want to visit more than weekly - I
work at a big tech company and the CEO (who is famously hands on and detail
oriented) and SVPs only meet with key projects 1-2x/month tops.

~~~
sbuccini
How'd you like Disney? I've looked up their internships but most of them seem
to be quite pedestrian. I'd love to work with the Imagineering team if at all
possible.

~~~
theplaz
I had a internship directly with on of the VPs which I met at a recruiting
event. It was pretty interesting - I got to learn a ton about Disney.

The problem is that Disney is missing the Silicon Valley style work culture
and dynamism. Instead it has too many "pedestrian" positions, as you said,
which means things get done slowly. I wish it took a page from internet
companies (fewer, smarter generalists).

~~~
sbuccini
Interesting, sounds like you had a good time. If that VP is looking for
someone this summer, I'd love to be intro'd.

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amitparikh
Note that the $120k funding is broken into $20k cash and the _option_ for an
additional $100k convertible debt note.

~~~
jknightco
I think that's the standard for Techstars these days:
[http://www.techstars.com/program/faqs/](http://www.techstars.com/program/faqs/)

Looks like its $18k cash and $100k convertible.

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ixmatus
Convertible or priced (we did a convertible note). The 100k is optional. It
was for us at least.

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alecsmart1
Can you please explain what convertible debt note means?

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uniclaude
There is a good explanation there:
[http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/07/convertible-note-seed-
finan...](http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/07/convertible-note-seed-financings/)

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pdenya
Oh man, I love this idea. Disney IP access for a startup could be huge.

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wcfields
Yeah, $120k (even if only ~20k$ is cash), is a drop in the bucket compared to
the WHOLE IP catalog.

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aresant
Somebody please incubate Monkey Island 3, done in the original Lucasarts
style.

But seriously, the potential access to Disney IP is awesome - I wonder how
they will structure that.

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Thiz
I'd like to see a pixar's animated movie about Wilbur and Orville as they
struggle to make the first flight a reality in their bycicle shop, some plane
modeling, hard times, lack of funding, sparkled with some love stories and
jelousy between the brothers about whose to be the first pilot and get all the
honors. At the end Orville wins, Wilbur takes the pic, their girlfriends
leaving NC on a steam ship breaking their relationship and as they watch the
plane take off they turn the ship back, jump off and run to them for a happy
ending.

I don't want any money, I just want to see that movie in a theater with my
kids.

~~~
sitkack
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_Foundation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_Foundation)
all the tools are available for amateurs to complete a movie like this.

[http://www.blender.org/features/projects/](http://www.blender.org/features/projects/)

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nfoz
Wow that f6s applications thing is obnoxious. No, I will not sign in with
linkedin or facebook, until I read what we will need to fill out on the
application form. So get your popup out of my face... thanks.

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doctorfoo
Square Enix a few days ago did a similar thing, with access to a few (old)
IPs. I wonder if this is a trend?

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shmerl
Disney is a copyright freak. Let's see them releasing anything like Loom or
other games they got from Lucas Arts DRM-free, and good luck with that.

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=FtHMkPmmeLA](https://youtube.com/watch?v=FtHMkPmmeLA)

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skywhopper
I like much of Disney's traditional creative output, but I think it's telling
that the biggest featured content on that page is all pre-Disney creations
from very-recent acquisitions of more innovative creators: Lucasfilm, Pixar,
and Marvel.

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NIL8
I hate seeing Yoda on their page. It's like seeing your ex with her new
boyfriend.

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checker659
Is the whole world welcome to apply? Couldn't find any mention on the FAQ.

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asperous
According to their official twitter, "Yes - applicants from anywhere worldwide
will be considered."

[https://twitter.com/disneyaccel/status/434040445593608192](https://twitter.com/disneyaccel/status/434040445593608192)

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obamasupporter
It's magical.

