
Need for speed: Accelerators pick up where incubators left off - drm237
http://www.thedeal.com/techconfidential/vc-ratings/napsters-children/need-for-speed.php
======
froo
_"One common criticism is that the approach amounts to throwing a handful of
ideas at the wall to see what sticks. More important, no top-tier startups on
the order of a YouTube Inc. or Facebook have emerged from accelerators."_

It might be true that no top tier startups have appeared from "accelerators"
yet, but I have a couple points that I'd like to make really.

 _Don't count your chickens before they're hatched_

I think it's only a matter of time until an event like this occurs. How many
top-tier startups are there in comparison to total number on non-accelerator
startups? I would dare to say that number is incredibly small (0.1% chance?).

Wouldn't it be more prudent to wait and see for a more definitive answer on if
the model gives startups a better or worse off chance.

 _A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush_

Does it really matter? I thought the model was designed for returning
investments & making profit. I'm sure the guys at reddit & omnisio are crying
themselves to sleep at night with their millions of dollars.

 _Good artists borrow, Great artists steal_

If there are several groups mimicking YC now, I don't think it is necessarily
because the idea is fundamentally unsound.

Given the average acquisition time for startups and how long YC (or any of
them really, but I'm basing my thoughts off YC's start time) has been up and
running, logic tells me to wait and see yet emotions tell me it is the right
course of action.

------
rms
PG: how do you feel about the term accelerator?

~~~
comatose_kid
"One of many metaphors you could use for YC is a steam catapult on an aircraft
carrier"

from <http://www.paulgraham.com/ycombinator.html>

------
netcan
_"One common criticism is that the approach amounts to throwing a handful of
ideas at the wall to see what sticks. More important, no top-tier startups on
the order of a YouTube Inc. or Facebook have emerged from accelerators."_

Is that really a criticism? Isn't that pretty much the definition of VC.

