
500 Startups Announces First Class Of New Incubator Program - ssclafani
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/10/500-startups-announces-first-class-of-new-incubator-program/
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acconrad
I have a feeling this is going to be a battle of clout - whose name will carry
further. Not to mention 500 startups offers more money (upwards of the Yuri-
esque $100k investments) for only 5% stake, which is less than YCs, and you
can stay anywhere from 3-6 months, depending on the help you need. More help,
less stake...this is going to make the game interesting!

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thegoleffect
The mentorship and talks so far have been AMAZINGLY valuable. The 500Startups
team has explicitly asked founders in the program to be vocal and outgoing
about the program. So ask me anything :D

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thegoleffect
For example, a common question is... how does one apply. There are some
misleading answers on the internet right now but the official answer is you
don't. It is a lot like typical angel/VCs, you have to network and come in via
some mutual connection.

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mmt
That seems a bit backwards to me, though it explains the higher investment at
lower stake.

One of the attractive parts of YC is the mentorship in _exactly this category_
[1] that comes with the program. Between that and the pay-us-for-space
incubator model, it's something of an apples-to-oranges comparison to YC,
anyway.

[1] Or at least how to approach getting funding, if not networking in general.

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thegoleffect
Yeah, not really a good comparison. There are a good number of YC companies in
the 500Startups portfolio/mafia.

What I liked about the current process is that networking and pitching became
a way to practice and learn more about that process - which will be extremely
useful in later rounds.

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iag
Can't wait for 500S demo day.

