There are some accelerators and incubators that are advertised around Vancouver, BC. I was filling out an application form for GrowLabs but stopped just shy of submitting it because I hadn't fully answered the question, "is this really necessary?". I filled out the form half heart because I felt like I was just doing this because "everyone else was doing it".
I've spent the last 8 months or so building an MVP for http://scrape.ly. Bootstrapped and getting ready to launch very soon.
What are some reasons for joining such incubators or accelerator programs? Is real value provided for giving away 10% of your equity?
My original plan was to get to about 20 or so customers, get a small shared office.
Your experiences of joining such accelerators or other stories would be interesting.
If you're looking to bootstrap, you may not be an ideal candidate for an incubator. Their 10% equity is based on the idea that you likely want to bring in investors and sell your company for 100x total investments.
Incubators and accelerators are very good at getting you ready to take investment. That's what they're all about. Sure, there is some stuff in there about helping you make a product, but I think you'll find a lot of that direction is often about "it will show investor x,y,z".
If you aren't thinking about bringing on investors in the first two years of the company, I'd say you don't want to do it. If you want to bring in investors, then I'd say incubators are an option.
I know the guys at Mover.io went through GrowLabs after Start-up Chile. Great bunch of really smart guys, and Mike Edwards (GrowLabs Founder & Principal) is also a great guy. They've got a solid team in there, so if you're going with anybody in the neighbourhood, they're the right ones to pitch.