Startup School: the Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, 2011 Edition Erin Kutz, 7/26/11
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Buyer: Erin Kutz ([email protected]) Transaction ID: jg-lozuvk3892078e6 ! ! ! Xconomy.com Startup School: The Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, 2011 Edition Erin Kutz, 7/26/11 Xconomy started with the aim of more than desks, WiFi, and casual startups. While the number of com- identifying areas of explosive growth mentorship to be included on our list. panies they nurture is smaller, this in business and innovation. Well, we breed of incubator plays an important were on to something when we first The boom in incubators can be seen role in launching companies. introduced the Xconomy Guide to as both organic and planned. This Venture Incubators in 2009. year, local and national governments It’s worth noting that several of the started paying more attention to incubators focus on specific sectors, That first year we included 20 pro- startup creation and growth. You can like cleantech (CleanLaunch, Green- grams on our list. Last year that see that with programs like President start, and NYC ACRE), life sciences number bumped up to 34. And this Obama’s Startup America Partner- (Accelerator, Downstate, Blueprint year, we have identified a whopping ship, and the slew of incubators that Health, and QB3), health IT (Rock- 64 programs across the U.S. that we the city of New York has funded or Health), and gaming (Joystick Labs). count as startup incubators, even after helped launch. Boulder, CO-based dropping seven from last year’s list. TechStars announced it was offering Several incubators included in previ- (Entries marked in green are new.) a template for other programs looking ous guides expanded to new cities: to use its model, through what’s we’ve tracked these as well. Mean- With previous incubator guides, called the TechStars Network. while, we included new programs in we’ve noted that many entrepreneurs emerging tech hubs like New York, have a desire for strong community This Network includes several incu- and in cities less known for their and mentorship while building their bators listed in previous guides (like startup community, like Greenville, companies. To that end, some of the Providence, RI-based Betaspring), SC, and Bloomington, IN. programs in this guide offer a boot- but it has also resulted in the addition camp–style environment and culmi- of more than 10 new incubators to As mentioned, we’ve added 37 new nate in a big day of presentations to our list. Some, like Tampa Bay, FL- programs this year, and removed potential investors. Others charge for based Gazelle Lab, got their start this seven that were either defunct, rolled workspace, but offer educational pro- year; others, like Launchpad LA, into other initiatives, or evolved to gramming, networking, technology, have been around for a few years but function more like funds than incuba- and various services to resident en- had previously escaped our radar. tors. Summer@Highland, on hiatus trepreneurs. Many take equity in the in 2010, is back this year, and another startups they nurture, and others offer We also opened this year’s guide to from last year, Bootup Labs, is on grants and loans with no strings at- programs like Seattle-based Accel- pause but hoping to return soon. All tached. Some have strong ties to uni- erator. Such groups provide longer- programs are listed alphabetically, versities and are on college cam- term support and bigger checks (think with a state index on the last page. puses. This range of programs is $3 to 4 million) to a smaller group of what we’ve sought to capture in this startups than the more common So enjoy this year’s guide. And please year’s guide. Whatever the form, TechStars or Y Combinator model of let us know about any additions or though, we’ve held firm to the re- offering roughly $20,000 and a few corrections you think are warranted quirement that incubators must offer months’ training to a dozen or more ([email protected]). ! XCONOMY.COM 1 © 2011 Xconomy, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. XCONOMY is a registered service mark of Xconomy, Inc. Buyer: Erin Kutz ([email protected]) Transaction ID: jg-lozuvk3892078e6 ! ! ! 500 Startups http://500startups.com/accelerator/ Location: Mountain View, CA Founded: 2010 Teams accepted per year: Varies Investment/stipend: $25,000 to $100,000 Equity stake required: Around 5 percent Application info: Applications are invitation only Application deadline: Not disclosed Past and current companies: Baydin, BugHerd, LaunchBit, Punchd, Rewardli, Snapette, Spoondate, Vayable, Zerply, and more Self-description: "The 500 Startups Accelerator experiments with early-stage startup formulas for explosive growth with a mixture of up to $100K in funding, superhuman mentors & designers in residence, platform- specific strategies for customer acquisition, a creative workspace and more..." Xconomy coverage: "488 To Go? Dave McClure’s 500 Startups Unveils New Incubator With 12 Startups," February 20, 2011 http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2011/02/10/488-to-go-dave-mcclures-500-startups-unveils-new- incubator-with-12-startups/ Accelerator http://www.acceleratorcorp.com/ Location: Seattle, WA Founded: 2003 Teams accepted per year: Varies Investment/stipend: Between $3 million and $4 million Equity stake required: Not disclosed Application info: E-mail an executive summary to [email protected] Application deadline: Rolling Past and current companies: Oncofactor, Acylin Therapeutics, XORI, Groove Biopharma, Allozyne, Integrated Diagnostics, Theraclone Sciences, VLST, and more Self-description: "Accelerator Corporation, founded in 2003, is a vehicle for disciplined and efficient investment in and management of emerging biotechnology opportunities. Located in Seattle, Washington, the company identifies, evaluates, finances, and manages ground-breaking emerging life sciences opportunities. The company has established and built a largely proprietary array of sources of deal flow, as well as a key set of resources to bring to bear in the de- velopment of the best opportunities emerging from those sources. These key resources, provided by Accelerator and its Affiliates—Amgen Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners, PPD, Inc., WRF Capital, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., and the Institute for Systems Biology—include committed investment capital, state-of-the-art facilities, world-class scientific and technical expertise and support, and experienced start-up management." Xconomy coverage: "An Accelerator, By Any Other Name…Does Not Smell as Sweet," August 11, 2008 http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/08/11/an-accelerator-by-any-other-namedoes-not-smell-as-sweet/ "Accelerator Slowed Down in 2009, Expects to Rev Back Up in 2010," January 27, 2010 http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2010/01/27/accelerator-slowed-down-in-2009-expects-to-rev-back-up-in-2010/ XCONOMY.COM 2 © 2011 Xconomy, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. XCONOMY is a registered service mark of Xconomy, Inc. Buyer: Erin Kutz ([email protected]) Transaction ID: jg-lozuvk3892078e6 ! ! ! AlphaLab (member of the TechStars Network) http://www.alphalab.org/ Location: Pittsburgh, PA Founded: 2008 Teams accepted per year: 12 (2 classes of 6) Investment/stipend: $25,000 Equity stake required: 5 percent Application info: http://alphalab.org/survey_overview.aspx Application deadline: April 4 (in 2011, future deadlines TBA) Past and current companies: AJAX Street, BlenderHouse, Black Locus, Chogger, Fooala, LeftRight Studios, The Resumator, Skill-Life, and more Self-description: "AlphaLab is the startup accelerator created by Innovation Works to help capital-efficient startup companies launch quickly and successfully. Twice a year up to six companies in the software, web, mobile, enter- tainment technology, or hardware space are selected to participate in an intensive 20-week program. During these weeks companies will rapidly iterate on their products and work with mentors, advisors, and the AlphaLab team to hone their business models. The program culminates in the AlphaLab Demo Day: a chance for companies to pitch what they’ve been working on to angel investors, VCs, and press outlets from around the nation." AngelPad http://angelpad.org/ Location: San Francisco, CA Founded: 2010 Teams accepted per year: Up to 30 (2 classes of 15) Investment/stipend: $20,000 Equity stake required: A small amount of common stock, according to AngelPad website Application info: http://angelpad.org/more/ Application deadline: May 1 (for summer 2011, future deadlines TBA) Past and current companies: Adku, Crittercism, EggCartel, Hopscotch, LocBox, RollCall, and more Self-description: "AngelPad is a mentorship program founded by a team of ex-Googlers to help technology startups build better products, attract seed funding and grow more successful businesses. Twice a year, we provide an exten- sive mentorship program to carefully selected startups, during the course of 10 weeks, in our San Francisco office. Companies typically receive $20,000 in exchange for a small amount of common shares. The 10 weeks program covers all aspects of a company launch—from idea to product, market fit, customer acquisition and fundraising. We also take care of the less glamorous things like incorporation, immigration visas or setting up books. A strong em- phasis is also put on helping founders to prepare for demo day, which occurs towards the end of each program and allows companies to present their idea/vision/product to