Inside the 500 Accelerator is a weekly series by 500 founder Troy Sultan. Today, 10 weeks in, Troy presents “inspiring” takeaways from other Batch 16 founders. But it’s not all fluffy kittens and cotton candy… being a founder is tough, even with world-class support and mentorship. This week, the founders get real.
Accelerators are like kitchens, not restaurants. They give you access to all the tools, ingredients and guidance needed to satisfy your hunger — but it’s up to you to mix things up, try new approaches and make use of what’s available. This is contrary to a restaurant where you show up, sit down and expect to have your hunger satisfied.
My team and I recently reflected on the first 10 weeks of 500, asking whether we’re happy with what we’ve gotten from the program so far. Should we make any changes to during the final 6-week stretch? Would we benefit from doing more or less of anything? A recalibration of sorts.
That made us wonder how other teams felt about their experience. Were they getting similar value? Were they struggling in the same ways? Were they being robbed of sleep by the same nightmares and finding motivation in the same dreams?
Accelerators don’t do the work for you — you get out of the experience what you put in, and because of that, every team has a slightly (or largely) different experience.
I sat down with five fellow B16 founding teams to understand how they’re feeling just 6 weeks from Demo Day. Read on to hear what they had to say.