Ask HN: Your experience with a 'lesser known' incubator?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4185606

by azarias • 14 years ago

7 6 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Did you attend an incubator besides TechStars, YC or 500? What was the experience like...pros? cons?

drewvolpe• 14 years ago

I was in MassChallenge '10 and it was a great experience. One big difference between MC and most incubators is that it's a non-profit. You get free office space, access to a great set of mentors, and, if you're one of the top teams, you get a share of $1m. Everything, including the money, is non-dilutive and comes with no strings attached.

azarias• 14 years ago

That is actually pretty cool.

I am noticing that many state governments are also sponsoring various forms of incubators, which also offer non-dilutive funds. I think that can be just what some start-ups need.

michaelbuckbee• 14 years ago

I was in LaunchBox DC (which has since moved to NC Raleigh/Durham area) it was a very positive experience. The advisors brought in great connections: Steve Case, Tim O'Reilly, various startup CEO's, etc for weekly round table discussions and advice.

The overall outcome was a third of the class ended up either getting acqui-hired or taking additional investment, a third is still bootstrapping, and everyone else scaled things down to a side business or just faded away.

tbelote• 14 years ago

Kincast is in Sproutbox http://sproutbox.com/ right now. The experience has been great. You instantly get a great UX person, designer, and a few developers without having to recruit and hire people. You don't get lots of cash, but the instant access to more engineering resources is very nice.

pawelwentpawel• 14 years ago

I'll join the question - have any of you ever had any experience with seedcamp?

brackin• 14 years ago

I can't say from personal experience having only met the team behind it and many founders but can refer you to a number of people that know a lot about it.

I've heard it's on par and similar to the 500 startups accelerator in Mountain View and they work together quite a lot from what I've seen.

Ask HN: Your experience with a 'lesser known' incubator?

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