Tech Spotlight: Program heads talk startup accelerators

Startup accelerators have an interesting pitch: Fast-track your idea, company or product; have direct access to long lists of mentors; end by pitching in front of investors and customers; and get some money in the process.

The managers of four Midwest startup accelerators came to Des Moines last week to talk about their programs and what it takes to go through one. The speakers included:

•Brian Hemesath of the Global Insurance Accelerator in Des Moines.

•David Tominsky of the Iowa Startup Accelerator in Cedar Rapids.

•David Arnold of Straight Shot in Omaha.

•Matt Boyd and Brian Ardinger of NMotion in Lincoln, Neb.

Here are some takeaways from the discussion.

For startups, vet the accelerator

The different managers all agreed: Startup founders should take time deciding which accelerator is the right fit. That means looking at previous participants and the accelerator’s mentor list.

“I would encourage you to vet all of us and sit down and see where the fit is,” Ardinger said.

Don’t pretend to know everything

The accelerators don’t want stubbornness.

“A lot of times, in the teams that I talk to, some of them tend to think they know everything,” Boyd said. “I think there’s a little bit of a vulnerability that we respect and we actually like that because it means that you’re pliable and you’re willing to rethink things and change things.”

Know what you want to accomplish

“They’ve got to know what they want to get out of it,” Hemesath said. “If you’re going to apply to an accelerator, be upfront about ‘here’s what I want to accomplish.’ ”

Demo days aren’t just about investment

Accelerators use demo or pitch days for more than just attracting money for startups.

“We use it both as a way to bring investors in and showcase what the teams have done, but also as a way to bring the community together, almost as a way to launch the companies into the community,” Ardinger said.

“The days where someone walks into a demo day never having heard anything about you and they write you a check after your pitch are probably gone,” Arnold said.

It’s not just about the cash

“You’re not going to get to the promised land with the type of money we’re putting in, and that’s not the intent,” Arnold said. “It’s not about that. It’s about the network, the process and the overall experience over a period of time.”

The money accelerators offer, they said, is so startups aren’t distracted.

“Money for us — $20,000 is what we allocated to the teams — it was really just to make sure that they were there 100 percent of the time,” Tominsky said. “It’s not a side project.”