Opinion: our startups need patient capital, not another accelerator
Programmes are plentiful; long-horizon money is not. An argument for changing what we celebrate.
Key points
- Accelerator cohorts keep growing while follow-on funding stays flat.
- Founders spend more time on demo days than on customers.
- Policy should reward funds that hold for seven years, not programmes that graduate in three months.
Every quarter brings a new accelerator cohort and a new demo day. What it rarely brings is the money a company needs in year three.
The problem is not talent or ambition. It is that the incentives around the ecosystem reward launches, not endurance.
If we want companies that last, we should celebrate the fund that quietly holds for seven years more than the programme that graduates in twelve weeks.
The author is a demo columnist. Opinions are the author's own.
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