- 15
- April
2015
Smart green accelerator panel featuring Startupbootcamp, Climate-KIC, Rockstart and Swedish Energy Agency
Ecosummit TV: Accelerating smart green startups should be the key motivation for everybody working with startups on a day-to-day basis, not only accelerators, but also angels, VCs, corporates and service providers. At ECO14 Berlin, we discuss the art of faster startup development with Alex Farcet (Startupbootcamp), Franka Birke (Climate-KIC), Yme Bosma (Rockstart) and Bigge Lidgren (ex-Swedish Energy Agency, now Cleantech Invest). A typical accelerator programme lasts 90 to 180 days with intensive mentoring on product development, customer development, fundraising and team building. Private accelerators like Startupbootcamp and Rockstart follow the business model of investing €20K for 8% of equity at a rather low valuation. Then they work hard to create value, increase the startup’s valuation and attract follow-on investments. Public accelerators like Climate-KIC and Swedish Energy Agency usually do not take equity and rather provide grants and soft loans. A key challenge for all accelerators is to attract coachable founders that are, at the same time, very talented and skilled at building successful startups. Only then do the accelerators get returns on their investments.
Read more- 13
- December
2014
Alex Farcet pitches Startupbootcamp and its smart transportation and energy accelerator
Ecosummit TV: Alex Farcet pitches Startupbootcamp and its smart transportation and energy accelerator at ECO14 Berlin. While corporate accelerators are mushrooming in the US and Europe, Startupbootcamp is an independent accelerator founded in 2010 that runs 3-month programmes focused on verticals in several cities including Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Berlin. The idea is to give startups the best possible start by providing €20K for 8% equity, intensive workshops with mentors on product and customer development and a final pitch in a room packed with investors. SBCBerlin‘s smart transportation and energy demo day was a big show and featured 11 young startups raising seed rounds from angels. Sunride, Comodule, Rokka Solutions, Houseahedron and Mybus have great teams that are ready for closer inspection. According to Alex, a good accelerator acts like a co-founder and adds a lot of measurable value in a short period of time. The startups we met all confirmed that Startupbootcamp and its mentors delivered on their promises. However, for smart green startups 3 months are rather short to reach product/market fit. It may be worthwhile to double the programme length in future editions.
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