Caerphilly Accelerator
I have just finished mentoring a group of 4 start-ups as part of the Caerphilly Ice accelerator.
It was a very interesting and rewarding task... and if I'm honest, I learnt a lot from the group as well!
To be more accurate it was more of a Pre-Accelerator. There were 12 companies in total, spread over three cohorts each with their own mentor. They were in a variety of stages, with some of the “companies” being not much more than a person with a good idea! Over the three month program the aim was to get all ideas to become companies that were “pitch ready”. As this was the first time the Accelerator had been run it was a learning curve for the organisers, but the facts are that it was a success with some of the companies securing funding during this period.
As a mentor, my involvement with the accelerator was to act as a coordinator and lead in our monthly “mastermind sessions”. These sessions were new to me but worked really well. Each company had a session focused on themselves, but the group collaborated together as a whole during these sessions. It is noteworthy that a lot of the learning happened by people seeing the problems in the other companies rather than themselves. Its obviously much easier to see fault in others than in oneself! This is especially true for me and how I got a lot out of the program... I could see many of the issues my cohort were experiencing were replicated in my own ventures. Having the group “brain storm” ideas was enlightening. As for the specifics for my 4, I'll describe them in more detail.
First up was Tony, who had the most comprehensive business plan I have ever seen. He had an idea for a Messenger/Chat style app. I can't go in to detail, but his USP actually means I believe he has a chance in this congested space. I think the program benefited Tony as he made two realisations. 1) the pitch needs to explain the concept as simply as possible AND quickly 2) every pitch needs to be tailored to the audience. i.e. drop the techno jargon when speaking to potential investors! His comprehensive business plan is now believable!
Second is Mike with ideas based in the Bot or AI space – meetmaia.com. At first all he really had was some ideas with a few tentative technical examples. Over the three months it was interesting to see him realise that developing a platform that can do anything means you can not target an audience to sell to. By the end of the program he had settled on an intelligent assistant/bot to enhance existing sales CRMs and created a company/product called Maia. The tech always had the potential to be impressive, but now he knows who to target he has the chance to build a company that is equally impressive. His “pitch” sounds good and I hope he gets funding. His idea sits well with some of my other commitments (namely AgileChilli) so I'm sure I'll be continuing to be involved.
Third was Gem – mifuture.co.uk. An ex-teacher, her start-up had been up and running for almost 9months when she started the program. She is targeting the careers market for 16-24 year olds. The program opened her eyes to some of the issues of setting up a double sided platform, but mostly it has helped her produce a polished pitch. It also helped identify the potential barriers and objections customers would have. Luckily we also came up with a few solutions.
Finally Brooke – koherent.uk . I had a head start with Brooke's idea as it was in the Estate Agent industry. Specifically, he wants to tackle the problem letting agents have with instructing 3rd party contractors such as Inventory clerks and EPC assessors. I think Brooke's biggest lesson was the need to focus on one thing. His original idea was 3 apps and 2 websites! Great, but which is done first? We worked on pinning down the core loop (thanks Amy Jo Kim) and focusing on the what prospective customers would really value. Brooke's pitch must have been good as he has funding in place.
All four companies have potential. It will be interesting to see how well they fly now they have graduated.