7 reasons that accelerators don’t select companies for their programs

Inara AI recently received a response to our program application from an accelerator. While the response was something of a “form letter,” it did include some information on a possible reason why we weren’t selected (they also stated that only 2% of applicants get into their program). This list is probably representative of the basic criteria that a lot of accelerators apply in their review of applications, but shouldn’t be construed as being complete. The process is run by humans, after all (at least until AI takes over).

Here’s what they said:

The most common reasons that we elect not to move forward with a company are as follows:

1) The company is at too early of a stage to receive the value through our program

2) Lack of focus on the problem the business is solving

3) Difficult to scale effectively

4) Too much competition

5) Unclear value proposition

6) Lack of differentiation

7) Lack of IP to protect the company from competitors

Machine Learning Startups Reach the Peak of Inflated Expectations

Steve Blank’s Lean LaunchPad class at UC Berkeley’s engineering school inspired his article talking about technology infrastructure waves, and the acquisition curve common to each one. He writes, “…machine learning is following a similar pattern of previous technical infrastructure innovations. Early entrants get sold to corporate acquirers at inflated prices for their teams, their technology, and their tools. Later entrants who miss that wave have to build real products that people want to buy.” Read Steve Blank’s article at https://steveblank.com/2016/11/18/machine-learning-meets-lean/