Ask HN: Should I cut down my runway by 4 months by joining this accelerator?
6 comments
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
A miracle solution to cut 66% of the time off your runway sounds a bit too good to be true for me.
However, I didn't see the demo - you did. If your convinced, it might be worth it.
I think the big question is - is $7,800 going to break you if it doesn't work out?
However, I didn't see the demo - you did. If your convinced, it might be worth it.
I think the big question is - is $7,800 going to break you if it doesn't work out?
If it doesn't work out, I'll just get another job. Considering that I quit a shit job to get to where I am (it's not like I quit a $150k tech job), I'll get another shit job to replace it. It's really not that hard where I live.
It's just that mentally 2 months of runway is insane.
Also they provide a 90-day "action-based" money-back guarantee. Where if I followed their instructions to the letter, and I still didn't see results, they're happy to grant me a refund. Sales rep: "If you got to a point where you're contemplating a refund, we'll give you extra attention and see how we can really get you out of your rut, because the last thing we need is chargebacks on our Stripe and get our account closed."
Their demo is based on how they help/guide early-stage B2B SaaS by testing multiple offers using outbound prospecting, lead magnets, tripwire marketing (specifically, Zoom demos), and then closing on the demo asking for payment upfront, where we would then charge the card manually on Stripe.
Once the product-market fit (they call it "market-message resonance") is nailed down, they'll use paid Facebook ads to generate leads at scale and book my calendar full with demos, where I should close them on the phone. They also teach us how to hire a remote inside sales rep or two to repeat the model at scale.
In short, they help b2b SaaS startups to build out their sales funnel, test it relentlessly, track conversion at each stage, ensure customer success, and then gather case studies to further fine-tune the conversion mechanisms at each stage of the funnel.
It sounded legit to me, and while the alternative is for me to just try to do all the above on my own anyway, I'd much rather have some guidance from someone who knows what he's doing.
It's just that mentally 2 months of runway is insane.
Also they provide a 90-day "action-based" money-back guarantee. Where if I followed their instructions to the letter, and I still didn't see results, they're happy to grant me a refund. Sales rep: "If you got to a point where you're contemplating a refund, we'll give you extra attention and see how we can really get you out of your rut, because the last thing we need is chargebacks on our Stripe and get our account closed."
Their demo is based on how they help/guide early-stage B2B SaaS by testing multiple offers using outbound prospecting, lead magnets, tripwire marketing (specifically, Zoom demos), and then closing on the demo asking for payment upfront, where we would then charge the card manually on Stripe.
Once the product-market fit (they call it "market-message resonance") is nailed down, they'll use paid Facebook ads to generate leads at scale and book my calendar full with demos, where I should close them on the phone. They also teach us how to hire a remote inside sales rep or two to repeat the model at scale.
In short, they help b2b SaaS startups to build out their sales funnel, test it relentlessly, track conversion at each stage, ensure customer success, and then gather case studies to further fine-tune the conversion mechanisms at each stage of the funnel.
It sounded legit to me, and while the alternative is for me to just try to do all the above on my own anyway, I'd much rather have some guidance from someone who knows what he's doing.
As someone who has joined a couple of accelerators and evaluated a few others, I would say no.
I've had a lot of great mentors who came from the wrong backgrounds and weren't able to advise me on it. Also joined many of these "guaranteed" programs that just didn't fit my approach - some felt too exploitative, some just didn't fit my personality and would make money but at a personal cost.
So just follow your gut.
Also as YC has advised, in the earliest stages, you need to be listening to customers and building what they want. Everything else - marketing, mentors, comes later. Otherwise it'll likely bite you back in the future.
I've had a lot of great mentors who came from the wrong backgrounds and weren't able to advise me on it. Also joined many of these "guaranteed" programs that just didn't fit my approach - some felt too exploitative, some just didn't fit my personality and would make money but at a personal cost.
So just follow your gut.
Also as YC has advised, in the earliest stages, you need to be listening to customers and building what they want. Everything else - marketing, mentors, comes later. Otherwise it'll likely bite you back in the future.
Terrible idea. The moment you see the bearded sleezeball CEO / salesperson on the site you're linking to, walking out of a lambo, you know it is crap.
I got on a demo with them, I'm convinced by the material/resources/consultation, but it costs $7,800 upfront, or 3 monthly payments of $2,600.
It would immediately/eventually cut down my 6-month runway to 2 months.
But sales rep convinced me that, "If you do everything we tell you to do, nothing less, at the end of 90 days, you'll probably hit $10k MRR."
Is this a bad idea?