Re:Techstars: One month left
by yesimahuman on Monday March 18, 2013 @03:22PM
(#5396515)
Accurate description of the experience!
I would say that learning to manage the mentor meetings helps you get way more out of it. If you don't do it well, you dwell on the same points every meeting without moving on to new stuff.
Re:Techstars: One month left
by drewvolpe on Monday March 18, 2013 @04:39PM
(#5396978)
Do teams really meet with 3-5 mentors a day ? That seems way beyond the point of being useful. When do you have time to build anything or talk to users ?
Re:Techstars: One month left
by alexdevkar on Monday March 18, 2013 @04:58PM
(#5397092)
It feels overwhelming at times, but it is very useful. It's at the heart of what makes TechStars an accelerator. You get instant feedback on your ideas from great mentors.
You're right that it's hard to build much during the first month. But when the first month is over, you feel very confident about what you need to do. That makes the next month and beyond incredibly productive on product and customer development.
Re:Techstars: One month left
by m3ntat on Monday March 18, 2013 @04:58PM
(#5397087)
The first 4 weeks is very intense on the business/market/sales plan side of things. It is hard to get work done, you have to squeeze it in whenever possible (night, weekends, etc). The idea is that you probably shouldn't do a ton of work before you have a solid plan in place. After that things slow down and you can focus on coding/traction.
Re:Techstars: One month left
by m3ntat on Monday March 18, 2013 @05:59PM
(#5397452)
The network is powerful. Alums are generally connected through the mentors and program directors if they aren't in the same class (the cloud class has it's own alumni weekend where the classes got to know each other well).
I would say that learning to manage the mentor meetings helps you get way more out of it. If you don't do it well, you dwell on the same points every meeting without moving on to new stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game)
You're right that it's hard to build much during the first month. But when the first month is over, you feel very confident about what you need to do. That makes the next month and beyond incredibly productive on product and customer development.