The accelerator world is diffusing into niches, led by programme directors who challenge the conventional accelerator business model. One that’s really pushing the boundaries is
Camden Collective, a hive of creative startups and freelancers in London.If Camden Collective is successful with their pilot, it’ll provide a repeatable model to support creative startups everywhere.
This is a category of startups that, in spite of showing the same level and quality of innovation as tech startups, have not benefitted from innovative advice. While the tech startup world benefits from the pervasive teachings of Eric Ries, Paul Graham and Alex Osterwalder, Creatives still largely get told to write a business plan based on a service model with linear growth at best, and to get a loan or a grant.
Camden Collective has been watching the tech startup world and think the accelerator approach can help. Instead of the typical 3-month programme, where the end goal is onward investment, they’re piloting a part-time 3-week programme (with our help), where the end goal is getting the founders to their immediate, next-level goal, largely through business model innovation.
The programme respects its founders time constraints and need to keep working. The programme is designed to respond to their current goals, bringing in training, high-powered connections and opening up new options to hit those goals sooner. That’s acceleration.
If the pilot works, we’ll have a new breed of support for Creative Industry, and we’ll be keen to share openly with other creative supporters.
If you know any business-minded creatives who want to take their business to the next level, please ask them to make a quick application. The programme’s designed to boost them through their current challenges, and application deadline’s this Friday.
I’m on the Kernel Stewards team, where we help ~2,000 fellows understand the what the development of blockchains mean to humanity on anthropological scales. I’m particularly interested in enabling fellows to build things with blockchains that are altruistic and prudent.
I’m also building a communication tool for community groups and unconferences. It focuses on autonomising teams rather than “coordinating”.
In the past, I've designed peer-learning programs for Oxford, UCL, Techstars, Microsoft Ventures and The Royal Academy Of Engineering, careering from startups to humanitech and engineering. I also played a role in the Lean Startup methodology, and the European startup ecosystem. You can read about this here.
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