By Kuruvilla Chalishery January 2, 2023
After being in the corporate world for 15 years and holding executive positions across countries, participating in a start-up accelerator program seemed too trivial.
Yet, when I got the offer to join the 500 Global program I decided to join. Was it for the investment or the mentorship I really don’t know.
The 12-week program would kick off with 2 weeks in person, 7 weeks online (growth weeks) and round up with 3 weeks in person culminating with the Demo Day.
We had over 10 mentors; 3 resident + 1 program director (full time) and several others focused on specific elements. I enjoyed working with each one of them (no exceptions).
We learned about simulations, hypothesis, A/B testing, short experiments, mock ups, term sheets, customer value propositions, CAC/CLV and a whole lot of other tools which came to life in the workshops.
They created an environment safe to fail yet high on accountability for improvement. The process also made us realise you cannot leave it to chance on the big stage and practise, practise, practise was the only proven way to succeed.
I would highly recommend the 500 Global program or any other high-quality residential incubation/acceleration program to everyone looking at building a start-up. It helps you build a circle of mentors, develop a founder network, and most importantly, better understand your own co-founders.