I was interested in hearing opinions about the program. Mainly:
Was the community and advice worthwhile?
What aspect of the program did you like best?How demanding is the first month?
What happens if you raise more money (Series A, etc.) and pay out more than the salary cap on the side letter?
Has the side letter affected your subsequent promotion?
My company, StatusGator, participated in the Fall 2022 batch, and we had a great experience. We highly recommend it to other bootstrappers. The funding we received helped us transition from a side project to a legitimate business.
While the advice we received was useful, to be honest, it wasn’t particularly groundbreaking for us. Our product has been available since 2015, and we’ve consumed a lot of MicroConf content. Much of the guidance from TinySeed confirmed what we already knew or suspected we should be doing. However, hearing it directly from experts sometimes gave us the push we needed to take action. There were a few specific insights from mentors or peers that were especially valuable.
The highlight for me is the active Slack community filled with thoughtful and experienced individuals. The questions raised and discussed have been incredibly helpful, and I never feel like I’m speaking into a void there (unlike many other Slack communities I’ve tried). There’s no spam or irrelevant comments just two or three well-discussed questions and topics each day, making it great to both participate in discussions and observe others.
The program is not intense at all. I don’t think any part of it is “intensive.” The level of intensity depends on how much you choose to invest. I set high standards for myself and work hard, but that’s a personal choice.
I can’t comment on questions #4 and #5 since we’re not seeking additional funding. TinySeed’s funding was sufficient for our needs. I will say that many other companies have raised further funding without any apparent drawbacks.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. BTW, I adore your landing page! I kind of wish #3 had been more in-depth. It’s true that part of that is lost when using a remote accelerator. Toughing it out in a demanding workplace face-to-face with fellow entrepreneurs fosters a certain amount of camaraderie.
I’m just interested about any new funding or your overall situation right now and how it pertains to TS. Does being in an accelerator create an assumption you would want to raise more and develop more? Or is TS happy with the company’s current state as a shareholder?
Unlike the majority of other funding choices, TinySeed’s business model makes money even if you never raise more money or have an exit. I’ve never experienced any pressure from them to keep getting bigger.
We’re part of the S24 cohort, so we’re about six months in.
1 & 2 - The best part for us has been the advice and community support. You not only have access to Rob and Einar’s calendars for discussions whenever you need, but you also get access to the calendars of other TinySeed founders. This is particularly valuable for niche topics because there’s usually someone who has dealt with the issue you’re facing for the past two years. Many of the marketing and sales strategies that are working well for us came directly from other TinySeed founders.
Whether TinySeed is “worth it” will depend on the specific company, but it is generally considered expensive capital. Most B2B SaaS startups with some traction can find high-net-worth individuals to raise $120-220k without giving up more than 10-12% of their business. Personally, I believe that if we had tried to do everything on our own, we might have ended up in the same or worse situation. We would have needed to find top-tier advisors (at Rob and Einar’s level) and give them a substantial amount of equity, spend months pitching to angel investors, seek out a mastermind group for support, and listen to 600 episodes of Startups for the Rest of Us.
After all that, we would still miss out on some of the best benefits of TinySeed just to retain a bit of equity. Instead, we chose to join TinySeed and focused our time and energy on achieving our growth targets.
3 - The intensity of the program is entirely up to you. There’s a kickoff retreat in the first week where you do some focused work, but it’s mainly about getting to know your cohort. After that, it’s up to you to decide how much effort you want to put in.
4 & 5 - We don’t have plans to raise funds again. I doubt anything in the terms would negatively affect your ability to seek additional funding, but if you have concerns, it might be easier to ask TinySeed how their standard deal works in practice.
You make good points about #1/2. Even though the capital is costly, you can quickly solve some of the most difficult problems on your own. But I don’t think TS and you should really be compared in this context. TS vs. Other Accelerators is the proper order. What distinguishes TS, in your opinion, from organizations like YC, TechStars, etc.?
Absolutely. I’ve spoken with founders who went through YC and Techstars, and my understanding is that a lot of their value comes from putting you on the VC treadmill and helping you achieve better valuations in future funding rounds. However, I can’t justify giving away 6% equity to Techstars for just $20k. This model doesn’t suit us for a couple of reasons.
I’ve been part of senior leadership teams at three startups in my industry that raised between $15 million and $30 million. I even positioned myself as the go-to person for taking products from $1 million to $20 million in the martech space. It’s clear that VCs often push for a “$1 billion or bust” mentality, and the founders I worked with faced intense pressure from their boards, which affected every aspect of the company.
To be frank, there are thousands of martech SaaS companies that have raised VC funds or gone through programs like YC and Techstars, but there aren’t enough customers willing to pay to support more than a handful of unicorns. For example, Semrush is currently valued at $2.5 billion, and SimilarWeb is around $500 million, and that’s pretty much it for the big players. If the founders of Conductor fought hard for ten years and sold to a struggling WeWork for $120 million (which looks good on paper but was a disaster for their VCs), what chance do I have in a post-ZIRP economy?
We have a target number we want to reach that is much lower than what VCs expect. TinySeed gives you the freedom to choose your path some companies that have gone through TinySeed have exited for significant amounts, while others have pursued YC or secured VC funding. This flexibility makes TinySeed a better fit for us than YC and similar programs.