That’s not just a funny problem on a TV show. As Sam Lessin argues in a recent article from The Information, the 12-month incubation period that startups rely on can put too much emphasis on its demo day: the deadline at which a startup needs to prove that it has developed the seed of an amazing idea. That idea can wind up looking a lot more like a black box than like a true revolution. The actual article is under a paywall, but here’s the root issue in Lessin’s words: To make matter worse, investors turn up at demo days looking for an immediate valuation. The result? “You get a lot of bottle rockets” rather than the “launch vehicles” everyone wants. Incubators aren’t inherently wrong, of course. They’re the best path for plenty of startups. But people need to be open to alternatives.
