One of the most important decisions when it comes to setting up a successful startup program is to decide on its duration. It goes without saying, there is no perfect answer as to how long your program will be. There are many things to consider when making this important decision, and notably, even when you have decided on a length after years of experience it is always important to stay adaptable. Considering a typical Program batch runs between three and six months, this post will help you decide where in that spectrum you should start and how Founderhood can help you make adjustments along the way.
Once you have found a team, found your investors, partners, and mentors, why settle with just one run? By having several batches in each program you can get the most out of your learning process. Each batch can have different lengths and bring along new startups to work with. However, through this process, you will maintain a certain baseline structure which will make your day-to-day much easier and facilitate the observation of details to be improved. For example, AC75 accelerators, run three batches investing in ten startups per year over three years, all financed by the same investors. At this point, it is critical to remark on the importance of maintaining your program flexible through each batch. Running more batches can give you space to experiment and adapt them according to what you have learned from talking to trainers, mentors, partners, and, the startups in the program. Remember if you want to be discussing innovation you have to be one step ahead and be able to adapt to every need your Startups may have.
Batches usually run for less than half a year, therefore it is vital that you make the time count and every minute program is worthwhile. At the same time, you do have to give people enough time to get the most out of the experience, which might take a bit longer, especially for newly established programs. Thus, some helpful considerations to have when choosing where to stand are: who are your participants? what is the outcome that you want? how long they can participate? and what are you aiming at? For instance, founders focused on agriculture and tourism, who are a part of the sector already, often have less time to spare when participating in a program, or cannot be present for a lot of it. Thus, in this example, running a more intensive online program will probably be the most effective solution. It is important to consider as well that in less developed innovation ecosystems, such as that of Greece or Turkey, founders are often still keeping a day-time job and working in their startup during their evenings or weekends. Under these circumstances, the program must be careful to support growth for long enough to guarantee the viability of the startup while offering schedule-friendly training. Overall, choosing the length of each batch will depend mainly on adjusting to the founders' needs and making sure you can deliver the essential insights in that time and medium.
Hence, it is clear, a program's duration should be tailored and modified to maximize its effect. Yet, if the change is so fundamental and constant it might be hard to stay organized. Founderhood can help you easily transition from an in-person to a hybrid program all in a conveniently designed platform so you can best cater to your startups. Additionally, it can help you host life sessions in real-time, share resources, and track your progress so you know exactly how to adapt. Join Founderhood today and create a Startup Program that founders love.
Want to learn more? Book a demo or listen to how other programs made the decision in our Startups Programs Masters Podcast on Spotify!
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