Who Should Accelerators Invest More in?
This article is written by Clinton James, a Contributor Author at Startup Turkey.
Mr. Fadi Bishara serves as the Founder of Blackbox VC. Mr. Bishara serves as the Founder of techVenture and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. He launched the Cofounder Network. Mr. Bishara had more than 15 years experience advising, mentoring and building teams for small venture backed technology startups. He has worked with 41 startups of which 14 have been acquired. Mr. Bishara has been a Member of Advisory Board of MIT/Stanford VentureLab since 2009. He serves as a Member of Advisory Board of Sydney Seed Fund. Bishara also served as a Member of Advisory Board of Colabs Startup Center Zrt.
Innovative entrepreneurship is a way of increasing a country's economic growth says Mr. Fadi Bishara, founder of Blackbox Company. This is because innovation directly impacts the economy by multiplying it. Due to inequality of opportunities globally from social and cultural barriers, it is necessary to find a solution for economic growth. A common solution is accelerators that support venture investors who then invest in entrepreneurs. This does not address the problem of inequality of opportunities. Therefore, should accelerators invest more in venture investors as compared to directly to entrepreneurs? Here is a way to find out.
We are moving from the Information era into the Entrepreneurial era as a result of a common asset called the internet and its ability to create opportunities to entrepreneurs worldwide, so as to create value and reach massive audiences globally. As we move from the industrial revolution, we are now at the dawn of the Entrepreneurial revolution that is shaped by these three global trends.
Firstly, the democratization of the entrepreneurship, driven by technology as it is now much easier to start a business. Secondly, there has been a growth of innovation diversifying away from Silicon Valley and becoming more global. This gives opportunities to many more entrepreneurs. Thirdly, the emergence of fast globally connected generation on the world stage. The generation being born now as they get connected from a young age, they have the ability to see the world as one entity and this creates a broader audience.
However, there is inequality of entrepreneurial opportunities globally. Millions of entrepreneurs are unable to fully realize their potential due to institutional policies, culture and social barriers. This inequality can lead to a devastating cycle of destruction that starts with resistance, resentment and escalating violent revenge which do not give an opportunity for an entrepreneur to contribute or add value. The conditions that encourage entrepreneurship are similar to those that support prosperity and peace in the world.
The economic impact of supporting entrepreneurs more by just 10% is estimated to be $22 trillion in unrealized GDP globally. In Turkey alone, it is $331 billion that could be achieved to make a significant change in the economy and growth of the country just by increasing the support of entrepreneurs by the same percentage. Every country is aware of the opportunities to increase its economic growth through innovative entrepreneurship. Innovation increases a country’s growth by 5-6 times greater as compared to increasing its inputs. Accelerators encourage entrepreneurial activity, which stimulates innovation and this innovation multiplies economic growth. Accelerators have an obligation to return on their investments and thus do not care much for the entrepreneurial growth. This approach however fails to address the problem of inequality of opportunities and holds back long term economic growth.
Supporting this kind of growth requires risk capital, talent and leadership development, expert mentoring, nurturing relevant growth knowledge and providing active access to networks. Therefore, it's important that we elevate before we accelerate.
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