Re: [DIYbio] YCombinator for Biotech Open now in SF (Indie Bio prev SynBioAxlr8r)

Thanks will! Really well said. The gulf between where teams *are* when
they enter the programmes is a really significant difference between the
programmes, and it's why we don't really feel that it's a competition
thing as much as an ecosystem thing.

The point of IndieB.io is to have something that helps people make their
ideas happen in record time. That means team-building, inter-team
collaboration, assistance forming and organising a company, providing a
lab-space and on-site experts and mentors, training in communications
and marketing, and troubleshooting all of the above when things go awry
or not to plan, or if a pivot is in order.

In brief, it's not just a hot-desk and an investment! :)

(Plus, Cork is great and you get to weekend around Ireland in summer;
long days, fair weather, great surfing!)

On 13/10/14 07:30, Will Canine wrote:
> Hi Everyone!
>
> Just want to throw in my two cents.
>
> First of all, OpenTrons <http://opentrons.com> is part of Haxlr8r
> <http://haxlr8r.com>, a hardware accelerator based in Shenzhen also run
> by SOS Ventures. Being here has been an awesome experience for us. We
> went from a prototype and an idea, to a product and a manufacturing
> operation through the program -- we're launching our Kickstarter at the
> end of this month! I think that "in-house," focused accelerators like
> Hax and IndieB.io are a really great resource for entrepreneurs and
> start-ups, and SOSV run a lot of them.
>
> Also, OpenTrons is also going to be working with IndieB.io to automate
> teams' labwork!
>
> From my perspective, directly comparing an "in-house" accelerator like
> IndieB.io (or Hax) with more of a "club" type of accelerator like what
> YC has grown to be is a little apples to oranges. With IndieB.io you are
> given a lean early runway, a full lab to work in, direct access to
> in-house experts + mentors, and immersed in a vibrant peer group every
> day; with Y-Combinator you are written a nice check, get the prestige
> (valuation bump) that comes with the YC brand, and rub elbows with
> important people in Palo Alto once a week (if you are a software
> company, the laptop space and free coffee are probs nice too). Both
> approaches are super valuable for entrepreneurs, and I dont see them
> being mutually exclusive. I could definitely see companies going through
> IndieB.io, and then joining Y-Combinator to continue scaling up.
>
> Seems to boil down to a difference in phase. IndieB.io took in a bunch
> of entrepreneurs/scientists with ideas and launched five real companies.
> Both the YC biotech companies (Ginko and Glowing Plants) were past the
> initial proof of concept/market phase when they were accepted, and have
> since raised money to continue scaling up. Both accelerators are great
> resources for bio start-ups! The choice is more about where you are as a
> company and what you need to grow.
>
> Hope that helps and would be happy to talk to anyone thinking about
> applying to any of the above!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Will
>
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>
> On Monday, October 13, 2014 4:43:13 AM UTC+8, Cathal Garvey wrote:
>
> Good question!
>
> So, I'm not going to trash-talk YCombinator, but I think you are right
> in pointing out the divergent approaches. IndieB.io is a more
> cosmopolitan programme, aiming out of the box to be global, to have a
> good gender balance, and to be intensive on mentorship and inter-team
> collaboration. The goal is for IndieB.io to be somewhere between a
> pop-up biohackerspace and a hackathon-but-with-sleep; exciting, social,
> equipped and peppered with people who can share specialities and
> experience.
>
> The SF and Cork accelerators will certainly differ in many ways, too;
> this would be true even if we tried to homogenise them, which we
> aren't.
> Cork and SF are totally different cities and cultures, but in both
> places we're trying to build biohacker-friendly support structures and
> attract people from around the world as founders and mentors (or both).
> Where possible we'll always try to integrate our stuff with what's
> already happening; here in Cork the accelerator is helping with the
> local biomakerspace, Forma Labs. This isn't the kind of accelerator
> where you just get a heap of cash and a deadline; there's a lot of
> shared work and long-term commitments.
>
> As far as the software versus wetware, we're definitely leaning toward
> wetware, and we know it's ambitious to ask for a proof of concept in 3
> months, but then that's what it's all about, right? You don't need to
> have a final product; that'd be an unreasonable ask for many projects.
> The point of the accelerator is just that; to accelerate the
> process, to
> have something to show for the work that would have been impossible,
> working alone.
>
> Software, hardware and other formats are welcome, but with IndieB.io
> the
> point was always to be ambitious about Synbio itself. :)
>
> Anyways, it's early days; SynbioAxlr8r, AFAIK, was the first announced
> accelerator, and remains one of only two in the world. We've had our
> first run, hit a few of the unforeseeables, and learned a lot; things
> are going to evolve a lot and we're gonna see how quickly we can adapt
> the programme to the still-young field of synthetic biology/biohacking.
> The teams who take part will play a huge role in taking us there.
>
> Hope that helps, sorry if it was too wishy-washy. Tomorrow's my first
> day on the job, cut me some slack. ;)
>
> On 12/10/14 20:26, Dakota Hamill wrote:
> > I'm typing this on my phone so it won't be super long or articulate.
> > Could you comment on where you think this accelerator outshines
> > ycombinator? Ycombinator gives almost 4x the money for 1% less
> equity.
> > They are accepting biotech companies now but I havnt heard about
> their
> > facilities or science advisors. They seem much more software
> driven in a
> > sense, not wet lab.
> >
>
> --
> Twitter: @onetruecathal, @formabiolabs
> Phone: +353876363185
> Blog: http://indiebiotech.com
> miniLock.io: JjmYYngs7akLZUjkvFkuYdsZ3PyPHSZRBKNm6qTYKZfAM
>

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