By some estimates, there are more than 100 tech incubators around the world, ranging from those affiliated with top universities to the fast-growing cluster of Bay Area venues like Y Combinator, 500 Startups and Plug and Play Tech Center.
Joining the mix Tuesday is a San Francisco outfit called Greenstart. Like its peers, the "startup accelerator" aims to help entrepreneurs get their young companies off the ground. But Greenstart is focusing on just one slice of the technology pie: so-called "clean" tech.
"I started my first company at 23, and I did it completely horribly," said Greenstart co-founder Mitch Lowe. The litany included bad hires, focusing on the wrong priorities and not validating the assumptions in his business model.
He and teammate Dillon McDonald found considerably more success with Jumpstart, an online advertising company focused on the automotive industry that they sold to the publisher of Car and Driver in 2007 for a cool $84 million.
Now the duo and longtime collaborator Dave Graham -- who runs a San Francisco tech consulting and seed investment firm called Arizona Bay -- want to help other entrepreneurs avoid pitfalls by teaming them up with veteran mentors and giving them a place to work and network, plus $25,000 in walking-around money.
"The three of us have a lot of concerns about the energy challenge," explained Lowe. "For the next part of our careers, we wanted to focus on something that had a larger purpose."
The founders are kicking $2.5 million into the kitty, which Lowe expects will let them invest in 100 companies over the next few years.
It seems unlikely that the next Tesla Motors (TSLA) will be able to get started with so little cash, especially given that Greenstart expects companies chosen for the program to "graduate" within three months. Lowe acknowledges that the aim is largely to help entrepreneurs "validate their thesis and business model so they can raise that next round" of funding, although startups that want to stick around beyond three months won't get thrown to the curb.
At the end of the program, startups will graduate to a pitch session in front of selected angel investors and venture capitalists who specialize in environmental investing.
Ira Ehrenpreis, who leads the green-tech practice at Palo Alto venture firm Technology Partners and isn't affiliated with Greenstart, said that while clean-energy startups tend to require a lot of money to ramp up production, "investors are beginning to recognize that cleantech embodies more than capital-intensive power-generation projects. The industry also focuses on more capital-efficient technology opportunities, which often have their early roots in seed -- even incubator -- stage."
Lowe says the key to the program will be the mentors, who include venture capitalist Stewart Alsop, former Flextronics CEO Michael Marks and Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning.
In exchange for that brainpower (and shared office space in San Francisco's financial district), Greenstart will take up to 10 percent ownership in each startup.
For comparison's sake, Burlingame incubator YouWeb takes a 50 percent equity stake in exchange for a $100,000 investment and yearlong commitment. Rock Health, which launched in San Francisco last month to incubate health-focused startups, is incorporated as a nonprofit and takes no ownership in exchange for its $20,000 stipends.
Valley observers say the incubator trend is a reflection of the fact that technology has made it cheaper than ever to launch many startups, especially in the online and software sectors.
Dave McClure, a former PayPal executive and angel investor who started 500 Startups in February, said it's anybody's guess how the rapid proliferation of incubators will play out.
"Competition drives a variety of colorful plumage and elaborate mating calls in a loud and crowded jungle," he said. "Only time will tell which bird songs are beautiful music, and which ones are tone-deaf losers."
Joining the mix Tuesday is a San Francisco outfit called Greenstart. Like its peers, the "startup accelerator" aims to help entrepreneurs get their young companies off the ground. But Greenstart is focusing on just one slice of the technology pie: so-called "clean" tech.
"I started my first company at 23, and I did it completely horribly," said Greenstart co-founder Mitch Lowe. The litany included bad hires, focusing on the wrong priorities and not validating the assumptions in his business model.
He and teammate Dillon McDonald found considerably more success with Jumpstart, an online advertising company focused on the automotive industry that they sold to the publisher of Car and Driver in 2007 for a cool $84 million.
Now the duo and longtime collaborator Dave Graham -- who runs a San Francisco tech consulting and seed investment firm called Arizona Bay -- want to help other entrepreneurs avoid pitfalls by teaming them up with veteran mentors and giving them a place to work and network, plus $25,000 in walking-around money.
"The three of us have a lot of concerns about the energy challenge," explained Lowe. "For the next part of our careers, we wanted to focus on something that had a larger purpose."
The founders are kicking $2.5 million into the kitty, which Lowe expects will let them invest in 100 companies over the next few years.
It seems unlikely that the next Tesla Motors (TSLA) will be able to get started with so little cash, especially given that Greenstart expects companies chosen for the program to "graduate" within three months. Lowe acknowledges that the aim is largely to help entrepreneurs "validate their thesis and business model so they can raise that next round" of funding, although startups that want to stick around beyond three months won't get thrown to the curb.
At the end of the program, startups will graduate to a pitch session in front of selected angel investors and venture capitalists who specialize in environmental investing.
Ira Ehrenpreis, who leads the green-tech practice at Palo Alto venture firm Technology Partners and isn't affiliated with Greenstart, said that while clean-energy startups tend to require a lot of money to ramp up production, "investors are beginning to recognize that cleantech embodies more than capital-intensive power-generation projects. The industry also focuses on more capital-efficient technology opportunities, which often have their early roots in seed -- even incubator -- stage."
Lowe says the key to the program will be the mentors, who include venture capitalist Stewart Alsop, former Flextronics CEO Michael Marks and Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning.
In exchange for that brainpower (and shared office space in San Francisco's financial district), Greenstart will take up to 10 percent ownership in each startup.
For comparison's sake, Burlingame incubator YouWeb takes a 50 percent equity stake in exchange for a $100,000 investment and yearlong commitment. Rock Health, which launched in San Francisco last month to incubate health-focused startups, is incorporated as a nonprofit and takes no ownership in exchange for its $20,000 stipends.
Valley observers say the incubator trend is a reflection of the fact that technology has made it cheaper than ever to launch many startups, especially in the online and software sectors.
Dave McClure, a former PayPal executive and angel investor who started 500 Startups in February, said it's anybody's guess how the rapid proliferation of incubators will play out.
"Competition drives a variety of colorful plumage and elaborate mating calls in a loud and crowded jungle," he said. "Only time will tell which bird songs are beautiful music, and which ones are tone-deaf losers."
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