We’ve all watched as startup funding in Silicon Valley slows a bit, and entrepreneurs are sweating a little as they try to find the best way to extend their runway, or even get a foot in the door. Accelerators have always been a good bet for startups, but they’re even more imperative now -- if you can find one to take you on.
Marlon Evans, CEO of GSVlabs, wants to help. Under Evans watchful eye, GSVlabs has their hand in many different arenas such as housing startups, running acceleration programs and hosting events like their annual Pioneer Summit. Though many startups are losing traction, those startups who choose to partner with accelerators like GSVlabs are seeing immediate returns and receiving invaluable resources.
I spoke with Evans to find out more about GSVlabs’ success, and hear more about what startups facing little-to-no funding should do.
How did GSV Labs get set up?
It started with GSV Capital, which is a publically traded fund on the NASDAQ that invests in later stage companies. They wanted a platform to help identify and support the best entrepreneurs, not just here in Silicon Valley, but around the world.
What exactly do you do?
We serve as the nexus bridge between startups and the ecosystem that we feel can help them be successful, whether that’s corporate, mentors, advisors, investors, and/or academia. The whole innovation ecosystem is such that if I’m an entrepreneur, instead of having to spend six months figuring out how to grow and scale my business or identify someone who can be helpful to me in some form or fashion, I can do that in a much more accelerated way. We're hopefully taking off their plate a lot of the work that the entrepreneur would have to do on their own so that they can focus on their business.
What are the key advantages for a tech company who joins an accelerator like yours?
One, we're firm believers that if you’re a high-performing entrepreneur with an amazing idea you are going to be successful with or without an accelerator. But there is this notion of first-to-market and how long that cycle takes to get you where you need to be. We try to facilitate on the entrepreneur’s behalf by having key resources at their disposal, including startup education, connections, and mentorship.
Beyond contacting networks, what else does an accelerator do for companies?
Our accelerator has over 150 veteran mentors who help break an entrepreneur’s business plan down and build it back up. Guy Kawasaki is a frequent speaker, and industry veterans like Tom Kalinske are regular mentors. Mentors help discern product market fit and assist with a pivot, if needed -- they’re really a resource that an entrepreneur can call on irrespective of what the specific needs are.
I think that is where we try to distinguish ourselves; we don’t believe that there is a one-size-fits-all strategy for every entrepreneur. The needs are going to be varied. They aren't always locked into some schedule that we pull together. We have that one-to-one relationship with the entrepreneur where on Monday they can come to us and say, “We’re thinking about expanding into China, can you line up some folks who have done that in the past?” Or the next week coming to us saying, “We really need help with our business model and financing.” Those are completely different skill sets, but we hope that our network of mentors and advisors can all be helpful to them as they navigate that process.
What sectors do you mainly focus on, and can you give me some examples of success stories?
We mainly focus on mobile, big data, edtech, entertainment, and sustainability, which for us is cleantech. By far, our largest sector out of the 170 or so companies in our portfolio is in edtech. That’s our main area of focus in large part due to our parent company GSV Capital, which has a significant amount of investment experience in that area. We run the gamut. We think of mobile and big data as more of horizontals than verticals, which allows us to get into some emerging opportunities, like IoT, FinTech, and digital health. While those aren’t specific areas of focus, we believe we have the expertise to be supportive in those areas.
When it comes to success stories, our model is a little bit different in that the majority of the companies we work with are a little bit further along, in the seed to series A space. They have some traction coming to us, and we’re the platform that helps them scale their operations and really grow their business. Some of our companies have come from our Pioneer Accelerator which we run in conjunction with the Google Developers Launchpad, where we are getting involved in the pre-seed area. Success for those companies is just getting some traction and funding in the door. I recently met with one of the 15 companies that just finished the accelerator and they have already raised over $150K, which we are super excited about. One of the companies in our accelerator did over $100K on Kickstarter. Their wins are a little bit different than the wins of some of our more established companies where we are helping identify their CTO or bring an investor or Board of Directors on board. It varies depending on the stage of the company, but our goal is to sit down with each of them, figure out their next milestone or pain point, and help them move forward.
What are some of the biggest brand name successes that you’ve had?
We’ve had many successes, including companies acquired by Facebook, We Work, and Centro + CSC. In 2015, our startups raised over $200 million from leading VCs including Sequoia, Khosla, and Intel Capital.
Our initial objective in the year and a half that I’ve been with GSVlabs is establishing ourselves and setting up the various verticals. We think that some of the bigger successes are probably six to 12 months away. Beyond our work with startups, we are also working with companies like Intel, AT&T, 3M, and JetBlue to accelerate their identification of new technologies and breakthrough startups.
What are the dynamics you’re seeing in the market in the moment in terms of startups, getting funding, and the nature of things right now?
I think that the biggest dynamic change is that startups are needing to show a lot more traction in the market prior to securing seed funding -- those dollars you need to get started. We’re trying to help our companies understand whether they are bootstrapping or growth-hacking, learn how they can develop critical mass, help them get pilot programs in place, and identify pre-revenue to try out their product. That’s so critical, because while there is absolutely a lot of money out there for these opportunities, the money is wanting to get in a little bit later. That is why we’re starting to see what would have been series A rounds that are now seed rounds in terms of the amount put in. People are waiting a little longer to put their toe in the water.
