The startup incubator in its turn is an entity structured with a view on nurturing the development of startups in their infancy through providing such instruments and support as required for growth. Incubators are typically found in hubs that provide collaboration, mentorship, and connection to seasoned professionals and potential investors. Unlike accelerators, incubators do not usually bind the businesses by a fixed duration to be graduated. They do provide a full complement of a supportive system for the startups to find their path to the market.

Key features of incubators include:

• Sustained service lasts from a few months to several years, and sometimes a lifetime.

• Flexible programs are the most conducive to the adaptation of each startup with an appropriate development pace.

• The key focus on mentorship and education is thus considered.

• Ideas related to the study of arts or broadening the economic perspective are commonly linked to universities or regional economic development programs.

• Office space secured and provision of basic business services.

Unlike a startup accelerator that offers a fixed-term cohort-based program comprised of mentorship and educational components, the culmination of which is an event where each startup gets to share its success story with its potential investors or even the public at large. Founders generally use accelerators for slightly more mature businesses that have a clear business model and are racing to scale at an insanely intensive program that runs for a duration of three to four months. They bring startups to life and provide them with the initial (seed) investment in exchange for a percentage of shares. Distinct characteristics of accelerators are:

• Very short-term, and generalized lessons which have been concentrated in a brief timeframe.

• Seek momentum and investment-minded sub-agency.

• Class-based, verging on building one’s own enterprise after passing a thorough selection process.

• Seed capital is held in exchange for a stake in the business.

• The design of such startup hubs opens up networking avenues with investors and fellow startups.

The main divergence of the two lies in the operating structures and the age of the startups they support. Such incubators are akin to nurseries that are used to ensure that newcomers (i.e., startups) are properly transplanted into the business scene. Razor accelerators have been on the rise as they act to instigate or catalyze more along the lines of ripening seeds that sprout faster and more fruitfully.

Incubators work for companies being the incipiency stage and growth phases, providing them a frame where they easily channel their development models without a counterbalance of time! Accelerators are excellent for these startups that have successfully gone through the initial stage of concept testing and are ready to experience best-performing periods of scaling and growth.

The financial service providers not only have a vital function for the incubator and accelerator ecosystem but also act as catalysts for the whole technology industry. They step in with business financial experts who then guide them on successful enterprise accounting tasks from fundamental bookkeeping to complex financial modeling and investment advice. ERB, for instance, provides a multitude of financial services designed for the needs of startups and big buyers, representing the financial backbone needed for progressing ventures through incubators or accelerators’ phases. Benefits provided by financial service firms like ERB include:

• Custom financial strategy development

• Financial assistance in meeting compliance and governance regulations.

• Help in dealing with funding issues and challenges in seed funding rounds.

• Budget development for an expansion of services

After the startups have completed the incubation or acceleration program, it is not the time to rest but instead, find out how to use all the knowledge and resources acquired throughout those nine months in the ecosystem. Support after the program is vital since scaling and running operations in a more complex atmosphere are among the most difficult challenges that these companies face. In a way, the support of financial experts in this alliance becomes the most important. Services provided by entities such as ERB will help startups to find assistance which is a prudent response to the incapability of going into without in-depth study as well as psychological stages. The fact that this transition from the help of programs to standing on own feet is vital to make momentum uninterrupted and lifelong sustenance of the business.

Eventually, we can underline the different forms of support, the startups need at early or set-up stages, and both types of organizations succeed in fostering a startup ecosystem. As in any business, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. The startup must differentiate between engaging each of them at the initial stages when customer expectations are high.

Firms, similar to ERB, provide the emergency financial resources for the simulations and the engagements of startups in the incubators and accelerators. With a keen focus on the financial situation of startups, ERB provides emerging businesses with an arsenal to sustain financial stability and they climb the river of investors’ expectations. In addition, it helps them develop a strategic plan for the rapid growth of the enterprise. Though incubator and accelerator startups are well acquainted with their vision, ERB has added value by giving a financial framework to this vision which will later be a strong foundation for sustainable success in the competitive global environment.

For startups that want to be associated with incubators/accelerators or for those seeking to establish if the full extent of the financial services their business can access is available, the ERB dedicated services page has more information about the services. Therefore, startups are able to link with financial experts who are dedicated to leading the new wave of innovative companies that just have a huge potential to redefine the way the world is viewed.