Join the Startup Incubator. Let's Create Something Amazing Together.
So, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Don't let your idea gather dust, get cracking on that form, and let's turn it into the next big thing before someone beats you to it. The startup world waits for no one, so move or lose it! Submit your startup idea to us and we'll help you take flight.
What Do We Look for in Selecting Startup Incubator Projects?
When we look at clients and try to figure out who is an ideal client to work with, whether they be an existing established client who maybe wants to start a new venture and come up with an MVP project, or an actual start-up company who is starting something from the ground up, who is the kind of client that we ideally want to be working with because we know that we can help them?
We’ve turned away so many clients or have done free consulting meetings and have chosen not to provide a quote because they are not an ideal client. One of the most important things we look for are clients who are passionate and truly care about their customers. At the end of the day we look for people who are going to fill a niche and care about the end-user. Sometimes the end user is a customer; sometimes that might just be the data product. People who comeg to us looking for innovation that matters is what we're after. We're not interested when someone wants something that is just "good enough".
We worked on a product for over a decade that dealt with money movement. It never had real productivity, but it also never really lost a penny. It was a highly precise operation that really mattered because it dealt with billions of dollars of other people's money. That’s something we look for: someone who cares about the quality and cares about the customer. We don't always get that assessment of intent right, though. We were building an exciting MVP for someone, and when we learned that they didn’t care about the customer (it was all hype and smoke and mirrors and wanted to relive the .com boom), we dropped the project. That’s not someone we really want to work for.
Nor do are we after “me too” technology. If you're looking to do just do something that someone else has already done and you're not trying to be innovative, the WTE Incubator isn't going to be the right fit for you. If you're looking for an MVP to show to investors to simply raise money rather than creating something that would have an impact and help people or fill an underserviced niche, then the WTE Incubator isn't going to be the right fit for you, either. There will always be players who are much bigger and better than you, so you need something fresh and new and innovative and meaningful. And then YES, the WTE Incubator could be right for you.
Taking Your Startup Tech to the Next Level
In terms of startups and MVP projects, there's a fine line between building something that is "just good enough” and spending money to create something you think is perfect but could not actually be suitable for the market. In some sense, MVP's are trying to create something that is good enough to get your idea to the next level because you're trying to not break the bank. The WTE Incubator helps businesses differentiate between those two ideas of being good enough: good enough to start something great versus good enough to only get by. Our approach is to create the basics to launch, but there is an asterisk on that. You have to keep iterating, running tech by people where it is safe and secure and getting feedback on how you can make the product better. So here's the rub: you want an MVP that is good enough so that someone can give you feedback, but you don’t try to build out in one direction and look for perfection.
Here's a great example that should resinate. One of OUR niches in software development is to build software for food trucks. Before starting a food truck, chefs need to test recipes and seek feedback from a wide audience to understand their appeal and how their flavors and food will do within the market they're trying to enter. They need to make sure they're cooking good dishes that people would actually buy before they invest in a food truck. A cuisine idea might not be right for where they live, or their quallity, recipes, or skills might not be up to par with other trucks. And just because someone knows how to cook doesn't mean they know how to operate a business. They might just not need to buy a food truck. Your sounding boards are important for taking things to the next level, whatever that might be.
Don't Think You're Ready for WTE Yet?
We're ready to talk, even if you're not confident in your startup business ideas. Learn more in our Incubator Hive. We know you need resources and love (or maybe don't really love) doing your research.