INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
There are plenty of accelerators aiming to sway young startups to join their ranks rather than apply to Y Combinator, but Pioneer‘s sell
is a bit different.
First off, they are fully remote; founders selected to participate in the program chat with advisors via video chat
Second, Pioneer is largely looking at companies that aren''t companies yet, framing themselves as more of a &startup generator& than an
accelerator that aims to help entrepreneurs outside Silicon Valley zero in on exactly what kind of startup they want to build.
Earlier this
month, I wrote about the accelerator, which is helmed by former YC partner Daniel Gross .
Ex-YC partner Daniel Gross rethinks the
accelerator
My interview with Gross had some interesting longer bouts I didn''t have space to include, so I&m including the salient bits
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
TechCrunch: Remote work seems to have its challenges; how have you overcome some of
the humps of being a remote accelerator?
Daniel Gross: My overall view is that remote can replace the majority of real-world interaction
But there less inertia, if that makes sense, and so I think you can build real rapport and real relationships through a group video chat on
the internet, but it will require much more thinking and effort around it than if you were just meeting up in the real world.
