If you are starting a company in India, you will come across four kinds of organisations that say they support startups: venture studios, incubators, accelerators and venture capital (VC) firms. They are easy to confuse. The quickest way to tell them apart is to ask one question: who starts the company?
The short answer
- A venture studio starts the company itself and builds it with its own team.
- An incubator helps a founder turn an early idea into a business, usually with workspace and mentoring over a longer, flexible period.
- An accelerator helps an existing startup grow faster through a short, intensive, fixed-length programme.
- A VC firm invests money in startups that are already operating and growing.
Side-by-side comparison
| Venture studio | Incubator | Accelerator | VC firm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who has the idea? | Usually the studio | The founder | The founder | The founder |
| Stage | Before the company exists | Idea to early stage | Early stage with a product | Early to late stage |
| Duration | Ongoing, until the venture is independent | Flexible, often a year or more | Fixed programme, typically a few months | Years, as an investor |
| Main support | Full team, technology, capital and process | Workspace, mentoring, networks | Mentoring, small investment, investor access | Capital, board guidance, networks |
| Equity | Significant stake | None to small, depending on the incubator | Small stake | Minority stake in each round |
| Hands-on level | Very high — the studio builds | Medium | Medium to high, for a short time | Low to medium |
These are typical patterns. Individual programmes vary, so always read the terms of any specific studio, incubator, accelerator or fund.
Venture studio
A venture studio generates ideas, validates them and builds the companies itself using a shared team of product, engineering, marketing and operations people. Because the studio contributes the idea, the people and the early capital, it typically holds a significant share of each venture. The aim is to produce several companies over time using a repeatable process. Read more in What is a venture studio?
Incubator
An incubator supports founders at the very beginning, when an idea is still being shaped into a business. Support usually includes office space, mentoring, workshops and introductions. In India many incubators are attached to universities and research institutions, and some are supported by government programmes such as the Atal Innovation Mission’s Atal Incubation Centres. Incubation is generally flexible in length and less intensive than an accelerator.
Accelerator
An accelerator takes in groups of startups — called cohorts — for a short, structured programme, typically lasting a few months. Startups often receive a small investment in exchange for equity, along with intensive mentoring. Programmes commonly end with a demo day where startups present to investors. Accelerators suit teams that already have a product and want to grow quickly.
Venture capital firm
A VC firm manages a fund and invests it in startups with high growth potential in exchange for equity. VCs usually back companies that already have a team, a product and some traction, then help with strategy, hiring and future fundraising. They rarely build the product themselves.
Which one is right for you?
- You have an idea but no team or product yet: an incubator, or a venture studio if you’d like to build it together with an experienced team.
- You have a product and early users, and want to grow fast: an accelerator.
- You have traction and need significant capital to scale: a VC firm.
- You are an operator or specialist who wants to lead a new company without starting alone: a venture studio.
These routes aren’t exclusive. A company built in a studio may later raise venture capital, and an incubated startup may go on to join an accelerator.
How Stakespark fits in
Stakespark is a venture studio. It creates and develops focused businesses — such as FairStocks, Getitr and ARX Pharma — that operate with their own identities while drawing on the shared technology, strategy and operating support of the group. See all Stakespark ventures.