Eli & Surkhail - Selling to people who'll never pay

I sit down with Surhail, a founder from Pakistan living in Germany who’s building iMentor - an online accelerator for entrepreneurs rejected by traditional programs.

While his heart is in the right place wanting to help the 97% who get rejected, we quickly discover a fundamental problem with his business model. People who apply to accelerators are looking for free money and support, not to pay €150 per hour for mentorship.

We explore the psychology of startup founders, why they’re incredibly tight with spending, and how his matching service might work better if he stops positioning himself as serving “rejects.”