How Inversion Art is trying to become the Y Combinator of the arts world

For many startups, getting a place in an accelerator program like Y Combinator or TechStars is like winning the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Accelerators provide a wealth of opportunities that can make the difference between a great idea that doesn’t realize its potential and one that leads to an IPO.

We’re used to seeing accelerators work for companies disrupting travel, payment processing, or cloud storage, but what if this model could work outside of the venture mill? What if a little investment, a touch of mentoring and practical support, a multitude of presentations and a lot of belief could be used to help artists in their careers?

This is exactly what Reversal art try to do.

“Y Combinator changed my life,” Joey Flores, co-founder of Inversion Art, told TechCrunch. “I feel so grateful for the program and thought if I could do something like that for the artists it would be amazing.”

Flores is a Y Combinator alumnus whose EarBits music marketing platform graduated from the program in 2010 and was sold in 2015. Although Flores is not a professional artist, art is a very important part of his life, and a chance comment from a VC during a conversation in 2020 set him on the path of finding a way to support artists who have the drive and passion to make art their lifelong career, but who need help to achieve this. As part of his research, he connected with his co-founder Jonathan Neil and together they seek to change the way artists find success and recognition.

“The artist has always relied on other parties such as collectors, museums and galleries to develop his career and define his success,” Neil said. “We are, in our opinion, the first organization that truly sits on the same side of the table as the artist in all their negotiations and activities and truly helps them define success themselves.”