For the past five years I've been telling founders to do an accelerator. Now, I'm changing things up... Here are six reasons you shouldn't do an accelerator…

If you only need funding. You're better off going to a VC, applying for grants, or seeking venture debt. Accelerators "take more" because it's more than just money.
To do customer development. You don't need an accelerator to tell you to talk to your customers. You should be doing it anyway.
To get a badge of honor. More startups are being accepted into accelerators than ever before. This isn't a good or bad thing. It just is. The important thing is that you should do it because you think they can help you.
To get a list of investors. You can already get that using Crunchbase or sabakarim.com/investors. The key is narrowing down the investors to talk to, figuring out how to pitch them, and getting them excited about what you're building. This takes experience and practice.
You need the motivation. If you're not jumping out of bed on your own to build your startup, you're going to struggle. Inspiration you'll get. Motivation: BYO.
Someone told you to. Now we're even because someone is telling you not to.