How to Choose a Startup Accelerator Program in a Correct Way

Startup life can get lonely. Even with a growing team, dozens of clients, and supportive friends, it can be easy to feel lonely when thinking about growing your business.

Thankfully, organizations and investors worldwide have created an intensive business program to combat this loneliness and provide mentoring, education, and support. One of these programs is Startup Accelerator.

The Startup Accelerator Program is only for some and can be a competitive and exhausting program. But these programs turned a startup into a global, disruptive enterprise. (Does anyone like Airbnb and Dropbox?)

The Seed Accelerator is an intensive 2-3 month program in which established startups (startups with a permanent team, minimal viable product, and specific customer profile) participate in accelerating business growth. Accelerators typically include a selective application process. Once approved, startups receive education, mentoring, networking, and potential funding.

It is common for startups to join accelerators to escape funding from investors. Some programs guarantee some form of financing in exchange for equity investments. Other programs award free, limited grants (unless you complete the program).

In terms of accelerator preparation, startups generally do not require initial funding. However, it is safe to assume that it will cost some money (either through financing or bootstrapping) to develop the product, team, and client and qualify for the application.

All stakeholders – investors, companies, customers, and the economy – benefit from startup accelerators. However, this is not the only business development program available to startups. Accelerators are often confused with incubators and other intensive programs.

Introducing Corporate Accelerators

In the age of innovation, even large companies need an entrepreneurial spirit. Established organizations and startups can help each other, but collaboration is only sometimes fruitful.

You need more than buying a company hoodie for your team or putting a ping pong table in the break room. Companies need to have a precise and thoughtful plan for engaging startups. According to reports that 82% of companies consider their interactions with startups to be at least somewhat important, and 23% describe startups as “mission critical.”

Enterprise accelerators represent a new frontier for the startup ecosystem. There is plenty of quality information about accelerators, but this information is scattered all over the internet at this early stage. Finding, organizing, and using helpful information in one place took a lot of work.

Defining Startup Accelerators

The recent trend in corporate innovation is startup involvement, but this terminology needs to be clarified. Accelerators are purported as incubators, and the institution that activated this phenomenon (Y Combinator) is called “a new funding model for nascent startups.”

As such, accelerators are typical of limited duration. In short, it’s time for immersive education. They help startups define and develop their products by identifying promising customer segments and securing resources such as seed capital, employees, and jobs.

A significant consideration for innovators and entrepreneurs is that accelerators open doors and networking opportunities. Program participants can access peers and mentors such as successful entrepreneurs, program alums, venture capitalists, angel investors, and corporate executives.

So what can you do to improve their chances of being accepted?

• Prepare your legal information – The startup accelerator application process requires you to demonstrate a good idea and your ability and professionalism to run a business.
• Intellectual Property Protection: Startup Accelerators want to see if participants protect their intellectual property. That is if you take appropriate steps to protect trademarks, copyrights, and patents that are important to your business.
• Please investigate. Startup accelerator programs aren’t just for whispering. If you are seriously interested in where the program is, you should do your research.

The Rise of Enterprise Accelerators

Five years after the creation of Y Combinator, enterprises began experimenting with accelerator models.

Early enterprise accelerators included Citrix (US), ImmobilienScout (Germany), Microsoft (US), and Telephonic (Spain).

This phenomenon occurred as companies maintained record amounts after the Great Recession and sought low-risk growth opportunities. The Enterprise Accelerator allows companies to leverage their current workforce and invest minimal capital while exploring startups that align with their strategy. Combined with a growing interest in innovation among CEOs, these factors have created fertile ground for enterprise accelerators to thrive.

Conclusion –

No two startup accelerators are the same, but they all share the same vision. They see entrepreneurs of all kinds scale their business success and impact, regardless of what industry they operate in or what sort of products they sell. There is a startup accelerator for you.

To learn more about the accelerator program, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_accelerator.