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{{Short description|Company that invests in and supports startups}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
'''Startup accelerators''', also known as '''seed accelerators''', are fixed-term, [[Cohort (educational group)|cohort-based]] programs, that include [[mentorship]] and educational components, and (sometimes) culminate in a public [[sales pitch|pitch]] event or [[demo day]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Susan |year=2013 |title=What Do Accelerators Do? Insights from Incubators and Angels |journal=Innovations |volume=8 |issue=3–4 |pages=19–25 |doi=10.1162/inov_a_00184 |doi-access=free}}</ref> While traditional [[business incubator]]s are often government-funded, generally take no equity, and rarely provide [[funding]], accelerators can be either privately or publicly funded and cover a wide range of industries.<ref>{{Cite report|last1=Bone |first1=Jonathan |last2=Allen |first2=Olivia |last3=Haley |first3=Christopher |year=2017 |title=Business Incubators and Accelerators: the National Picture |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/955469/business-incubators-accelerators-uk-report.pdf |publisher=UK Dept of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy}}</ref> Unlike [[business incubators]], the application process for seed accelerators is open to anyone, but is highly competitive.<ref name="accelerating-studies" /> There are specific accelerators, such as [[corporate accelerator]]s, which are often subsidiaries or programs of larger corporations that act like seed accelerators.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crichton |first=Danny |date=August 25, 2014 |title=Corporate Accelerators Are An Oxymoron |url=http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/25/corporate-accelerators-are-an-oxymoron/ |access-date=June 17, 2015}}</ref>
==Distinctive qualities==
{{See also|Business incubator}}
The main differences between business [[Business incubator|incubators]], [[Startup studio|startup studios]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kronenberger |first=Craig |date=February 23, 2021 |title=What Startup Model is Right for You? |url=https://medium.com/startup-studio-insider/startup-studios-vs-accelerators-82b8545aba0a |access-date=March 23, 2021 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> and accelerators are:<ref name="accelerating-studies" /><ref name="miller">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Paul |url=http://www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/StartupFactoriesv18.pdf |title=The Startup Factories - The rise of accelerator programmes to support new technology ventures |last2=Bound, Kirsten |date=June 2011 |publisher=[[NESTA]] |___location=London, UK |page=3}}</ref>
# The application process is open to anyone but highly competitive. For instance, [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]] and [[TechStars]] have application acceptance rates between 1% and 3%.
# Seed [[equity investment|investment]] in [[Startup company|startups]]
# The focus is generally on small teams, not on individual founders. Accelerators generally consider that one person is insufficient to handle all the work associated with a startup. However, a number of 'founder first' accelerators exist that focus on solo founders, including [[Entrepreneur First]], [[Antler (venture capital firm)|Antler]], Oneday and Underdog Accelerator.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Underdog Startup Accelerator {{!}} Expert Support to Launch Your Startup |url=https://underdogaccelerator.com/ |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=Underdog Startup Accelerator {{!}} Expert Support to Launch Your Startup |language=en}}</ref>
# The startups must "graduate" by a given deadline, typically after 3 months. During this time, they receive intensive mentoring and training, and they are expected to iterate rapidly. Virtually all accelerators end their programs with a "demo day", where the startups present to investors.<ref name="gilani21">{{Cite web |last=Gilani |first=Aziz |last2=Dettori, Gianluca |date=July 16, 2011 |title=Incubators in US and Europe - Speed and scale in capital formation |url=http://www.slideshare.net/dgiluz/accellerators-in-us-and-europe/21 |access-date=September 14, 2012 |publisher=Kauffman Fellow Program |page=21}}</ref>
# Startups are accepted and supported in cohort batches or classes (the accelerator isn't an on-demand resource).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christiansen |first=Jed |title=Seed Accelerator Definition |url=http://www.seed-db.com/about/view?page=definition |access-date=September 14, 2012}}</ref>
The primary value to the entrepreneur is derived from the mentoring, connections, and the recognition of being chosen to be a part of the accelerator. The [[business model]] is based on generating [[Venture capital|venture-style returns]], not rent, or fees for services.
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==History==
The first seed accelerator was [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]], started in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2005, and then later moved to Silicon Valley by [[Paul Graham (computer programmer)|Paul Graham]].<ref name="accelerating-studies" /> It was followed by [[TechStars]] (in 2006), [[Seedcamp]] (in 2007), [[AngelPad]] (in 2010), Startupbootcamp (in 2010), Tech Wildcatters (in 2011), several accelerators of [[SOSVentures|SOSV]], [[Forum Ventures]] (In 2014), Boomtown Boulder (in 2014) and [[Antler (venture capital firm)|Antler]] (in 2017).<ref name="gilani4">{{Cite web |last=Gilani |first=Aziz |last2=Dettori, Gianluca |date=July 16, 2011 |title=Incubators in US and Europe - Speed and scale in capital formation |url=http://www.slideshare.net/dgiluz/accellerators-in-us-and-europe/4 |access-date=September 14, 2012 |publisher=Kauffman Fellow Program |page=4}}</ref>
In Europe, the first accelerator program was started by Accelerace in 2009 in Denmark (strongly subsidised by the Danish government) followed shortly after by Startup Wise Guys in 2012 in Estonia.
With the growing popularity of seed accelerator programs in the US, Europe has seen an increase in accelerators to support a growing [[startup ecosystem]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson, Bobbie |date=July 18, 2011 |title=Are Europe's startup accelerators speeding out of control? |url=http://gigaom.com/2011/07/18/are-europes-accelerators-speeding-out-of-control |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124035329/http://gigaom.com/2011/07/18/are-europes-accelerators-speeding-out-of-control |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 24, 2013 |publisher=[[GigaOM]]}}</ref>
Forbes published an analysis of startup accelerators in April 2012.<ref name="forbes1">{{Cite web |last=Tomio |first=Geron |date=April 30, 2012 |title=Top Startup Incubators And Accelerators |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/04/30/top-tech-incubators-as-ranked-by-forbes-y-combinator-tops-with-7-billion-in-value/ |website=Forbes |page=1}}</ref> Since 2010 there has been a substantial growth of [[Corporate Accelerator]] programs, which are sponsored by established organizations but follow similar principles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heinemann |first=Florian |date=June 17, 2015 |title=Corporate Accelerator database |url=https://corporate-accelerators.net/database/index.html}}</ref>
==Impact==
Whether
==See also==
*[[Business incubator]]
*[[Corporate accelerator]]
*[[Forum Ventures]]
*[[Flex space]]
*[[:Category:Startup accelerators|List of startup accelerators]]
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