Do your homework with accelerator programs
At Startupbootcamp, 71% of the startups that exit the accelerator program receive funding. This number is constantly updated on our website. Accelerator programs, in general, provide a wide range of partners, mentors, investors, as well as talents that could help in business development for the startups. But the key is whether the accelerator program fits you as a startup. As a startup, you really need to do your homework on the accelerator program itself. What is the accelerator program they are looking for? What they are really good at? Finally is the program the right program for them? For example, when we recruit startups from all over the world in our Digital Health Program in China. We got applicants that were doing e-commerce and fintech. Therefore this shows that as a startup you really need to understand what kind of accelerator program you are applying for.
Take advantage of the accelerator program
Another key point is that you really need to spend time in a program once you are selected. Because for our program, for example, we organize a very intense program for months. Most of our curriculums, trips, mentor sessions, one on one with investors, master classes, workshops, startups can benefit a lot of that and will add to their success after they leave the program.
Vertical Accelerator Programs
Future accelerators will be more and more specific. Because this will allow accelerators to foster the ecosystem in the specific area. That is very important to help the startups to scale their business. On the other hand, also help the accelerator itself to really get access to the resources in this industry. The stakeholders include the decision makers from government offices, institute researchers, university professors, corporates in the industry, investors, lawyers, and financial analysts. All these stakeholders are good at this specific industry or area the accelerator is working on. The community or ecosystem like this is a key factor for the success of all the parties.
Corporate Accelerator Programs
Also, I see more corporate accelerators emerging. Specifically, in China, there are over 4,000 co-working spaces, incubators, and accelerators. But most of them are supported by the government and most are run under the philosophy of property or space operation model. More and more corporates, as well as the multi-national companies in China, have also started to build their own innovation center, incubator, or accelerator. They are opening up their resources to the startups as well. Some names that come to mind are Tencent and Alibaba who have run a lot of innovation centers across the country. There will be a lot of opportunities for international startups to come to China to work with the corporates over there so make sure as a startup you enter into an accelerator that fits your company.
