Accelerators and Incubators

What to consider when exploring Accelerators and Incubators.

If you are seeking to rapidly grow your StartUp, accelerators (also called incubators) can be a swift way to source missing team members, connect with key market players and reach strategic investors.

Accelerators can broadly be divided into three categories:

• Talent: Those seeking to connect the founding team members.
• Industry specific: Those focused on a single industry or application space (AI, mobile, healthcare)
• Problem specific: Those seeking to nurture founders/companies solving a specific global concern (climate change, underrepresentation)

It's also important to remember that whilst some accelerators are free (often state or stakeholder funded) most will take an equity stake and then either directly invest in graduates or introduce them to a network of investors during a demo day.

Typically accelerators offer some of the following:

• Mentoring
• Seminars / Workshops
• Office / Work space
• Laboratory space
• Funding advice
• Demo days
• Networking connections / Access to investors
• Training
• Legal / Accountancy support
• Direct Funding (e.g. grants or equity investment)
• Investment readiness
• Tech support (Inc. IT support)