Do you know your accelerators from your incubators? Even heard of a (business) catapult? Attended a hackathon? The world of intensive business support can be a little tricky to navigate, and to make it more difficult, some organisations mean one term when then mean something else. Here is our quick guide to some of the types of support out there. This week we are looking at Accelerator Programmes

 

Accelerator programmes can be hard to differentiate from incubators. Unlike incubators, it is not normally a requirement that you are based in a physical space to participate in the programme – you often continue to work from your current office or workspace.

Traditionally mentoring has been a big part of the philosophy of accelerator programmes. Usually you will be assigned a mentor who will support you over the course of the programme.

Accelerator programmes usually involve a programme of events which you attend – some of these are specific to you and your organisation, others may involve working with other businesses. The focus of an accelerator programme will vary based on who is providing it; some will be focus on investment-readiness, others (especially those which are funded by local authorities or the EU) will focus on job creation.

Some accelerators will take a share of equity in your company in exchange for the programme but this is much less common with accelerators than with incubators.

The term accelerator has come into fashion recently, so you’ll find it applied to a wide range of business support which doesn’t fit the traditional model. It’s also worth noting that the term accelerator has different norms in different countries, so it’s always worth asking lots of questions before making a decision; we hope that this blog can help shape some of the questions you ask.

 

 

Blog by Isla…