Fall is just around the corner. For startup founders, that means they are looking to start an accelerator program in the fall/winter of 2022.

Background

Accelerators are programs that provide early-stage companies with funding, resources, and mentorship to “accelerate” the company’s development, usually in exchange for equity. Typically, these 3-months, cohort-based programs culminate in a “demo day” of pitches where the start-ups showcase their product and raise additional funding from a room full of investors, press, and other stakeholders. Two of the most notable accelerators that are still active today are YCombinator and Techstars.

My Experience

Having been through an accelerator before, I created a list of questions I wish I had before starting. I originally created this list for a close friend of mine who is starting an accelerator this fall 🎉, but I can’t mention names because the cohort is not yet announced.

I was 1 of 8 orgs selected to participate in Fast Forward, a nonprofit tech accelerator, in 2017. I loved my experience, but in retrospect, see how I could have maximized my experience.

Questions to Consider

If you are a startup founder or team member, here are a few prompting questions to brainstorm about in preparation for your accelerator experience.

1. How do you want to feel at the end of the accelerator?

2. What have you learned by the end of it? What measurable outcomes have you achieved? (Could be related to product development, customers, sales, traction, testing product-market fit, marketing, scaling, among other things.) What’s the win you are playing for? What can you ask for? What specifically do you need help with?

3. Who have you developed relationships with? What is the nature of the relationship? What would you like to count on them for during and after the program? Who are your ideal advisors/mentors you want to meet? How can they help you fill gaps in terms of your team or expertise?

4. Is there an advisory board to build – or other structures – that would accelerate your efforts? What can they provide (skills, intros, or signal/clout)? What would you be vetting people for? 

5. What can you put in place in advance to be the most powerful and effective leader you can be during the program? What adjustments can you make today, if any? How can you scale yourself? What habits, structures, and/or systems can make a difference? What will you say “no” to? If you plan to be heads-down during the program, what do you need to take care of before you start? Who do you need to let know?

6. Assuming you have a team: What expectations or plans do you have of yourself? What expectations do you have of your co-founders or team members? (Could include commitment, availability, roles, re-location, what to do about existing/other responsibilities, equity splits, etc.) It’s easy to gloss over this step, but being explicit and communicating and aligning prior to the start could save you a lot of headache further down the line.

7. Assuming you have a product in market already and/or further along than just an idea: What is your best case exit scenario that you want? What needs to happen for you to achieve that exit? What are the assumptions behind the best case scenario? What is the gaps between then and now that need to be filled? 

I like this video from Kevin Hale. It’s short and explains a VC’s mindset.

You can then think about how to get to the end state with different scenarios of customers and pricing. 

And remember, this is just a thought exercise for scenario planning. They might seem like abstract questions but I think your answers will start to get specific and the subsequent potential tactics will emerge. 

If you had an executive coach, these are questions that might come up throughout a session. To get the creative juices flowing, you could journal, write bullet points while timeboxing, record yourself in a voice note, or talk with a friend/advisor (and ask them to capture what you are saying).

For Later: Resources and Additional Reading

I will add resources here later. If you have any that you’d suggest, please leave a comment. ❤ Good luck! Hope your experience is amazing!