5 min read
Accelerator or incubator?
How startup accelerators and incubators differ in length, money, equity and cost, the questions that tell them apart, and how to pick the right one for your stage.
Guides
Guides for founders choosing a programme
What accelerators, incubators, pitch competitions and grants ask of you and give in return, with every figure linked to the page it came from.
Choosing a programme
5 min read
University incubators
What university incubators and accelerators offer student, alumni and faculty founders, who is eligible, what they cost, and what to check about who owns the IP.
5 min read
Corporate accelerators
How corporate accelerators run by large companies work, what the sponsor wants in return, and the terms on equity, IP, pilots and exclusivity to check.
How programmes work
6 min read
How startup accelerators work
How a startup accelerator runs from cohort to demo day, the standard deal at Y Combinator and Techstars, how SAFEs convert and the rights that come with them.
5 min read
What is a demo day?
What a startup demo day is, how Y Combinator and Techstars run theirs, who attends, how founders should prepare and the US securities rule that covers them.
Applying
5 min read
How to apply to an accelerator
How to choose which accelerators to apply to, write an application partners can read in a minute, prepare for the interview and what to do if the answer is no.
5 min read
Y Combinator acceptance rate
Y Combinator's acceptance rate from its own pages: about 1% today and under 1% for Winter 2024, with application and funding counts by batch, each dated and sourced.
Deal terms
5 min read
Red flags in accelerator terms
The accelerator terms to question before you sign: fees, equity for little cash, floating SAFEs, stakes that top up, control rights, IP clauses and rushed deadlines.
5 min read
Equity-free accelerators
What an equity-free accelerator is, who pays for programmes that take no stake, what founders give instead, and how to compare one with an offer that takes equity.
Funding
5 min read
Grants or accelerators?
How startup grants and accelerators compare: what each costs, how much they pay (SBIR, NSF and EIC figures with dates) and when to pursue both.
Pitch competitions
5 min read
How to prepare for a pitch competition
How to prepare for a startup pitch competition: read the rules and the rubric, build the pitch around what is scored, keep slides simple, rehearse the questions.
For organisers
5 min read
How to run a pitch competition
For organisers: how to set eligibility, write rules and a judging rubric, choose prizes and report them for tax, and run a pitch event within US securities rules.
Calculators
Put numbers on an offer before you sign it.
Accelerator dilution calculator
See what a programme's stake and your later rounds leave the founders.
SAFE calculator
Ownership at the cap, with a discount, and after the priced round you choose.
Equity or equity-free?
The exit value above which an equity deal costs more than an equity-free grant.
Find the programme worth applying to
Search every accelerator, incubator, pitch competition and grant we list.