Glossary · Ecosystem and support · Updated
An accelerator is a short, highly selective programme, typically three to six months, for a startup that already has a product and early customers. It usually invests a small cheque in exchange for 5% to 10% of the company, and ends with a demo day in front of investors.
An accelerator is not there to help you find an idea: it assumes you have one and that the problem is now speed. The programme is built as time compression: weekly targets, mentors permanently on call, and batch pressure that means no team wants to be the one that did not move.
The real product an accelerator sells is its network. The cheque is modest, often worth less than the equity given up. What you are buying is warm introductions to investors who reply because the accelerator is the sender, plus a quality signal that shortens your next fundraising process.
So do the arithmetic honestly. Giving up 7% for €120K implies a valuation of roughly €1.7M, often below what you would get raising alone. It is worth it if, and only if, the network saves you several months or materially improves the terms of the next round.
Example: the maths of an accelerator programme
A startup with €8K of MRR joins a four-month accelerator programme.
| Length | 4 months |
|---|---|
| Cheque from the accelerator | €120,000 |
| Equity given up | 7% |
| Implied valuation | €120K / 7% ≈ €1,700,000 |
| Programme fees | None; equity is the price |
| How it ends | Demo day in front of around 80 investors |
| Stated selectivity | About 3% of applicants |
If demo day leads to a seed at a €6M valuation three months later, the 7% is easily justified. If it leads nowhere, you sold 7% of the company at €1.7M, a price you can never renegotiate.
Incubator or accelerator: the comparison
"Accelerator" is routinely used to mean incubator and vice versa. The two step in at different moments and ask for very different things in return.
| Criterion | Incubator | Accelerator |
|---|---|---|
| Stage targeted | Idea or prototype, often pre-customer | Launched product, early revenue |
| Programme length | 6 to 24 months | 3 to 6 months |
| Takes equity | Rarely, often none at all | Usually, 5% to 10% |
| Money provided | Rarely (sometimes a grant or soft loan) | Common seed cheque, €20K to €150K |
| Selectivity | Moderate, application and interview | Very high, a few percent of applicants |
| Format | Permanent desks, rolling admission | Fixed-date batches |
| What you pay | Rent, programme fees, or nothing | Equity |
| How it ends | A gradual move out of the space | A demo day in front of investors |
| Main benefit | Time, structure and a place to work | A network and a fast launch |
Applying in the right order matters: an accelerator expects a launched product and early revenue. Without those, an application is rejected not because the idea is bad but because there is nothing yet to accelerate.
The common mistake
Choosing an accelerator for the money. The cheque is almost always the weakest part of the offer. If you cannot name the specific investors, customers or operators the programme will open up, the dilution is not justified.
Frequently asked questions
How much equity does an accelerator take?+
Usually between 5% and 10%, in exchange for a cheque of €20K to €150K depending on the programme. Some sector-specific or publicly funded accelerators take no equity and earn their keep another way, but they are the minority.
Do you need customers to get into an accelerator?+
Almost always, yes. The short format assumes there is something to grow. A team without a launched product will be pointed towards an incubator, whose pace and duration fit the search phase.
Related terms
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