There are a thousand accelerators out there. Most aren’t worth your time. Here’s how to find the best…

They MUST Give You Money

A real accelerator gives you money. Never waste your time with one that doesn’t.

Don’t accept “sweat equity,” where you give away equity for “advice” or “product help”. Those services will be worth what you paid for them – nothing. 

And certainly don’t pay to be in an accelerator! I can’t believe I have to say this, but some founders are actually paying so-called “venture firms” to be in their program. 

These programs are a scam. 

The Check Must be $100,000 Plus

Say you found a decent accelerator that’s willing to write you a check. Don’t bother with some little check of $25K or $50K. 

That check needs to be a minimum of $100K. You’re probably giving up 3 months or more of your time. You need to see some real cash. 

There are a few pre-accelerator programs, like Founder University, that write $25,000 checks. That’s totally fine – you’re only committing a few hours.

But for a true accelerator, make sure the check is six figures. 

The Top Accelerators

Now that we’ve ruled out the worst programs, let’s run through some of the best. Here are my favorites:

• YC
• Launch
• Techstars
• ERA
• PearX
• HF0
• a16z Speed Run
• Sequoia Arc

All these programs are run by real VCs. They give you a substantial check, ranging from $125,000 to a whopping $1 million for Arc and HF0.

They’re all very hard to get into. And you get a ton of valuable advice and intros along with that juicy check. 

For almost every pre-seed founder, these programs are worth doing. But if you’re a highly seasoned founder who’s had a large exit, you may not need an accelerator.

Wrap-Up

After you finish these programs, you’re likely to raise a substantial seed round. You should be able to raise $2M-$5M without much trouble. 

Having that fancy logo stamped on your butt really does make a difference!

Are you planning to go to an accelerator? 

More on tech: 

Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

Why the ‘Pretty Good Startup’ Can’t Raise Money Today

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