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Entrepreneurship & Startups vocabulary · Startup Ecosystem

Accelerator

Meaning in entrepreneurship & startups, with examples

/əkˈseləreɪtər/nounCore term

In entrepreneurship & startups, accelerator means: A fixed-term programme, often three to six months, that gives a group of startups mentoring, training, contacts and usually a small investment in exchange for equity.

In Turkish: hızlandırıcı, hızlandırma programı

How it is used

Startups apply to, get into, join or graduate from an accelerator. Each group is called a cohort or batch, and the programme usually ends with a demo day. Y Combinator and Techstars are well-known examples.

Example sentences

  1. We got into an accelerator in London, and it changed how we talk to investors.

  2. The accelerator invests 100,000 dollars in each startup for a 7 percent stake.

Common collocations

  • apply to an accelerator
  • accelerator programme
  • accelerator cohort
  • graduate from an accelerator
  • incubatorAn organisation that supports very early startups over a longer period, offering office space, advice, training and sometimes access to funding.
  • demo dayAn event at the end of an accelerator programme where each startup pitches on stage to an audience of investors, journalists and partners.
  • mentorAn experienced person who gives a founder advice, feedback and support over time, usually without being paid, based on their own business experience.
  • seed roundOne of the first official funding rounds of a startup, used to build the product, hire the first team and look for product-market fit.

More terms: Startup Ecosystem

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