Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Accelerator or incubator fit decision
Accelerators typically buy a slice of the company for cash, a fixed-length cohort and a demo day, while incubators usually offer space, support and time with little or no equity taken. Writing down what the company is actually short of, whether money, network, structure, credibility or a market it cannot reach alone, tells you whether either model helps or whether the honest answer is to keep building.
First tasks
- List the three things the company most lacks for the next six months
- Mark which of those gaps a programme could realistically close
- Talk the list through with your co-founders in one sitting
- Write the apply or do not apply decision and its reasons on one page
Programme longlist of twenty candidates
Most founders apply only to the two or three programmes everyone has heard of and miss the sector, regional and corporate programmes that would suit them better. A longlist of about twenty, each with its stage, sector, location, format and deal terms in one table, turns a guess into a comparison you can cut down.
First tasks
- Ask three founders you know which programmes they applied to and why
- Build a table with stage, sector, location, format, length and terms columns
- Add twenty programmes from directories, investor lists and founder forums
- Strike out every programme that does not take your stage or sector
- Rank the survivors and keep the top six to eight
Standard accelerator deal terms primer
Accelerator offers are usually written as a simple agreement for future equity, a convertible note or a straight equity purchase, and the same headline percentage can cost very different amounts once a valuation cap, post-money basis or pro rata right is applied. Learning the handful of terms that recur in these deals means you can read an offer in an evening and know which questions to take to a lawyer.
First tasks
- Read the published standard deal documents of two well-known accelerators
- Write a one-line plain definition of each term you meet
- Work out your ownership after one published deal converts at a sample round
- Note five questions about terms to ask every programme on your shortlist
- Ask a founder friend to recommend a startup lawyer for offer reviews
