10 Accelerator Programs Every Entrepreneur Should Know About
The New York technology and startup scene has seen huge growth over the past five years, and now finding the initial seed money and – more importantly – a network of entrepreneurs willing to help you get your company get off the ground has become easier than ever. One way to pass beyond the initial phase of a startup idea is to join an accelerator or incubator program. These programs provide funding, mentors, office space, and professional services in the initial stages of your business. Here are the most important ones in New York.TechStars
New York TechStars has become the standard in the accelerators and many international and national accelerator programs model their own program after this pioneer. TechStars are the superstars of the startup community. Only 1% of applicants get accepted into TechStars, the filtering process is intense, and being part of the program will immediately bring you into the next level of funding as participants get seed funding from over 75 different venture capital firms and angel investors. The initial funding provides the participating company with $100,000 and over $268,500 in resources such as mentoring and other perks through partnerships. The program includes three months of intensive top-notch mentorship, and the companies will get the chance to pitch angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program. TechStars participants average over $1M in outside venture capital funding raised after leaving the program.Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) is an early-stage seed fund and technology accelerator created by New Yorkers, for New Yorkers. It is committed to helping build the next generation of great technology companies right here in New York. ERA looks for companies that are best able to take full advantage of the city as a starting point to successfully enter the market for their product, service, or application. ERA runs two four-month sessions per year, each with 10 companies selected from more than 1,000 applications. Startups receive $40,000 in funding, free office space, free legal advice, and other services. Additionally, companies receive free hands-on help from a team of 200+ mentors who are experts in their respective fields.At the end of the session, the companies are offered the opportunity to pitch leading investors and venture capitalists, with the continued assistance of the ERA community and network. NYC Venture Fellows
The NYC Venture Fellows program is offered in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Fordham University in the Bronx. The 20-30 entrepreneurs accepted each year are offered executive-level mentoring from industry leaders in NYC, exclusive networking opportunities, and resources to help them scale their business. Mentors of the program range from serial entrepreneurs to CEOs of some of the biggest companies in New York City. This 12-month program will include intensive interaction with other entrepreneurs in the program, including networking events and presentations.NYU-Poly and NYC Seed
The Polytechnic Institute of New York University focuses on engineering, applied sciences, technology, and research. The institute first introduced incubator spaces in 2004 at its downtown Brooklyn campus. In 2009 they opened a second incubator space opening in Tribeca on Varick Street as well as ACRE, an incubator focused on supporting clean-technology startups.The perks of becoming a company in an NYU-Poly incubator? Companies in the incubator spaces are offered access to talented NYU students as interns and employees, low rent, and a number of amenities that are not provided at other incubators. Several serial entrepreneurs act as constantly available mentors. Another convenient cohabitant? NYC Seed, on hand to offer funding for seed-level technology entrepreneurs.NYC Seed was formed to provide deserving New York City entrepreneurs with the capital and support they need to move from idea to product launch. The program invests up to $200,000 - depending on the number of founders and the amount needed for certain goals - with the aim of assisting the company to launch their initial product.FinTech Innovation Lab
The FinTech Innovation Lab is an annual 12-week program run by the Partnership Fund for New York City and Accenture that aims to help early and growth stage companies – specifically those which have developed cutting edge technology products for customers in financial services. Through a competitive process, the chief technology officers of the world’s leading financial service firms will determine which proposals are accepted for further development and deployment. The six accepted participants will get the chance to refine and beta test their financial technology products in New York City in partnership with some of the leading financial firms in New York City.Each company also receives $25,000 and access to a network of mentors from the participating firms.DreamIt
The goal at DreamIt sounds idealistic: “Help great people with great ideas build great companies.” But DreamIt is doing just that by developing a community which provides a great network to bounce ideas around, share inspiration, and provide guidance. The founders of DreamIt, wanted it to be the accelerator program that they wished existed when they were launching their first businesses. Now DreamIt has programs operating out of NYC, Austin, and Israel. Participants will save precious cash as they take advantage of the experienced mentors who are on hand to provide advice and legal and accounting services. Similar to other programs, companies receive seed funding - up to $25,000 - and the opportunity to meet and pitch venture capitalists and angel investors.Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is a global network of startups and mentors helping entrepreneurs launch sustainable technology companies. The Founder Institute was started in 2009 by serial entrepreneur Adeo Ressi with a goal to “Globalize Silicon Valley” by launching 1,000 meaningful and enduring technology companies per year in 30 cities worldwide. While the institute operates out of a small warehouse in the heart of Silicon Valley, there are branches in many cities throughout the world including New York City.Through the four-month course for companies in the concept stages, participants can work on the idea of their startup with expert training, feedback, and support from experienced startup CEOs. Notably, Founder Institute requires an application fee of $50 as well as a course fee of $1050 to cover mentor travel and other expenses.The Institute is able to keep costs low by asking successful graduates to give back a percentage. As they say "The success of the Institute is based on the success of the graduates.”WIM
Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) is the first startup accelerator and mentorship-driven program designed for companies in mobile technology which were founded by women. WIM’s goal is to provide women entrepreneurs with the guidance, feedback, and connections needed to make their startups formidable business concerns.WIM is a three-month, mentorship-driven accelerator program. Companies receive $18,000 in funding, free office space, product development and design support, mobile-marketing promotions, and access to an incredible network of mentors, funders and advisors. In exchange for our investment and services, WIM receives an equity stake in each company.General Assembly
General Assembly (GA) is not an accelerator that will take share in your company, but a campus for technology, design, and entrepreneurship. In its core business model, GA provides educational programming not only for the companies accepted into the space, but to individuals and business customers. Although GA will not provide funding, companies accepted into the program are offered space and support to facilitate collaborative practices and learning opportunities across a community inspired by the entrepreneurial experience. Some of the members use General Assembly as their full-time base of operations, while others use it as a place to meet future colleagues and attend classes, talks, and workshops. Headquartered in New Yorks’ tech triangle, GA has started to branch out their services into other global cities.Y-Combinator
Although not New York City based, Y-Combinator is one of the most notable accelerator programs in the United States and has been in operation since 2005. The organization offers funding ranging from $14k-20k, dependent on the number of founders in each respective startup, as well as a transferable $80k note. The accelerator program operates out of Silicon Valley and requires all participants to relocate to the Bay Area for the duration of the 3-month program, which occurs twice every year. Participants are invited to weekly dinners to introduce founders to their mentors in the form of investors, lawyers, founders of other successful startups, journalists, and CEOs from big tech companies. Although the funding is not expansive, the network of connections makes this one of the most desirable accelerator programs out there. Only adding to the appeal, Y-Combinator has some big names as graduates, including Reddit, AirBnB, and Dropbox.
Article updated: December 20,2014