In the mid-2000s, YC and Techstars pioneered the accelerator concept. Today, there are thousands of accelerators globally, and startups have a lot of options in raising their first tranche of capital. In this session, we'll talk about A) how to differentiate your accelerator, B) how to attract the best startups, C) how to manage accelerator costs effectively, and D) how to evolve your accelerator to be well-positioned for the future.

1. hustlefund.vc
How to differentiate your
accelerator?
Elizabeth Yin
Hustle Fund

2. I’m an early stage investor and former entrepreneur.
General Partner / Co-founder at Hustle
Fund (in the Silicon Valley)
Former Partner at 500 Startups
● Ran the 500 Startups accelerator
CEO/co-founder of LaunchBit (acq 2014)
● Attended the 500 Startups
accelerator

3. There are thousands of accelerators worldwide
http://gust.com/global-accelerator-report-2015/

4. You need winning companies to stay in business
How are you
going to beat
YC??

5. You need to differentiate...
● Most companies only go to one accelerator
● The best startups want to go to the best
● How can you differentiate?
○ Stage?
■ Science
○ Specialization?
■ Alchemist
■ DreamIt Health
○ Format?
■ Online?

6. How are you marketing?
● How are you attracting deals?
○ Marketing efforts?
○ Outbound sales?
○ Lead generation?
○ Referrals?

7. Does your program help with your goals?
● Does Demo Day make sense?
○ Demo days are now archaic, ineffective
● Should you have a cohort?
○ Do you need to treat everyone in the same way?
● Do you need space?
● Do you need content / classes?
○ Content has become commoditized
What worked in 2010 doesn’t make sense now

8. Evaluate your costs and trim
● Accelerators are EXPENSIVE!
○ Space + Staffing are top expenses
■ Do you need a location?
● Pros and cons of a cheaper location?
■ Do you need a staff?
● Can you incent with equity?
● Do the minimum required to graduate excellent companies
○ The best companies need no help…

9. Summary
● Do you even need an accelerator?
○ Is it better to be a “value-add” fund?
● Question every activity you do
○ Does it help with dealflow?
○ How can you reduce?

10. Discussion / Questions?
elizabeth@hustlefund.vc