"Accelerator programs have emerged as one of the most powerful vehicles for helping entrepreneurs to learn rapidly, create powerful networks, raise money, build their startups, and do this at speed and at scale. Since Y Combinator brought Accelerators into the public consciousness in 2005, the number of Accelerator programs have exploded around the world; spawning successes such as AirBnB, DropBox, Reddit, Stripe, Zenefits, Pillpack and Uber--many with billion dollar valuations. The number of accelerators, the global catchment area of the accelerators and the differences in the benefits and costs of different startup ecosystems around the world makes choosing an accelerator a challenge. Additionally, many of the best accelerators have very low acceptance rates or make equity a prerequisite for entry. Choosing the wrong accelerator can be costly, as can failing to get into the right one. With the stakes so high, entrepreneurs need to consider their options carefully. Once in an accelerator, they need to take care to make the most of what the accelerator offers; but also to ensure they don't neglect their business operations while in the accelerator. Written by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, this book provides entrepreneurs with an inside look into the inner workings of different accelerator programs around the world. It outlines what the different startup accelerators around the world offer, what it takes to get into them, how to prepare accelerator applications, what to do during accelerator programs, how to raise money during accelerators and what to do after an accelerator program ends. The book is a one stop resource packed with insightful data from entrepreneurship researchers and real life case studies from accelerator and non accelerator entrepreneurs, investors investing in accelerator and non accelerator companies, as well as accelerator program managers. The book is also an insightful read for entrepreneurship educators and policy makers seeking to understand the inner workings of accelerators or to use the book as a reference resource to complement their entrepreneurship education curriculums"--
