Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about starting your own startup, but have been hesitant to actually do it? If yes, join us. Starting a startup is not for everyone, and before deciding if it’s for you, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons of doing so. There are Accelerators in the USA out there that can help startups validate their idea and scale early on, but joining an accelerator program is not for everyone.

Also Read the Topic: Zerodha Founders

There are programs related to the best startup accelerators in the USA (and globally) that are highly selective and only open to companies of a certain size. If you’re interested in finding out if accelerators are right for you, read through this blog where we cover all the benefits of Accelerators in the USA and some of the top accelerators on our list.

What is an Accelerator?

An accelerator is a program that provides startups capital, mentorship, and other resources to help them become more successful. In general, accelerators provide startups with access to venture capital funding, tech industry partners and corporate partners, and network of investors. Most Accelerators in USA offer startup investors the opportunity to participate early on in a startup’s development.

In addition to funding, accelerators provide startups with guidance and coaching. These programs can be invaluable for startups looking to develop a product or service quickly and efficiently.

Some best startup accelerators in US also provide seed funding in the form of grants or loans that allow startups to take the first steps toward developing a product or service.

Some accelerators focus on mentorship as part of their program. This can help startups gain valuable insights from experienced entrepreneurs and tech leaders.

Others offer access to office space and other resources, such as equipment or office space for free or at reduced rates. This can help startups save money while still benefiting from the resources offered by accelerators.

While larger Accelerators in the USA tend to receive more attention, smaller programs may have higher exit rates and diversity investment rates than larger programs. It’s important for startups to consider all the options when looking for an accelerator program.

Benefits of Joining an Accelerator

• Venture capital has been slow to come to the startup industry. But with the help of startup accelerators, startups can access funding and mentorship early on in their development. Startup accelerator programs offers startups seed capital, guidance, and events for a limited period of 3-4 months in return for equity. The program helps startups validate their ideas and build a product portfolio. After graduation, companies have a higher chance of securing venture capital funding
  from investors.
• Accelerators in the USA are valuable resources for startups as they provide access to corporate partners, industry-specific programs, and services beyond what is available out of incubation. This helps startups refine their product ideas, learn how to market them effectively, and grow their business.
• Some of the best accelerators are offering companies mentorship assistance for free or at an affordable rate. They also provide them with seed capital and other startup-related services such as legal assistance and business development.
• Accelerators offer great value to startups by helping them accelerate their growth and achieve success faster including access to corporate partners, industry-specific programs and services beyond what is available out of incubation.

Who are Accelerators Looking For?

• Accelerators are looking for companies with a high potential for growth within a few months.
• Companies must have a working MVP (minimal version of product/service) to be eligible for an accelerator program.
• Accelerators typically require companies to have a working product or service that clearly demonstrates its use case and viability.
• Accelerators in the USA with over 100 investments are usually considered for rankings.
• Most accelerators focus on finding companies with the potential to become unicorns, startup giants capable of lasting venture funding and rapid growth.
• Accelerators provide startups with mentorship, capital, and access to early-stage technology investors and customers. They’re a vital partner for startups as they help them develop their products and business models and scale their ventures rapidly.

The Application Process of Accelerators

Accelerators in the USA are startup-focused incubators that provide startups with startup-oriented mentorship and funding opportunities.

1. There are several types of accelerators in the U.S. including program-based accelerators (such as Y-Combinator), early-stage venture capital financing accelerators, Techstars accelerators, angel investment accelerators, and venture capital consulting accelerators. Each of these types of accelerators provides startups with unique resources and expertise.
2. Like program-based accelerators, early-stage venture capital financing accelerators provide startups with funding, mentorship, network access, and office space in Silicon Valley.
3. Techstars Accelerators in the USA provides startups with access to corporate partners, venture capitalists, and office space in tech hubs such as Boulder or Seattle. Techstars also partners with tech companies to provide startups with co-op placements, startup workshops, and other events. They also have startup competitions and funding opportunities for Techstars companies.
4. Angel investment Accelerators in the USA offer startup funding, mentorship, office space access (if available), seed capital funding, and connections to investors to help them grow their businesses. Some angel investment accelerators even offer loans for startups to help them get started.
5. Venture capital consulting accelerator provides startups with funding, mentorship, networking opportunities, office space access (if available), legal advice and advice on fundraising from experienced investors. The application process can vary depending on the accelerator program specifications so it is important to research the specifics of the accelerator prior to applying.
6. If you’re interested in applying for an accelerator program in the U.S., be sure to research each program’s application requirements carefully so you can best prepare for the application process.

36 Top Startup Accelerators In The USA

There are a variety of top Accelerators in the USA, such as Angelpad, 500 Startups, Starve-Ups, Techstars, Y-Combinator and accelerators located around the world. Some of these accelerators offer individual programs like Techstars, which offers mentorship, funding and support for tech startups. These accelerators provide startup companies with various
services and capital to help them grow.
The four most active accelerators have an exit rate of around 10%, while those with more than 1,000 investments tend to have a lower exit rate. This is because startups at these accelerators receive mentorship from industry experts and access to capital from investors through program financing rounds. So here is the list of top US Accelerators For Startups –

S.N.	Accelerator / Incubator	Location	Founded	Founders	Number of Investments	Industries
1	Y Combinator	Mountain View	2005	Jessica Livingston, Lucas Thomaz, Paul Graham, Robert Morris, Trevor Blackwell	4129	Finance, Impact Investing, Virtual Currency
2	Techstars	Boulder	2006	Brad Feld, David Brown, David Cohen, Jared Polis	3421	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
3	500 Startups	San Francisco	2010	Christine Tsai, Dave McClure	2676	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
4	MassChallenge	Boston	2009	Akhil Nigam, Caitlin Reimers Brumme, David Constantine, John Harthorne	2659	Finance, Financial Services, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Impact
5	SOSV	Princeton	1994	Sean O’Sullivan	2127	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
6	Plug and Play Tech Center	Sunnyvale	2006	Ali Safavi, Jackie Hernandez, Saeed Amidi	1285	FinTech, Health Care, InsurTech, Retail, Smart Cities
7	Alchemist Accelerator	San Francisco	2012	Ravi Belani	563	Apps, B2B, Biotechnology, Enterprise Software, Health Care, Manufacturing, Medical, SaaS, Software
8	Innovation Works	Pittsburgh	1999	Lisa Greenleaf	512	Finance
9	HAX	San Francisco	2011	Cyril Ebersweiler, Sean O’Sullivan	465	Hardware, Manufacturing, Venture Capital
10	Dreamit Ventures	New York	2007	David Bookspan, Elliot Menschik, Michael Levinson, Steve Welch	378	Cyber Security, Electronic Health Record (EHR), Health Care, Health Diagnostics, Information Technology, Medical Device, Venture Capital
11	StartX (Stanford-StartX Fund)	Palo Alto	2009	Cameron Teitelman, Christopher Morace, Dan Ha, Jonathan Golden, Karen Katz, Matt Man, Steve Petersen	333	Artificial Intelligence, Automotive, Big Data, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Computer Vision, Consumer Software, E-Commerce, Education, Enterprise Software, Finance, Financial Services, Hardware, Internet, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Medical Device, Non Profit, Venture Capital
12	IndieBio	San Francisco	2014	Arvind Gupta, Bill Liao, Sean O’Sullivan	307	Biotechnology, Finance, Venture Capital
13	JumpStart	Cleveland	2003	Ray Leach	147	Finance, Financial Services, Non Profit, Venture Capital
14	Forum Ventures	New York	2012	Karen (Appleton ) Page, Michael Cardamone, Nick Mehta, Rowan Trollope	299	B2B, Enterprise Software, SaaS
15	Boost VC	San Mateo	2012	Adam Draper, Brayton Williams	257	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
16	EvoNexus	La Jolla	1998	Rory Moore, Walter Davis	231	Analytics, Cyber Security, FinTech, Hardware, Health Care, Internet of Things, Life Science, Robotics, SaaS, Semiconductor
17	Capital Factory	Austin	2009	Andrew Busey, Bryan Menell, Gordon Daugherty, Joshua Baer, Sam Decker	169	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
18	Quake Capital Partners	Austin	2016	Adam Cragg, Brandon Maier, Chad Burgess, Glenn Argenbright	163	Venture Capital
19	TechNexus Venture Collaborative	Chicago	2007	Fred Hoch, Terry Howerton	153	B2B, B2C, Business Development, Venture Capital
20	gener8tor	Madison	2012	Dan Armbrust, Joe Kirgues, Jon Eckhardt, Troy Vosseller	152	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
21	Village Global	San Francisco	2017	Anne Dwane, Ben Casnocha, Erik Torenberg, Ross Fubini	197	Financial Services, Professional Networking, Venture Capital
22	Mucker Capital	Santa Monica	2011	Erik Rannala, William Hsu	181	Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
23	AngelPad	San Francisco	2010	Carine Magescas	177
24	Founder Friendly Labs	Palo Alto	2011	Mendel Chuang, Samantha Quist	175	Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Consumer, Enterprise Software, FinTech, Incubators, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing
25	Boomtown Accelerators	Boulder	2013	Alex Bogusky, Jack Donenfeld, Jose Vieitez, Kyle Groth, Toby Krout	174	Advertising, B2B, Health Care, Internet, Internet of Things, Mobile, Network Hardware, SaaS
26	Techstars Boulder Accelerator	Boulder	2007	–	173	Business Development, Consulting, Management Consulting
27	Obvious Ventures	San Francisco	2014	James Joaquin, Vishal Vasishth, Đệ Phan	115	Business Development, Finance, Financial Services, Venture Capital
28	Blue Startups	Honolulu	2012	Chenoa Farnsworth, Henk Rogers, Maya Rogers	114	Financial Services, Information Technology, Venture Capital
29	Tech Wildcatters	Dallas	2009	Brad Taylor, Gabriella Draney, John Reed, Jon Feld	104	Venture Capital
30	Starve Ups	Portland	2000		142	Communities
31	Starta VC	New York	2011	Alexey Girin, Ekaterina Dorozhkina, Serge Milman, Sergey Vasilev	133	Angel Investment, Financial Services, Information Technology, Venture Capital
32	MetaProp	New York	2015	Aaron Block, Clelia Warburg Peters, Zachary Aarons	121	Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate, Venture Capital
33	Capital Innovators	St Louis	2011	–	119	Consumer Goods, Enterprise, Financial Services, Software, Venture Capital
34	XRC Labs	New York	2015	Pano Anthos	108	Analytics, Consumer Goods, E-Commerce, Finance, Personal Health, Retail, Robotics, Supply Chain Management, Venture Capital, Wellness
35	Lighthouse Labs	Virginia	2012	–	54	Healthcare, SaaS
36	South Carolina Research Authority	South Carolina	1983	–	48	Biotech, Healthcare

When to Join an Accelerator?

Accelerators are a great way to jumpstart startup ventures. They provide venture capital funding, mentorship, and access to over 500 corporate partners to pitch ideas or ask for advice. That’s why they’re so valuable for startups.

• But you need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of accelerators carefully before joining one.
• The main benefit of Accelerators in the USA is that they give startups a chance to test their business model and refine their product in a short time frame.
• However, there are some drawbacks as well. You may not have time to implement everything you learn in an startup accelerator programs and it can be expensive.
• If you’re looking for startup experience or funding, an accelerator is a great option but you should carefully weigh the benefits vs the drawbacks.

Alternatives to Joining an Accelerator

1. If you do not have developed startup ideas, consider joining a startup studio instead of an accelerator. Startup incubators provide a longer period of time for founders to develop their ideas than accelerators. They provide space and mentorship to startups, helping them to refine a product and test the market. Additionally, startup incubators offer tech-related services such as tech partnering and tech coaching. Some startups also get funding and startup capital from the program.
2. The program is meant for those who have product ideas or are looking to make the leap into entrepreneurship. If you don’t have startup ideas yet, look into joining a coworking space. These spaces provide entrepreneurs with access to tech experts, partners, and funding sources. They also provide workspace, internet access, and other amenities. Lastly, research local government grants and programs that can help finance startup ventures.

How to Choose the Right Accelerator

• Look for Accelerators in the USA with a good track record of success in terms of exits and investment. This will help you validate the accelerator’s program as a viable venture capital option.
• Consider the accelerator’s focus on certain sectors and whether they are open to supporting startups across different industries. This will help you choose one that supports startups of all sizes and industries, providing valuable mentorship and access to capital, networks, and partners.
• Research the application and selection process for the accelerator. This will help you understand what is involved in applying to the program, what is required of startups, and any extra requirements or considerations.
• Look at the size of batches accepted by the accelerator. This will help you decide if an accelerator is a good fit for your startup’s situation.
• Consider the accelerator’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. This will help you ensure that your startup is part of a program that supports diverse startups and environments, providing mentorship and opportunities for growth and development.

In Conclusion, When startups are new and venture capital is scarce, accelerators provide startup companies with mentorship, access to capital, and industry expertise. They also provide startup companies with office space and tech resources in exchange for a percentage of the startups’ equity. Many startups that benefit from startup Accelerators in the USA include online retailers, fintech companies, and tech-enabled service companies.

With the right mentorship, startups can utilize accelerator programs to help them understand their startup business model, build their startup teams, and learn new tech skills. Besides benefiting from mentorship, startups can also utilize resources such as startup incubators, startup hackathons, startup competitions, and industry conferences. If you’re a startup company looking to grow your company or if you’re an entrepreneur seeking startup mentorship, visit our blog for more insights!

More Article To Read: Upstart Company

FAQ