Article · 15 min read

Startup Accelerators: How to Choose, With Side-by-Side Terms for 13 Top Programs

Sierra Ventures (Ascend) · Sierra Ventures Free Intermediate

This is written by a VC that sits on the other side of demo day, so the questions are the ones investors wish founders asked: track record, mentor quality, expectations, and post-program support. The real edge is the comparison table listing actual equity taken by 13 programs (YC $500k/7%, Techstars $120k/6-9%, MassChallenge equity-free), so when an Indian program quotes you 5-10% for INR 10-50 lakh you have a global benchmark to hold it against before you dilute permanently.

  • A program is worth what happens after demo day, not during it: post-program investor access is the single biggest separator between top accelerators and the rest.
  • Pin down exact equity and cash terms up front and compare them against named global programs, because dilution is permanent and the network has to earn it back.
  • Ask about mentorship depth and reputation directly, then verify both against people who went through it, not the program's own testimonials.
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The question it answers

  1. How do I do accelerator diligence in reverse: what should I ask alumni and staff before I say yes?

Read with it

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  2. This is the closest thing to an audited scorecard for accelerators, run by three former founders turned academics who collect... MIT Sloan Article · 6 min read Seed Accelerator Rankings Project: How Programs Are Actually Measured Yael Hochberg, Susan Cohen, Daniel Fehder
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