Designing the Successful Corporate Accelerator

CHAPTER 13PROGRAMMING

Source: Apr 28, 2018, Jeff Bezos interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/jeff-bezos-on-what-it-takes-to-be-innovative.html.

One of the advantages of a cohort-based accelerator is the ability to leverage resources and experiences across multiple companies at once. The learning experiences and training aspects of an accelerator are a key benefit for founders, especially with the earlier-stage startups or if there is a very particular industry vertical or technology tool that is the focus of the program. From formal instruction in lean startup methodologies, practical clinics on new technologies, and office hours with experts and professionals, accelerators can leverage the time and expertise of the teachers across an entire cohort of founders at once.

Building a curriculum and related programming is fortunately not complex, though it does take a lot of work to coordinate. Thanks to the lean startup movement and the many years of accelerators operating in the real world, we have an established body of materials to draw upon.

These fall into four main areas:

1. Basic entrepreneurship and lean startup methods
2. Expert-level best practices around startup topics such as recruiting, product development, and fundraising
3. Industry- and domain-level expertise, such as on an industry vertical or new technology