Posted: February 22nd, 2010 | Author: Robert Shedd | Filed under: posts | Tags: dreamit ventures, seed stage accelerator programs, startl, startups | No Comments »More new programs in the world of seed accelerators. Below are the additions that were just made to the master list.
Also of note: Jüri Kaljundi created a great list of many of the programs with their upcoming application deadlines.
It was exciting to read recently about Startl’s new partnership with DreamIt Ventures. Startl is focused on improving education and is partnered with major organizations (Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, IDEO) in addition to DreamIt Ventures.
I like co-founder and managing director Phoenix Wang’s view (from the Fast Company interview) on why the program was created:
Traditional foundations like the National Science Foundation give away millions every year to support lots of innovative ideas in education, but there isn’t an infrastructure that takes these ideas across the entrepreneur’s “valley of death.” If you look at the Internet industry there are incubation hubs, university labs, public/private partnerships–a fertile ground that supports different people at different stages for different purposes.
In education that layer doesn’t exist. There’s an emerging set of young players who really want to change education in fundamental ways and they have nowhere to go. It’s about money, but it’s also about the networks, expertise, cultivation, and insights to figure out how to be a good entrepreneur. So that’s how STARTL was born.
University-Affiliated Programs
Sources: Twitter, numerous blog posts. The New York student programs were listed at http://bianys.com/student_incubators
Posted: January 7th, 2010 | Author: Robert Shedd | Filed under: posts | Tags: dreamit ventures, ibm smartcamp, seed stage accelerator programs, startl, startups, techstars, y combinator | 196 Comments »This is a post I’ve had a running draft of for some time. I’m happy to be getting it out of my draft bin and out onto the web!
Josh Kopelman of First Round Capital spoke at DreamIt Ventures this summer. During his talk, Josh mentioned how he expects to see an increasing number of DreamIt/TechStars/Y Combinator-style locally-focused “seed stage startup accelerator” programs in the coming years.
This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Between the research that led to the founding of the Lion Launch Pad at Penn State and my research into startup accelerator programs before joining DreamIt Ventures this summer, I’ve talked with / read about a number of programs.
But I wasn’t really sure how many programs were out there, nor have I been able to find a comprehensive list anywhere else. The programs certainly don’t all operate in the same fashion, so there is a lot of diversity as far as terms and offerings, but in general, I think everyone can agree that it’s a good thing for startups that so many are taking an interest around the globe in helping early stage ventures get off the group and take flight.
So, here is the list I’ve been compiling – I’m sure I’m forgetting a few – what else is out there?
Global Seed-Stage Startup Accelerators
- Ann Arbor, MI – SPARK Business Accelerator – http://www.annarborusa.org/start-ups/spark-business-accelerator/
- Atlanta, GA – Shotput Ventures – http://www.shotputventures.com
- Athens, Greece – OpenFund – http://theopenfund.com
- Austin, TX – Capital Factory – http://www.capitalfactory.com
- Austin, TX – TechRanch Austin – http://techranchaustin.com
- Bangalore, India – iAccelerator – http://iaccelerator.org
- Bangalore, India – The Morpheus – http://www.themorpheus.com (formerly Morpheus Venture Partners – http://www.morpheusventure.com)
- Bangalore, India – Upstart.in – http://www.upstart.in/programs.html
- Barcelona, Spain – SeedRocket – http://www.seedrocket.com
- Belfast, Northern Ireland – StartVI (Start 6) – http://www.startvi.com
- Berkley, CA – Berkley Ventures – http://www.berkeleyventures.com
- Bloomington, IN – Sproutbox – http://www.sproutbox.com
- Boulder, CO / Boston, MA / Seattle, WA – TechStars – http://www.techstars.org
- Boston, MA and other cities – IBM Smartcamp – http://www.ibm.com/ie/smarterplanet/smartcamp/
- Boston, MA – Start@Spark – http://www.sparkcapital.com/start/
- Cambridge, UK – Springboard – http://springboard.red-gate.com
- Champaign, IL – iVentures10 – http://www.iventures10.com
- Chicago, IL – Excelerate Labs – http://www.exceleratelabs.com
- China – Innovation Works – http://en.innovation-works.com/
- Copenhagen, Denmark – Startupbootcamp – http://www.startupbootcamp.dk
- Dalian, China – China Accelerator – http://chinaccelerator.com
- Dallas, TX – Tech Wildcatters – http://techwildcatters.com
- Detroit, MI – Bizdom U – http://www.bizdom.com
- Dublin, Ireland – NDRC’s Launch Pad – http://www.ndrc.ie/projects/entrepreneurial-internships/
- England – The Difference Engine – http://thedifferenceengine.eu
- Greenville, SC – NextStart – http://www.nextstart.org
- Hamburg, Germany – HackFwd – http://hackfwd.com
- Houston, TX – Houston Tech Center – http://www.houstontech.org
- Italy – H-Farm – http://www.h-farmventures.com
- Italy – Working Capital – http://www.workingcapital.telecomitalia.it/2010/03/koinup-selezionata/
- Jordan – Oasis 500 – http://arabcrunch.com/2010/06/oasis-500-a-startup-accelerator-to-launch-in-august.html (launching in August – no specific site yet)
- Lexington, MA / Menlo Park, CA – Summer@Highland Capital – http://www.hcp.com/summer/
- Lexington, KY – The Awesome Inc. Experience – http://awesomeinc.org/the-awesome-experience
- Limerick, Ireland – The Greenhouse – http://greenhouselimerick.com
- Lisbon, Portugal – Maverick/SeedCapital – http://maverick.pt http://seedcapital.pt
- London, UK – Seedcamp – http://www.seedcamp.com
- Los Angeles, CA – LaunchPadLA – http://www.launchpad.la
- Madrid, Spain – Tetuan Valley Startup School – http://www.tetuanvalley.com
- Menlo Park, CA – Lightspeed Venture Partners Summer Grants – http://lightspeedvp.com/summergrants.aspx
- Montreal, Ca – BOLIDEA – http://blog.bolidea.com
- Montreal, Ca – Flow Ventures Accelerator Program – http://www.flowventures.com
- Montreal, Ca – Montreal Startup – http://montrealstartup.com
- Mountain View, CA – Y Combinator – http://www.ycombinator.com
- Nashville, TN – JumpStart Foundry – http://www.jumpstartfoundry.com
- New York, NY – FirstGrowth Venture Network – http://www.firstgrowthvn.com
- New York, NY – The Hatchery – http://www.hatchery.vc
- New York, NY – NYC SeedStart – http://www.nycseed.com/seedstart.html
- Orange County, CA – OCTANe LaunchPad – http://www.octaneoc.org
- Orem, Utah – BoomStartup – http://boomstartup.com
- Phoenix, AZ – Gangplank – http://gangplankhq.com
- Philadelphia, PA – DreamIt Ventures – http://www.dreamitventures.com
- Philadelphia, PA – Startl – partners with DreamIt Ventures – http://startl.org/apply/accelerator-apply/
- Pittsburgh, PA – AlphaLab – http://alphalab.org
- Portland, OR – The Portland Ten – http://www.portlandten.com
- Providence, RI – Betaspring – http://www.betaspring.com
- Redwood City, CA – Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE) Seed Program – http://www.svase.org
- San Francisco, CA – The Start Project – http://thestartproject.com
- San Diego, CA – Springboard program at CONNECT.org – http://www.connect.org/springboard/
- San Francisco, CA – i/o Ventures - http://www.ventures.io
- Seattle, WA – Founders Co-op – http://www.founderscoop.com
- Silicon Valley – PayPal Startup Accelerator – http://www.x.com/community/ppx/xspaces/accelerator
- Singapore – Neoteny Labs – http://www.neotenylabs.com
- Singapore – Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) – http://jfdi.asia
- Sydney, Australia – SeedAccelerator – http://www.seedaccelerator.com
- Taipei, Taiwan – appWorks Ventures Incubator Program – http://appworks.tw/incubator/
- Toronto, Canada – Extreme Venture Partners University – http://www.extremevp.com/university/
- Tokyo, Japan – Open Network Lab – http://www.onlab.jp
- Utah – Startup Utah – http://startuputah.com
- Vancouver, Canada – BootupLabs – http://bootuplabs.com
- Washington, D.C. / Durham, NC – LaunchboxDigital – http://www.launchboxdigital.com
- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada – Impact Ventures – http://www.impact.org
- Wilmington, DE – BetaFish – http://betafishde.tumblr.com (on Facebook)
- Zeeland, MI – Momentum – http://www.momentum-mi.com
- Multiple Locations – The Founder Institute – http://founderinstitute.com
- Unknown Location – Youniversity Ventures – http://www.youniversityventures.com
Social Entrepreneurship
- Boulder, Colorado – Unreasonable Institute – http://www.unreasonableinstitute.org
- Philadelphia, PA – GoodCompany Ventures – http://www.goodcompanyventures.org
- India – Dasra Social-Impact – http://www.dasra.org/dasra-social-impact.htm
University-Affiliated Startup Accelerator Programs
- Finland – Aalto University – Aalto Bootcamp – http://aaltoes.com/aaltoes-venture-track/bootcamp/
- Arizon State University – Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative - http://studentventures.asu.edu
- Babson College – Summer Venture Program – http://www3.babson.edu/Newsroom/Releases/Summer-Venture-program.cfm (no specific site avail)
- Berkeley Entrepreneurship Laboratory – http://entrepreneurship.berkeley.edu/resources/bel.html
- College of the Atlantic – Sustainable Ventures Incubator – http://www.coa.edu/press-releases_pg1_724.htm
- Cornell University – eLabs – http://www.elabstartup.com
- Couri Hatchery at Syracuse University – http://whitman.syr.edu/eee/incubator/
- Duke University – DUhatch – http://www.cerc.duke.edu/duhatch
- University of Michigan – RPM10 – http://www.rpmvc.com/rpm10/
- University of Michigan’s “Techarb” Business Accelerator – http://techarb.org/about/ and http://cfe.engin.umich.edu/businessaccelerator
- University of North Carolina – Carolina Launch Pad - http://www.carolinalaunchpad.org
- Penn State University – Lion Launch Pad – http://www.lionlaunchpad.org
- University of Pennsylvania - Wharton Venture Initiation Program – http://vip.wharton.upenn.edu
- RIT Student Business Development Lab – http://entrepreneurship.rit.edu/business_lab.php (part of the Venture Creations program at RIT http://www.venturecreations.org)
- Santa Clara University – Global Social Benefit Incubator – http://www.scu.edu/sts/gsbi/
- Stanford University – Student Startup Lab – http://sselabs.stanford.edu/
- Syracuse University – Start-Up Accelerator – http://accelerate.syr.edu/ForStudents/index.aspx
- Syracuse Student Sandbox at the Tech Garden – http://thetechgarden.com/studentsandbox
- Union College – U-Start – http://www.union.edu/resources/technology/u-start/index.php
- The University of Texas at Austin – Texas Venture Labs – http://www.texasventurelabs.net
- Virginia Tech – DayOne Ventures – http://dayoneventures.com
- University of Waterloo – VeloCity “Dormcubator” - http://velocity.uwaterloo.ca
- Wayne State University – SmartStart Business Development Program – http://techtownwsu.org/business/smartstart.php
- Yale University – Yale Entrepreneurial Institute / Yale Startups – http://www.yalestartups.com
Other Useful Resources:
- Map of Seed Accelerator programs around the world: On Google Maps
- List of Application Deadlines for programs: here
** In the comments, there was a program from Kettering University suggested. I see this program as more of a conventional incubator than what I have come to term a seed stage accelerator program. For this reason, (nothing against the program) I have not included it in the list (there are far too many conventional incubator programs to try to compile a list of those), though if you are in Flint, MI, hopefully the program is able to be of assistance.
Again, I’m sure this is not an exhaustive list and there are others out there. Let us know – where else can startups find help!
Sources: Numerous blog posts and tweets + Jed Christiansen’s dissertation appendix + great tips in the comments! The New York student programs were listed at http://bianys.com/student_incubators
Edited: From the comments below and the thread over on Hacker News, there have been some great suggestions for the list. I’ve updated the list with the applicable programs. Further programs added in April 2010. Added IBM Smartcamp. Updated April 22 with program from comments. Updated on April 24 to include deadpool. Updated May 14 to include the additional resources (count at 93). Updated June 11 with new programs (count at 102).