The sole objective of Techstars accelerator programs is to support business success. They surround firms with the top mentors and an unmatched network of business partners, investors, and alumni during each three-month program. We offer workshops, curated resources, funding and fundraising possibilities, as well as other opportunities for you to learn from your peers. It’s a tested strategy that has aided in the development of countless prosperous businesses all around the world.
But how does that actually work out? Here is a breakdown of the events that take place throughout each of the three months, a description of a typical week, and the kind of activities you can participate in during the program.
The Three Months Of A Techstars Accelerator, Month By Month
First month: Expand Your Network
The 10 firms in each program typically meet 100 mentors within the first month, all of whom are extremely well-connected and knowledgeable in their respective sectors. Following these first sessions, affectionately referred to as “Mentor Madness,” some programs pair founders with three to five mentors who would serve as their lead mentors and a fictitious board of advisors throughout the program. Mentors frequently continue to work with the companies after the program is through when there is a particularly excellent fit.
Mentors offer assistance in a wide range of business-related areas, including but not limited to:
product creation
Market-fit
Marketing
Technology
Hiring and letting go
Fundraising
business culture
Economics per unit
business expansion
Market entry strategy
Legal
discovering customers
Month Two: Execute
Month two is time to take all those learnings from month one and put them into practice. Working with the managing director and program manager, founders go deeper with their lead mentors, gain traction, and hit milestones — whether that’s a prototype, building out the next phase of a product, getting a first customer, etc.
During this month, founders focus on identifying their most important KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and achieving them. If there’s a corporate partner for the program, this month may even be the time to prepare for a proof of concept.
Month Three: Fundraising Strategy & Demo Day
In month three, founders go deep on telling their story. This is crucial to fundraising and Demo Day preparation.
Founders work with their mentors, managing directors, and program managers to refine their pitch, develop and design their pitch deck for Demo Day, and prepare investor collateral.
Storytelling isn’t just about fundraising: it’s also about communicating your vision to customers and future team members.
A Typical Week in a Techstars Accelerator
Actually, there’s no such thing as a typical week in a Techstars accelerator.
Other than weekly one-on-ones with your managing director, all-hands KPI meetings, no two weeks are the same during the program. Instead, you’ll constantly be moving your startup forward at a pace you never thought was possible.
You’ll go from testing key assumptions about your business one week to professional stage training the next. You’ll constantly be challenged in what you do and how you do it.
Can you remember the last time you spent one full day investing in your own professional development? What if you had the opportunity to do this — with the full support of professionals — for three months?
During the program, you’ll be presented with ideas, opinions, and opportunities that you might never otherwise consider — and certainly couldn’t get all at once anywhere else. These opinions and ideas can help you become a better founder, and navigate tricky situations and tough decisions with more ease. We want to give you the tools to be able to turn these challenging opportunities into positive experiences.
While this may sound like a lot, it’s important to point out that more than half of your time could still be spent on working on your own company. We get it, you may already have customers, team stand ups and other recurring meetings — so that doesn’t just pause for three months.
In-Program Activities
What kind of activities can you expect? While each program is different, here are a few that pretty much everyone gets:
Office hours with guest mentors and investors
Workshops and masterclasses delivered by industry experts on specific topics like hiring, marketing, tech, product, etc.
Founder stories: serial entrepreneurs come in and share how they built their company. The best part is that it’s more than what you read online – in this context, founders speak honestly about what really went down.
Intensive pitch practice, in preparation for Demo Day and fundraising
Plus anything else the program team thinks would benefit your experience and help you #DoMoreFaster — many activities are curated to the needs of the founders and companies in each program, meaning that no program is exactly the same twice.
