FAQ

What sort of outcomes can I expect from attending the Accelerator Academy?

The programme will help you structure, strengthen and grow your business alongside becoming investor-ready. This means understanding what investors look for in seed companies and shape your business plan accordingly. 

I am really busy running my business; how much time do I need to commit?

The programme is part-time delivered virtually on Monday evening (6-9pm) with bi-weekly clinics Wednesday afternoon, weekly 1 hour sessions with your exited entrepreneur mentor and weekly assignments due by Sunday to efficiently help you focus and effectively use your time to accelerator your business’ growth. 

How many other companies take part of the cohort? 

We select up to 10 startups per cohort.

Can a non Co-founder join the sessions? 

We encourage the founder and co-founder to attend all the sessions. Should you wish anyone else from the team to attend specific sessions, we ask that you let us know in advance for the programme manager to approve. 

Are we able to draft the type of mentor we need, or select him from your pool of mentors? 

We will assign each startup the best mentor (exited entrepreneur) depending on the value that each mentor can add to the business. You will be able to meet and get to know the mentor before the first official kick-off session.  

What type of support can I expect to receive from my assigned mentor?

Mentors are exited entrepreneurs that have set up tech businesses from scratch so are able to provide guidance, support and advice as founders address each weekly topic/challenges. Mentors are required to meet with founders every week for one hour. During the programme, you will also attend clinics with experts that can support you on a specific topic (E.g. marketing, legal, financials). 

Does the Accelerator take equity from my business?

No, the programme foresees a commitment fee of £600 + VAT and Share Options Agreement. You are required to sign the Options Agreement with your assigned mentor and the Academy to agree to sell 5% of your shares at a discounted 20% price at the time of your first raise after the programme has concluded. 

What happens to the Option Agreement, worst case scenario, if either party ends the programme due to non-satisfaction before completion, are there any termination/breach clauses? 

There are no breach clauses. The programme provides support on investment readiness, and this support is paid by the opportunity to invest, so the option will be still ​valid.​ If both parties shall not be happy it is very unlikely that the option will be exercised. Even with a 20% discount, it is still an investment and the equity has to be paid by the mentor and The Accelerator Network. 

The Option Agreement mentions the valuation at next round of investment i.e. 2021 - will the option to purchase always be at 20% below that 2021 valuation, even if exercised in 4 years' time, or does it update if we are say Series B by 2024, as an example? 

Yes, the valuation will be set up from the 2021 valuation (with a 20% discount), but the option will be fully diluted considering the further investment rounds. We often see the value of each option equate to 1% or less upon exercise.

What are the most successful tech companies to come through the Academy? You can have a full overview of our Alumni.  

What happens after the 12 weeks of the programme end? 

Once you complete the 12 week programme you will get the chance to pitch to investors through a Demo Day we organise online (during Covid19). After this, you will be included in our alumni database where we send you monthly updates on events, opportunities, alumni milestones and much more. 

How many investors usually attend the Investor Events? 

During our online deployment of these activities we’ve observed investor participation to be around 30-50 per event.  

Will I be able to secure funding right after the programme?

We cannot promise you this. We prepare you to understand what investors look for and how to shape your business accordingly. Once the programme ends, you need to be proactive in contacting investors and following up with those that showed interest in your company during the Investor Event. 

How long does it take for a seed round to close?  

It can take from 3 - 9 months in average.   

How have seed investments been affected by COVID-19?  

Angel investment activity has been the most impacted by Covid19, with little activity being observed in this space. Equity investment deals decreased by 20% from March to September (Beauhurst stats) due to initial uncertainty and high risk although investment activity seems to be stabilizing again as deals are picking up again.