What is an Accelerator?

When setting out as an entrepreneur to establish a scalable business, there is no better way to increase your chances for success than to participate in the cohort-based benefits provided through a business accelerator. Below, we'll detail what you can expect from accelerators like Scratchpad, and how joining will help you achieve your large-scale growth goals.

What Business Accelerators Provide: First, it's important to understand that an accelerator is not an incubator. Rather than being offered rent space or office tools, an accelerator is a mentorship-driven model for your business. This includes providing you with a fixed-term program, mentors to support your goals, education programs, a cohort of startups/participants, and an exclusive selection process to ensure the cohort is the very best it can be. Scratchpad Accelerator coordinates with other entrepreneurial support organizations to increase your access to capital as well as connect you with potential customers. Without an accelerator, gathering all of these assets could take years, and often, would never be concentrated to the extent an accelerator would provide. As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once said: “Don't wait for the right opportunity. Create it.”

The Benefits of Joining an Accelerator: Participating in an accelerator allows you to leverage the knowledge of amazing mentors accessing C-suite talent to help you address critical questions. With their expertise at your disposal, you increase the odds of successfully scaling. However, it's not just this compilation of experience you'll be benefiting from. The beauty of accelerators really comes in the combined might of acquired and tacit knowledge present in the team managing the accelerator, mentors, and your peers. Working alongside your cohort not only gives you the benefit of the material presented in educational sessions, but also is a transformative experience you can only gain from digging deep with other scalable businesses.

In addition to leveling up your team’s skills, accelerators provide training and feedback on successfully pitching your business when seeking outside capital and making vital connections with investors and founders early on. One way to get particularly valuable feedback in terms of pitching is participating in “investor office hours”, where current investors come in and listen to your pitch and help you refine your message. Scratchpad Accelerator provides all of these resources for you in a collaborative environment.

If you are looking to amplify your startup, we invite you to apply for the Scratchpad Accelerator. There truly is no better way to explore, pivot, and grow.