Streamliners, Switchmen and Bridge Builders: About the Mechanisms and Uniqueness of Accelerator Programs

Abstract

Accelerators are a new and fast-growing element in entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, our understanding about their impact on the development of startups remains limited. Utilizing a grounded theory approach and in-depth interviews with 21 entrepreneurs, this study investigates the value-adding mechanisms of accelerators. Our analysis, however, is not limited to financial capital, which allows us to highlight the relative importance of different forms of capital in the context of accelerators. We aim to understand how accelerators stimulate the development of participants and extend the support landscape for early-stage startups. Our results are threefold. First, we demonstrate that accelerators facilitate every step in the resource mobilization by reducing uncertainties and compensating for deficiencies. Second, the founding process becomes more structured, as participants build a founder identity and the process itself is professionalized. Third, accelerators support startups in building a resource base, by providing immediate resources and building bridges to various other resources.

Who am I as an Entrepreneur? Exploring Formation of Entrepreneurial Identity

“…By providing workshops and seminars delivered by directors, mentors and guest speakers, and providing arenas for presentations and feedback, accelerators seek to increase the likelihood of the entrepreneurs making wellinformed decisions and at avoiding potential pitfalls in the venturing process (Cohen et al, 2019;Hallen, Bingham, & Cohen, 2016). Indeed, research shows that accelerators not only advise entrepreneurs in the quality and validity of their business ideas, but also by questioning many fundamental assumptions about the execution of their business ideas (Ulmer & Pape, 2022). As entrepreneurial climate and learning from peers are considered important factors in acceleration, admitted start-ups move their businesses to accelerator headquarters for the duration of the program.…”

“…In another study, Tobiassen, Elvekrok, and Skreosen (2022) found that entrepreneurs participating in an accelerator program tended to experience tension in the feedback and mentoring processes that seemed to trigger identity reflection. Ulmer and Pape (2022) found that participants in an accelerator program started to self-identify as founders (entrepreneurs) during the program. Hence, new self-confidence and enhanced passion for the entrepreneurial journey prepared the entrepreneurs for their leading role in the new venture development (Ulmer and Pape, 2022).…”

“…Ulmer and Pape (2022) found that participants in an accelerator program started to self-identify as founders (entrepreneurs) during the program. Hence, new self-confidence and enhanced passion for the entrepreneurial journey prepared the entrepreneurs for their leading role in the new venture development (Ulmer and Pape, 2022). In a case study of entrepreneurship education Donnellon et al (2014) found that an action-based educational program facilitated entrepreneurial identity construction in the students.…”

“…During the last decades, the question of entrepreneurial identity has received interest in both practice and theory; however, documentation on the role of entrepreneurial eco-systems in fostering entrepreneurial identity is sparse and called for (Jones, Ratten, Klapper, & Fayolle, 2019;Mmbaga, Mathias, Williams, & Cardon, 2020;Wagenschwanz, 2021). Some studies suggest that academic entrepreneurship education fosters changes in the self-perceptions of students both as persons and in an entrepreneurial role and focuses much less on how participation in a program aimed at facilitating actual business development influences the person behind the idea/start-up admitted to such a program (Ulmer & Pape, 2022).…”