Help for Startups! - A semi-complete list of startup accelerator programs

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

  1. Ann Arbor, MI - SPARK Business Accelerator - http://www.annarborusa.org/start-ups/spark-business-accelerator/
  2. Atlanta, GA - Shotput Ventures - http://www.shotputventures.com
  3. Athens, Greece - OpenFund - http://theopenfund.com
  4. Austin, TX - Capital Factory - http://www.capitalfactory.com
  5. Austin, TX - TechRanch Austin - http://techranchaustin.com
  6. Bangalore, India - iAccelerator - http://iaccelerator.org
  7. Bangalore, India - The Morpheus - http://www.themorpheus.com (formerly Morpheus Venture Partners - http://www.morpheusventure.com)
  8. Bangalore, India - Upstart.in - http://www.upstart.in/programs.html
  9. Barcelona, Spain - SeedRocket - http://www.seedrocket.com
  10. Belfast, Northern Ireland - StartVI (Start 6) - http://www.startvi.com
  11. Berkley, CA - Berkley Ventures - http://www.berkeleyventures.com
  12. Bloomington, IN - Sproutbox - http://www.sproutbox.com
  13. Boulder, CO / Boston, MA / Seattle, WA - TechStars - http://www.techstars.org
  14. Boston, MA and other cities - IBM Smartcamp - http://www.ibm.com/ie/smarterplanet/smartcamp/
  15. Boston, MA - Start@Spark - http://www.sparkcapital.com/start/
  16. Cambridge, UK - Springboard - http://springboard.red-gate.com
  17. Champaign, IL - iVentures10 - http://www.iventures10.com
  18. Chicago, IL - Excelerate Labs - http://www.exceleratelabs.com
  19. China - Innovation Works - http://en.innovation-works.com/
  20. Copenhagen, Denmark - Startupbootcamp - http://www.startupbootcamp.dk
  21. Dalian, China - China Accelerator - http://chinaccelerator.com
  22. Dallas, TX - Tech Wildcatters - http://techwildcatters.com
  23. Detroit, MI - Bizdom U - http://www.bizdom.com
  24. Dublin, Ireland - NDRC's Launch Pad - http://www.ndrc.ie/projects/entrepreneurial-internships/
  25. England - The Difference Engine - http://thedifferenceengine.eu
  26. Greenville, SC - NextStart - http://www.nextstart.org
  27. Hamburg, Germany - HackFwd - http://hackfwd.com
  28. Houston, TX - Houston Tech Center - http://www.houstontech.org
  29. Italy - H-Farm - http://www.h-farmventures.com
  30. Italy - Working Capital - http://www.workingcapital.telecomitalia.it/2010/03/koinup-selezionata/
  31. 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)
  32. Lexington, MA / Menlo Park, CA - Summer@Highland Capital - http://www.hcp.com/summer/
  33. Lexington, KY - The Awesome Inc. Experience - http://awesomeinc.org/the-awesome-experience
  34. Limerick, Ireland - The Greenhouse - http://greenhouselimerick.com
  35. London, UK - Seedcamp - http://www.seedcamp.com
  36. Los Angeles, CA - LaunchPadLA - http://www.launchpad.la
  37. Madrid, Spain - Tetuan Valley Startup School - http://www.tetuanvalley.com
  38. Menlo Park, CA - Lightspeed Venture Partners Summer Grants - http://lightspeedvp.com/summergrants.aspx
  39. Montreal, Ca - BOLIDEA - http://blog.bolidea.com
  40. Montreal, Ca - Flow Ventures Accelerator Program - http://www.flowventures.com
  41. Montreal, Ca - Montreal Startup - http://montrealstartup.com
  42. Mountain View, CA - Y Combinator - http://www.ycombinator.com
  43. Nashville, TN - JumpStart Foundry - http://www.jumpstartfoundry.com
  44. New York, NY - FirstGrowth Venture Network - http://www.firstgrowthvn.com
  45. New York, NY - NYC SeedStart - http://www.nycseed.com/seedstart.html
  46. Orange County, CA - OCTANe LaunchPad - http://www.octaneoc.org
  47. Orem, Utah - BoomStartup - http://boomstartup.com
  48. Phoenix, AZ - Gangplank - http://gangplankhq.com
  49. Philadelphia, PA - DreamIt Ventures - http://www.dreamitventures.com
  50. Philadelphia, PA - Startl - partners with DreamIt Ventures - http://startl.org/apply/accelerator-apply/
  51. Pittsburgh, PA - AlphaLab - http://alphalab.org
  52. Portland, OR - The Portland Ten - http://www.portlandten.com
  53. Providence, RI - Betaspring - http://www.betaspring.com
  54. Redwood City, CA - Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE) Seed Program - http://www.svase.org
  55. San Francisco, CA - The Start Project - http://thestartproject.com
  56. San Diego, CA - Springboard program at CONNECT.org - http://www.connect.org/springboard/
  57. Seattle, WA - Founders Co-op - http://www.founderscoop.com
  58. Silicon Valley - PayPal Startup Accelerator - http://www.x.com/community/ppx/xspaces/accelerator
  59. Singapore - Neoteny Labs - http://www.neotenylabs.com
  60. Sydney, Australia - SeedAccelerator - http://www.seedaccelerator.com
  61. Taipei, Taiwan - appWorks Ventures Incubator Program - http://appworks.tw/incubator/
  62. Toronto, Canada - Extreme Venture Partners University - http://www.extremevp.com/university/
  63. Tokyo, Japan - Open Network Lab - http://www.onlab.jp
  64. Utah - Startup Utah - http://startuputah.com
  65. Vancouver, Canada - BootupLabs - http://bootuplabs.com
  66. Washington, D.C. / Durham, NC - LaunchboxDigital - http://www.launchboxdigital.com
  67. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada - Impact Ventures - http://www.impact.org
  68. Zeeland, MI - Momentum - http://www.momentum-mi.com
  69. Unknown Location - Youniversity Ventures - http://www.youniversityventures.com

    70. Social Entrepreneurship

  70. Boulder, Colorado - Unreasonable Institute - http://www.unreasonableinstitute.org
  71. Philadelphia, PA - GoodCompany Ventures - http://www.goodcompanyventures.org
  72. India - Dasra Social-Impact - http://www.dasra.org/dasra-social-impact.htm

    73. University-Affiliated Startup Accelerator Programs

  73. Finland - Aalto University - Aalto Bootcamp - http://aaltoes.com/aaltoes-venture-track/bootcamp/
  74. Arizon State University - Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative - http://studentventures.asu.edu
  75. Babson College - Summer Venture Program - http://www3.babson.edu/Newsroom/Releases/Summer-Venture-program.cfm (no specific site avail)
  76. Berkeley Entrepreneurship Laboratory - http://entrepreneurship.berkeley.edu/resources/bel.html
  77. College of the Atlantic - Sustainable Ventures Incubator - http://www.coa.edu/press-releases_pg1_724.htm
  78. Cornell University - eLabs - http://www.elabstartup.com
  79. Couri Hatchery at Syracuse University - http://whitman.syr.edu/eee/incubator/
  80. University of Michigan - RPM10 - http://www.rpmvc.com/rpm10/
  81. Penn State University - Lion Launch Pad - http://www.lionlaunchpad.org
  82. University of Pennsylvania - Wharton Venture Initiation Program - http://vip.wharton.upenn.edu
  83. RIT Student Business Development Lab - http://entrepreneurship.rit.edu/business_lab.php (part of the Venture Creations program at RIT http://www.venturecreations.org)
  84. Santa Clara University - Global Social Benefit Incubator - http://www.scu.edu/sts/gsbi/
  85. Stanford University - Student Startup Lab - http://sselabs.stanford.edu/
  86. Syracuse University - Start-Up Accelerator - http://accelerate.syr.edu/ForStudents/index.aspx
  87. Syracuse Student Sandbox at the Tech Garden - http://thetechgarden.com/studentsandbox
  88. Union College - U-Start - http://www.union.edu/resources/technology/u-start/index.php
  89. The University of Texas at Austin - Texas Venture Labs - http://www.texasventurelabs.net
  90. Virginia Tech - DayOne Ventures - http://dayoneventures.com
  91. Wayne State University - SmartStart Business Development Program - http://techtownwsu.org/business/smartstart.php
  92. 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).

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