The Bachman Belson Dilemma How corporate and traditional accelerators impact startup trajectory through funding

Abstract

This paper tackles differences between startup accelerators that has previously been left unattended in research: How do corporate and traditional accelerators differ in the way they affect a startup’s trajectory in terms of funding? By using transactional data, on a startup-level, we examine how the two different accelerator types play a role in startups’ access to funding. Our paper points to substantial differences, in total follow-on funding, when comparing the two groups. Startups accelerated by a corporate accelerator receive less funding after acceleration than traditionally accelerated startups, but the sources of funding are not significantly different. We also find that startups are more mature when accepted into a corporate accelerator, than a traditional accelerator, which may point to a difference in strategic rationale for establishing an accelerator program.