How do you prepare for a successful application and interview with a startup accelerator or incubator?

At MeritX Ventures, we’ve helped numerous startups successfully pitch to international incubators. Start with research to select the right accelerator that aligns with your industry and growth stage. Craft a compelling application by clearly articulating your startup’s vision, mission, and value proposition. Highlight your unique strengths, market potential, and team capabilities. Showcase your knowledge of your space and target audience. During the interview, confidently present your business model, demonstrate traction, team complementarity, and show your passion for solving the problem. We prepare our founders to answer potential questions around validation and risks, which makes a significant difference.

A lot of the accelerator / incubator experience depends on what you put into it -- not all programs will be worth it for you. If you can find one specific to your industry/business model, it's more likely to add value. Industry-agnostic ones can still be helpful, but depend on both the folks running it (i.e. how they can help your company specifically) and the effort you put into it.

Preparing for a successful application and interview with a startup accelerator or incubator starts with clarity on your objectives. Define Your Goals: Clearly articulate what you want to achieve through the accelerator or incubator, and how the program's offerings align with your vision. Research Programs Thoroughly: Understand the focus areas, requirements, benefits, and alumni of different programs to ensure your goals align with their mission and values. Showcase Mutual Value: Be specific about what you hope to gain and how you can contribute to their community, demonstrating a realistic and aligned partnership.

Some accelerators like Antler / Entrepreneur First might invest in the founder, but they will focus heavily on the expertise (business or technical). In most cases though you should have done your homework and found the problem you’re going to be working on, quantified the market size and somehow validated your solution. Ideally one (or several) of your team members should be a domain expert to address the problem you are solving. Everyone understands that most startups pivot, so don’t sweat over the solution, focus on the problem. If the problem is big enough, people are ready to pay / already paying for some solution, and you can come up with a better one, you are in the sweet spot.

Validating your Idea is one of the most important aspects of pitching your idea to an accelerator or investor. You need to showcase that what you are solving is real and important. The future of your product will depend on the market's hunger for a solution to the very problem you are solving. You can conduct interviews for it, get feedback forms signed, or even showcase articles that talk about the problems you are solving.

One of the key elements of your accelerator application is proving that you’ve identified a meaningful problem your target customers face and developed a viable solution. Using the 6 dimensions of product-market fit (PMF), show how you’ve tested assumptions across market, product, and customer segments. Provide data, customer feedback, and experiments that validate both the problem and your unique solution. Demonstrating how you’ve iterated based on failures and refining your value proposition gives investors confidence that your startup is solving a real, validated problem with strong potential.

Validating your idea is arguably one of the most important tasks you can undertake early in your startup journey. The more you can validate that your current or future product is something people need and are willing to pay for, the better off you'll be. There are many ways to validate an idea without the need to build a product, ranging from conducting interviews and surveys to creating product mockups and demos. When applying for an accelerator program, the ability to showcase meaningful results from your validation efforts will increase your chances of being accepted. This not only demonstrates that there may be merit to your idea but also shows that you have no difficulty reaching out and engaging with people.

Articulate clearly and compellingly the problem you're solving. Explain pain point, market size, and why your solution is unique and valuable. Develop a strong value proposition and highlight how your product/service benefits users and creates a competitive advantage. Practice your pitch! Be able to deliver your story concisely and convincingly in different formats (written, verbal, video). Practice answers about your business model, market competition, growth strategy, and potential challenges. Network with program staff and alumni. Connect with them on LinkedIn, build relationships and get insights into the selection process. Where possible, highlight traction and validation. Showcase any user acquisition, partnerships, or early wins.

En los programas que dirijo en Las Rozas Innova, requerimos que se completen métricas que nos sirvan para analizar a situación en cuanto a validación del proyecto. Dependiendo del proyecto y de su fase, esa validación se puede considerar hecha de diferentes maneras: tener facturación, tener usuarios, tener una base de datos de interesados, tener tráfico en una landing, tener un acuerdo de colaboración con algún player importante, tener un compromiso para realizar una prueba de concepto... son distintas formas que hemos valorado.

Begin by compiling key metrics that highlight your startup’s progress, such as user growth, revenue milestones, and any successful pilot programs or partnerships. Use visual aids like charts and graphs to make this data clear and compelling. Highlight customer testimonials and case studies to demonstrate the real-world impact of your product or service. Articulate a clear vision for scaling your business and how the accelerator’s resources will help you achieve these goals. Be prepared to discuss the market opportunity, competitive landscape, and your unique value proposition.

One thing I've come to understand working with early-stage startups is that even early on, progress carries as much weight as potential. For instance, having a basic "join waitlist" landing page up or running in a pilot with a single user can significantly strengthen your position when applying to an accelerator or incubator. It's the proof of concept and the dedication to growth this demonstrates that matters most.

Start by clearly presenting key metrics that demonstrate your startup’s progress, such as user growth, revenue milestones, and any successful pilot programs or partnerships. Highlight customer testimonials and case studies that validate your product’s impact and market fit. Additionally, articulate your vision for scaling the business and the specific ways the accelerator’s resources can help you achieve these goals. Be ready to discuss your market opportunity, competitive landscape, and unique value proposition.

Our traction is evident in a 200% surge in user engagement and a 150% revenue spike in the past six months. Customer satisfaction stands at 90%, with an 80% recommendation rate. Strategic partnerships showcase our industry influence. Our diverse, skilled team positions us for success in a $1 billion market projected by 2025. With a 30% monthly user acquisition rate, our vision aligns with user needs. Projections indicate a 300% revenue increase next year, supported by scalable strategies. Our commitment to innovation, backed by R&D investment, ensures sustained growth. Join us for a journey where success is not just achieved but surpassed.

It is worth having mock interviews with people that have been through the process before. Often there is specific information about the programme that only someone that has been on it can relay. This is useful information.

Para quien evalúa tu candidatura es fundamental entender el problema que estás abordando y cómo de "doloroso" es. También, por supuesto, la solución que estás desarrollando o que tienes en mercado, entiendo en qué punto está de su roadmap. Habla del equipo y por qué el equipo es el adecuado para desarrollar una solución que triunfe en el mercado. No te olvides de los competidores, ni de los apoyos que tengas (inversores, mentores, potenciales clientes...) Todo en un pitch deck que esté cuidado pero que no sea sencillo. A veces menos es más

Keep in mind the standard pitch structure (there are important slides that should be present in any pitch deck, like team, market, problem, etc.) –?but try to come up with a story / flow. Human brains are wired to be telling and listening to stories, so having a consistent flow and story in your pitch deck will make it stand out. Get your hard facts like market size and problem ready, but shape it all in a cohesive story.

To succeed in an accelerator or incubator interview, you need to prepare a compelling pitch and supporting materials. Craft a Clear Pitch: Develop a concise and compelling pitch that outlines your problem, solution, traction, potential, and specific ask, tailored to your audience. Prepare High-Quality Materials: Create a well-structured pitch deck, demo, one-pager, or video that visually supports your key points and enhances your presentation. Practice Thoroughly: Rehearse your pitch multiple times to ensure confidence, clarity, and smooth delivery in front of the panel of judges, mentors, or investors.

You must authentically showcase your passion, vision, and the unique aspects of your startup. Be yourself, reflecting your genuine enthusiasm and commitment. Research the accelerator/incubator thoroughly to align your application with their focus areas and values.

First of all, investors are also people. Secondly, 60%+ of communications happen non-verbally. Having passion (some even like to say ‘obsession’) for your idea and vision makes a huge difference. People are buying the grand vision, not the market size and solution. The more engaged you can make everyone into your story / narrative, the better outcome you should expect.

To further elaborate on this point ask yourself how can you contribute to the acceleration program’s overall success? 1. Identify Opportunities for Improvement: Go beyond the assigned tasks and identify areas where the program can be enhanced. 2. Feedback and Iteration: Regularly provide constructive feedback about the program. This could relate to content, delivery, or administrative aspects. 3. Collaborate and Share Knowledge: Actively engage in knowledge sharing sessions. This can be through formal presentations, informal discussions, or even social media posts about your learning journey. Value creation is two-way for programs keep this in mind and try to integrate this aspect in your application process

Having worked with many successful companies that have been through incubators, it is clear that those that had a clear understanding of their gaps, fared the best. The best candidates know exactly what their good but are also transparent with where they need help.

Cuando valoramos proyectos para nuestros programas y servicios de emprendimiento yo siempre me fijo mucho en el análisis de los competidores de la empresa. Un buen análisis de competencia es fundamental puesto que indica análisis, investigación, identificar los elementos más relevantes del negocio.

Build a Team. For early-stage startups, the team is what matters the most. It is the competencies, energy, motivation and determination that makes or breaks a new business. Every incubator, accelerator and investor pays a great deal of importance on the size, background and competency level of the team members. If you are a solo-founder, some incubators will not even consider your application. On the contrary, incubators and accelerators will be welcoming you if your founding team has members with - experience with the problem that your startup is trying to solve - prior startup experience - a proven track record of success as a professional - connections in the field of the startup - expert knowledge in the context of the startup

While some of the questions may repeat, each application is different. This should go without saying, but take care to understand what the program is looking for, and how you are uniquely qualified to be a good fit. Modify answers to showcase your key differentiators, data and experience. Be concise when needed, and expand when possible, but make sure you're consistent with your overarching story, and why you and your team are the best ones to lead the business, especially in the earlier stages. If you won't sing your own praises, no one would, so toot your own horn for once!

En general el ecosistema de start ups presta mucha atención a la idea y modelo de negocio y a la pasión y entusiasmo del equipo. Son aspectos fundamentales, en especial para la fase de despegue; pero tan importante es mostrar las capacidades y experiencia del equipo humano para hacer funcionar la empresa, una vez que logre despegar, así como aterrizar en cifras (flujos de caja proyectados con una base sólida). Como mentor de emprendedores veo muchas empresas despegar pero pocas mantenerse en vuelo; tenemos que aprender a pasar de emprendedores a empresarios.