Seven Key Lessons from Founding and Sunsetting Ellis Accelerator

In 2018 I co-founded Ellis Accelerator in New York City with the mission to empower local entrepreneurs from anywhere in the world to build global businesses by expanding to the United States. Renowned as the largest market for a wide array of industries, ranging from enterprise software to consumer goods and professional services, the US embodies the adage famously expressed by Frank Sinatra: "If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere!"

Ellis Accelerator mission and value proposition:

The problem that Ellis was addressing was straightforward and is best summarized by a slide from our initial deck:

And the value proposition was compelling (lessons gained by assisting more than 75 companies with US market entry:):

We would help the companies by solving the major logistical challenges (housing, office, banking) for them and more importantly provide them with access to a highly curated network of mentors and experts and customers.

We purposefully didn't focus on investor introductions. Most US investors won't invest into foreign startups unless the startup already has significant US revenue.

Our target customer were late seed/ series A startups that had sufficient funding to invest in the US and were willing to pay us in cash (we didn't want to aggregate small equity stakes in an eclectic international portfolio).

Ellis ran three cohorts during 2019 and into 2020 and had some great participants like Susanne Klepsch Dr. Kathrin Hamm Dragos Badea Satyen V Kothari Rasmus Steen Mikkel Steen Nina Hoedlmayr Jakub Kubrynski Dan Hestbaek Corbyn Munnik Samuel Barker Ben Johnson Tobias Hann and the collective participants are now generating more than $100MM in annual revenue, two have exited already and several are on a great track to become very valuable companies. Thanks to the founders and our partners and mentors Samer Hamadeh Susan Lindner Ralf Hirt Thomas Gros Joe Dolce Kate A. McNally, MBA Edan Abehsera David Schoenberger, LP-MBA David Segura Liz Wald Andreas Reiffen Melanie Klaschka, CRP, GMS Christoph Ebhart and many others for believing in us and making Ellis a reality! If you are looking to participate in a market access accelerator check out my alma mater German Accelerator , Murat Aktihanoglu and his ERA program, Pavlina Yanakieva with the Bulgarian Innovation Hub, Andee Constine at Founders Embassy and ask your local government whether they can support you in your US Journey. Without further ado, here are my learnings:

Seven key insights from Ellis:

1. We had great product/market fit: A community-driven program with strong principles and exceptional mentors can create significant value for market-entry companies. If someone wants to try this again, let me know how I can help!

2. Cohort Synergies: Leveraging the power of similar companies within cohorts, particularly in specialized areas like enterprise sales will boost the benefits for all participants and generate network effects.

3. Scaling Challenges: Like most startups we had a hard time scaling sales for Ellis through methods like cold outreach and online marketing. Referrals tended to be most effective.

4. Painfully slow B2G Sales: We thought we could get a few governments to become partners and sponsor companies. That happened to a small extent but selling to governments in general was too slow and unpredictable.

5. The war for talent: we found it challenging to hire talent and were constrained by our early decision to focus on being profitable (accelerators aren't great venture businesses).

6. Founder Dynamics: We confronted the reality of founder issues like most startups do: our own founders grappled with fundamental disagreements that required painstaking resolution.

7.Covid changed the world: Covid shut down our in-person programs for more than two years and was hard to recover from. I know see many companies trying to expand to the US remotely ("helicopter expansion strategy") and can assure you that won't work...

Reflecting on the Ellis Journey: Building, Learning, and what's next

The experience of establishing Ellis before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and collaborating with exceptional founders possessing diverse international backgrounds was truly rewarding. Our journey was marked by valuable lessons, notable achievements, inevitable setbacks, and lots of fun!

In recent years, my co-founders and I embarked on new ventures, each pursuing our respective paths. Personally, I made the decision to relocate to Miami in 2021 with my family, shifting my focus more towards investing in early-stage tech and real estate. Additionally, I focus on helping buyers and sellers navigate the thriving Miami real estate market by providing local market knowledge, analytical insights and access to the local tech and entrepreneurial scene. Although my focus has evolved, the core remains steadfast: creating connections, sharing knowledge, uncovering opportunities, and perpetually embracing the journey of learning.

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