The Startup World has exploded with resources, degrees, accelerators, incubators and competitions over the past decade. There are so many resources available to you as an entrepreneur now. Incubators nurture early-stage ideas over a long, open-ended timeline. Accelerators take companies or ideas that already exist and compress growth into a fixed, short cohort, typically 3 to 6 months. Sometimes its hard to tell what these organizations are offering between the two. But anyhow, here’s some folks to check out:
Incubators
- INNOVIT connects Italian entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley
- LvlUp Labs (part of LvLUp Ventures) is a startup program that offers mentorship and access through their VC arm
- NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center provides access and knowledge for entrepreneurship for all
- Nordic Innovation House, Silicon Valley has an incubator and accelerator for entrepreneurs from or marketing to Scandinavia
- Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology is part of UC Berkeley’s School of Engineering
Accelerators
- Berkeley Skydeck is an accelerator associated with UC Berkeley
- Bronco Ventures Accelerator – Santa Clara University’s Ciocca Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- Foundation Capital’s Build Accelerator
- Plug and Play Tech Center are several co-working spaces, but they also offer some accelerator programs
- Silicon Valley Fellowship is a one week accelerator with workshops and networking events
- Startup Grind is more of a conference than an accelerator, but maybe worth checking out, if timing is right
- Y Combinator is the gold standard of accelerators. Some say it’s easier to get into Stanford than in here, nowadays. But if you get in, you’ve got ACCESS
Competitions
- Hult Prize is the world’s largest student startup competition
- KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator Competition
- TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield