The Accelerator Program Manager Glossary

How to Use This Glossary

Entries are organised alphabetically. Each term includes a clear definition and, where relevant, a practical note covering how the concept applies in day-to-day accelerator operations. This reference covers program design, selection, delivery, legal and finance, startup metrics, and ecosystem vocabulary.

A

Accelerator

A competitive, fixed-term program (10–16 weeks) providing seed funding, mentorship, and investor access to cohorts of early-stage companies in exchange for equity. Programs culminate in a Demo Day.

Acceptance Rate

The percentage of applicants offered a place in the cohort. Top programs operate at 1–3%. A low rate signals quality only if application volume is high.

Alumni

Founders who have graduated from a previous cohort. The accelerator's most durable asset: referral pipeline, mentorship supply, and brand ambassadors. Strong programs receive 30–40% of applications through alumni referrals.

Application Window

The period during which the accelerator accepts new applications. Batch programs have fixed dates. Rolling programs accept year-round.

B

Batch Program

An accelerator accepting applications during a fixed window and running all selected startups simultaneously as a cohort. Creates urgency, enables peer learning, and has a clear Demo Day anchor.

Blind Review

Anonymising application materials before scoring to reduce affinity bias. Widely adopted by programs seeking more diverse cohorts.

Burn Rate

The monthly rate at which a startup spends its cash. Formula: monthly burn = (starting cash - ending cash) / months. Cohort companies with under 3 months of runway at Demo Day face a fundraising emergency.

Bridge Round

A small financing round providing a startup enough runway to reach its next major milestone. Accelerator managers often help bridge candidates identify angels in their network.

C

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Total sales and marketing spend divided by new customers acquired in the same period. A core traction metric for evaluating cohort companies.

Cap Table

Capitalisation table showing every equity holder in a startup, how much they hold, and on what terms. Verify cap table cleanliness during application due diligence. Accelerator equity stakes appear as a line item.

Cohort

The group of startups progressing through a program together. The collaborative peer dynamic is one of the accelerator model's most distinctive features.

Coachability

A founder's demonstrated willingness to update beliefs and adapt in response to feedback. Most program managers consider it the highest-signal soft characteristic in the interview process.

Corporate Accelerator

A company-sponsored program working with external startups to drive innovation and build M&A pipelines. ROI is typically strategic rather than financial.

Curriculum

Structured workshops and sessions delivered to cohort companies. Best practice: 30% structured curriculum, 70% protected building time.

D

Deal Flow

The pipeline of startup applications flowing into a program. High-quality deal flow is a function of brand strength, marketing investment, and alumni referral programs.

Demo Day

The culminating public event where cohort companies pitch to investors and press. The goal is investor meetings within 72 hours — not applause. Demo Day is the opening of the fundraising window, not the end of the program.

Due Diligence

Structured investigation of a startup's claims, team, technology, and legal standing before acceptance. Lighter than VC-level but should still verify key application claims.

E

Equity

Ownership stake in a company. Accelerators typically take 5–10% in exchange for seed funding and program access.

Exit

The event through which investors realise equity value — through acquisition or IPO. Long-term accelerator ROI is realised through portfolio exits.

F

Follow-On Funding

Investment received after the accelerator — typically a seed round or Series A raised post-Demo Day. Top programs track this as a primary portfolio KPI.

Founder-Market Fit

The degree to which a founding team's expertise aligns with the problem they are solving. More predictive of success than product-market fit at the application stage.

G

GALI (Global Accelerator Learning Initiative)

Research collaboration between Emory University and ANDE producing comprehensive benchmarking data on accelerator program design, operations, and outcomes.

H

Horizon 1/2/3

McKinsey's framework for innovation horizons. Horizon 1: core business improvement. Horizon 2: adjacent opportunities. Horizon 3: transformational new businesses. Corporate accelerators are most effective for Horizon 2 and early Horizon 3.

I

ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

A detailed description of who is most likely to buy and get value from your product. Program managers should define an ICP for the program itself — which types of startups to accept — as rigorously as they advise founders to define theirs.

Incubator

A long-term (6–24 month) support program. Less competitive and intensive than an accelerator. Accelerator = intensive, fixed-term, cohort-based. Incubator = flexible, longer-term, less structured.

K

KPI

Key Performance Indicator. Accelerator program KPIs include: milestone completion rate, follow-on funding raised, Demo Day investor meetings booked, and alumni retention rate.

L

LOI (Letter of Intent)

A non-binding document expressing intention to enter a formal agreement. LOIs from named enterprise customers are strong traction signals in application review.

M

M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions)

Corporate accelerators frequently use the program as a structured M&A pipeline: the 12-week cycle is low-cost due diligence before acquisition conversations begin.

Mentor

An experienced founder, operator, or expert providing 1:1 guidance to cohort companies. Target: minimum 4 substantive 1:1 sessions per startup per cycle. Mentor matching outperforms open-availability booking by 2.4x on satisfaction ratings.

Milestone

A specific, measurable, time-bound objective agreed at program start. Good milestone: "Validate pricing with 10 enterprise prospects by week 6." Bad milestone: "Make progress on product."

MRR/ARR

Monthly/Annual Recurring Revenue. The predictable subscription revenue a SaaS business generates per month or year. A core traction metric for software-enabled cohort companies.

N

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

Measures likelihood to recommend, scored 0–10. Used to measure founder satisfaction, mentor engagement quality, and investor Demo Day experience.

O

OKR (Objectives and Key Results)

Goal-setting framework pairing a qualitative objective with 2–5 quantifiable key results. Used by leading accelerator teams to align staff and measure program progress.

P

Portfolio

The cumulative set of startups supported across all cohorts. Portfolio data — funding raised, companies still operating, exits — is the primary long-term measure of program quality.

Product-Market Fit (PMF)

The degree to which a product satisfies strong market demand. Measurable via churn rate, NPS, and organic growth rate.

R

Runway

Months a startup can operate at its current burn rate before exhausting cash. Runway = current cash / monthly burn rate.

S

SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)

A financing instrument where an investor provides capital today in exchange for equity rights at a future priced round. Created by Y Combinator; now standard in pre-seed and seed financing.

Selection Committee

The group responsible for evaluating applications and making cohort decisions. Best practice: 3–5 members with diverse backgrounds, structured rubrics, calibration sessions, and a clear decision protocol.

Sponsor

An organisation providing financial or in-kind support to a program in exchange for visibility, access, or commercial partnership rights.

T

TAM (Total Addressable Market)

Total revenue opportunity at 100% market share. Reviewers look for TAMs of $500M+ at pre-seed. Bottom-up calculations carry more weight than top-down industry figures.

Traction

Evidence a product is creating real value for real customers: paying customers, revenue growth, LOIs, waitlist signups, engagement metrics. The most important single signal in application review.

V

Venture Capital (VC)

Professional investors providing capital to early and growth-stage companies for equity. The primary audience for Demo Day. Accelerator alumni relationships with VC firms are among the program's most durable long-term assets.

W

Warm Introduction

An introduction made by a trusted mutual connection. Warm introductions convert to meetings at 5–10x the rate of cold outreach. Accelerator programs generate their most durable value through the density of warm introduction networks they create for founders.

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