In my mind, entrepreneurs are the “grittiest” types of people around – I’ve been one and I’ve taught entrepreneurship to hundreds of students through the entrepreneurship programs at MIT, including my five years as the director of MIT’s delta v student venture accelerator program, which launches student start-ups into the real world.

“The harder the challenge, the more it builds you up,” explains Leslie Feinzaig, founder and managing director of the Graham & Walker Venture Fund, when discussing the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse. “The best entrepreneurs I know will face a hundred insurmountable obstacles – and come back for the 101st because they actively believe that with enough time and opportunity, they will come out victorious.”

If this is your mindset, my new ebook was written for you. It is a resource for entrepreneurs as they face challenges unique to start-up founders.

As more people become entrepreneurs, they claim ownership of their future and help to drive the economy of their own country – and potentially global economies as well. Start-up companies fuel world economies and have created a $6.4 trillion start-up economy.

Exploring Start-Up Accelerator Programs Worldwide

During the time I spent at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, I was fully immersed in a wide variety of innovative technologies and start-ups – including working with students who had come to MIT from all over the world. I also traveled to various countries to present and share our insights on entrepreneurship and to gain knowledge from programs abroad. And while there are many programs to support entrepreneurs in the United States, I realized that start-up founders from other countries have fewer resources available to guide them.

That planted a seed in my mind to create a guide for entrepreneurs who may be exploring ways to start their own businesses, especially in countries outside the U.S. In my current role as an entrepreneurship consultant and coach, I’ve taken on a project to develop this resource. I also hope this ebook serves as a resource for global accelerators, governments, and other stakeholders as well.

Global Venture Funding Activity

According to data compiled by Crunchbase, global venture funding in 2022 totaled $445 billion — 35% lower as compared to 2021, but $100 billion more than invested in 2020. Regionally, the U.S. secures most of this investment at nearly 50%, followed by China (10%), the U.K. (6%), and India (5%) based on Dealroom data.

Some entrepreneurs may think that they need to be in the United States because of the amount of investment money here, but we’re seeing more money flow to other regions as well. Today, there are lots of options for entrepreneurs globally. Often, students I worked with at MIT realized they needed more time to get the required product fit and build the company with customer feedback. The growth of accelerators worldwide provides options if they decide to leave the U.S. and grow their companies in another part of the world – whether it is their home country or a region that is a good launching pad for their product or service. This growth of accelerators, government support, and growing entrepreneurial communities worldwide can provide entrepreneurs with this needed support.

Diversity, thought leadership, and collaboration all work together to make the global ecosystem of entrepreneurs a much richer place. I hope that the information I’ve collected about entrepreneurship around the world and how different countries support their entrepreneurs is helpful in your pursuits.

As a note, this ebook is NOT meant to be comprehensive – it is more of a directional guide. It does not cover all regions or all countries in any region. I also realize that entrepreneurial ecosystems are continuously evolving, so new information will always be coming to light. To that end, I’ve published this ebook under a Creative Commons license – I am open to other contributors who want to add to this resource from here – please feel free to reach out.

Take the Next Step to Entrepreneurship

If you are a student, an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur-to-be, or you work in an accelerator or government that is working to encourage entrepreneurship, I hope this ebook provides you with insight and resources to explore entrepreneurship further in a global sense!

Download the PDF ebook: An Introduction to Start-Up Accelerator Programs around the World

This free ebook was designed to be shared – you don’t even need to fill out any forms to gain access!

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship launched its accelerator in 2012. The focused mission is to provide short-term, fixed-term, cohort-based, entrepreneurial coaching to selected MIT students to help them launch their business ideas as products in the real world of commerce within an accelerated timeframe. The original name of the program was Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator (GFSA) that was changed to MIT delta v to create an image in mind about the close connection that exists between velocity (v) and acceleration. The program founders consider the program a “capstone educational opportunity” to enable future entrepreneurs to launch their business ventures in an accelerated mode in the real world of operations. MIT delta v falls under 501(c) charity and funded by MIT and donations.

MIT Follows the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Framework Model

MIT employs the Disciplined Entrepreneurship Framework developed by Bill Aulet, which focuses on understanding customer needs and build the minimum viable product.

MIT delta v – a Distinct Program from the Ranks of Other Accelerators

MIT delta v is an educational accelerator that provides startups with curriculum, monthly fellowship (only for MIT and Wellesley students), workspace, mentorship, one-on-one coaching, and other benefits from June through August. The startups who have participated in this unique program represent multiple verticals – energy, agricultural technology, retail, financial technology, logistics, analytics, healthcare, education technology, media technology, aerospace, etc.

MIT delta v – Locations

The program was held in NYC Startup Studio, Cambridge Massachusetts and in 2020 virtual.

Salient Features of the MIT delta v Accelerator Program

• Experimentation: Every year, delta v has explored new coaching methods and student activities to learn from past failures and improve. When something succeeds, we scale it up.
• Equity-free Funding: As the delta v coaches and mentors do not claim a stake in their commercial startups, they learn freely and diligently without the fear of failing in the marketplace. The teams earn up to $20,000 in project funding. MIT students receive an additional $2,000 monthly Fellowship during delta v. Wellesley College are also eligible for delta v through a grant to support Wellesley students in their entrepreneurship journey.
• Nurturing Impactful Ideas: The ideas were nurtured through the MIT ecosystem from an initial idea before the delta v accelerator.
  Honesty in Coaching: Neither the Martin Trust Center nor the MIT faculty members claim a stake in any entrepreneurial venture they help commercialize. Their only objective is the student’s learning and success in the marketplace.

Key Focus Areas of the MIT delta v Program

We strive to bring students an incredible and rewarding experience.

1. Deliver delta v as a high-quality program (virtual or in-person) supported by experienced Entrepreneurs in Residence and programming focused on the fundamentals of Customer, Product, and Business readiness.
2. ECC program –ECC program teaches our student-entrepreneurs tools for self-awareness. We believe that if we teach students how to work through the stresses of entrepreneurship more effectively, it will lead to better decision-making and healthier choices for their lives and business.
3. Board of Directors – The mock board of directors includes diversity, business executives, domain experts, faculty, and delta v alums. The board members bring outside perspectives to the delta v teams in their real life and guide teams as they develop their businesses.
4. Focus on financial literacy foundation and messaging right for an investor pitch, including understanding how much money they will need, what sources there are, and the pros/cons of their choices.
5. Virtual Investor Day – The financial foundation leads into an Investor Demo Day.
6. Demo Day – At the end of the summer, the delta v teams formally present their startups at the program’s culmination on Demo Day. This is the biggest day of the year for entrepreneurship at MIT. We host a Demo Day and a post-event networking experience.

We say the MIT delta v experience is like eating broccoli. Maybe students founders don’t like broccoli; perhaps they are not sure. But, as we work through the program, they will learn how to steam broccoli and roast it and sauté it and puree it. They’ll know all of the ins-and-outs of broccoli – and come up with a winning recipe.