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by Katharina-Sophie Winkler, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany Accelerators are cohort-based, fixed-term start-up incubators that provide fledgling enterprises not only with the funds necessary to propel their business into break even zone, but also support founders with entrepreneurial education, experienced mentors and ambitious peers to help them succeed. The accelerator concept is somewhat new, but already … Continue reading Three ways Accelerator design can impact the inclusion of social Ventures →

by Antonia Thomsen, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany The answer to the question of the title is: No.  So far research has shown many positive aspects of the work of accelerators: They speed up the growth of startups and help them to prosper. By providing access to mentoring, education and financing, accelerators support entrepreneurs in … Continue reading Is an Application to an Accelerator a good choice for every startup? →

by Marcel Siebert, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany As a new incubator model, accelerators are using workshops for knowledge transfer scientifically more often than classic incubators do (Drori & Wright, 2018). As the name implies, workshops are about to work on a specific topic rather than on learning something new which is common in other … Continue reading Why accelerators use workshops for knowledge transfer →

by Jan Michael Richter, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany Corporate accelerators unsurprisingly receive increasing attention: The concept of combing start-ups’ power to innovate and the resource richness of established companies seems like a perfect match. Innovation is more than just a popular word in the economy and there is no lack of examples of how … Continue reading How Sponsoring corporate accelerators and Innovation relate →

by Justus Paulsen, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany The strive for innovation has been the focus of entrepreneurs for many years. Due to the strive for innovation, paradigm shifts such as the industrialization could be achieved. But for a long time, innovation was produced randomly by individuals and was not organized. In the recent years … Continue reading Mentoring in Accelerators: Analyzing the State of the Art →

by Maximiliane Naß, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany Entrepreneurship education is booming lately. Never before has there been such a variety of programs. One of them being accelerators. The cohort based and fixed-term programs can be defined as a relatively  new form of entrepreneurship education. And while higher business institutes (HEI) like universities and business schools may have … Continue reading Are accelerators the better business schools? The secret of their success in educating entrepreneurs   →

by Shariar Mofiz, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany This blog post is about organization of innovation about the case accelerator. In the chapter that I have written it is described that the accelerators are an increasingly growing entrepreneurial phenomenon emerging within corporate entrepreneurship in various business contexts and business models. Corporate accelerators are seen as … Continue reading Corporate Accelerators: Motivations, Benefits, and Challenges →

by Romy Linde, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany Social ventures face high failure rates and could therefore use help from supporting organizations such as accelerators. Based on her recent publication, Romy Linde explores the compatibility of accelerators and social ventures. Natural disasters, global hunger and poverty call for fast solutions for the world’s toughest economic and … Continue reading Social Entrepreneurship and Accelerators: Match or Mismatch? →

by Tao Li, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany Accelerators are a type of organizational sponsor, who support startups through training, mentoring and other means via fixed-term and cohort-based programs. Their major targets are for-profit and high-growth startups in the technology sector. The most prominent startup accelerators are for example Y combinator, Techstars, Plug and Play or 500 … Continue reading Accelerate the Social Impact →

by Lena Katharina Kuhl, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany “A little bit of good can turn into a whole lot of good if fueled by the commitment of a social entrepreneur.”Jeffrey Skoll We are in the center of a global pandemic crisis that is pushing people worldwide to their limits. We see and know about … Continue reading Supporting Social Entrepreneurship – More Than Ever? →