Today business accelerators are playing a huge role as a backbone of startup communities as mentorship, investment, technical resources, shared office, product development, Scaling and expanding the market by conducting action-oriented programs to support your entrepreneurial dreams. so, here are top European startup accelerators like TechStars, Seedcamp, Next media accelerators, etc..,
1. Techstars
Techstars helps entrepreneurs succeed. Through the Techstars Worldwide Entrepreneur Network, founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. Techstars operates four divisions: Techstars Startup Programs, Techstars mentorship-driven Accelerator Programs, Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships, and the Techstars Venture Capital Fund.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in London, UK. Techstars mentorship-driven Accelerator Program supercharges success and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Venture Capital Fund invests in the most innovative and disruptive Techstars companies to fuel their success. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships helps brands create world-changing products and services. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,000 companies with a market cap of $8.1 billion.
2. Seedcamp
Seedcamp is Europe’s seed fund, investing early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology and the world-class entrepreneurs before their success is known to others. they don’t focus on any one sector and look to their founders and network to help identify Europe’s next big talent. With some of the largest raises in Europe, acquisitions by major companies and $3bn valuations, their startups go onto achieve great things.
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in London, UK. The Seedcamp Nation includes over 285 startups building breakout businesses that change the way people live, interact and buy and includes three European unicorns: TransferWise, Revolut and UiPath along with fast-growing businesses such as wefox, Pointy, Viz.ai and Trussle.
3. The Founder Institute
he Founder Institute is the world’s largest pre-seed accelerator program. If you are up to the challenge, their comprehensive step-by-step program will give you the structure, mentor support, and global network you need to build an enduring company. In addition, the Founder Institute is the only program of its kind that accepts solo-founders and founders with day jobs, and that builds an equity collective within each program cohort to create aligned network incentives.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. the Founder Institute is a team of 22 employees who support chapters across 180+ cities and 65+ countries. Founder Institute helped launch over 3,500 companies. These companies have created over 15,000+ new jobs and $20B in shareholder value.
4. Spinlab
SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator is a startup accelerator that supports the growth of entrepreneurial and innovative teams who want to scale up their businesses. Located within Leipzig’s creative and inspiring Cotton Mill (Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei), we provide access to infrastructure (co-working office space and technology), coaching and mentoring, as well as to our international network of successful business founders, established market players and leading investors. Our program is 100% free for accepted startups.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Leipzig, Germany. Technology partners are able to provide key resources to help you make your ideas a reality. their mission is to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in the center of Germany and beyond by providing hands-on guidance to startups and spin-offs. Highly-motivated coaches and mentors share their know-how and experience as part of an interactive program using team discussions, seminars, workshops and other formats.
5. Lanzadera
Lanzadera Accelerator provides entrepreneurial solutions for entrepreneurs to implement robust business models. It invites individuals and organizations with innovative business projects and offers them educational, economic, and structural resources in order to implement their projects.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in valencia, Spain. Lanzadera is a startup accelerator which runs a 9-month long program. Accepts startups working on a wide range of technologies and sectors. As of Dec 2017, 174 startups have graduated from the program and have collectively raised € 13M in funding.
6. Wayra
Wayra UK is a world-leading start-up accelerator programme. Since 2012, it has helped more than 160 British and Irish start-ups take their businesses to the next level, helping them raise over $150m in third-party funding. It runs programs to encourage start-up development in the Midlands and the North of England, as part of their mission to democratize entrepreneurship throughout the UK.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Over the last seven years, they have invested and supported 180 companies to help scale the global start-up ecosystem. Have invested cash and business development support throughout the world, and have created seven hubs that offer their start-up’s unique access to heads of state, corporate leaders, investors, serial entrepreneurs, and even royalty.
7. VentureLab
VentureLab is a private initiative on the best startup talents with the ambition and the potential to grow internationally. Together with successful founders, key academic and leading industry partners such as BKW, Swiss Post and Swisscom, they set up an accelerator program to support the next startup generation. VentureLab has supported thousands of entrepreneurs, who have launched over 1,000 companies, which have raised more than 5 billion Swiss francs from investors around the globe and created thousands of jobs in Switzerland. In 2018 The VentureLab team, based in Zurich, Lausanne and St Gallen, organized 375 events in 2018, supporting more than 1,000 Swiss startups, which raised 735 million francs in funding during those 12 months
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The objective of VentureLab is to bring selected startup talents through a structured stress test of their entrepreneurial and business readiness, enhancing their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, and connect them to the community of high value-adding founders, mentors, and industry experts.
8. SeedRocket
SeedRocket offers a complete Seed Funding Venture Program for Entrepreneurs with technology-based startups and provides the initial investment and they work together with the founders through the early development stages. Take part in one of the SeedRocket Entrepreneurs Programs and get training from SeedRocket mentors experts and industry professionals that give you the keys to successfully develop your business idea.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. SeedRocket is made up of successful professionals and experts in different areas within the Internet sector. Those serial entrepreneurs and experts provide mentoring support and help with investment for high-growth potential startups. The selected 10-12 teams enter a week-long program of training and workshops with mentors. After a week, they present their projects to private investors, business angels, VCs, and the SeedRocket team getting a chance to receive €150k seed investment.
9. Accelerace
Accelerace is one of the leading seed accelerators and has spotted, trained and invested in more than 500 of the most promising Danish and international startups and growth companies. 88% of the companies are still on the market today. As part of the national Scale-up Denmark initiative, Accelerace is scaling up startups within tech, food tech, cleantech, life sciences and welfare technologies through guidance and mentoring from skilled serial entrepreneurs, camps and network.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Accelerace has invested in more than 69 promising startups, who have been through the Accelerace program and have started partnerships with Maersk, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Arla, Foss, NRGI, Business Lolland-Falster, Bang & Olufsen, SE, Endesa & Enel. There Aim is to share their insights and knowledge on entrepreneurship as they learn. It’s a top priority because they believe that it’s only by increasing the quality of the entire startup ecosystem that the real impact will be realized.
10. Next Media Accelerator
Next Media Accelerator is an independent accelerator funded by over 30 media outlets in Germany and Austria and invests in early-stage media tech startups from Europe, Israel and USA providing innovative solutions to disrupt the media. They run a 6 months accelerator program in Hamburg for scalable companies that bring innovation to the media industry and look for international markets.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Next Media Accelerator was founded by several independent partners in order to offer startups a place to succeed. The program is looking for companies that bring innovation to the media industry and look for international markets.
11. Digital magics
Digital magics is a business incubator and it builds and develops digital business, guiding the founders of startups and providing acceleration services. Therefore, it supports startups on an industrial scale in order to create successful projects and it creating a strategic bridge between the companies and the entire ecosystem of digital startups.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Milan, Italy. Digital Magic has always been a partner of excellent enterprises, with its Open Innovation services, creating a synergistic bridge between companies and digital startups. The incubation and acceleration services offered by Digital Magics are active in the TAG co-working campuses present throughout Italy and Europe. The Company counts over 60 investments in startups, scaleups, and digital spin-offs, with high growth rates.
12. Nana Bianca
Nana Bianca is a Startup Studio where startups, companies, and freelancers orbit around each other attracted by one single digital innovation. With the mission of promoting digital technology in all its forms, it is a big bang of entrepreneurial ideas and a launchpad for both internal and external startups. it shines inside Nana Space, a place of creativity and innovation where you can work in a coworking atmosphere, participate in workshops and events.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Florence, Italy. It runs a 4-month acceleration program Hubble in which it accepts startups working on a wide range of technologies and sectors. Provides up to € 50K as a part of the acceleration program and takes up to 15% equity in return. As of Dec 2017, 10 startups have graduated from the program and 5 companies created as a part of the startup studio. The firm runs its programs in Europe, America, and Asia.
13. LUISSEnlabs
LUISSEnlabs is a startup accelerator located in Rome Italy, founded by LVenture Group, the first and only national operator of seed venture capital listed on Italian Stock Exchange. They invested up to 60,000 Euros in early-stage startups, providing them intense mentorship, access to their extensive network, assisting them entering into the market and raising follow-on funding.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Roma, Italy. Their 5-months acceleration program runs in both Winter and Summer and it is structured to get startups rapidly gain market validation through a two-weeks sprint length. At the end of each sprint, every startup will demo the results and get valuable feedback from others. It also several provides several programs, workshops, tutoring sessions that are meant to help to build a better product and defining the business model as well as improving public speaking skills needed at the end to present the business to their network of investors.
14. Start it @kbc
Start it @kbc supports and promotes innovative and scalable entrepreneurship and to achieve the community concludes partnerships with organizations and companies that adopt the same pay-it-forward mentality. This way, Start it @kbc is building an ecosystem and a dynamic network of early-stage startups, scale-ups, incubators, accelerators, mentors, VCs, supporting partners and strategic partners.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. Start it @kbc is constantly reshaping, expanding and improving its offering in co-creation with the startups. The community has hubs in Antwerp, Ghent, Hasselt, Leuven, Kortrijk, Brussels and is firmly committed to internationalization in Europe and the United States. Startups with an innovative business idea can submit their idea all year round via the website. Three times a year, selected startup founders can pitch their ideas to a professional jury.
15. APX
APX is an industry-agnostic VC and tailormade rolling program. The company invests Europe-wide in early-stage startups who have a passion for digital business models. Backed by Axel Springer and Porsche. It is constantly looking for inspiring founders and sustainable companies.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Their network includes business angels, VCs, founders and entrepreneurs. With a network of over 10,000+ of most influential contacts, you’ll always have access to people that will help shape your startup. They will match you with mentors (experienced entrepreneurs) and experts (specialists in specific fields) to support you during and even after the 100-day program.
