8 Best Startup Accelerators in the USA for Early-Stage Startup Entrepreneurs

It is not a closely guarded secret that some of the best startups that have been founded over the last couple of decades have been backed by startup accelerators. Major businesses like Airbnb, Stripe and Coinbase all came from a single startup accelerator (more on this further down the list).

If you are a budding entrepreneur looking for the most kick-ass accelerator programs that will help your startup grow monumentally in the initial few years, look no further than this list.

But before getting into the list, what is a startup accelerator? Startup accelerators are programs offered by for-profit institutions that will help your business grow and scale rapidly within a short period of time.

They will provide you with a high-intensity work environment, with constant inputs from experienced businessmen, founders, and investors, along with seed funding and avenues for further funding to name a few.

To completely understand what startup accelerators are, the many benefits they offer, what they look for in a startup and many many more, head on over to our previous post titled “What are Startup Accelerators?”

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s head on over to our list of the 8 best startup accelerators in the United States of America for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Women’s Startup Lab Startup Accelerator in USA

Women’s Startup Lab, popularly known as WS Lab is the best accelerator for your startup if you are a woman founder looking to make it big in Silicon Valley. WS Lab brands itself as being more than just an accelerator program, but being the startup’s companions throughout the journey.

Over the last 5 years, WS Lab has graduated over 16 cohorts, each cohort consisting of around 10 startups on average. Around 65% of all graduates were successful in raising additional funds, with over 90% of founders satisfied with the end results of the accelerator program.

Famous companies that have graduated from their accelerator program include companies like Cloudkpi, Boatsetter, Genneve and Workfrom to name a few.

Techstars Startup Accelerator in USA

Techstars was founded in the year 2006 and boasts of a global network with a presence in 15+ countries. Techstars accelerator program is key to the success of over 1000 companies, and the program itself is valued at around $8 Million USD.

The Techstars group have been instrumental to the success of multiple businesses like Uber, DigitalOcean and SendGrid among quite literally thousands of other businesses.

Goes without saying, Techstars is one of the most competitive startup accelerator programs in the US, and can be extremely difficult to get into.

Graduates from the Techstars program are also provided funding opportunities from the Techstars Venture Capitalists group, not to mention the networking opportunities that arise from being a part of the Techstars Global Entrepreneur Network.

They offer a 100,000 USD convertible note, where 20,000 USD is contributed by TechStars in return for 6% equity. They have been key in raising over 6.6 billion USD in funding for over 1000 startups in the United States of America.

Y Combinator Startup Accelerator in USA

Most accelerators fund early businesses and established businesses alike, from seed funding to Series A and beyond. This is why they are called stage agnostic, in the sense that they fund all businesses, no matter what stage they are in.

At Y Combinator, California, United States, they work with startups on their ideas over 3 months and provide all sorts of professional advice for them to make it big in the business field.

Once a business reaches a stage where enough money can be raised on a large scale, Y Combinator introduces the founders to potential investors, tutoring the founders to pitch their ideas perfectly to land huge investors.

Like most startup accelerators, Y Combinator makes investments in return for small stakes in the companies they fund. YC invests a small amount of 125k USD twice every year in large startups, helping various startups achieve their dreams.

Some of the companies they helped succeed include big names like Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox, Coinbase, and Weebly to name a few. They have multiple added benefits like weekly expert talks and introduction to lawyers among others and at a combined valuation of $300B, YC is one of the bests in this niche.

DreamIT Ventures Startup Accelerator in USA

If you are a startup that deals with the industries of Healthtech, Urbantech or Securetech, then DreamIT ventures is the perfect startup accelerator for you. They focus primarily on startups with existing streams of revenue that are prime for scaling immediately.

DreamIT helps startups rapidly gain multiple customers, initiate new partnerships and raise funding through the DreamIT program. To make this program a bit more alluring, the DreamIT Venture Capital fund invests only in those programs that have already graduated from the DreamIT growth program (accelerator program).

Unlike other programs on this list, DreamIt onboards a new startup every month in each of its 3 verticals, making it somewhat less competitive than the other entries. They focus primarily on investor sprints and customer sprints – rapid programs that will help your startup gain new customers or additional funding.

Adapting to the unfortunate circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, DreamIT ventures also offer virtual and hybrid programs. Their portfolio of companies is 300 startups long and includes names like Agathos, Alio and Level-up to name a few.

MassChallenge Startup Accelerator in USA

MassChallenge, a non-profit global network of innovators, helps early businesses that work to solve massive challenges like the name suggests. By connecting various startups with experts, mentors, corporations, and markets, MC helps early businesses make it big in the business field.

With around 3000 alumni startups, raised funds of 8.6 billion USD, revenue generated up to 3.6 billion USD, and 186k jobs created, MC is one the best startup accelerators in the USA.

Spanning over various locations in North America and parts of Europe, MassChallenge focuses funding more on early-stage startups that have the potential to create a high impact.

Not restricting themselves to a few fields, they fund early businesses in Fintech, HealthTech, Blue Tech, Space Commercialization, Sports Tech, and many others.

Leveraging their global networks and the 9 accelerator programs, they drive meaningful relationships with startups and corporations, making them an ideal choice for people looking to start a business in any of the aforementioned fields.

AngelPad Startup Accelerator in USA

Based in SanFrancisco and New York, AngelPad is a US #1 ranked, seed-stage accelerator program launched in 2010. They provide mentorship, seed funding, and networking at 2 ten-week courses per year and fund about 14 million USD per company on average.

With 2.2 billion USD in portfolio funding and 5 billion USD in portfolio exits, AngelPad consistently ranks among the top startup accelerators in the United States according to “The Seed Accelerator Rankings” each year, and is often referred to as the “Anti Y Combinator”.

During the course of the program, they work on everything starting from finding the perfect product-market fit, defining a target market, getting other potential investors and gaining market access.

Early businesses that have chosen to work with AngelPad have praised them for smooth investor meetings and fundraising. Almost 10% of all companies are valued at over $100M.

Notable alumni companies include Buffer, MoPub, Astrid, and others. Having launched over 150 companies, and a highly competitive application process, AngelPad is one of the bests in the USA.

Alchemist Accelerator Startup Accelerator in USA

Responsible for over 1.2 Billion USD raised in funding for over 300 startups, like Creatify and EMBER Medical, Alchemist Accelerator is the last entry on our list of 8 Best startups in the United States of America.

Alchemist Accelerator describes itself as a venture-backed initiative that focuses on accelerating the growth and development of early-stage startup ventures. 52% of all graduates from Alchemist Accelerator have successfully gained funding in subsequent rounds.

They boast of having the world’s best enterprise mentor and investor network having access to global markets and expertise. Some of the alumni companies include Privacera, Rigetti Quantum Computing, Billo, and Foresight Mental Health among many others. This makes Alchemist Accelerator another amazing option you can choose for your early business in the USA.

406 Labs Startup Accelerator in USA

If you are a startup in the life sciences vertical, with a focus on products that involve SaaS and technology, 406 Labs is the perfect startup for your business. They are particularly interested in the fields of Outdoor Technology, Photonics, Biotech and SaaS.

If your startup shows a high promise for growth and scalability, 406 labs will help you in getting your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) to market, generate and source the required capital and hire the necessary employees who in turn will be the key to the long term success of your business entity.

406 Labs is a member of the Global Accelerator Network and is connected with some of the world’s best accelerators in the world. The program lasts for a period of 12 weeks, with graduates including companies like 6th Dimension VR, Alpine Greenhouses and Spectro to name a few.

To Conclude

Being a seed-stage startup in the most competitive country in the world is no easy task. However, if you have a Minimum Viable Product, startup accelerators like the ones mentioned in this list will help you tremendously in your journey of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Getting the support of these accelerators will not only help you raise the necessary funds to grow in the seed stage but will also connect you and your business with successful mentors and investors that will train and fund you in your journey to excellence.