Take the Accelerator Offer?

The first 10 questions

This is where the conversation starts. Each answer shapes what gets asked next.

1. 01Which accelerator, and what are the terms — investment amount, equity percentage, instrument (SAFE, equity, MFN), program length, and any fees or required relocation?
2. 02Where's the company right now — team, product, traction, runway — and what were your plans for the next six months before this offer appeared?
3. 03How did the offer come about — did you apply broadly, were you scouted, is this your first offer or one of several? What's the deadline to decide?
4. 04Run the math out loud: at the equity they're asking, what are they valuing you at — and how does that compare to what you could raise directly, or to not raising at all right now?
5. 05What do you actually need that this program provides — capital, network, credibility, structure, peers? Which of those could you get without giving up equity?
6. 06What do alumni of THIS program — not accelerators in general — say? Have you talked to any, including founders it didn't work out for?
7. 07What does the program cost beyond equity — three months of demo-day-driven priorities, relocation, batch noise? Does its rhythm match what your company needs right now?
8. 08Does the signal cut both ways — does this name open doors with your customers and future investors, or is it neutral-to-negative in your market?
9. 09If you say no: what's your realistic alternative path to the same outcomes, and what would you need to believe for it to work?
10. 10If you sign exactly this offer, what's the term or consequence you'd most regret — and if you decline, what's the door you might regret closing?

+ 2 more questions across discovery, validation, and the creative brief — each one adapting to what you've already said.

Related finance project types

• Financial ModelingBuild a financial model that reflects your actual business — revenue drivers, cost structure, hiring plan, and runway — not a generic spreadsheet template.
• Bootstrap or Raise?Decide whether to fund your startup with customer revenue or investor money — what each path demands, what it costs you, and which one your business can actually support.
• Investor UpdateWrite an investor update that's actually worth reading — clear on what moved, honest about what didn't, and specific about what you need.