# Accelerator and incubator comparison worksheet

MLAI editorial worksheet | 15 September 2026

Save and edit a copy. Use this to compare actual programmes; the name
"accelerator" or "incubator" does not determine whether you are eligible.
This worksheet does not assess an investment or guarantee admission.

## 1. Define the help you need

- Customer problem and what we know about it:
- Evidence we already have, with dates and limitations:
- Next question or bottleneck:
- Concrete outcome we need from outside support:
- Alternative way to make progress without joining a programme:

## 2. Check each programme with its organiser

Complete a separate copy for each option. Record unknowns as unknowns, rather
than treating missing information as a favourable answer.

- Programme name and official URL:
- Date checked and current intake:
- Eligible stage, sector and geography:
- Our evidence that we meet those requirements:
- Required attendance, location and time commitment:
- Relevant mentors, resources and access actually included:
- Funding, fees, equity and other obligations (link to written terms):
- Terms needing qualified advice before signing:
- Question the organiser still needs to answer:
- Source of each answer and date of any organiser confirmation:

## 3. Make a provisional decision

- Outcome this programme could help us achieve:
- Evidence for that expectation, separate from promotional claims:
- Work we would postpone to participate:
- Apply, investigate further, defer or choose another route:
- Reason, unresolved condition and next review date:

Being at idea stage does not automatically exclude an accelerator. For example,
[Startmate describes accepting idea-stage, pre-MVP companies](https://www.startmate.com/accelerator/program).
That example is not an eligibility rule for other programmes. Check current
organiser requirements and written terms before relying on them.

Source checked 15 September 2026. This is an editorial decision aid, not a
programme endorsement or a record of a founder's tested outcome.