Support That Helps Startups Support That Helps Startups
Which kinds of support help startups, and what the evidence says about each.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
Five kinds of support
Programs bundle what founders once sought alone
Accelerators combine services that each used to be costly for a founder to find.
- Education
- Mentoring
- Funding access
- Networks
- Workspace
Where founders fall short
Finance and education are the weak spots
GEM finds too few startups become established firms, and names finance and education.
- Finance rated insufficient 36 of 5336 of 53
- School education rated lowest 33 of 5333 of 53
Entrepreneurship education
Training moved results, desks did not
At Start-Up Chile, training plus basic services raised performance; basic services alone did not.
- Funding and coworking no effect found
- Plus training higher performance
Teaching a method
Teach a method, not only content
Startups taught to test hypotheses beat peers who had the same 10 sessions.
- 10 sessions for all how to get market feedback
- Plus a method hypotheses and rigorous tests
- Result better performance, more pivots
Mentoring for founders
Mentoring works through trust
For 360 entrepreneurs, trust and perceived similarity built the relationship that drove learning.
- The founder opens up shares real problems
- Trust and similarity a strong relationship
- The mentor helps advice, contacts, support
- The founder learns and runs the business better
Access to funding
Early grants pull in private investors
A US research grant for small firms roughly doubled the chance of later venture capital.
Networks and advisers
Many advisers, frequent meetings, one calendar
Top accelerators helped through broad, intensive and paced consultation with many people.
- Mentors
- Customers
- Alumni
- Peers in the cohort
- Guest speakers
Workspace and incubation
Workspace helps only when it fits
Incubator resources raised or lowered survival, depending on how they fit the local setting.
Choosing the mix
Put teaching and advice first
Fund what the evidence backs, then add what your founders lack.
- Teach a way to test ideas
- Match mentors with care
- Broker grants and investors
- Pace advice on one calendar
- Treat desks as an extra
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Hochberg, Y. V. (2016) Accelerating entrepreneurs and ecosystems: The seed accelerator model Innovation Policy and the Economy, 16, 25-51
- Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2026) GEM 2025/2026 Global Report: From Uncertainty to Opportunity GEM Consortium
- Gonzalez-Uribe, J. & Leatherbee, M. (2018) The effects of business accelerators on venture performance: Evidence from Start-Up Chile The Review of Financial Studies, 31(4), 1566-1603
- Camuffo, A., Cordova, A., Gambardella, A. & Spina, C. (2020) A scientific approach to entrepreneurial decision making: Evidence from a randomized control trial Management Science, 66(2), 564-586
- St-Jean, É. (2012) Mentoring as professional development for novice entrepreneurs: Maximizing the learning International Journal of Training and Development, 16(3), 200-216
- Howell, S. T. (2017) Financing innovation: Evidence from R&D grants American Economic Review, 107(4), 1136-1164
- Hallen, B. L., Cohen, S. L. & Bingham, C. B. (2020) Do accelerators work? If so, how? Organization Science, 31(2), 378-414
- Amezcua, A. S., Grimes, M. G., Bradley, S. W. & Wiklund, J. (2013) Organizational sponsorship and founding environments: A contingency view on the survival of business-incubated firms, 1994-2007 Academy of Management Journal, 56(6), 1628-1654
Fund learning, not only space
Give founders a method and advisers, then add money and desks.