How to ace your accelerator application

We get hundreds of applications to UNSW Founders 10x Accelerator every year and as our reputation grows, that number climbs ever higher.

Yes, you heard right. Hundreds.

So the field is competitive. Each Program Manager at UNSW Founders usually has spent months scouting for startups, coaching them, running workshops on how to entrepreneur and generally trying to help them develop and grow; only to have to say no to most of them who, despite not getting onto our program, have great potential.

This is a hard position to be in. And I’m about to give you, startup founder, advice on how to make it harder for us, by stepping up your application game. I want you to go ahead. Do it.

Here’s how.

Be specific about the problem – show you’ve done your research

Joseph Po, our Health 10x Program Manager gave a great example of this at our event the other day.

He presented two short problem descriptions:

“Lung cancer is a significant global problem. Delayed lung cancer diagnosis is the predominant cause of cancer-associated death as well as patient/family stress”
“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death globally, with 2.2 million diagnoses and 1.8 million deaths (2020). Delays in diagnosis and treatment are significant – recent studies of 13 countries reporting an average wait of 6 months from first symptom to receiving treatment. This causes a 40% reduced chance of survival.”

Which do you think is more compelling and informative?

Problem identification is the single biggest early indicator of whether the startup has a market to serve and frankly most founders don’t answer this well. The idea is not to give us a half page answer – more is not always better – but to give us nuggets of information that together tell a story about what a group of people need and how you can solve it.

Be specific. Reference qualitative data from your own interviews and quantitative data from both your experience and desk research.

Tell us how you know this is a problem and how you know people want to solve it.

1. What does each member of your team do…

So many startups just list a name and a job title in their application. In fact, I saw one a few days ago.

We want a little more – we want to know how you work together and a bit about each team member’s background.

What is their unique value proposition to the startup, whether it be technical expertise, industry connections or truckloads of experience. Why are they critical to startup success?

…and who else do you need to get to the finish line?

Sometimes advice on advocating for why your team is the right team can be misinterpreted as – “tell us that you can do it all”. That is not what we want to hear, especially if it’s glaringly obvious you can’t.

For example, any startup in robotics without a combination of electrical, software and mechanical engineering (or mechatronics) will need to hire that talent at some point or outsource tech development.

A healthy approach to knowing your team’s skills gaps or resource constraints* shows that a founder has thought through what they’ll need to scale. Then follow with a realistic plan to expand the team or ways to put off expanding until you have more cash without hurting the startup.

* like how many hours you would need to do all the work, plus eat, sleep, exercise, connect with family & friends.

2. Know what you’re applying for…

If you have developed a ridesharing app, no amount of improving your application will get you a spot on a health program. While this seems like an obvious example, there are subtleties that can be missed from the outside – on Climate 10x we favour things that are within key priorities for the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE).

This means that while an app to encourage more eco-friendly consumer behaviour is valid and useful, it doesn’t fit as well as a novel, more sustainable fuel chemistry.

Equally, I’ve seen some applications try and invent a Climate-friendly angle for their startup that is tenuous at best. That doesn’t work either.

The lesson – research the accelerator you’re applying for and make sure it’s the right fit for both of you. If in doubt, either reach out to the PM or have a crack anyway.

3… and show the panel that you have a reason to apply (beyond the cash).

This is something I look out for in particular, because we have traditionally had seriously big (for an accelerator) cheque sizes that come along with Climate 10x participation. The money is not the most valuable thing about the accelerator. I want to know as a PM how you (startup) will engage and which program offerings specifically will help your growth. Will the Health program help you sort out regulatory pathways? Will Climate improve your R&D capabilities?

And trust me, it’s obvious when you don’t know what the accelerator can offer. It shows a glaring lack of care for our time and expertise.

If you don’t know how the program can help you, reach out to the PM. Those within our team take calls with startups all the time to get to know them. Others probably do the same. Find us on LinkedIn, our website or send us a smoke signal. We’re here to answer questions.

4, Engage early to get specific advice

Which brings me to the next thing – accelerator PMs are a friendly bunch and can usually give you advice on what you can do to improve your chances. This will include things that are unclear.

For example, one thing we often get is what the term “clear IP” means – depending on the startup it means different things. An external startup that has developed its own IP is clear to commercialise – it’s pretty straightforward right? The business develops the IP for its own commercial use. But, a startup connected to a university might need to get their IP licensed from that university. This sounds relatively simple to the uninitiated but can actually take months depending on the situation. The earlier you ask the question, the more time you have to build up to the solution.

5. Who is the funder and where do they put their money?

Some accelerator programs involve receiving investment from an external party (all of ours at UNSW Founders do).

Ask yourself – what type of startup do they invest in? What type of tech? Do we fit? Do they fund a competitor?

Sometimes an investor won’t fund a competitor in the same space for obvious reasons. If you do fit within their investment thesis, make that obvious in your application.

Don’t make the panel do the guesswork.

6. What is your Magic?

Give me something to be excited about in the clearest, most concise way possible. It could be anything. Maybe you have a superstar team.

Emphasise if you have connections to an industry, or if the timing of your solution is absolutely perfect or if your tech or solution is first-of-a-kind or one-of-a-kind.

I want a reason to jump up from my desk while everyone around me is staring a “what just happened” kind of way. Give me that.

Bonus final piece of advice – there are things outside of your control.

Sometimes the field is competitive and even as PMs, we can’t tell you exactly what you have to do to get in. Try your best, but a rejection is not necessarily an indictment that you don’t have potential. We just have limited resources and are trying to make the best decisions we can.

Whoever you are, good luck on your journey. I hope you feel the full support of our innovation ecosystem behind you, even if it doesn’t take you to the heady heights of decacorn destiny.

Any attempt at leaving the world a little better than when you found it is a win for me.

Eleni Assargiotis is program manager of the Climate 10x Accelerator at UNSW Founders.
Applications for the 10x Accelerators are open until May 19. Apply here.