Congratulations, you’ve created a product or dreamed up a business and you’re ready to dive into the world of being a startup founder. Now what? You join a startup accelerator! Or rather, you discover you want to, you research accelerator programs, find one, and start your application process.

The application process for an accelerator often includes questions about your product idea, customer base, progress so far, and what type of funding you’ve been initiating and also eventually hope to gain. Those are all important details, but miss one key component: the founder’s story! Founders don’t normally know how to share their story in an engaging or relevant way, which causes more harm than good. Learn how to tell a phenomenal founder’s story and you’ll increase your chances of joining a top tier accelerator!

4 Ways To Use Your Founder Story When Applying to a Startup Accelerator

Get in touch with your “why.”

Startups are often built out of a passion or drive, or a need in the marketplace. Something that the founder saw, or felt, or was a part of that ignited the passion around the idea that became the startup. 

So you’re going to want to start with your “why” and really bring in the passion and intensity for whatever it is that you created into the product idea

Show your personality

The second tip for bringing your story into the Accelerator application process is showing that you are a person – that you have interests, that you like to do things, and that you have some hobbies. Make sure they see that because it really helps you stand out .

Highlight your value in communities or teams

Accelerators are hard work, and when applying for one, you will want to show that you have a track record of showing engagement, and that you’ve brought value to a community or team. Engagement is key for accelerators to be successful, which means you need to show you’re a team player and contributor.

Tell them where you’re going

Oftentimes when we are pitching, we lead with where we want to go, the end result, but this time we are going to lead with our why, and finish with where we are going. While your passion and drive motivated you to apply for the accelerator, what’s in it for the accelerator? They’re vested interest is just as important in the decision-making process when it comes to applicants. So while you’ve shown your human, are motivated, there’s a market need, and you’re a team player, now it’s time to take them on the path with you. That means sharing your long-term vision and strategy (don’t worry – it doesn’t need to be perfect!) to make this idea of yours successful. An outline of the next 3-5 years is a great way to indicate you’ve done your homework and know how you’ll best utilize their assistance.

The Right Accelerator Makes All The Difference

Accelerators are designed to increase your chance of success. Whether it’s regional, mentorship, financial, or product-development support, the right accelerator makes all the difference when launching and scaling your business. 

Here at BrandPsyche, we’ve got a personalized marketing accelerator for early-stage female founders looking to build a lean version of their first branding assets. We increase your marketing know-how, build your brand story, support your pitch presentations, and design eye-catching logos for founders in the bootstrapping, Seed and Series A funding rounds.