Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programs

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is considered a key phenomenon today in economic and social development. Nevertheless, most start-ups fail a few years after being launched. In order to improve the success of start-ups, several initiatives, such as entrepreneurship accelerator programs, are being strongly supported both by public and private organizations. The underlying question is if those initiatives are really contributing for start-ups' success, and how. This exploratory study aims at understanding the impact that an accelerator program has on the different elements that in the literature were considered crucial for a company's success, mainly the founders' characteristics, strategy and resources.