Do cohorts accelerate?

: startups accelerators and entrepreneurial learning /

Abstract

Startups are responsible for bringing ideas to life, disrupting industries. They shape our future, from the way life is lived, to the way economy is organized. To help startups through the early stages, accelerators were created offering cohorts education, mentorship and funds during a short acceleration program, that culminates with a pitch to an audience of investors. Prior research has defined what differs accelerators from other incubator mechanisms, but little is known about which factors accelerate startups. It seems obvious that working in cohorts allow accelerators to save resources. What is less obvious is that working in cohorts may in fact accelerate startups learning process. We inductively investigate the effect of working in cohorts on the acceleration process. Literature defines cohort as startups that enter, participate and exit the same Acceleration Program at the same time. After this thesis, we define cohort as groups of startups that not only improve self-performance through knowledge sharing, but also support each other throughout the program. We interviewed twelve accelerated startups. Data showed two cohorts characteristics which contribute to the acceleration process. First, the competitive environment strengthens time and peer pressure and the need to compete for limited resources. Second, we found evidence of a community spirit among cohort peers: teams trusted and supported each other. This friendly environment facilitates information sharing between teams: benchmarking best practices, avoid mistakes and develop solutions to common problems. Finally, we found evidence that accelerator’s managers are responsible for fostering both competitive and cooperative environment within the program.

Date of Award	17 Feb 2017
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Cláudia Isabel de Sousa Costa (Supervisor)