Accelerator vs incubator: What is the difference?

You've probably heard the terms Incubator and Accelerator when it comes to Startups, but do you really know the purpose of each of them and how they can help your company?

What Startup Incubator is

Incubators aim to help Startups in their initial stage, when they are still between the ideation and idea validation process. They aim to prepare Startups to confidently present their Pitch to investors to raise capital.

By being part of an incubator, companies have greater freedom to pivot their idea if necessary or reformulate their business model, so that it is possible to develop a product or service that is ready to go to market. At this stage, several tests are carried out together with the customer in order to develop a product that really meets the demand of a portion of the market.

Incubators provide great benefits for the initial development of the company, such as exchanging knowledge with other entrepreneurs and holding workshops on finance, people management, marketing, technology and many other fundamental knowledge throughout the entrepreneur's journey.

What Startup Accelerator is

As you can see, incubators aim to help develop the idea until the company is ready to effectively start marketing its product. On the other hand, as the name says, accelerators aim to accelerate the company's growth.

There are different ways that accelerators help in this task, such as increasing knowledge and aid in decision-making through mentoring with great entrepreneurs in the market and Startup's operating segment, interaction with other accelerator entrepreneurs who are already at a more advanced stage growth and also by helping to obtain investments to leverage the business.

So, if your company does not yet have an idea and a validated business plan, an incubator is the best option. If you are already structured and looking for growth, the accelerator is the ideal option.

Sources: Hubspot , Ace Startups