Accelerator Programs

How Connect Sverige Is Scaling Startup Impact With a Data-Driven Model

Connect Sverige has supported more than 6,000 startups across Sweden. To improve consistency and scale founder support, the organisation introduced a structured startup assessment model with Pitchago, replacing intuition alone with measurable insights. Here’s what changed and what the results reveal.

How Top Accelerators Evaluate Startup Teams (Beyond the Pitch Deck)

Ask ten accelerator directors how they assess startup teams and you’ll hear ten variations of the same instinct led process: application, pitch, conversation, then a judgment call. It works, sometimes. But the accelerators delivering consistently strong outcomes are doing something differently. They’re adding a structured assessment layer to the process, shifting from intuition first decisions to data informed evaluation, and the impact shows up in measurable results.

Do Startup Accelerators Actually Work? What the 2026 Data Really Shows

The global accelerator market is worth $6 billion and growing fast. But a landmark study of 8,580 companies across 408 programs found that accelerated startups are only 3.4% more likely to raise VC than their peers. Pitchago's new whitepaper identifies four structural problems holding the industry back — and the infrastructure needed to close the gap.

Why Accelerators Struggle to Track Founder Progress

Most accelerator programs are well-run and founder-focused — yet many can't clearly answer how founders are progressing mid-cohort. Coaches work from different mental models. Founders self-report. Progress gets reconstructed at reporting time. This post breaks down why the visibility gap happens, what it costs founders and programs, and the one thing consistently high-performing accelerators do differently.