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Accelerator Application Statistics

Delivered December 11, 2019. Contributor: Megan B.

Goals

To gain application statistics or reports for TechStars, YCombinator, 500 startups, SkyDeck, Indie Bio, AngelPad, Merge Lane, Boom Town, Plug & Play and Backstage Capital.

Early Findings

  • Analyzing TechStars's blog did not reveal much information on its applications. Most of the postings are general information about applications opening, closing dates or founders that were ultimately chosen.
  • The numbers available from TechStars are the number of founders they have helped not the number of applications received.
  • YCombinator offers some limited statistics on its applications. 45% of accepted startups had at least one previously-rejected application.
  • One article states that YCombinator receives over 10,000 applications for each batch, with only 130-150 being accepted.
  • In a 2015 interview, YC's COO stated the accelerator's acceptance rate was around 1.5%. In 2005, there were 60 applications for 8 openings. In 2015, there were 7,000 for 106 spots.
  • Another interview with an admissions officer did not reveal any more relevant statistics.
  • Another interview gives some limited data on accepted applications but not only the applicant pool as a whole.

Proposed next steps:

You need to be the project owner to select a next step.
We propose continuing this research to look for any stated statistics on applications to 500 Startups, SkyDeck, Indie Bio, Merge Lane, Boom Town, Plug & Play and Backstage Capital. We also will compile the limited statistics for YCombinator and spend a bit more time combing for any TechStars data.
Additionally, we can put together a brief outlining the best expert advice on how to prepare a successful application for an accelerator.