What Really Makes a Great Startup Accelerator –And What Founders Should Be Looking For (Hint: It’s not a Hoodie)
By Arianna Elena Maschietto, Global Director of Startup Programs, QAI Ventures
Let’s be straight: I don’t like the fluff, nor useless stuff. I believe those are a waste of time and money. Great swag and fancy events might impress. But that's not what makes an accelerator your partner of choice. And for the founders: this is for sure not what you should be looking for!!
The keys hide under the hood(ie): firstly connections that help accessing to key hardware providers and sell to corporates; secondly, engaging with mentors that are your sparring partner in the long run ( and don't lose breath after the first sprint), and last, but not least, a team with an excellent network to open the doors, and who is there for you.
Here’s what I’ve learned really matters for deep tech founders, and what you should look for when choosing the right accelerator partner to grow with.
The Ultimate Challenge for a Startup: How to sell to a corporate
One of the biggest shifts for deep tech founders is learning how to sell - not just the product, but the value. And not to peers or investors, but to corporates. That’s a completely different approach.
Most founders have never worked inside a corporate. They expect speed - and instead face compliance, procurement hurdles, and decision-makers who don’t speak their language.
That’s why we run tools like Pitch Punch. You pitch, we stop you. We fix what’s unclear. We help you frame your message for the person across the table - not a physicist, but a buyer, a CFO, a business unit lead.
The first encounter might be scary. It might not be your best pitch.
But every time, you learn. And that’s how you grow.
Startups, Mentorship, and Investors as a Sparring Partner: No swiping here. It’s meant to be built for the long run.
I’ve worked in programs where the speaker list looked great on paper, but it didn’t move the needle for founders.
We are incredibly selective with our mentors; that’s what makes us a good sparring partner for our founders. It’s not about status. It’s about whether they can actually coach. We look for people with real technical depth and real commercial experience. People who challenge the founders, not just cheer them on.
The goal is to put founders in the room with someone who’s lived through the hard part, who has built a company in quantum or AI or deep tech, and who’s figured out how to make it work. Our mentor network spans a diverse range of experts who support our startups’ growth. While they don’t necessarily need to have founded a company, they must bring deep expertise in the areas founders need to navigate and combine subject-matter knowledge with the empathy to truly relate to the founders and their challenges.
This isn’t swiping. This is long-term alignment. Mentorship for scale.
The Offsite: a very underestimated getaway
One of the things I would never cut from a program is the off-site. It’s not a retreat, it’s a tool to break the ice.
You need to make sure the founders feel comfortable sharing the good and the bad. That doesn’t happen in a conference room or over Slack. It happens when you take them out of the office, stay together for 24, 36 hours straight: eating together, talking casually, getting to know each other not as “founders” or “investor relations” but just as people.
And that’s when something shifts. The conversations get real.
And in deep tech, especially, a real connection builds real confidence.
You need trust in the room - because without it, people hold back. And when they hold back, they don’t grow.
The Hoodie Metaphor, Rebuilt: What the Best Accelerators Are Actually Made Of
If we’re going to talk about hoodies, let’s make it useful.
The best startup accelerators are built from three essential pieces—three things that actually hold your company together as you scale.
The Fabric: The Program Team
Who are you choosing to grow with? Who’s actually beside you in the trenches? Not just giving you tasks—but listening, pushing, and walking with you all the way through.
The Lining: Mentorship
Who’s coaching you? Are they technical enough to understand you, but sharp enough to challenge you commercially? You need people who reflect who you want to become.
The Stitching: The Network
Who can they introduce you to? What doors can they open? VCs, corporates, co-founders, ecosystem players. Not just contacts—but real relationships that compound over time.
That’s what stays with you after the program. That’s what opens doors five months – or five years – down the line.
So yes, keep the metaphor.
But let’s remake the hoodie. One that actually fits founders, and helps them scale.
Want to learn more about QAI Ventures’ Accelerator Program?
QAI Ventures offers Accelerator Programs in Europe, North America, and Asia. Read more on our website or reach out to Arianna Elena Maschietto, our Global Director Startup Programs.
