Managing applications is one of the biggest contributors to the accelerators’ administrative burden. What are accelerators’ main challenges, and which tools and strategies can help keep it all under control?
— 4 min read
Running a startup accelerator can seem exciting at first – they’re at the heart of passion, innovation, and the promise of a better future. Yet, behind the scenes, running a program includes a lot of admin work. Managing applications is one of the biggest contributors to the accelerators’ administrative burden and can be quite a challenge – from startups applying to the wrong programs to handling the sheer volume day in and day out.
What are the main application management challenges most accelerators face? Where do they go off the track? And which tools and strategies can help keep it all under control? Let’s find out.
Why is managing applications difficult for many accelerators?
Most accelerators’ application management problems boil down to one challenge: how to make sure that the right startups are applying to the right accelerator at the right time.
Often, startups apply to an accelerator without fully understanding which industries, focus areas, or stages of development the accelerator specializes in. This wastes time for both the startup and the accelerator.
Managing applications requires a significant investment of manpower and resources to review, evaluate, and provide feedback to each applicant. You want to have many applications to choose from, but you need to work through them diligently to find the best matches. Unsuitable applications only add to the accelerator’s load.
Strict quality control and screening applicants to find the most high-potential startups for their programs is crucial. This includes assessing the team’s capabilities, the uniqueness of their product or service, market potential, scalability, readiness for acceleration, and other factors.
On top of that, all accelerator programs have time constraints. They have to be able to review applications, conduct interviews, and make selections within fixed timelines. You need to work like a well-oiled machine to find and move the right startups from application to onboarding at the right time.
Common application process mistakes to avoid
Balancing all the needs and challenges isn’t easy, but it’s almost comforting that many accelerators face the same challenges. Here are some of the most common pitfalls to avoid:
- Unclear selection criteria and poor communication – if your program doesn’t have clear specialization and selection criteria for applicants, it causes confusion and many irrelevant startups applying. Also, without a clear focus area, you might scare off the best candidates looking for a perfect match between their needs and the program’s value, resulting in fewer applications from qualified startups.
- Overcomplicated processes – having too many steps in your application process or insufficient integration between tools causes frustration and inefficiency. If applicants struggle to finish a lengthy or complex application process, it’s hard to get high-quality applications.
- Inconsistent evaluation process – lack of standardized evaluation can result in inconsistent or biased decisions.
- Bad communication and a lack of feedback – providing generic or minimal feedback to applicants can cause negative reviews and a lack of engagement even amongst successful candidates. Provide constructive feedback to the applicants you decline so they know why they weren’t a match and if they can improve.
6 ways to address and avoid the application pipeline challenges
- Keep the application form simple – focus on essential information, avoiding unnecessary fields that may increase both the burdens of submission and evaluation. Use targeted questions in different steps of the application process to get the information you need when you need it, and choose pre-determined answer options where possible. Consider providing sample applications or templates to help applicants prepare all the relevant information.
- Clearly communicate the application process – give step-by-step instructions to guide applicants through the process, including deadlines, requirements, and any supporting documents needed.
- Set clear and transparent selection criteria – this helps reduce subjectivity in the selection process and keep evaluation consistent. The more standardized your processes are, the easier they are to automate and scale.
- Automate the application management – use digital tools such as online application platforms and communication solutions to streamline the application process. This helps reduce manual labor and allows accelerators to handle a high volume of applications. To ensure traceability, it would be best to have all those tools on one platform.
- Provide quick and actionable feedback – use automated/triggered messages and other mechanisms to acknowledge receiving the application and, later on, provide updates on the timeline. Provide timely and constructive feedback to applicants, making sure you don’t forget those who are not selected. Consider offering preliminary feedback so promising applicants can make improvements before the final deadline.
- Embrace the improvement – your processes don’t have to be perfect. Make sure your solutions and tools leave room for constant customization, and tweak your approaches as you go. Gather feedback from the applicants – both the ones selected and those rejected – to improve the overall experience.
Bonus challenge: managing several application pipelines at once
Managing one application pipeline is hard enough, but when you have several different programs with different industries, timelines, conditions, and locations, the difficulty level grows exponentially. How do you give each pipeline the attention it needs and keep your overall operation running smoothly?
Firstly, make sure that the different programs are clearly distinguishable to avoid duplicate or inaccurate applications. Then, make sure the evaluation process is as consistent, transparent, and comparable as possible to minimize the effect of the evaluators’ different voting styles. A clear and straightforward application process benefits everyone involved, even the startups that are not selected for the program.
Automation and data management are vital for handling simultaneous application pipelines as efficiently as possible. Gather all the data (applications, uploads, information exchange, contracts, etc) in one place accessible to the whole team. Automate where possible; for example, send out automatic notifications for the teams who make it to the interview stage, use templates for the rejection e-mails, and add the rejected applicants to the mailing list for promoting the upcoming patches.
You want to make sure that each startup receives adequate attention and support while not overloading your staff with endless back-and-forth with applicants. Having a clear, transparent (for startups), and easily manageable application process helps a lot.
Managing application pipelines is a constant process for accelerators and offers many opportunities to improve efficiency. Standardized processes, automation, clear communication, and continuous refinement are essential at every step of the way. Find yourself a software partner that matches those values – as the startup landscape and accelerators are constantly evolving, so should the software they’re using.
