Welcome to the latest edition of “Into the Ring” - my biweekly newsletter on how to successfully plan & execute on your startup fundraise. As a reminder, I’m Jorian Hoover and I’m a Startup Fundraising Sparring Partner. I help Pre-Seed thru Series A founders run high-quality fundraises, and have helped 40+ founders raise over $160M (you can check out how to work with me here). And a warm welcome to the new subscribers for this edition! If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe here.

Last night I went to the Coldplay concert in London, and luckily no CEO/HR Director drama happened that ended in international humiliation. The concert was terrific, and it's inspiring to see Chris Martin & his band perform at the top of their craft. I’m lucky to work every day with founders who are similarly pushing boundaries.

On that note, congrats to two US-based founders I worked with who raised pre-seeds of $5M and $3M in August. If you’re reading this, you know who you are - and congrats on proving the “raising in August is impossible” myth wrong.

Now onto today’s newsletter, which is about how to assess if an accelerator is right-or-wrong for you. PS - I wrote a LinkedIn post on this topic that went semi-viral earlier this week.

How to avoid ending up with accelerator regret

Most founders approach accelerator decisions backwards. They spend months crafting applications and preparing for interviews, focusing entirely on getting accepted. The better question is whether you should want to get accepted in the first place.

The reality is that accelerators aren't universally good or bad investments - it really depends on the situation. A founder who trades 7% equity for 3 months of an accelerator might walk away feeling ripped off, or they might credit the experience with unlocking millions in future value. The difference comes down to fit and execution.

Here's how to evaluate whether an accelerator makes sense for your specific situation.

Scenario 1: You Calculate Real Value and the Math Works

The best accelerator decisions start with an honest evaluation of what you actually need. Look at your current gaps and calculate whether the accelerator can fill them faster than you could independently.

Example key valuation criteria:

• Network access that would take 12+ months to build independently

• Technical expertise that exceeds their cash investment value

• Investment amount that provides you with significant runway

• Customer connections that measurably accelerate your revenue timeline

Due diligence questions to ask current cohort members:

• How many customer meetings did you get through the network?

• Can you share specific example about how the network has helped you?

• What percentage of demo day audience turned into follow-up conversations?

Red flags that indicate weak program value:

• Vague answers about "amazing connections" without specific examples

• Mentors who haven't worked in your industry for 5+ years

• Alumni who can't point to concrete value beyond the funding

The accelerator should provide expertise or connections that would cost you more than their equity ask to acquire elsewhere. If you're a non-technical founder and they're offering significant product development support, calculate what hiring those resources would cost. If it exceeds the value of your equity, the math can work.

Scenario 2: Right Fit, Wrong Execution - and You Regret It

The second scenario happens when the accelerator was actually a decent match, but you didn't put in the work to extract maximum value. This is where most accelerator regret comes from.

Common execution failures that kill value:

• Treating sessions like optional events instead of mandatory building meetings

• Not systematically reaching out to alumni within your first month

• Not leveraging mentorship relationships beyond surface-level advice calls

• Not pushing toward new milestones while in the program

The founders who maximize accelerator value approach it like a business development sprint. They email 50+ alumni in their first weeks with specific asks about customer introductions or investor connections. They prepare detailed questions for every mentor meeting and follow up within 24 hours.

One founder scheduled coffee with dozens of mentors in the program, even ones outside his expertise area. One "irrelevant" conversation led to his largest enterprise customer introduction.

Your job if you join: Don't absorb just the surface-level takeaways. Systematically take in every piece of value available through active networking and determination.

Scenario 3: Wrong Fit From the Start - Skip It Entirely

The third scenario is when your startup has already outgrown what the accelerator can provide, but you're hoping for signaling power that no longer exists.

The uncomfortable truth: The dirty secret is that outside of Y Combinator, very few accelerators provide meaningful brand value anymore. Investors see dozens if not hundreds of accelerator graduates every month. The signaling power has been diluted through oversupply.

Signs you've outgrown the accelerator model:

• Your startup already has product-market fit and paying customers

• You have clear growth metrics and understand your unit economics

• The accelerator's mentors lack relevant expertise in your industry

• The dilution you would take on is far too much given the amount invested

You're essentially paying equity for validation you don't need. Instead, you may consider raising a typical VC or angel round, or finding other ways to get the expertise and/or funding you’re looking for.

3 Questions to Ask Before Applying to an Accelerator

Run through these questions before applying to any accelerator:

1. Is the value real? Can this accelerator provide connections or expertise that would take you more than 12 months to develop independently? And is that value worth the equity tradeoff? If not, keep building on your own timeline.

2. Are you ready to commit? Are you prepared to treat the accelerator like a full-time business development & engineering role, not a passive educational experience? If you won't commit to aggressive networking and building, skip it.

3. Are you at the right stage? Is your startup at a stage where the accelerator's core programming still applies, or have you moved beyond their target audience? Don't join programs designed for earlier-stage companies than yours.

The right accelerator decision depends entirely on your specific situation, stage, and commitment level. Ask yourself these questions before you submit a single application. Your equity is too valuable to give away for the wrong reasons. Many founders end up with accelerator regret otherwise.

Thanks for stepping Into the Ring 🙏

Thank you for reading today, and for your support. If there’s anything that resonated with you, simply hit reply and let me know.

📩 If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe here.

👉 I’ve helped 40+ founders run high-quality fundraises and raise over $160M. Curious to work with me? You can learn more about what that looks like on my website.

➡️ I regularly share startup fundraising tips & stories on LinkedIn. Be sure to connect with me.