9 practical tips for accelerators from Dealum’s team

At Dealum, we know that the buzz and the excitement of the tech and startup scene are intoxicating. “Routine” is a word that doesn’t exist here. But we also know that incubation and accelerator programs, as well as startups, face incredible pressure from all sides. Our team has lived and breathed the startup ecosystem and Dealum is built by startup people for startup people. 

In this article, Darja, Seren, and Sandra from our team talk about their hands-on experience with accelerators from both sides of the table – and how this has shaped Dealum. They also share practical tips about using Dealum and managing accelerator and incubator programs in general. 

Darja: there’s no ‘perfect’ in processes

Darja Ogorodnik is Dealum's Business Development Manager who knows what it takes to keep an accelerator running. She spent five years at Startup Wise Guys, one of Europe's top accelerators where she filled various roles – from Program Manager to Scouting Operations Manager. She helped accelerate over 40 startups and facilitated the selection process for 10 programs a year.

One of Darja’s biggest challenges? Optimizing and automating the processes while maintaining a human touch. As she puts it: “Processes are a big challenge for accelerators as well, being a huge human-centered machine with a lot of moving parts requires you to have a good structure that is still very flexible. You need talented people AND the right tools for things to run smoothly.” 

Another big challenge was managing communication with startups and mentors, juggling schedules and last-minute changes. She says it’s especially challenging now as the majority of programs are either hybrid or fully online. They used Dealum as their source of all truth: “We kept all the leads and the existing pipeline there and up to date. If you don’t manage this process well, startups slip through the cracks. They might not get a reply or the communication gets broken in another way, causing disappointment and frustration.”

Key tips from Darja: 

• Work on increasing your network and keeping the contacts warm. The best leads come from the people you know and who know what you do well. 
• It’s very important to understand the building blocks of each process and how you can combine and overlap them. This helps you plan things ahead of time, understand future obstacles, and find a way how to handle them. This way you can also manage your resources better and in turn have a more stable financial model.
• Always ask for feedback from your employees, mentors, and especially founders. Incremental changes based on feedback will make your organization more attractive and resilient.
• There is no such thing as perfect. Implement small changes now and don’t wait for the perfect time, opportunity, design, etc. If the results are positive, replicate the small improvements across the department or organization. 

Seren: managers need time to focus on building relations

Seren Rumjancevs is the CEO of Dealum who has over two decades of experience in the startup ecosystem supporting startups through various projects, incubation and acceleration programs. After running her own startup and working at Tartu Science Park, she saw firsthand how hard it is to build a successful startup or keep a program financially sustainable: “It’s much harder than the media-broadcast success stories make you believe.” 

For Seren, one of the hardest parts of managing an accelerator was financial sustainability: “Incubators and accelerators are among the most important players in the startup world frontline, even if they are just barely making ends meet. Standing out is crucial, so specialization, unique value proposition, and differentiation are critical to receiving quality deal flow.” 

On a more operational level, dealing with startup reports was also problematic. “Founders don’t always have their data or aren’t motivated to report underwhelming KPIs,” she says. Without reliable data, it was difficult to secure ongoing funding or justify program budgets, so they were scraping together numbers from anywhere they could find. This experience directly shaped how Dealum handles communication and data collection, making everything centralized and easy to access.

Seren also emphasizes that raising money is a full-time job – for startups, but also for incubators and accelerators. In a smaller team, this leaves fewer resources to manage the program and support startups. She recommends accelerators to focus on building long-term relationships, both with startups and investors. “The more efficient your procedures, the more time your team has to speak with startup founders, find ways to help them and build your investor network.”

Key tips from Seren: 

• Dealum tip: be thorough with your accelerator’s profile. The more comprehensive the profile, the more accurately our algorithm suggests your program to startups.
• A multi-step startup application helps preserve your (and the startup’s) energy while filtering out companies not suited for your program.
• Invite your investors to join Dealum to access always up-to-date information about your graduating teams and join funding rounds.

Sandra: centralize as many processes as possible

Sandra Pähklepa is the Accelerator Sales at Dealum who works hands-on with accelerators daily. Currently, 12 accelerators run more than 20 programs on Dealum. Sandra has seen how each organization faces its own unique challenges, but some issues come up consistently – like tracking post-program performance and ensuring follow-on funding. Sandra also sees that programs struggle with too much work and not enough people. 

Scattered tools and communication waste everyone’s time and can leave startups confused or frustrated. She says that the key is centralizing the processes and choosing software that helps automate repetitive tasks like collecting applications, evaluation, communication, documents, etc. This way teams can spend more time on creating value for and personal connections. 

That’s also why effective communication is such a central part of Dealum: “We offer different options like email and discussion templates to make sure that it is easily possible to provide clear information to startups in every step of the process. That’s also why Dealum developed the networking feature, which allows accelerators to share selected startups with investor groups and other organizations using Dealum.” 

Dealum is also in the process of improving portfolio functionality and reporting. “Our goal is to make sure that requesting and sharing KPIs will be easy and seamless on both sides. We’re constantly trying to understand the wider needs of accelerators and improving the current solution. Our next focus is on helping accelerators support graduates post-program and in turn, improve their portfolio performance,” explains Sandra. 

Key tips from Sandra: 

• Dealum hack: when using Dealum, make sure you bring as many processes to the platform as possible. For example, instead of emailing startups, use the application discussion. This way all your communication will be stored on the platform and connected to any other relevant information of that startup.
• General hack: after each program, brainstorm how to improve your processes. Ask for startups’ feedback and gradually improve your processes. Small changes can make a huge difference over time. 

If you’re an accelerator looking to streamline your processes and focus on what really matters – building relationships and supporting startups – Dealum is here to help. After all, we’ve been there too.