Europe has over 200 accelerator programs, the vast majority of which are corporate or government-backed. Since these programs were created in 2011 and 2012, they have yielded thousands of accelerated startups, a small but growing number of which emerge as global success stories. Despite comparatively low success rates and very modest investor returns, these programs have been instrumental in connecting the fragmented European startup communities into the wider global technology ecosystem. With leading US investors like USV, YCombinator, and 500 startups engaging more and more with European teams, this SXSW session analyzed the benefits and risks of working with and investing in accelerated startups from Europe, as well as discuss the opportunities for experienced US founders and operators to benefit from the European tech boom.

1. Accelerating Startups in
Europe.
by Elina Zheleva and Max Gurvits at
@ellie_zheleva @mxgur
Runway.vc CCCstartups.com

2. Accelerators BOOM
Funding GAP
Culture MEME

3. BOOM
MEME
GAP

4. Accelerators Boom
BOOM

5. How many in Europe?

6. What is the quality?

7. Time

8. Ratio of accelerators to startups is higher in Europe
Scales by Freepik CC BY 3.0

9. Performance metrics

10. Incapability to help startups scale.
Scale progress by Freepik CC BY 3.0

11. Not able to connect startups to follow-on investors.
Coin stacks by Icons8 CC BY 3.0

12. Very low number of exits.
Double door & Exit by Freepik CC BY 3.0

13. But when success hits, it’s good ROI for investors.
Success by Freepik CC BY 3.0

14. EUROPEAN EXITS ARE 25% SMALLER, BUT...
ENTRY VALUATIONS ARE 3,4X LOWER

15. with only ⅕ of VC $
½ as many exits as US

16. Success stories from Europe

17. $131M
$71M
$18M
Top3 accelerators by follow-on $

18. Top1 accelerator by #exits

19. Other accelerators with exits

20. The good and the evil

21. Competition among accelerators improves quality.
Winners’ podium by Freepik CC BY 3.0

22. Champion entrepreneurship as a desirable lifestyle.
Businessman w/ speaker by Freepik CC BY 3.0

23. Increase global community links & learning
opportunities.
Connected world by Freepik CC BY 3.0

24. Create a culture of accelerator hopping.
Kangaroo by Freepik CC BY 3.0

25. Risks & benefits

26. Risks:
○ Lack of company building experience
○ Lost in translation
○ Fear of getting real
Bomb by Freepik CC BY 3.0

27. Benefits:
○ Low cost of experimenting and learning
○ Generally high technical prowess
○ Low entry valuations vs. comparative exit valuations
Gift by Freepik CC BY 3.0

28. Funding Gap
GAP

29. Handshake by Freepik CC BY 3.0
No. of early-stage deals going up 6x faster than US.

30. Money bag by Freepik CC BY 3.0
Early-stage median investment going down.

31. Israel
0.7
Median seed investment in Europe lower than global.
US
0.5
China
0.4
Europe
0.3
Money bag by Freepik CC BY 3.0

32. Market gap

33. Culture Memes
MEME

34. Study to get wired or to get hired

35. Creating Jobs vs creating jobs

36. Thinking big vs thinking small

37. Bullish on Europe

38. See You in Europe!
Elina Zheleva and Max Gurvits
@ellie_zheleva @mxgur
Runway.vc CCCstartups.com

39. Photo credits:
● Europе map by Charles Clegg
● Quality seeds by Christopher Dombres
● Clock by Paupsers
● Hanging rulers by Nic McPhee
● Balancing on bike by followtheseinstructions
● Crossroads: success & failure by Chris Potter
● Good or Evil by Matt Reinbold
● Swim at your own risk by Tim Fau
● Market gap (OpenStreetMap GPS bulk data map of Europe)
by Steven Kay
● Hire me, graduation by Benson Kalahar
● Steve Jobs by tenz1225
● Ford vs Smart by Sivi Steys
● Bull’s head, Picasso sculpture by Lars Wästfelt