What are pre-acceleration programs?

In recent years, a new phenomenon emerged in entrepreneurial ecosystems: the pre-acceleration program. Departing from the literature on the entrepreneurship support ecosystem, we define, describe, and compare the main characteristics of these programs. We define pre-accelerators as early-stage entrepreneurship support organizations which are highly structured and with strong educational content, of short duration (generally less than three months), and aim to support aspiring entrepreneurs in speeding the process of venture concept emergence through fast-paced interactions and problem-solution validation. Participants start with (or without) scattered ideas that change and evolve during the program. Most often they can enter individually, and teams are formed from interactions within the cohort.