#500BAM

We are excited to announce the next session of our newly rebranded Bootcamp for Accelerator Managers (BAM!). 

#500BAM will be held in San Francisco April 24-28th. Apply here: education.500.co/accelerator/

In this one week deep dive, 500 partners share all the juicy secrets they’ve learned after running 40+ accelerator programs for different stages in the startup lifecycle.

Participants will learn how 500 Startups rocketed to the top of the accelerator food-chain and became one of the best accelerators in the country and the world.

Building on the success of our first Bootcamp for Accelerator Managers

We ran our inaugural bootcamp, called VC Unlocked: Accelerator edition, in May 2016.

It was both fun and eye-opening for the 18 participants (40% women) from 14 geographies, who spent one week learning about 500 Startups’ many successes and failures.

The managers came from a mix of private, government, university and corporate accelerators.

Their favorite sessions were “Metrics for Success” by Founding Partner Dave McClure, “Making $$$, i.e. Why Most Accelerators Fail” by our CFO Paul Yoo and “Evaluating Accelerator Applicants and Due Diligence” by the Head of our Mountain View Accelerator, Elizabeth Yin.

A “one-size-fits-all approach” certainly does not apply in the accelerator world. Its important for up-and-coming accelerator managers to understand different models.

Participants heard from the leaders of Moderne Ventures (a real estate accelerator), UpWest Labs (an accelerator that links Israeli entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley) and Village Capital (a social entrepreneurship accelerator).

They also got to meet the team and chat with founders during their visit to the Highway 1 Hardware Accelerator.

The group got a taste of 500 Startups’ energy while they screened startup pitches at our exclusive 500 family-only “Preview Day.” They said loved our culture, enthusiasm and above all, our transparency and willingness to reveal our “secrets.”

Apply now for the April 24th-28th Bootcamp

The 2017 edition will build on the success of our first program and will bring together accelerator managers from around the world to learn and share their experiences.

To learn more see: education.500.co/accelerator

Photo credits: Paulina Szyrmer and Yiying Lu