Designing the Successful Corporate Accelerator

Accelerators can be powerful tools to build and transform businesses in a short period of time, which is why they have spread like wildfire in the corporate world.

Designing the Successful Corporate Accelerator gives readers the tools to design, create, and manage successful corporate accelerators that achieve results time and time again. Authors Jules Miller and Jeremy Kagan are seasoned professionals in this space, and combine global market research, interviews with accelerator leaders, and their own experience launching and running accelerators to share what works—and what doesn’t. 

The first half of the book takes a broader look at corporate innovation as a whole and how accelerators fit in, then the second half offers practical advice for how to launch, run, and manage world-class accelerator programs. Perfect for executives, employees, founders, investors, intrapreneurs, and entrepreneurs, Designing the Successful Corporate Accelerator is a practical guidebook for anyone with a passion for corporate innovation and entrepreneurship.

Jules Miller (New York, NY) is the Co-Founder & Partner, of IBM Blockchain Ventures and Prose Ventures and leads the IBM Blockchain Accelerator. She is an expert in corporate innovation and has been on all sides of the process as a 3-time entrepreneur, venture capital investor, 'intrapreneur,' innovation consultant, and accelerator manager, all focused on incorporating enterprise technology into large corporations in partnership with startups.

Jeremy Kagan (New York, NY) is the Managing Director of the Eugene Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School, Professor and Faculty Director of the Digital Marketing Strategy executive education program, and a consultant for companies launching their own corporate accelerators. After going through the Entrepreneur’s Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) with his own startup, Kagan has remained very involved in the ecosystem as an award-winning lead mentor, advisor, and board member. Kagan's first book Digital Marketing: Strategy and Tactics, a textbook for digital marketing, was published in 2018 by the Wessex Press.

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Authors xv

Introduction xix

SECTION I Corporate Innovation Is Hard 1

CHAPTER 1 Accelerators and Corporate Innovation 3

CHAPTER 2 A Crash Course on Innovation Theory 19

CHAPTER 3 A Complex Machine to a Simple Machine 43

SECTION II Get with the [Accelerator] Program 59

CHAPTER 4 Startup Accelerators 61

CHAPTER 5 Accelerator Archetypes 77

CHAPTER 6 Know Your Why 101

SECTION III Buy In or Walk Away 115

CHAPTER 7 Stakeholder Engagement 117

CHAPTER 8 Resources 135

CHAPTER 9 Outsourcing and Delegating 145

SECTION IV Before the Program 155

CHAPTER 10 Recruiting and Selection 157

CHAPTER 11 Investment 181

CHAPTER 12 Metrics and KPIs 201

SECTION V During the Program 215

CHAPTER 13 Programming 217

CHAPTER 14 Mentors 235

CHAPTER 15 Making Partnerships Work 251

SECTION VI After the Program 273

CHAPTER 16 Post-Program Portfolio Management 275

CHAPTER 17 Planning for Long-Term Success 291

Index 299

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