About us
Not only what we do is what matters: it is also how and why.
Discover our history, the methodologies we use, our vision and values.
HISTORY
ISDI Accelerator was born in 2014 with the objective of channeling the entrepreneurial interest of the ISDI students and to boost and professionalize the startup market in Europe. Our first startup acceleration program, IMPACT, marked a milestone on the continent thanks to the collaboration between public entities, corporations, educational entities, investors and of course, startups.
Since then we have developed dozens of incubation and acceleration programs; we have created, trained and accelerated hundreds of startups, and thousands of companies have already applied to our programs.
All this has led us to be listed in the top positions of the European and global rankings as one of the most important accelerators in Europe, and in 2019 one of our programs (IMPACT Connected Car) was chosen as the best startup acceleration project of 2019 by the European Commission.
But we don’t do it alone. We are accompanied by our parent company, ISDI, and also hundreds of mentors, teachers and experts, the best investors in Europe, our partners and colleagues in the different acceleration programs and the corporations and institutions we work with.
WHAT WE DO
STARTUPS
…to scale up and create value for their shareholders.
CORPORATIONS
.…foster innovation through proven techniques.
INSTITUTIONS
...develop innovation projects for startups and entrepreneurs.
INVESTORS
…improve the deal flow and build a stronger portfolio
WHY WE DO IT
VISION
The world ISDIgital. We are not in an era of changes, but in a change of an era. Those who are not capable of reinterpreting this new digital ecosystem will find themselves at a growing competitive disadvantage.
VALUES
We are confident that by doing this we will help humanity to find a way to positively manage this transition, thus, contribute to build a more fair, transparent and equal digital world where nobody is left behind.
HOW WE DO IT
GLOBALLY CONNECTED
Our acceleration programs are the hubs of international connections and contacts. It can be hard to get admittance in our Acceleration programs, but once you do, BOOM!
HIGH-LEVEL MENTORING
One of the key components of our acceleration methodology is the training and connection to mentors offered by the accelerator.
EQUITY-FREE FUNDING
All of our public acceleration programs offer equity-free funds for startups and most of the programs we develop for corporations follow the same philosophy.
BULLSHIT-FREE
Yes, there is a lot of bullshit out there around startups, investors and of course accelerators. But you won’t find it here.
CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT
We strongly believe that startups and corporations must work together to succeed. They have a lot to learn from each other, and collaboration could help their businesses grow.
HIGH PERFORMING
We take acceleration seriously, holding our startups (and our mentors and team) to the highest standards.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS LIKE CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN
The more you climb mountains, the less certain you are of what you might find on the way. You could have climbed it a thousand times and although the path is the same, you will encounter different obstacles each time.
IDEA (Incubation)
TEAM & MATERIAL (Planification & Preparation)
SEED (Incubation)
BASE CAMP (Mountain Foot)
STARTUP (Acceleration)
TREKKING & CLIMBING (Starting Slope)
SCALE-UP
FINAL PUSH (Cliff Phase)
CORPORATION
REACHING THE SUMMIT (Mountain Peak )
This is why creating a startup is like climbing a mountain: in each part of the process (investigation, documentation, preparation, material, climbing, base camp and reaching the summit), climbers need different tools and methodologies and also people that help them achieve their goal. For that reason, in ISDI Accelerator we work in a specific way in each phase of the startup, from ideation and incubation to final exit.
METHODOLOGY
Open acceleration with external experts and online tools – data drive, educational, meritocratic.
SCOUTING & SELECTION
- PR & ad campaign
- Partners (VCs, accelerations, corps, institutions...)
- ISDI statups database
- Online tool screening
- External experts valuation
- Pitch day
- Jury of experts
ACCELERATION PROCESS
- Training at ISDI Business School
- Product, marketing, revenues, business, talent, funding, etc.
- Follow up mentoring (strategy & business)
- Access to specialized mentors (+500)
- KPIs, mesurable goals & deliverables -> $$
- Real time due diligence and team evaluation through the AcceleraTHOR online platform.
- Pitching in front of investors, experts, corporations, etc.
- Jury choose the winners
FOLLOW UP
- Perks
- Part of the ISDI Accelerator Community
- Networking
- Fund raising
- PR & ad campaign
- Partners (VCs, accelerations, corps, institutions...)
- ISDI statups database
- Online tool screening
- External experts valuation
- Pitch day
- Jury of experts
- Training at ISDI Business School
- Product, marketing, revenues, business, talent, funding, etc.
- Follow up mentoring (strategy & business)
- Access to specialized mentors (+500)
- KPIs, mesurable goals & deliverables -> $$
- Real time due diligence and team evaluation through the AcceleraTHOR online platform.
- Pitching in front of investors, experts, corporations, etc.
- Jury choose the winners
- Perks
- Part of the ISDI Accelerator community
- Networking
- Fund raising
RECOGNITIONS
#1 Startup accelerator / Incubator in Spain by SESAwards
Source: SESAwards
IMPACT Connected Car Acceleration Program Best project of the year 2019
Source: European Commision
Top #5 Worldwide Public Business Accelerator award
Source: UBI Global
#1 Startup accelerator in Spain
#8 Startup accelerator in the European Union
Source: Startup Accelerator Ranking 2018
#2 Startup accelerator in the European Union by capital invested
Source: Gust Report
#8 Startup accelerator worldwide by capital invested
Source: Gust Report
#2 Startup accelerator in the European Union by capital invested
Source: Gust Report
#8 Startup accelerator worldwide by capital invested