Five questions to ask before partnering with another accelerator

A promising accelerator partnership becomes useful only when the purpose, participant pathway, responsibilities and evidence are clear enough to test.

### 1. What problem are we solving together? Start with the participant or operator problem, not the partnership announcement. Are founders struggling to enter a market? Do both teams need a more relevant mentor pool? Is there a gap in programme support, research or follow-up? If the answer is “greater visibility”, ask what practical change visibility is expected to produce. A good answer fits in one sentence and names the user. For example: “We want participating founders to test three market assumptions with local operators before deciding whether to travel.” A weak answer says that the organisations want to collaborate more closely. ### 2. Who is the partnership for, and who is out of scope? Compare participant stage, sector, geography, language, programme length and support model. Two accelerators may use the same word while serving very different founders. Clarify whether the work is for current participants, alumni, mentors, investors, staff or all of them. Ask what will not be included. A partnership that covers founder referrals, mentor sharing, events and investment introductions from day one may be too broad to manage. A narrow pilot is easier to evaluate. ### 3. What will each team actually do? Write responsibilities as actions and owners. One team may recruit participants, another may host sessions, and both may review feedback. Include preparation, safeguarding of information, scheduling, communications and follow-up. If a task has no named owner, it is not yet a commitment. Ask what resources are available. Time, moderation, translation, travel, data handling and participant support all affect delivery. A partnership can be non-financial and still require substantial capacity. ### 4. How will we know whether to continue? Agree a small set of observable signals before launch. These might include attendance, completion of agreed introductions, participant feedback, the number of next steps documented, or whether a specific decision was made. Do not choose measures simply because they sound impressive. Choose evidence that answers whether the original problem improved. Set a review date and a stop rule. If the pilot is not useful, ending it is a responsible outcome. It protects participants and leaves room for a better design. ### 5. What could create risk or a bad surprise? Discuss conflicts of interest, participant consent, confidential information, intellectual property, publicity, investment expectations and safeguarding. Confirm whether either organisation may use the other’s name or logo, and who approves public language. Red flags include pressure to announce before the scope is agreed, vague claims about reach, refusal to share basic programme context, an expectation of one-sided access, and a request for confidential participant data at the outset. Another red flag is a partnership that depends on one enthusiastic individual with no institutional owner. ### A practical first meeting Use the first meeting to produce a one-page pilot note: problem, audience, scope, activities, owners, timeline, risks, evidence and review date. Do not spend the whole conversation on logos, launch copy or a memorandum that nobody will use. Then test the smallest version. A single moderated exchange may reveal more than a year-long promise. Ask participants what they needed, what they received and what they would change. Record the answer while it is fresh. A partnership is not validated by the seniority of the people in the room. It is validated when the agreed work is delivered, the participant pathway is clear and both teams can make an informed decision about the next step. **Practical takeaway:** before agreeing, ask each partner to write the problem, owner, first deliverable and stop rule independently, then compare the answers. **Closing CTA:** Publish a partnership-related Need on LINKK GLOBAL when you know the problem and the first test you want to run.