Acceleration programmes: An analysis of start-ups development through mentoring service

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to analyze and define how mentoring practices, which are typically included in the bundle of seed-acceleration’s business model, are structured and more precisely: in which way mentors can create value for start-ups participating in acceleration programmes. To reach this goal we will proceed with a restricting focus approach. In the first part, some theoretical fundamentals are proposed, with the explanation of what a start-up is, how start-ups evolve, and which are the typical supporting entities in the start-up ecosystem. A geographical overview of the innovative ecosystems’ distribution is also proposed, at both European and Italian level. Successively, a definition of seed-acceleration is extracted from the existing academic literature, using bibliometric methods and science mapping software. This initial theoretical definition is then compared to the actual state of the arts in the acceleration business sector, as emerging from the 2016 and 2017 European accelerators summit reports. Before the conclusive discussion of the research methodology used and results obtained from the empirical evidence, a more detailed analysis of mentoring is drafted. We will discuss the definition of mentoring and its collocation among other entrepreneurial learning constructs. How it differs from the other developmental interactions like coaching or tutoring, which are the learning outcomes of mentoring, and how it is particularly suitable as a support instrument for early-stage ventures. The final section is dedicated to the empirical work of research aimed at advancing the understanding of mentoring services and based on data collected through qualitative direct interviews to startuppers and mentors following the “Gioia methodology”. This allows us to intercept criticalities arising during acceleration programmes, understand how mentors can impact these problems and create value for startups, what an efficient mentorship programme should consider for generating an impact on new ventures, and which are the relevant outcomes for entrepreneurs.