Where the Magic Happens: 500 Global’s Flagship Accelerator Returns In-Person

500 Global’s Flagship Accelerator Program has operated mostly in a virtual setting since early 2020, but beginning this summer, that’s about to change. 

Leonard Lee, Head of Accelerator Ops, said this shift back to in-person came after receiving positive feedback from founders who attended recent retreats. Seeing, and hearing, how beneficial it was to connect face-to-face was the push his team needed to return the accelerator program back to its in-person format. 

“There’s power in learning through osmosis, being together, and constantly engaging with one another,” Lee said. “There’s a real desire to get us back in-person because that’s where the magic happens.”

Starting in July, founders accepted into the Global Flagship Accelerator will gather in 500 Global’s Palo Alto office for the first month of the four month program. Lee said the initial weeks are meant to set the foundation, covering topics like sales, product market fit, ethical building, and more.

He added that at the start of the program, founders are able to build relationships with fellow batch members and network across the broader Bay Area tech industry.

For the middle two months, founders are able to return to their home cities and countries (if they choose to do so) while programming shifts online. Meanwhile, for the final four weeks, all participants are called back to Palo Alto to prepare for Demo Day. 

Lee said gathering at 500 Global’s office (and the co-working environment it creates) is a unique aspect of the program, which started back in 2010 as one of the first early stage accelerators. The program’s small batch sizes — around 20 to 30 companies — is also a differentiator, allowing 500 Global to provide individualized help to founders. 

The bespoke approach, rather than a one-size-fits-all template, sets 500’s Global Flagship Accelerator Program apart from others like it in the industry, 500 Global Partner and Head of Accelerator Clayton Bryan explained.

“We don’t just tell you, ‘Hey, you should do this or do that,’” Bryan said. “We actually walk through all the nuances of your specific business and how it’s different, perhaps, from the general case.” 

Another reason why returning to in-person programming is so important, particularly in the Bay Area, Lee believes, is so that founders can be immersed in the hotbed of artificial intelligence development.

“You could be building a company that seems very distant or remote from how AI is applied today, but I believe every company will be affected by AI,” Lee said. “Founders should be able to learn and understand how to apply it to their companies. Otherwise, I fear they will fall behind and may not be competitive.” 

Besides the in-person return, 500 Global will also move its flagship accelerator away from a rolling enrollment and go back to having uniform start dates for participating companies. Lee said there’s more community and learning opportunities when founders are on similar schedules.

500 Global, which is accepting applications for its 32nd batch of companies, is no stranger to early-stage accelerators. Still, it’s a concept that’s gained momentum in recent years across the venture landscape, according to Fortune. 

Lee said the increased interest isn’t surprising to him given how much accelerators can speed up a founder’s learning and even help them far beyond a program’s end date.

“If you try to do things on your own, it might take you a year to get where you might get in four months with us,” he said, pointing to the tribal knowledge 500 Global has accumulated in its twelve-plus years running accelerators. “That extra time saved is an eternity for a startup.” 

500’s Global Flagship Accelerator Program is taking place in Palo Alto and San Francisco California. Applications are due June 16, 2023.