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During the last decade, less ambitions services were offered to small-business start-ups by business incubators. These were designed to provide comfortable homes for new ventures, giving them a place to work along and often some support service such as a shared receptionist, phones and a fax machines, photocopying, and perhaps also a conference room for important meetings. While incubators were useful, they did not go far enough, and new business still management skills to continue their development to sufficient maturity to have a product or service ready to market.

The business accelerator goes beyond the limited scope of the incubator and offers an upgraded package, marketing service, technology consulting, public relations, human resources support, personnel and corporate partner recruitment.

As the market for innovative products and services grows more and more competitive, investors and entrepreneurs are scrambling to stake out their turf before someone else beats them to it. Besides enhancing speed, an accelerator stresses the value of assistance that often goes beyond the strengths of most entrepreneurs. The concept is not just providing physical space, but much more proceeding mentors, consultants and professional assistance with practical aspects of running a business to which many new entrepreneurs would have had little or no previous exposure.

Typically, an accelerator will either work for a fee, or trade its contacts in the Professional and financial communities-people such as accountants, lawyers, marketers-for an equity share in the company. The payoff for acceleration is potentially huge for all concerned.

The success of the concept depends on the human factor more than anything else. Both accelerators and entrepreneurs must make a concerted effort to ensure that they are making the right choice when deciding on such a close partnership. The entrepreneurs need to believe in the accelerators, and the accelerators have to believe in the company. The accelerator is looking for convincing signs that the business has good management, a product or service that has a solid proprietary and defensible dimension, and will be addressing a large, growing market or profitable niche markets Most of all the accelerator will be looking to find entrepreneurs with a convincingly indomitable spirit-individuals whose commitment seems destined to succeed.