Startup Program Design: A Practical Guide for Creating Accelerators and Incubators at Any Organization

Design and execute a powerful startup program that delivers value for all parties involved

Startup accelerators. Business incubators. Hackathons. These are the hallmarks of the innovation ecosystem development practices used to discover, launch, and scale the most forward-looking startups of the last decade. If you want to adopt these approaches to your own business but aren’t sure how to implement them, now’s the time to master the practices of today’s most successful early-stage investors.

In Startup Program Design, two seasoned veterans deeply versed in startup engagement programs provide you with the tools to introduce open innovation practices to your organization.

While other books on innovation management tend to be conceptual at the expense of hands-on experience, Startup Program Design is a practical manual vertically focused on preparing the organization, identifying the right strategy, and designing an attractive and effective offer.

Filled with real-world examples, interviews with program managers, lessons learned, and diagrams and canvases that outline a step-by-step logical sequence, Startup Program Design points you toward results that are scalable and repeatable.

Whether you’re an innovation manager, executive, consultant, service designer, business owner, or startup community activist, this first-of-its-kind guide offers a radical new framework for true innovation.

Paolo Lombardi is Partner at tree, a premium open innovation and consulting agency. He has designed and managed over 20 startup incubation and acceleration programs for such organizations as the European Commission and the World Bank.

Adam Berk is a lead mentor at Google Launchpad and a faculty member at Lean Startup Co. He was a consultant at Pearson and part of the team that designed and implemented "Product Lifecycle”, an award-winning innovation program.