If you have a startup idea right now, your feed is probably full of accelerators, demo days, and funding announcements.
You might be thinking, “Cool for them, but I am not there yet.”
You are not alone hehehe 🧍
The reality is that there is an entire stage of the journey that sits before an accelerator, and it is where most founders quietly stall or give up.
That stage is where pre-accelerators live (stay with me)
This is the messy, high-potential, “I have an idea but…” phase. Done well, a pre-accelerator is the difference between wandering in circles for a year, and moving with intention for eight weeks.
Let’s unpack what a pre-accelerator actually is, what happens inside one, and how Launch Club fits for ambitious founders in ANZ.
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WTH is a pre-accelerator?
A pre-accelerator is a short, structured program that helps you move from a vague idea to clearly defined problem, from a theoretical solution to tested MVP and from “thinking about a startup” to actually building a company.
Where accelerators usually work with companies that already have some traction, pre-accelerators sit earlier in the funnel.
They help you answer questions like: Is the problem I care about real, and painful? Who exactly is my customer? Do I even want to commit to this idea properly?
⭐ Think of it as a sandbox where you can experiment fast, fail in small, cheap ways and get feedback from mentors/peers.
Why pre-accelerators matter now?
Well it's never been easier to start building something, there are no-code tools, AI, cheap hosting, templates for everything.
It has also never been easier to burn a year on the wrong thing.
Early-stage founders often fall into one of two traps:
- Endless research and “getting ready.”
Reading, listening to podcasts, rewriting your Notion pages, but not actually talking to customers. - Heads-down building in isolation.
Perfecting features without ever validating the problem or the willingness to pay.
A great pre-accelerator ⛰️ interrupts 🌀 both 🫧 patterns ⚡
You get just enough structure, accountability, and community to move from intention to action, without needing to have your life or product perfectly sorted.
Where does Launch Club fit in?
Launch Club is Startmate's pre-accelerator.
It sits one step before the Accelerator and exists for founders who are asking questions like:
✨“Is this idea worth going all in on?”
✨“How do I get my first users or customers?”
✨ “What does a real MVP even look like for my problem?”
✨ "How do I know if I am ‘founder material’?”
Across 8 weeks founders in Launch Club validate a real problem with real people, build and test an early product or prototype, learn the basics of traction, storytelling, and pitching and really just finish with a clear sense of what to do next. *phew that was a big sentence*
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23% of the most recent Startmate Accelerator cohort came through Launch Club first. For them, Launch Club was not a side quest, it was the on-ramp.
“What actually happens inside a pre-accelerator like Launch Club?”
Every program uses different language, but the core ingredients look similar.
In Launch Club, the journey roughly follows three arcs.
1️⃣ validate the problem: think questions like "who is your customer, why is now the right time, what else is in the market?"
2️⃣ build and test an MVP: think things like: "do i need a waitlist or a prototype? maybe both?"
3️⃣ get ready for growth: think things like: "focussing on early traction and user behaviour, pricing experiments, how to talk about your startup + pitch"
YOU'RE NOT EXPECTED TO HAVE A FULLY BAKED STARTUP IN 8 WEEKS.
You are expected to become much clearer and much faster than you were when you applied.
Do I need a pre-accelerator?
Hey, we might be a bit biased but the best option is "yes".
On face value, not every founder needs a pre-accelerator. You might already have things like revenue, a strong founding team with deep startup experience, active investor relationships
If that is you, the Startmate Accelerator might be the better fit. However the program is designed to meet you where you’re at and give you a leg up.
You should seriously consider a pre-accelerator if:
- You have a strong pull toward a problem but do not know where to start
- You have built an MVP and feel stuck on “what now”
- You want real accountability and peers, not just more content
- You are curious about the founder path but want to test it before you commit
You do not need to be full time on your startup yet. You do need to be serious about making progress in eight weeks.
If you've got this far 1) legend, 2) pop your application in for Launch Club.
We'd love to meet you.
