The Future of Accelerators
Belongs in Rural
To understand the funding opportunity gaps innovations in rural areas face, begin with this: rural businesses represent 12% of all U.S. firms but receive less than 1% of venture capital with more than half of capital flowing to only five major metro areas. This funding gap is not limited to just venture dollars. When it comes to federal funding, counties are more likely to receive funding when they have greater staff capacity and payroll spending.
This uneven distribution of funding is a structural limitation that can restrict rural innovation before it even starts. Rural founders are not less capable or less visionary. In fact, a recent study found that rural firms are about as likely to innovate as urban firms once size, sector and other firm characteristics are taken into account. But when the support structure favors major cities, rural entrepreneurs are left at a disadvantage.
What makes the idea of reducing entrepreneurial barriers even more compelling is there has been work showing that accelerators have their greatest positive impact in regions with the greatest institutional challenges. In other words, rural regions can be the very places where accelerators can have the most influence.
In response to these realities, we at AscendRural began evaluating ways to amplify how startups support rural communities, with a special focus on health and well-being. That exploration resulted in the creation of the Rural Innovation Accelerator program.
What Is an Entrepreneurial Support System?
An entrepreneurial support system provides startups with the structures they need to grow, including some or all of the following: mentorship, business guidance, networks, access to capital, and opportunities to test and validate ideas. Accelerators are one of the most visible components of this support landscape.
Today it’s hard to imagine the startup ecosystem without accelerators, yet they’re a surprisingly recent phenomenon. Their precursor, the business incubator, was created in 1959 to provide startups with stable environments and resources. Accelerators—as a distinct model—emerged in 2005 with Y Combinator, introducing:
A fixed-term program
Cohort-based learning
Intensive mentorship
And a concluding Demo Day
Since then, accelerators have grown rapidly, spreading from one program to more than 3,000 worldwide. Despite this rapid increase in accelerator programs, there is still not a universally accepted definition of what the accelerator framework is. Many programs adopted the accelerator label during its rise in popularity, even when their structure more closely resembled incubators. This definitional ambiguity complicates research, policy, and practice, so there is much left to learn and study about accelerator programs.
What we do know is that accelerator effectiveness is highly context-dependent. Geography, sector specialization, program design, and the venture’s stage all influence whether the accelerator becomes transformative. Accelerators are not general-purpose tools—they are strategic interventions whose impact depends on alignment with founders’ needs, industry demands, and local conditions. Considering the local conditions are so often overlooked for rural settings by outsiders, the need for a rural centered, accelerator program that anchored startups around the true needs of rural communities seemed obvious and critical for advancing rural innovation.
This insight became foundational as we began building our own approach to supporting rural innovation at AscendRural.
Why Traditional Accelerators Often Underperform in Rural Areas
The traditional urban accelerator model thrives in dense ecosystems where resources are abundant:
Research institutions
Clusters of industry-specific expertise
Rural regions do not have comparable density. The result is what researchers describe as concentration bias: accelerators perform better in regions that already have strong entrepreneurial ecosystems, and struggle in regions without them. This doesn’t mean rural accelerators are destined to underperform. It means they must be designed differently.
Why We Developed a Rural-Focused Pilot-Matching Accelerator Model
Over the past year, our team at AscendRural has been matching startups with rural pilot partners—organizations ready to implement and validate emerging solutions. Initially, our goal was simply to create high-impact partnerships. But we soon realized that a well-designed accelerator could dramatically amplify the effects of these relationships.
Our guiding belief emerged clearly:
Accelerators in rural areas may create the largest impact and reach when designed specifically to broker pilot-ready partnerships that provide the market validation startups need to serve rural communities.
Our Model: Key Assumptions and Strategic Choices
1. Sector Specialization
A sector-focused cohort—such as Senior Care or Youth Resilience—creates meaningful advantages:
More relevant, targeted guidance
Opportunities for shared learnings and collaboration among synergistic, non-competitive cohort
Deeper industry knowledge through focused mentorship
More effective mentorship
Specialization may be particularly important for impact in rural regions, where generalist resources may be limited.
2. Pilot Partnerships as Central Validation
A pilot with a rural hospital, center, or community institution could provide the startup:
Solution validation
Early rural commercial traction
Strong rural quality signal
Iteration opportunities for improved product market fit prior to scaling
Given that rural startups receive so little venture capital, our team believes pilots could serve as essential precursors for early-stage funding for groups serving rural areas.
3. Place-Based Design
Successful rural accelerators must be rooted in local needs and local strengths and leverage rural ecosystems and networks. Programs like HealthSpark, which adapted the Y Combinator accelerator model to the rural hospital context, show how regionally focused accelerator models can support innovation aligned with community goals. Bringing in multiple cultural groups from rural areas—not just a single group—is essential for effectively serving the community.
Eight Principles for Designing an Effective Rural Accelerator
Drawing on reading literature and our own experience, we have distilled the essential components of rural accelerator design that are incorporated into our program:
1. Fill Institutional Gaps and Strengthen the Ecosystem
Rural accelerators should serve both startups and the broader community.
4. Root the Model in Place-Based Strategy
Local assets, culture, and industries must shape program design.
7. Build a Diverse, High-Quality Mentor Network
Mentors with rural entrepreneurial and subject matter experience are essential.
2. Prioritize Sector Specialization
Knowledge depth improves performance more than breadth.
5. Shorten Time to Impact and Provide Long-Term Support
Our program is based on getting to real outcomes quickly, while also supporting the community to sustain value-adding solutions in the long term.
8. Use Demo Day to Create Real Partnership Outcomes
A well-executed Demo Day results in potential pilot partners moving forward with immediate next steps.
3. Center the Program Around Pilot Partnerships
In rural settings, community-centered pilots are a powerful form of market validation.
6. Offer Structured, Practical Learning
Education must be accessible, actionable, and relevant to implementing in rural communities.
The Often Overlooked Accelerator Benefit: Accelerating Learning Even When Optimal Outcomes are Not Identified
Although research shows that participating in accelerators is generally positive for startups, there are cases where the intensified learning cycle highlights shortcomings in a startup's business model faster than what would occur naturally. While this may sound negative, it reflects an important truth: accelerators can provide intensive feedback that helps founders make informed decisions quickly.
Early clarity reduces wasted time and resources. It allows entrepreneurs to refine their ideas or pivot toward more promising opportunities. This kind of accelerated learning is especially valuable in regions where capital is scarce.
Conclusion: A New Role for Accelerators in Rural America
If the early history of accelerators was shaped by urban innovation, the future can—and should—be shaped by rural potential. Rural communities do not need small versions of urban accelerators. They need models rooted in their communities, aligned with their strengths, and responsive to their challenges. They need accelerators that prioritize relationships, pilots, evidence, and long-term support. Most of all, they need approaches that recognize the value of rural innovation.