The effects of business accelerators on venture performance: Evidence from Start-Up Chile

Do business accelerators affect new venture performance? This paper investigates this question in the context of Start-Up Chile, an ecosystem accelerator. It focuses on two treatment conditions typically found in business accelerators: basic services of funding and coworking space, and additional entrepreneurship schooling. Using a regression discontinuity design, the paper shows that schooling bundled with basic services can significantly increase new venture performance. In contrast, the paper finds no evidence that basic services affect performance on their own. The results are most relevant for ecosystem accelerators that attract young and early-stage businesses and suggest that entrepreneurial capital matters in new ventures.