In May 2017, I was hired as Operations Lead for IKEA Bootcamp, an accelerator program run by Rainmaking for IKEA, in Älmhult, Sweden. We had 1300 applications and selected 10 startups from different verticals (important to mention here because the competition between startups was low) to join us from September to December.

I learned a lot until my contract ended in December and I would like to think that some people out there could benefit if I shared some of my lessons learned. So, below you can find some of my opinions. Some are general knowledge. Some are more specific. I’ll try to keep it short and I hope it helps.

Nine tips and tricks:

• Relocate at least 2 founders to the accelerator’s location. There will be a lot to take in, many people to talk with (we had over 110 mentors), many workshops/presentations/1:1s/activities to attend (we had over 150) and oh, btw, a lot of work :). If you are at least two founders, then you can split the work appropriately, and you can make decisions faster, on the spot, when bombarded with advice.
• Be aware of cultural differences. Moreover, be aware also of the company’s culture and take advantage of it. In Sweden, it’s normal to enjoy some fika (a small coffee and pastries break) around9 am, which is the perfect time and place to “accidentally” bump into one of the managers you really want to talk with.
• Take advantage of the hype via marketing and PR. Besides sharing your experience with your followers, talk with the people that run the accelerator and see if they can write some blog posts about you. Moreover, get in touch with your local news agencies, get some articles posted and be nice by inviting them to Demo Day.
• Keep all your stakeholders updated. When it comes to sharing your experience, a good practice is a weekly e-mail sent to the people that are part of your experience at the accelerator. Share your progress, main challenges and future plans with mentors, sponsors, organisers, and others. This can save you a lot of time down the line and it shows everybody how serious and committed you are.
• Get a sponsor. It’s always good to have a high-level individual from the organisation helping you through the tangled web of a big corporation. If you don’t get assigned one by default, get one yourself with the help of the organisers. Just the simple action of CC-ing the sponsor on your e-mails to other people from the organisation can help you get faster replies.
• Follow the philosophy: If you are on time, you are late. During an accelerator, there will probably be a lot of sessions that you need to attend. A good practice, in general, is to come a bit earlier to not delay the program. More importantly, when you arrive earlier, you have the amazing chance to quickly network with the speakers and facilitators. It is so much easier to grab their attention before the session instead of afterwards when everybody wants to network with them.
• Pitch to perfection on your demo day. This requires a lot of practice, but it’s for a very important day. Besides rehearsing alone, participate in the organized practice sessions in front of the other startups. At IKEA Bootcamp, we also had rehearsals in front of IKEA’s management where the startups received valuable feedback. Lastly, go on the actual stage of the actual demo day venue and rehearse as much as possible to get used to it. Work on body language, microphones and sound, lights and projector, clicker, where to look, how to arrive and leave the stage, etc.
• Give feedback (and of course be open to feedback). It may not come natural and you might not be required to do it, but forcing yourself to give thoughtful feedback can take you a long way. Three months may not be a long time, but when the startups, the speakers, and the organisers remember you after the program, they will remember a thoughtful and nice person trying to help them improve. This will make it easier and more likely for them to help you after the program ends. It is low effort, high reward.
• Be social and smart with some of your downtime. Don’t forget to recharge during an intense program. My recommendation is to engage with the other startups who are part of the same journey as you are. You may find yourself in a new environment, which could be explored together with the other likeminded smart entrepreneurs, a place where you can bond over easily, and where you can create a good long lasting relationship. At IKEA Bootcamp, we organised a lot of social events, which were so needed (due to our location in a small town) and appreciated by the entrepreneurs. To make it more fun, useful and to bring the startups together, we tried to make some social events where we tested their work skills. If the organisers don’t facilitate this, here are 2 quick ideas that you can implement yourself: 1) Karaoke pitching event: make mixed teams and have them pitch random pitches, funny pictures, or your batch’s pitches edited with funny slides. 2) “Shark Tank” style events: have a few entrepreneurs pretend they are judges with a character and have the remaining startups pitch for an investment.

I hope this will help sooner or later. Don’t forget to share what you find valuable with the other startups from your batch. Our batch at IKEA Bootcamp was so amazing that we couldn’t believe it! People helped each other, gave advice, connected the others with their network, and even created their own private sessions to dig deeper into a specific topic (e.g: How to have a successful campaign on KickStarter).

Moreover, they socialised a lot, traveled, cooked, played games, went to the gym, etc. together. It was beautiful, and it is now dearly missed by everyone. But remember, it is all within your control. You create this environment. Good luck! :)

I would like to end by thanking my colleagues for putting together such a successful accelerator and for teaching me much of the above.