Gurgaon-based technology startup accelerator GSF global accelerator has lately launched a specialized accelerator program called 'M-Acceleratr' for mobile startups in India and plans to launch more specialized vertical programmes going forward.
Through M-Accelerator GSF will train and fund 10-15 Indian mobile-first startups beginning next year across two batches annually. Functioning as a "super-accelerator" by design, GSF M-Accelerator offers founders four months to make the kind of progress ordinarily accomplished in six to eight months. The selected batches will spend time in India, the Silicon Valley, New York and Singapore.
GSF M-Accelerator will invest $40-$50k at 8-9% equity into the startups inducted into the Global Accelerator program. GSF also does follow-on rounds of up to $500,000 into a few select startups after the program.
GSF M-Accelerator is created in the image of a hackathon. Products pivot several times as teams go through intense, often grueling Q&A sessions with mentors and entrepreneurs in residence. The result of this accelerator is an ecosystem created by the startups for the startups: a challenging, risk-taking of product focuses teams, innovating in areas of mobile marketplaces, mobile apps and mobile commerce.
Since its inception GSF Accelerator had funded 33 startups across three batches including Little Eye Labs, which was acquired by Facebook earlier this year.
The four-month 'M-Accelerator' program will start in February next year. A typical week at GSF M-Accelrator consists of three key elements: Mentor Hours, Workshops and Visits.
GSF Mentors include Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, LinkedIn, Zynga, Evernote, Uber, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Matrix Partners, Canaan Partners, Accel, SoftBank, Intuit, Lyft, Spotify, InMobi, Nokia, MIT University, Stanford university, Makemytrip, Ixigo, Zomato, Slideshare, PayTM, Savaan, Hungama, Ola cabs, etc.
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