Ryan's Book

ACCELERATE THIS! A Super Not Boring Guide To Startup Accelerators And Clean Energy Entrepreneurship 

Soooo, what is an accelerator?! And should you do one to grow your business? What's an accelerator versus an incubator? How do you find a good one, get in, and make the most of it? If you're running a program, how can you do that more effectively?

Accelerate This! will cut through all the confusion so you can:
- Decide if you want to join a program
- Learn how to grow your idea into a business
- Create a program (or run yours better!)

Accelerate This! covers the whole shebang, tip to tail, inside out, and outside in. We've collected quotes, insights and best practices from the world's best programs (Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Techstars, Cleantech Open, Google/Alphabet X, The Buckminster Fuller Institute, XPrize, Elemental Excelerator, Free Electrons and a TON more), most interesting entrepreneurs (Justin Rosenstein, Casey Fenton, and more), gathered some of the most useful tools (Lean Startup, Four Steps To The Epiphany, and so on) and put it all together a super NOT boring format for you to learn, work smarter and create change.

The book is written by Ryan Kushner (The Accelerator Guru), and is full of anecdotes and perspectives from his experience working around the world, in various industries, and with hundreds of startups, corporate clients and accelerators, prizes and incubators.

Supported by New Energy Nexus (the global association of clean energy incubators and accelerators), The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the World Wildlife Fund, the book takes a deep dive into clean energy/cleantech entrepreneurship as a test case for what accelerators can (and can't) do.

Bonus! This is a carbon neutral/impact free book! We worked with CQuest Capital (www.cquestcapital.com), calculated the impact of each book, then offset that impact through their program installing improved cookstoves with families in rural Zambia, which reduces deforestation and indoor air pollution (which mainly effects women and children). Carbon offsets are the new hot hotness... get on it!

Did we mention it's not boring? Buy, enjoy, share, turn into paper airplanes and throw at your friends. Just get busy doing, creating and making positive change in the world. We need it –and we hope "Accelerate This!" gives you the kick in the pants you need.

Waaaabam! :)

Praise for ACCELERATE THIS!

"Ryan's book is a great read that is full of critical foundational concepts and nuances, mixed in with real world insights from his own front line experience and network. I work in and around this space and know when someone is exaggerating or "making it up". Ryan knows what he is talking about and learned a lot from the stable of contributors. Most importantly, even as a leading practitioner, Ryan maintains a level of humility that is both refreshing and important in understanding the opportunities and potential pitfalls. Kudos and appreciation to Ryan and the contributors for putting this together."
-    Matthew W. Burks

"The book is not only an extremely useful guidebook, but also asks critical questions like if accelerators are good for the economy and world. Kushner manages to keep a potentially dry topic fun all the way through tone and graphics without overdoing it. One thing I'd like to see more of is nonprofit, social enterprise, and cooperative accelerators. They do cover a few, like the Buckminster Fuller Institute, but there could be more. That said, this book is the best guide to the field I know of."

-    Neal Gorenflo, Co-Founder, Sharable

"I once worked on an advocacy campaign to get all the incubators and accelerators around the country to agree to get to a certain target of women-led businesses in their cohorts. What I found was frankly a hot mess, different interpretations of what is an accelerator versus an incubator and many different ideas about what makes them successful. I'm thrilled that someone who actually knows what he's talking about decided to document it and set us all straight. Awesome read for those of us in the proverbial trenches!"

-    Nathalie Molina, CEO, BRAVA Investments

"Accelerate this is a great guide for anyone who is either running an accelerator program or who is considering applying for an accelerator. This is a practical guide and the accelerator model canvas is a great framework for understanding the lens and focus of an accelerator program. In full disclosure - I was also very excited to contribute to this book from the perspective of building a global network of impact focused accelerators. Ryan did a fantastic job of sourcing insights and feedback from a wide range of leaders across the field."

-    Avary Kent, Executive Director, Conveners.org

"This book is chock-full of useful frameworks, tools, stories, tips and tricks for both entrepreneurs and accelerators alike. And it is super duper not boring. Kushner brings his witty playful voice to the pages, making this genuine info-tainment."

-    Amanda Ravenhill, Executive Director, Buckminster Fuller Institute

"This is a great book for an MBA student or even an undergrad. Kushner is a welcoming and an insightful guide and the book is presented beautifully — very accessible for the non-specialist but there is a lot here for the expert too."

-    Benjamin Orbach, Founder, The Ascendant Athlete