The Effects of Personal Attributes of Managing Directors on Startup Accelerator Performance

Most research on accelerators to date focuses on the startups themselves. There has been limited research on the accelerators and their performance as the unit of analysis. Using the upper echelon theory, this article hypothesises the effects of individual attributes of managing directors on the startup accelerator’s performance and tests these by analysing data from 154 Techstars accelerator cohorts comprising more than 1,500 startups. Two personal attributes of managing directors, education and management tenure, influenced the accelerator performance. The education level of the managing director affects the proportion of the graduating cohort that is acquired, the speed of these acquisitions and the survival prospects of graduates that are not acquired. The tenure of the managing director affects the proportion of the graduating cohort that is acquired. These results suggest that certain attributes of an investor play a role in the future success of startups in their portfolio, extending the upper echelon theory from senior management to outside investors.