Here are your top accelerators of 2014

Topping the list is AngelPad, along with TechStars, 500 Startups and DreamIt Ventures

(Come mingle with hundreds of top venture capitalists representing $10B-plus in capital under management, including Khosla Ventures, Greylock and Javelin Venture Partners, and learn from founders/CEOs including Marco Zappacosta, Co-founder & CEO of Thumbtack and Adam Goldenberg, CEO of JustFab, Slava Rubin, Founder & CEO of Indiegogo, at Vator Splash Oakland on April 22nd and 23rd. Get your tickets here!)

A couple of years ago, Vator did a round up of accelerators and incubators from around the country, including Austin, Chicago, and Boston, as well as some international cities including London, as well as some of the smaller countries in Europe. We looked at how much they invest, their portfolio, their partnerships and what they offer their companies.

There are so many accelerators now, though, that it has to be hard to come up with a definitive list of which ones are the best. That is just what the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project does every year, though, ranking the top 10 accelerators from around the country, based not only on the results of the program, but also the founders of the startups who graduated.

"Though accelerators aim to position participating startups for long-term success, many of the accelerators evaluated in this ranking are only in their initial years of existence," the firm says.

"To determine leading indicators of success, we conducted extensive field work, interviewing venture capitalists, angel investors and accelerator program directors. We then collected data on a full complement of metrics, and evaluated accelerators those factors that surfaced as leading indicators of entrepreneurial success."

Here are the critera:

• Valuation, which is determined when a firm has a priced round.

• Qualified Exit, which occurs when a portfolio company either issues an IPO or is acquired for an amount greater than $5 milloon above the amount of capital raised by the company.

• Qualified Fundraising, whichoccurs when a portfolio company raises an aggregate of at least $200,000. 

• Survival, or the percentage of startups still in business.

• Founder Satisfaction, which was determined by a survey of the entrepreneurs who have graduated from the programs. 

• Alumni Network, or the number of companies that have graduated from the program.

The company has just released its 2015 list ranking. Here are the top 10:

1. AngelPad

Founded by ex-Googler Thomas Korte, AngelPad takes on two cohorts a year for 10 weeks each. AngelPad says it differs from other accelerators in that it allows for more personalized mentorship through its small program (about 12 startups each). It also places a strong emphasis on product development and market fit, and mentors are more involved in the fundraising process.

Some of the startups that have come out of its 10-week programs include mobile app monetization service MoPub, same-day delivery service Postmates, mobile app performance management solution Crittercism, and car insurance comparison platform CoverHound, among others.

2. MuckerLab

Santa Monica-based MuckerLab,  which was founded in October 2011, accepts a wide range of companies to its accelerator program.

"We accept applications from companies at various stages — some will have just a new idea while others will have a company that is already generating revenue and looking to accelerate its growth," it says on its website.

Its 26 alumni include Younity,  The Black Tux, Blayze, Ecinity, Get Me Rated and Instacanvas. All of its graduates have all been funding, and together have raised over $200 million. 

3. TechStars

TechStars, which offers programs in Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, New York City, Seattle and London, was founded by David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Brown, and Jared Polis, and held its first program in 2007.

It is backed by over 75 different venture capital firms and angel investors. Alumni include Foodzie, which was acquired by Joyus last year; Postmaster; Bizible; 10Sheet;  and Cloudability.

4. New Venture Challenge

Launched in 1996, New Venture Challenge (NVC)process includes two phases and a finals competition, ultimately selecting eight to 10 teams to present at a finals competition.

It offers orizes in the form of cash, legal services, and professional consulting are awarded to the top teams that make it to the final phase of competition. In 2014, over $300,000 in cash prizes and business services were awarded to the winners and finalists.

Alumni include Brightroom, GrubHub, Braintree, RoomVa and Simple Mills.

5. The Alchemist Accelerator

The Alchemist Accelerator was founded in 2012 by Stanford University professor, Ravi Belani.

So far, 54 companies have gone through an Alchemist Demo Day. 30 companies have received an institutional investment or a signficant seed, meaning a raise of $1 million or more, even if no institutions participated in the raise). For these 30 companies, the average raise is $2 million. Three of its  companies have been acquired (Cisco acquired Assemblage,Dropbox acquired Mobilespan, Otoy acquired AppSlingr). 

Alumni include Sense.ly, Brightfunnel, SocialPandas, and ShoppinPal. 

6. StartX

Founded by Cameron Teitelman in 2011, StartX alumni have raised over $700 million with a $3 million+ average per company funding rate from investors such as Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and Founders Fund.

It provides mentorship from over 200 serial entrepreneurs, experts, angels and VCs, including individuals from LinkedIn, Google, Twitter, Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser, and many more in Silicon Valley

Its alumni include 6dot, Kidaptive, Roominate, Watchup.

7. Amplify

Amplify was founded in December 2011 Paul Bricault, a venture partner at Greycroft Partners. It is located in the neighborhood of Venice.

Amplify is backed by investors that include Mark Burnett, producer of Apprentice and Survivor, as well as Paige Craig, Tim Draper, and some heavy-hitting VC firms, such as Accel Partners, BC Capital, Greycroft Partners, Rustic Canyon, and Tomorrow Ventures

Portfolio companies include GetBonkers, Look IO, TidePool, Invested.in, StackSocial, and The Kive Company are some of the notable companies that have come out of Amplify.

8. 500 Startups

500 Startups has graduated over 250 companies from nine cohorts. Of those, none have IPOed, 10 of them have been acquired, and 50, or 20% of them have failed.

The Mountain View-based accelerator gives $50,000 for 5% equity. The accelerator also participates in follow-on investments up to $200,000 for startups that are doing well.

The total value of those 250 graduates is $1.25 billion, for an average valuation of $5 million per company, Dave McClure, founding partner of 500 Startups, told me. That is about a 5 times increase from when the accelerator invests. The total raised for its graduates is roughly $200 million.

9. Capital Innovators

Created by Judy Sindecuse in 2010, Capital Innovators provides a 12 week program, with five companies per class and $50,000 in seed funding.

Portfolio companies include Bonfyre, FoodEssentials, Lockerdome, and Rovertown.

10. DreamIt Ventures

Founded in 2007, DreamIt is headquartered in Philadelphia and operates four seed accelerators in the USA: Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and Austin, as well as an international accelerator in Tel Aviv.

Its alumni include Trendkite; Brideside; Betdash; Mindsnacks; and SeatGeek.

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