"Accelerato's Way of Survival: In Search of a Sustainable Business Model"… AC Asks About Survival Strategies for the Next 10 Years

The domestic accelerator (AC) industry has marked the 10th anniversary of the introduction of its registration system. The number of registered organizations has increased to over 530, while cumulative investment volume has exceeded 3.8 trillion won and the number of deals has surpassed 11,600. The industry has grown rapidly in scale, establishing itself as the closest investors and growth partners within the startup ecosystem. However, the industry's focus is no longer on "how much has been invested." New challenges have emerged regarding whether it is possible to create sustainable business models beyond a revenue structure centered on government support programs, and what role ACs must play to survive over the next 10 years.

To share this awareness of the issues, the Korea Association of Early-Stage Investment Accelerators (KAIA) held the "2nd Early-Stage Investment Policy Seminar" at the Seoul Startup Hub M-Plus on the 27th. Held under the theme "Accelerato Survival Strategies: Finding Sustainable Business Models," the seminar was organized to review the achievements of the past 10 years since the introduction of the Accelerator Registration System and to explore the future direction of the industry. Attendees included representatives from Accelerators, venture capital firms, startup support organizations, and entrepreneurs, who discussed changes in the investment ecosystem and the new roles of Accelerators.

The Early-Stage Investment Policy Seminar, jointly organized by KAIA and the Seoul Startup Hub M-Plus, is a three-part series running from April to October of this year. While the first seminar covered "Local Startups and Early-Stage Investment," this session turned its attention inward to intensively examine the sustainability and competitiveness of accelerators (ACs). Although the presenters shared diverse perspectives, they all agreed that the industry's future cannot be guaranteed solely through growth centered on government projects. The core of the discussion was the need to create a virtuous cycle connecting investment, incubation, exits, and global expansion.

The domestic accelerator industry has grown rapidly over the past decade. Seonghyun Kong, Secretary General of KAIA, who delivered the first presentation, highlighted the changes in the industry since the introduction of the registration system through figures under the theme "10 Years of ACs in Data." Currently, there are approximately 530 accelerators registered with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and as of the first half of 2026, the cumulative investment volume is estimated at around 3.8 trillion won, with the cumulative number of investment deals reaching approximately 11,600. As the early-stage investment market has expanded, accelerators have established themselves as key players responsible for discovering, investing in, and incubating early-stage companies.

However, the flip side of this growth has also been revealed. According to the announcement, the top 54 ACs account for approximately 65% of the total investment amount, indicating a polarization where investment performance is concentrated among a few asset managers. In particular, analysis suggests that a structure is forming in which large asset managers holding both AC and VC licenses are leading the market. Secretary General Seonghyun Kong explained that this phenomenon should not be viewed merely as a difference in competitiveness, but rather interpreted as a transitional process for the industry to advance to the next stage.

He predicted that the recent amendment to the Venture Investment Promotion Act would mark a new turning point for the industry. He noted that the extension of the mandatory investment period for private investment partnerships to five years and the broadening of the scope of investment targets have created an environment where new ACs can more stably identify and grow investment companies. He also assessed the codification of the clause prohibiting the joint liability of founders and the improvement of the follow-up investment system as changes that enhance the sustainability of the early-stage investment ecosystem.

Seonghyun Kong, Secretary General of the Korea Startup Foundation, presented the 'Venture Studio' as a future model for startup accelerators (ACs). This model departs from the traditional approach of investing after a company is founded and instead establishes and grows the company alongside the founder from the idea stage. He stated, "Not all ACs need to grow in the same way," adding, "The domestic startup ecosystem will be able to grow more healthily when diverse models—such as incubation, scale-up, and Venture Studio types—coexist."

The keyword repeatedly mentioned at this seminar was 'growth,' not 'investment.' The presenters unanimously agreed that funding is not the only requirement for early-stage companies to succeed, and that Accelerato's competitiveness depends on how quickly the company is grown rather than the scale of investment.

Changsoo Sung, a professor in the Department of Technology Entrepreneurship at Dongguk University, defined the essence of acceleration as "compressed learning." Early-stage startups experience most processes for the first time, including product development, market validation, organizational management, and fundraising. He explained that the most important role of Accelerator is to reduce the trial and error that occurs during this process by leveraging the experience of mentors, investors, experts, and senior entrepreneurs.

Introducing overseas acceleration programs and various empirical studies, he analyzed that companies that experienced mentoring, education, networking, and market validation programs achieved higher performance in follow-up investments and corporate growth compared to those that received support merely for funding or office space. He further emphasized, “Funding is merely a necessary condition for startup growth, not a sufficient one,” adding that “the effectiveness of acceleration is maximized when combined with learning and networking.”

In the subsequent presentation, a suggestion was made to view the role of Accelerators from a broader perspective. Jeongtae Kim, CEO of MYSC, emphasized that to discuss sustainable ACs, one must first define "why they exist" rather than "how to make money." Citing Simon Sinek's "Golden Circle," he explained that an organization's purpose must be clear for its business model to become sustainable.

He viewed Accelerato not merely as an investment firm or startup support organization, but as an "Ecosystem Builder." He argued that the value an AC must create in the future lies not just in investing in startups, but in connecting large corporations, public institutions, local communities, and investors to establish new markets and collaborative structures. He explained that the role of an AC is not limited to performing individual functions such as consulting, incubation, acceleration, and investment, but involves organically connecting them to create a structure where companies and industries grow together.

CEO Kim interpreted acceleration as a process in which founders and accelerators grow together. He explained that startups gain funding, mentoring, and networks, while accelerators build assets such as industry knowledge, networks, market data, and brand trust accumulated alongside founders. He further explained that these intangible assets lead to new investments and business opportunities, becoming core assets that determine the institution's competitiveness in the long term. He emphasized, "We must not have a structure where only the startup grows while the accelerator is excluded from the relationship," adding that "the trust, relationships, and data accumulated together with the founder are ultimately the core assets that build the accelerator's sustainability."

Although the two presentations differed in their approaches, they reached the same conclusion. They emphasized that what early-stage companies need is not merely investment capital, but experience and networks that minimize trial and error, and that Accelerators must evolve beyond being investment institutions into partners that design corporate growth together and connect companies with the market. Ultimately, it served as an opportunity to reaffirm that an accelerator's competitiveness depends not on "how much was invested," but on "how much the company was grown."

Suggestions were also made that Acceleratorato needs to establish an independent revenue structure for its sustainability. Hong Jong-cheol, CEO of Infobank iAccel, who gave the final presentation, emphasized, based on his investment experience of over a decade, that ACs must move beyond being institutions carrying out government-supported projects and establish themselves as self-growing investment firms.

He explained AC's revenue structure as consisting of three axes—startup support, fund management fees, and exits—and diagnosed that it is difficult to secure sustainability by operating these separately. He argued that a virtuous cycle must be established, starting with the discovery of promising startups through support programs and leading to direct investment, incubation, follow-up investment, and exits.

CEO Hong viewed the extent to which a company grows after investment as the core competitive advantage of an AC. He explained that since it is difficult to assess the success potential of early-stage companies based solely on the founder's background or business plan, it is crucial to have a system where potential is verified through small-scale investments, followed by growth through follow-up investments and connections with venture capitalists. He also emphasized that startup support programs should be utilized as a "deal sourcing channel" to discover promising companies rather than as a means of generating operating profits, and that a sustainable AC model is achieved when the entire value chain—from discovery and investment to TIPS, follow-up investments, and exit—is connected.

He summarized this structure as a virtuous cycle model leading from "identifying promising companies → investment → scaling up → exit → formation of follow-up funds." He noted that successful exits lead to the expansion of assets under management (AUM) and the creation of new funds, which in turn lay the foundation for investing in more early-stage companies. He stated, "Instead of being an institution dependent on government projects, ACs must create a structure where investment performance leads back to fund formation and reinvestment in order to grow into independent investment firms."

In the panel discussion following the presentations, the challenges facing the AC industry were discussed under the theme "What Will Accelerators Use to Grow in the Future?" While a wide range of topics were covered—from the institutionalization of Venture Studios to global investment, the expansion of the private market, and regional investment ecosystems—the core of the discussion was singular: the need to move away from growth centered on government projects and secure unique expertise and differentiated competitiveness specific to each AC.

The topic that garnered the most attention was the Venture Studio. While the panelists agreed that a model in which ACs design and grow a company alongside founders from the early stages could be a new alternative, they unanimously pointed out that the institutional foundation is not yet sufficient. Voices were also raised calling for institutional improvements, noting that practical constraints remain under the current system, such as the exclusion of companies established by Venture Studios from major support programs like TIPS. It was also noted that the Venture Studio holds significance not merely as a simple investment method, but as a model that expands the role of the AC from that of an 'investor' to that of a 'co-founder.'

The global market was also cited as a survival strategy for the future. A consensus was reached that rather than aggressively expanding overseas investments, a realistic approach involves building networks with local investors and gradually expanding cooperative models such as co-investment and co-GP. Analysis also suggested that, given the limitations of growth relying solely on the domestic market, the ability to connect overseas capital with industrial ecosystems will determine the competitiveness of ACs in the future.

Balancing government initiatives and the private market was also a key topic. Opinions were expressed that startup support programs should not be driven by the goal of securing operating profits, but rather serve as a channel for discovering promising startups, and that a structure must be established to connect these discoveries to investment, incubation, and follow-up funding. It was also suggested that regional investment ecosystems could grow together only if metropolitan and regional accelerators establish a cooperative system that shares roles rather than competing against each other.

This seminar went beyond merely discussing Acceleratorato's revenue model to examining the future direction of the early-stage investment ecosystem. The core theme of the seminar was that the industry's sustainability cannot be guaranteed solely through growth centered on government projects, and that a virtuous cycle connecting investment, incubation, and exit must be established. Ultimately, the emphasis was placed on the fact that competitiveness over the next decade will be determined not by the number of companies invested in, but by how many companies can be grown in the market and successfully exited. Accelerators now stand at a point where they must prove their competitiveness based on "how much they have grown" rather than "how much they have invested."

The Startup Ecosystem Reporter Corps is jointly operated by KAIA and Venture Square and records various stories from the startup scene.