K - Accelerator

Journey So Far

Our portfolio startups post the program have Increased their customer size by over 120 %, Increased revenue by 45%, Grew their team size by 25%, 7 of our startups raised capital post the program

The Program

K - accelerator is a Virtual Accelerator Program designed to give the same exposure to startups as a tier-1 city startup would have access to. Kerala Startup Mission has joined hands with Zone Startups India to roll out this 3-month virtual accelerator program with one-week residential boot camp aimed at a hand holding revenue-stage startups to the next phase of growth. This program will help startups to get market validation for their products, meet with the relevant customers, industry leaders, and connect with potential investors.

Selection criteria

The evaluation was done by Zone Startups India’s team and shortlisted by a combined effort of Zone Startups India and Kerala Startup Mission. 14 startups were selected to be part of the cohort based on the following evaluation parameters.

  • Product - Is the value proposition meaningful, does is address an expressed need/opportunity, etc
  • Team - Complementarity of skills, experience, domain expertise, etc
  • Market - Market size, competitive environment, etc
  • Traction and Scale-up Plans - Have they demonstrated the ability to execute, are their plans practical and inspiring

Focus on Customer development

The 1st k-accelerator cohort was a great mix of B2B and B2C startups ranging from early-stage to revenue/growth-stage startups. The program was accordingly designed to serve the needs of the startups, primarily focusing on product development, design thinking, product-market fit to acquire maximum customers, managing sales and laying down company processes across various activities on team building, marketing, customer acquisition, etc.

The main intent of the program was to help startups shape their strategic thinking towards customer acquisition and was facilitated via various sessions by subject-matter experts and customer/B2B connects.

Some key stats about the success of the program in terms of measuring their growth of customer base:

A Team Of Professionals.

The accelerator team comprises of experts from Zone Startups India and KSUM with rich ecosystem and domain understanding and a cumulative experience of more than 50+ years in the innovation ecosystem. While KSUM is the startup body of Kerala Govt., instrumental in development of a vibrant Startup ecosystem in the state, Zone Startups India has been one of the strongest and earliest innovation ecosystem enabler in India and engages with over 150+ corporates and 10 government bodies across the world, bringing in a very hands-on expertise on the table.

Success Stories

Batch One



Monsoon Batch