Accelerator Application

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Wants to apply to startup accelerators
• Fellowship programs
• The user mentions YC application
• Apply to programs

Example prompts

• “YC application”
• “Techstars”
• “accelerator”
• “/accelerator-application”

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Match accelerators to the startup — filter the directory below by stage fit, sector focus, geography, and program terms. Recommend a…
2. 2Research each program's preferences — review recent cohort companies, partner bios, and published advice from each accelerator on what…
3. 3Draft the core narrative — write the foundational answers that most applications share
4. 4Customize per application — adapt the core narrative to each program's specific questions, word limits, and culture. YC applications are…
5. 5Prepare the video (if required) — draft a script for the 1-2 minute application video. Structure: problem → solution → traction → team →…
6. 6Prepare for interviews — draft answers to common accelerator interview questions (see below). Practice the 30-second pitch.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 4ad31b4. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

  • techstars.com
  • ycombinator.com
  • 500.co
  • antler.co
  • launchaccelerator.co
  • joinef.com
  • southparkcommons.com
  • pioneer.app
  • hf0.com
  • a16z.com
  • neo.com
  • alchemistaccelerator.com
  • dreamit.com
  • plugandplaytechcenter.com
  • era.co

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Accelerator Application loads about 2.7k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 54 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,025 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~54

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from shawnpang/startup-founder-skills at commit 4ad31b4, republished under its MIT licence (© shawnpang). 1,025 words, ~2,715 tokens.

name

accelerator-application

description

When the user wants to apply to startup accelerators, incubators, or fellowship programs. Also use when the user mentions "YC application", "Techstars", "accelerator", or "apply to programs".

related

pitch-deck, fundraising-email, investor-research

reads

startup-context

## Accelerator Application Plan

### Recommended Programs (ranked by fit)
1. **[Program]** — [why it's a fit] | Deadline: [date] | Apply: [link]
2. ...

### Core Narrative
- **One-liner:** [what you do in one sentence]
- **Problem:** [2-3 sentences]
- **Solution:** [2-3 sentences]
- **Why now:** [1-2 sentences]
- **Traction:** [key metrics]
- **Team:** [why you're the right people]
- **Unique insight:** [what you know that others don't]

### [Program Name] Application Draft
**Q: [Question from application]**
A: [Draft answer within word limit]
...

### Interview Prep
**30-second pitch:** [draft]
**Common questions and answers:**
- "What do you understand that others don't?" — [answer]
- "How do you acquire users/customers?" — [answer]
- "What's the biggest risk?" — [answer]
- "Why hasn't this been done before?" — [answer]
- "What will you do if this doesn't work?" — [answer]

© shawnpang, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/accelerator-application of shawnpang/startup-founder-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 4ad31b4