The Long Beach Accelerator

What The Long Beach Accelerator does

The Long Beach Accelerator is a nonprofit, public-private startup accelerator headquartered in downtown Long Beach, California, founded in 2019 and officially launching its first cohort in February 2021. It operates a 4-month cohort program for early-stage technology companies, providing $150,000 in in-program funding in exchange for a 7% equity stake (per the Programs page; the home page cites a $75,000–$100,000 range for 6–7% equity), structured workshops on market fit, sales and marketing, and operations, weekly mentorship, downtown workspace, a perks package of partner-provided services, and a Demo Day for investor introductions. The accelerator's distinguishing structural feature is its tripartite governance: Sunstone Management provides the capital, California State University Long Beach's Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (including the Beach Incubator) supplies academic and talent resources, and the City of Long Beach Economic Development department delivers government access, regulatory support, and civic legitimacy.

The business model combines equity participation in portfolio companies with tiered corporate sponsorship (Platinum $50,000, Gold $25,000, Silver $5,000, Annual Luncheon $2,500) and grant funding (notably a $100,000 grant from Sunstone Management in September 2022 to develop a replicable accelerator model). To date the program has supported 46 portfolio companies, of which 37 have graduated; graduated companies have collectively raised $28M+ in follow-on funding, generated $12M+ in revenue, and produced 8 acquisition offers. The accelerator is governed by a Board of Directors and led by CEO Vivian Shimoyama, with Co-Chair Brenda Wunsch, Director of Operations Ragan Robertson, and Program Manager Alma Castro on the operating team. Programmatically, LBA targets verticals aligned with the regional economy, including logistics and supply chain, health tech, green tech, blue tech, aerospace, cybersecurity, and education technology, alongside a general early-stage applicant pool.

Name

The Long Beach Accelerator

Legal name

The Long Beach Accelerator Inc.

Website

https://lbaccelerator.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Long Beach Accelerator is a nonprofit public-private partnership accelerator in Long Beach, California, running 4-month cohort programs for early-stage technology startups, providing $150,000 in funding for 7% equity, mentorship, workspace, and Demo Day access through Sunstone Management, CSULB, and the City of Long Beach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Accelerator Services

NAICS

Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs (FSANAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Startup accelerator
• Venture capital services
• Early-stage funding
• Startup mentorship program
• Cohort-based incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Equity Stakes in Portfolio Companies: The accelerator takes 7% equity in exchange for $150,000 investment in each startup company. This is the primary revenue mechanism, generating returns when portfolio companies succeed through exits, further funding rounds, or ongoing revenue.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors provide funding at various levels: Platinum ($50,000), Gold ($25,000), Silver ($5,000), and Annual Luncheon Event ($2,500). Sponsors gain visibility and access to the accelerator's startup ecosystem.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Long Beach Accelerator runs a 4-month cohort-based accelerator program for early-stage technology startups, providing between $75,000 and $150,000 of in-program funding in exchange for a 6-7% equity stake, weekly workshops, mentorship from an industry network, downtown Long Beach workspace, demo day preparation, and a partner perks package. Cohort startups apply directly and are admitted on a cohort basis; the program aims to help companies determine product-market fit, refine go-to-market, and raise seed follow-on capital. Corporate sponsors also purchase tiered sponsorship packages (Platinum $50,000, Gold $25,000, Silver $5,000, Luncheon $2,500) for visibility and ecosystem access.

Product overview

The Long Beach Accelerator is a startup accelerator program, not a unified software product. It offers a single core program - a 4-month accelerator that provides emerging technology companies with funding ($150,000 for 7% equity), mentorship, weekly workshops, workspace in downtown Long Beach, demo day preparation, and a perks package of partner-provided services. The program is organized into phases: Month 1 focuses on product testing and market fit, Month 2 on sales and marketing, Month 3 on business operations, and Month 4 on acceleration and funding with demo day.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Long Beach Accelerator Program A 4-month tailored accelerator program for emerging technology startups that provides in-program funding (between $75,000 and $150,000 for 6-7% equity), weekly workshops, mentorship from industry experts, downtown Long Beach workspace, a partner perks package, and demo day preparation culminating in investor introductions.
• Corporate Sponsorship Packages Annual corporate sponsorship packages (Platinum $50,000, Gold $25,000, Silver $5,000) plus a standalone Annual Luncheon Event sponsorship ($2,500) that give companies visibility in the Long Beach startup ecosystem and access to portfolio companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46 portfolio companies have raised over $34M in funding and generated $13M+ in revenue with 8 acquisition offers

Named customers21 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• California State University Long Beach (CSULB) - Institute for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSULB's Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a key strategic partner providing academic resources, research access, student talent pipeline, and legitimacy through university affiliation. The partnership includes the Beach Incubator collaboration.
• City of Long Beach Economic DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe City of Long Beach Economic Development department is a strategic partner providing government resources, potential contracts, regulatory support, and community legitimacy. The partnership positions the accelerator as part of the city's economic development strategy.
• Beach IncubatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeach Incubator is the startup incubator affiliated with CSULB. It works in partnership with the Long Beach Accelerator to provide additional resources, mentorship, and referral pathways for student and faculty entrepreneurs.
• Business WireminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness Wire logo appears in partner listings, suggesting a media relations or press release distribution partnership.
• Advisor NewsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvisor News logo appears in partner listings, suggesting a media or news partnership.
• SBDC (Small Business Development Center)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBDC logo appears in partner listings, suggesting a small business development support partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Techstars: Techstars runs the world's largest global network of cohort-based startup accelerators offering mentorship and seed capital. It is the closest direct competitor to LBA's cohort model, with far greater scale and brand.
• gener8tor: gener8tor operates cohort-based accelerators across multiple US cities with a comparable investment-for-equity model ($100K+ for ~6-7% equity). Its multi-city, public-private partnership structure closely mirrors LBA's approach.
• MassChallenge: MassChallenge is a large global nonprofit accelerator that takes zero equity and focuses on early-stage startups across multiple verticals. Its nonprofit, mission-driven model and corporate sponsorship structure parallel LBA's approach.
• Founder Institute: Founder Institute runs pre-seed accelerator programs globally with a strong educational and mentorship component. Its founder-education focus and equity-for-program model is comparable to LBA's structured 4-month curriculum and mentorship approach.
• Plug and Play: Plug and Play operates industry-specific accelerator programs (fintech, health, brand & retail, etc.) with corporate sponsor partnerships. Its verticalized accelerator model and corporate sponsorship tiers are directly comparable to LBA's sector-vertical focus and Platinum/Gold/Silver sponsor structure.
• 500 Global: 500 Global runs multiple cohort-based accelerator programs worldwide, investing $150K for ~6% equity. Its standardized deal terms and global reach make it one of the most direct comparables for LBA's investment-for-equity model.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the largest and most prestigious global accelerator, running biannual cohorts with a standard $500K-for-7% deal. It serves as the dominant benchmark against which all US accelerators, including LBA, compete for top founders.

Regional players

• Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI): LACI is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit cleantech and climate-tech startup incubator created through a public-private partnership with the City of LA. It mirrors LBA's public-private, city-anchored accelerator structure, focused on green tech rather than generalist tech.
• EvoNexus: EvoNexus is a San Diego-based nonprofit startup accelerator supporting early-stage technology companies, particularly in comms and clean tech. It is a strong regional comparable as another Southern California nonprofit tech accelerator with corporate and university backing.

Others

• CSULB Beach Incubator: The Beach Incubator is the on-campus student and faculty incubator at CSULB that formally partners with LBA. As a feeder program and ecosystem partner, it is adjacent to LBA but operates a different stage and audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/LB_Accelerator
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/long-beach-accelerator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments21 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Long Beach Accelerator