Accelerators that hand each portfolio company a branded starter kit at the end of the program get something most other programs miss: the PC walks out with the apparel infrastructure for the next two years. Each PC gets a shop link branded to their own startup, a small starter kit for the founding team, and the option to extend the shop for new hires and conference swag.
The cohort hoodie identifies the founder with the program. The portfolio company shop identifies the founder with their startup. Different jobs, different shops.
When a PC raises their seed or Series A, the founding team needs swag with the PC logo on it. Hoodies for the founding three. Tees for the first ten hires. Polos for the sales team at the first conference booth. None of that can sit on the accelerator-branded shop because the apparel needs to wear the PC brand, not the accelerator brand.
The fix is to spin up a second shop per portfolio company. The PC owns the shop, the founding team chooses the products, and the accelerator program can pre-fund the starter kit if it is part of the program offer.
The portfolio company starter kit is a small, focused bundle for the founding team. Most accelerators settle on three to five items per PC.
For a typical 3-founder team, the starter kit lands at about $250 to $400 in apparel costs, shipped to the founders home addresses. The accelerator program can fund this as part of the program offering, or hand each PC a comp code to spend up to a set budget.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.The setup workflow is similar to the cohort shop but scoped per PC.
The Done-For-You VIP plan handles the build for the PC if the founders want the shop set up without spending time on it. The accelerator program can also fund the VIP plan for the first 12 months as part of the program offer.
One of the highest-value parts of the portfolio company starter kit is that the shop infrastructure stays in place after the program ends. The PC keeps the shop link, keeps the product templates, and keeps the relationship with the apparel provider.
That matters for two recurring moments:
New hire onboarding. Every new hire gets a hoodie and a tee in their welcome box. The PC orders from the same shop, ships to the new hire address, no inventory required.
Conference and event swag. When the PC books a conference booth or hosts a customer event, the team orders shirts and polos from the same shop. The accelerator program does not need to be involved.
Accelerators that pre-fund the starter kit and the first 12 months of VIP often see the PC continue using the shop for years after the program ends. That is a low-cost, high-touch piece of program value that founders remember and recommend to other founders.
One branded shop per PC, founding team kit included. Free to start, no inventory, no minimum.
Start FreeThe PC owns it. Each portfolio company creates their own shop account so the PC retains the shop, the customers, and the data after the program ends.
Yes. Most accelerators set a per-PC starter kit budget (often $300 to $500) and either run a single bulk order against that budget or hand each PC a comp code to spend up to that amount.
The PC updates the logo on their own shop and republishes. Existing products keep their original logo. Most PCs pivot once or twice in the first year, so plan for at least one logo refresh per shop.
Bear Grips Pro Shops