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CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University Advantage Accelerator has earned a top-10 ranking among business incubators in the U.S. and Canada by a leading online network for angel investing.

In ratings released late last month based on a final tally of 2016 statistics, Gust.com tabbed the OSU Advantage Accelerator as the top startup accelerator in Oregon and the eighth-most active one in the U.S. and Canada. Oregon ranked fifth most active among states and provinces, ahead of all but California, Massachusetts, Texas and New York.

The accelerator, under the direction of Mark Lieberman and Karl Mundorff, helps nascent startups develop and commercialize high-growth, innovative technologies. Through three programs – Iterate, Accelerate and Launch – the Accelerator helps OSU faculty, students, staff and the broader community advance ideas and conduct research into products and services, guiding entrepreneurs through all phases of the commercialization process. 

The accelerator is part of Oregon State University Advantage, which connects business people to university resources, and it is also affiliated with RAIN, the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network; RAIN is an Oregon consortium of government, higher education and the business community.

In its four years of existence, accelerator clients have generated more than $4.5 million in revenue and gained more than $2.3 million in equity investments, $10 million in grants, and $500,000 in loans or other financing. 

Accelerator activities have created more than 50 full-time-equivalent jobs. The accelerator has engaged with nearly 400 entrepreneurs and startups in the region and interacted with more than 4,500 students and 130 volunteers.

The accelerator’s next one-month Iterate program kicks off Oct. 24.

“Iterate is the top of our funnel,” Lieberman said. “It’s a methodology that anyone can use to understand what entrepreneurial thinking is about and to help answer the question of what comes next.”

“The emphasis in Iterate is the evaluation of business ideas. The program helps you figure out whether an idea is worth your time,” Mundorff said. “And almost every team iterates to some variant of their initial idea.”