With the brainstorming session for Launch Pad 39B during yesterday's seminar generating some discussion about how to approach an education-focused startup accelerator, I thought it might be useful to take a look at existing seed-stage startup accelerators for some ideas.

Here is a huge list of existing seed accelerators around the world by city. Meanwhile, here is a map of seed accelerators around the world.

A quick look through the list reveals commonalities among all the startups. All accelerators are locally-focused, and almost all offer the same benefits: funding, mentorship (including legal, administrative), connections to investors/VCs, and office space, all bundled into an immersive summer program. Some offer additional benefits such as classes or speaker series, but the fundamental package remains the same.

Startl is currently the largest education-focused seed startup. Startl offers a stipend of $5,000 plus $5,000 per founding team member (up to four, for a maximum of $25,000) and takes a 6% equity stake in each company. Participants also have access to designers from IDEO, lawyers, accountants, investors, and experienced entrepreneurs.