Guide
How to compare accelerator fit
Comparing accelerator fit is a core workflow in AQUA Application Hub. Rather than treating each application as an isolated document, AQUA lets you measure how well your existing answer bank aligns to each program question surface. This guide walks you through building your answer bank, running Smart Matcher against target programs, comparing fit scores, and prioritizing where to apply.
1.Build your answer bank with existing material
Start by collecting the application answers you have already written — for accelerators, fellowships, grants, jobs, or any other opportunity. Import them into AQUA or capture new ones with the Appfeeder browser extension. Your answer bank is the foundation for every fit comparison, so the more complete and well-organized it is, the more accurate your fit scores will be.
2.Identify target programs in the Hub
Browse the AQUA Application Hub for programs relevant to your startup. The Hub ranks accelerators, fellowships, and grants by composite score — a combination of your personal fit and the program estimated value. Identify a shortlist of programs you want to evaluate, focusing on those whose themes and criteria align with your stage and sector.
3.Run Smart Matcher against each program
For every target program, run Smart Matcher to compare your current answer bank against that program question surface. Smart Matcher measures four dimensions: coverage of the program questions, theme alignment, criteria match, and answer completeness. The result is a fit score that tells you how prepared you are relative to what that program measures — not a prediction of acceptance.
4.Compare fit scores across programs
Lay out the fit scores from your target programs side by side. A higher fit score means your existing answers already cover more of what that program asks. Look for programs where coverage and theme alignment are both strong — those are the applications you can complete fastest and most confidently. Fit score is personal: it tells you where you are prepared, not how you compare to other applicants.
5.Identify coverage gaps before drafting
For each program, review the questions Smart Matcher flagged as uncovered or weak. These are the gaps you need to close before submitting. Prioritize gaps in high-significance questions — the ones that appear frequently across programs and carry the most weight. Filling a gap in a high-significance question improves your fit across multiple programs at once, not just the one you are targeting.
6.Prioritize programs where fit is strongest
Rank your shortlist by fit score and focus your drafting effort on the programs where you are already strongest. These are the applications with the highest return on effort — you have the most material ready and the fewest gaps to fill. Save programs with lower fit scores for later rounds, after you have strengthened the underlying answers that those programs depend on.