There is an added item at play here: the equity stake and future pro-rate amounts are based on invested capital, so for $75k you can get 100k (or more) in pro-r

There is an added item at play here: the equity stake and future pro-rate amounts are based on invested capital, so for $75k you can get 100k (or more) in pro-rata. (The more comes from the fact that a lot of times this is convertible note with a discount, and the discount also provides a bump in pro-rata rights. See http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2014/10/12/the-authoritative-guide-to-prorata-rights/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2014/10/12/the-authoritat...) So this isnt just tax optimization, but investment/equity optimization as well. That said, smart founders should probably value their involvement in the accelerator as an valuation multiplier: if it isnt, they shouldnt join one.