Lina González first caught the entrepreneurship bug when she won the StartMIT competition as a postdoctoral fellow. Afterwards, she taught mechanical engineering at UMass Lowell for a year before applying for an NSF grant to launch SpadXTech, a Worcester-based company developing innovative climate tech in service of a more sustainable future. Under Lina’s leadership as CEO and CTO, SpadXTech was a Cade Prize finalist in 2023, and a year later was named “one of the 24 startups to watch in 2024” by Bostinno. In February, Lina earned first place in the 2025 MFN Sustainability Challenge, an accelerator program that offers a $40,000 innovation grant to winners.

Accelerator programs provide guidance, support, and funding to early-stage companies over a fixed term. Getting involved in an accelerator program is a great way to build connections and grow your startup. In the following interview with MFN, Lina discusses her involvement in various accelerator programs, and offers guidance on finding the program that’s right for your startup.

How many accelerator programs have you participated in? Which was the first? 

Let’s see. I would say seven. The first one was the ACCEL program, which is run by Greentown Labs and Browning and Green Space (BGS), and is actually for BIPOC founders specifically. I participated in the first year they held the program. As part of this ACCEL program, we participated in the VentureWell’s ASPIRE cohort which is a fundraising-specific program and helped us assess whether fundraising was good for us at the time. I actually learned a lot during this program, it helped me understand what investors were looking for.

Can you discuss some of the other programs you have been involved in and what made each of them unique?

I think because I was involved with Greentown Labs, other opportunities opened up for us. One of these opportunities was the IMPEL program with Berkley Labs. One of the highlights of this program was that they had really great pitch coaches. I remember the pitch coach saying to us that pitching is like acting – you know, you have a script, then you want to spin on it and when you’re giving the pitch you need to make it engaging and interesting as well.

Another program that I participated in was the Venture for ClimateTech (V4C for short). This program was really good because they held meetings with us where we went over OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Then there was TiE ScaleUp, which I’m actually still part of now. What makes this program unique is that it incorporates bootcamp on sales strategy which is phenomenal.

The Massachusetts Founders Network’s Sustainability Challenge was also great. When I did the sustainability challenge with MFN, I really appreciated working with (Lever Executive Director) Jeffrey Thomas because he was focused on making us do what really matters. Our time as entrepreneurs, who have so much going on, is so valuable. The MFN program focused on the essentials, like setting up a data room and doing customer discovery. This helped refine our projects and business model.

How do I know an accelerator program is the right one for me?

Try to find out as much as you can about the program itself before starting. In essence, most accelerator programs have the same basic components. You can get a lot of information by talking to past program participants and asking if they would recommend it. You should also consider what stage you are at. If you’re just starting out, you might want to consider a program that would help you set up your pitch deck.

What tips would you give for someone who is preparing to begin an accelerator program?

I think the best thing you can do to prepare is to focus on customer discovery because this lays the groundwork for your business. You also want to consider your coachability. When you join an accelerator program, try to be as coachable as possible. Remember that the people running the programs are there to help you. Allow yourself to filter their feedback, if needed, and you’ll leave with a better understanding of your company and how it can succeed.

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