Accelerator vs. Traditional for non-mba

I'm in the middle of getting my SBA loan approved. I thought I was doing a middle-of-the-road, easy to fund deal. It's a smaller acquisition, between $800 & 900k. I'm putting down 12 percent and the seller note is 8%, so that easily meets the minimum requirements of the SBA, but a few banks are giving me a hard time asking for more collateral and/or more experience. I don't have direct experience in the industry, and the company is a building contractor, so those two things raise the risk in the bank's eyes. I think I have one bank that is really close to giving me an acceptance letter, so the other banks issues may be irrelevant. This company is one that I think I can grow, I know I'll enjoy the work, and I like the seller. I didn't want to give up any equity, unless I got 3 or 4 hard NO's from banks. All this to say, these are some things to consider on self funded vs traditional search fund. It depends on how much cash you have and if a reasonable multiple will support your cashflow expectations. I haven't talked to anyone that has used the accelerator for an acquisition, only for startups.

I would narrow down to what you are wanting to solve for with the accelerator. Equity raise? Diligence assistance? Something else? Most items can be solved for via networking or other professional services. Unsure if an accelerator is worth the cost in equity unless you are avoiding the PG or you have a major knowledge gap you are working to solve.