Are you considering applying for Gen. X? You might want to read a few tips for the application!
During our P18’s calling process, we receive thousands of applications from across the world. Make sure that when filling the form, you stand out from the crowd and submit all the important information that we require.
Also, be aware that only 10 startups will be selected and will receive: $125,000 (USD) grant, $25,000 (USD) investment, individualized mentorships, and valuable business connections with leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Luckily, we’ve gathered a few useful tips to make your application catch the eye of our international judges:
Focus on your strengths
In order to stand out from the rest, you need to highlight your company and team’s strengths. What are you and your team exceptional at? What makes you unique to solve a problem that you identified? What is your unfair advantage over anyone else doing this?
Be concise
Make your one-line clear. What do you do, not who you are. So many startups come up with unclear or lengthy descriptions that make it hard to tell what the startup is about. Tip: Fill in the blanks of this sentence. “For [customers’ description] that have [problem you’re solving], we [what you do].
Stay away from buzzwords
Words like revolutionize, disrupt, groundbreaking can diminish the quality of your application and are not considered as impressive as they may seem. Write about your ideas in the clearest, perhaps “arroz y habichuelas” way possible. Meaning, we want to understand your startup right from the start!
Amazing video
A text can’t convey your spirit and inspiration, but even a one-minute video does. Make an amazing video about you & your co-founders, express yourself, tell us who you are and why you started this startup. Keep in mind that you must produce it in English so that all our international judges can understand your innovative idea.
Prove your startup’s traction
We love stories, but we love stories with numbers even more. Use numbers to show that you understand that building a startup is about analyzing key performance indicators, (KPI). Remember that we expect $2k+ in MRR (monthly recurring revenue) with 20%+ growth monthly for enterprise/marketplace startups. For consumer products: 3K+ DAU (Daily Active Users) with 5%+ week over week growth.
Show us a strong founding team
Founder breakup is the number one reason why startups fail. Clearly, we focus on the founding team & the people running the startup. We are aware of the fact that if the founding team were to break up, the startup would most likely fail. It is important to demonstrate to us that you & your co-founder(s) can persevere together.
Move to Puerto Rico (even if it’s temporary)
If you’re serious about working with P18, you should be prepared to move to Puerto Rico. We want the startup founders of Gen. X completely immersed in our ecosystem and to work directly from the island. Make sure to have at least 2 founders working full-time and committed to developing a business plan that contributes to the local economy.
Look for recommendations
Do you know parallel18 mentors or alumni? Get them to write you a recommendation or an introduction email. Either way, it is validation that makes you stand out from the rest. Also, you can consider being recommended by key players from the startup ecosystem.
Remember: the application process for Gen. X will close next April 25th. For more information about P18 and to fill the application, you can visit the website https://parallel18.com/genx/ . If you have any questions, send us an email to cobi@parallel18.com . Don’t miss out!
