#P18Turns5: This is what our last month of the year looked like!

What a year! We can all agree that is not an understatement. In parallel18 we kicked off 2020 with our most diverse generation yet, we celebrated our first P18Ventures Summit and we were getting ready to call for applications for our upcoming Gen.8. What happened next is history still in the making.

Now, at a time when we’ve gotten to see disruption firsthand, all we can say is that the work that our entrepreneurs have put into bettering, growing, and taking their solutions to the next level has been outstanding and we couldn’t be prouder of them. That’s why we close off the final quarter of 2020 with two key initiatives: our 42 startups from pre18’s Gen.3, which is our second fully-virtual cohort, and our P18 Startup Directory. These are our direct responses to everything that has happened this year.

The only thing that has been certain for us during 2020 is that every collaborator in our community has done a monumental job adjusting and making the best out of the changes brought by this year’s circumstances. The barriers caused by the pandemic have made our program even more empathetic to the challenges entrepreneurs face regularly in their journey. Our team did the same as any parallel18 founder: we stuck to the mission and problem at hand, evolved our solution, and prepared to sail forward.

The results of that hands-on work ethic, from the entire P18 community, are all compiled in the numbers showcased on our Impact Report 2020, published last Thursday, December 17th, which leads us towards a promising 2021. A year where we aim to continue creating more tools, better programs, and a lot more opportunities to provide to our alumni and participants. As always, we count on your support throughout this new exciting phase for parallel18 and all of our subprograms. In the meantime, scroll down to catch up one last time this year!

The P18 team will be off during the holidays!

Over the last five years, the P18 team has worked non-stop to find new and impactful ways to help startups. This year that collective commitment has been even stronger. Now it’s time for a well-deserved break.

From December 24th 2020 to January 6th, 2021 our team will log off to recharge and safely enjoy time with their loved ones and with themselves. All the while our coworking space remains closed, as it has since the pandemic began. We’ll be back in January as energetic as ever to kick off a promising year full of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Should you have any questions, it’s now or… next year! Please write an email to cobi@parallel18.com.

More highlights in a nutshell

• As a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re thrilled to officially launch our P18 Startup Directory, a digital tool that connects our alumni with investors and corporate partners from all over the world. The first group consists of companies featured in this virtual tool dabbles into virtual reality, data analytics, and startups focused on wellness. In total, they represent 14 industries including e-commerce, immersive technology, cybersecurity, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and insurance. You can access the directory here or click here to learn more.
• We’ve officially launched our fourth Impact Report! The report compiles the results of our seventh and eighth cohort, plus an update of what our alumni were up to during the past fiscal year. You’re invited to catch with our team, along with our parent organization’s leadership and #P18Alumnus Amasar, who discussed the results here. You can also see the complete outcome of our efforts in the Impact Report. However, here’s a brief summary: 152 unique interactions between corporate partners and startups, plus 6 deals closed through P18Connect; US $1.3 million distributed in grants; and a 85% survival rate of the companies that have completed P18.
• Our Corporate Innovation Program has come a long way this year, having launched the Corporate Innovation School and finding new ways to connect startups with corporates in the virtual world. Now, our Business Development Manager, Cristina Tamayo — who leads this parallel18 subprogram — will take P18Connect’s success stories and learnings to a digital forum with “P18Connect: In The Loop”, a new live series which will premiere new episodes monthly on YouTube. Watch the first installment here!
• Gen.6’s EduSynch is closing the year in style with a big partnership. They’ve joined forces with Open Education, the parent company of OpenEnglish, to integrate the startup’s adaptive training and mock test platform for English proficiency tests into OpenEnglish’s online platform.
• Gen.6’s Datawifi developed a “Secure Entry Register” (RSI), a technology that allows shopping centers real-time monitoring the capacity of their establishments. This tool has already been implemented in 17 shopping centers across Colombia, including the country’s capital, Bogota.
• Gen.2’s Sceenic partnered up with BT Sport, one of the world’s leading communication service companies, to roll out Watch Together as part of the “Match Day Experience”, the UK’s most immersive sports viewing experience for all EE 5G and iPhone 12 users. Sceenic has also been named one of the 50 most promising high-growth tech firms in the United Kingdom! Read more about the awesome news here.
• Gen.8’s vegan and gluten-free Tasty Smart cookies, made 100% locally, will be available in Sam’s Club chain in Puerto Rico starting next December 21st. With this incursion, the company hopes to increase its sales by 50%, as well as pave the way for the export of its products to the United States.
• The Gen.3 #P18Alumnus TrueFace won awards in the travel space. First, they were named one of the Hot Startups for 2021 by Phocuswire, a respected research authority providing valuable travel industry data and expert analysis. TrueFace has also signed a partnership with Modzy, a company that makes it easier for the enterprise and government agencies to operationalize AI.
• Gen.6’s ElegirSeguro.com was one of 11 startups selected by CAF (Development Bank of Latin America) organized by the Financial Inclusion Laboratory (LIF 2020) to find technological solutions that promote financial inclusion and mitigate the effects of Covid-19 in Latin America.
• Huge congrats to Fixme’s founder, Maria Luque, for her nomination to EUTOP50’s Top Woman Entrepreneur Award. The award is granted in joint collaboration with the Wominvest Observatory, Forum Knowledge4Innovation, and Collabwith, organizations that work to bring recognition and visibility to female founders.
• 9 millones, a #pre18ner from our on-going Gen.3, has brought the spotlight to Puerto Rico’s editorial scene by getting selected to participate in Google News Initiative Startup Lab Boot Camp. Twenty-four projects were chosen from the 259 applicants, each getting access to a six-week coaching course that will help them grow in the future. Learn more about the selection here.

YOU’RE ALL SET! A lot happened this year, but this is about it, for now! If you’d like to keep up with us, remember to stay tuned to our social media for further updates as the month passes by or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Catch up with us in 2021. Happy (safe) holidays!