The whys you didn’t make it and tips for the next round!
You saw the open call. It caught your attention and you decided to read the requirements. Finally, you applied after concluding your startup was the perfect fit for parallel18. But, plot twist! When you saw the results your startup was not selected. And all you can do now is to wonder why. Well, not anymore.
We understand that rejection is always disappointing, especially if it’s not the first time. However, keep in mind that more than 490 startups applied for Gen.7 and less than 10% of the applicants were accepted. Does this mean there’s something wrong with your business? No.
It was a very rigorous and competitive process, to say the least. We selected more than our usual 40 companies and, STILL, we wanted to select more. The quality of many startups that applied were enormously high. It was hard on the judges who spent hours evaluating the applications according to the judging criteria discussed here and how our program can help at the moment. So some tough choices had to be made.
Does this mean your startup will never be the ideal fit for the program? Are you wondering if you misunderstood the requirements? Not at all! Some of the companies selected for this generation weren’t chosen on their first or second try. There can be a variety of reasons for that. Maybe it was because there was still room to grow that traction. It could be they needed to solidify their product. Perhaps they were in the middle of a pivoting process or they weren’t very clear about how they wanted to approach the Puerto Rican market.
So, since you took the time to fill your application and patiently wait for our reply, we want to fill you in some top reasons why your startup made it to the second round of selection but ultimately didn’t end up getting selected to be part of Gen.7. If you haven’t done so yet, please ask for feedback by sending an email to cobi@parallel18.com.
Traction
One of the main requirements of the program is to have enough traction to scale operations. We want to help you take your startup global and, for that to happen, you should be at a level that allows you to focus on expansion.
What does that mean in terms of your application? Many startups were not super clear with their numbers, go back and check how your traction was displayed. If you decide to apply again, we encourage you to reach out to Cobi to make sure your traction is crystal clear.
Now, we understand that sometimes you can’t give a specific answer if a question is ambiguous. So let us know if the way the question was formulated in the application form confused you in some way and we will see how we can improve how it was presented. We’re open to receive your feedback as well.
Describing your product or service
Here, the key is to stand out. By default, startups should be innovative, have a strong disrupting characteristic, and offer something people are willing to pay for.
In this particular question, our judges wanted to understand how your company stands out in an ever-changing and competitive market. Our advice is that, in the future, make sure you think hard about what makes your solution different and efficient. Explain in detail how the company has a viable future, what you’re offering, and why should customers choose you over similar services.
One last thing, we strongly recommend acknowledging your competitors in your application. Even is it seems counter-productive for your startup, it isn’t. Judges trust a team that’s aware of the challenges they might face. And they’re particularly interested in how the company is planning to solve them.
Market and positioning
All instances of the evaluation criteria are somewhat tied together. Aside from describing your product, knowing there’s a market for it is essential.
In this item, the judges wanted to see which is your target market. Is it too crowded? Is it a not-so-humble niche? The idea is to understand how you stand out in an oversaturated space or if you’re serving a group that has been overlooked.
Keep in mind that, when applying to an international program, the solutions you present need to have a global scale. You might have started solving a local issue, but you must make clear how it can be translated to a global landscape. Which leads us to our next reason.
Your plan for Puerto Rico
In some applications, the Selection Board members were not clear on how Puerto Rico and parallel18 could play a part in the startup’s plan for expansion and growth.
But why does this matter? P18’s mission is to help startups scale from Puerto Rico to global markets, mainly the United States. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory so, by definition, making business on the island is making business in the mainland.
Besides, we want startups to put down roots in Puerto Rico. And this is why the Selection Committee really takes how the island and the program can help you into account.
For the next application, go beyond Puerto Rico’s strategic location right in the middle of the Americas. Think about the type of industries that have traditionally been successful within the island. For example, the country is big on B2B businesses, pharma, insurance, banking, and telecommunications.
What role can you play in a landscape like that? You don’t have to be a startup in one of those industries get accepted in the program. But you need to make us see what kind of business opportunities Puerto Rico has to offer that can end up benefiting your company.
It’s not you. It’s us
Finally, let’s face it, we can make mistakes. Sometimes we miss out on really amazing companies because we fail to see their potential or because we reached our limit and we have no space for more. It can happen.
We hope to have cleared your questions in this post, but we understand if you still have some questions about your application. Reach out to cobi@parallel18.com and ask away. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we hope this only encourages you to keep working hard towards your business goals. Think hard on the feedback and apply again.
