We’re back, cheers to a successful 2022!
After a well-deserved break, the parallel18 team is back to business! 2021 was a challenging year, where the COVID-19 pandemic continued and we adapted a blended mode to finish a very successful ninth cohort.
Finally, after more than 20 months of virtual events we summoned investors, mentors, and corporate partners to witness 33 companies that presented their pitches at the Raúl Juliá theater at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art.
The event kicked off with an inspiring video about the latest achievements of parallel18 and how we achieved major results with Gen. 9.
Also, Juan Carlos Hernández, our Executive Director, gave a speech about our commitment towards a more inclusive accelerator, where we offer opportunities to underrepresented founders from around the world.
Overall, 66% of the startups (22) were Puerto Rican based, the rest coming from Mexico, United States, Colombia, Singapore, Jamaica, Argentina, and Canada.
During the event, several awards were given: Queritel won the GiveBack Award which was granted by our Gen. 8 alumni StrainApp and includes 6 months of individualized mentorship.
Another prize that was given during the celebration was the Oriental Award. The local financial institution selected two startups that, according to their criteria, contributed to Puerto Rico’s economy. The recipients for this award were Evocare and Piezas Rush, which received $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.
Lastly, the People’s Choice Award, selected by the event’s audience, awarded $1,500 to the first place and $1,000 to the second place. Both cash awards were given thanks to the sponsorship of Plaza Provision and the P18 alumnus StrainApp.
Access the complete list of the companies presented in the e-book here.
27 Puerto Rican startups are ready to take it out of the ballpark with the pre18 program
2022 is coming strong and productive for our local pre-acceleration program! The top industries of the selected companies for pre18 are: Education, Healthcare & Biotechnology and E-commerce; while 50% of the startups have female representation in their startups.
During the selection process, a panel of international judges shaped by entrepreneurs, mentors and other leaders of the ecosystem, evaluated over 150 applications. It was an extensive and competitive evaluation process!
The selected companies come from the following industries: agrotech, e-commerce, SaaS, Education, Healthcare, Biotechnology, Food & Beverage, Real Estate, Fintech, Legal Services, and more.
The official list of the selected companies: Abacrop, Assist787, Auditorium, Buzzzy, Candid Society, Ceyba Citadoc, LLC., Channel, DABB, Divinissimo Gelato, Enspacio, EntrePanas, ESTHERkids, Find It, Hyperion, Maestros Express, Med-Fly, Meet your finance, Mente Serena, Mojito Dating, Okie Dokie Technologies LLC, Paralian LLC, RED Atlas, Spawn Camp, STREAM Technologies LLC, Temis, and Giftfully.
Our co-working space remains closed until further notice
Due to the increase in Covid-19 cases in Puerto Rico, and following the health protocols of our parent organization, the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, our staff will remain operating in a remote manner and our co-working space will be closed until further notice.
Our regular working schedule is from Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (AST). Please contact us if you have any questions via email: cobi@parallel18.com
As always: stay safe and happy 2022!
