How did founders of non-US companies selected to 500 Startups get noticed by the mentors?
While I really like 500 Startups' choice to shake things up by not having a formal application procedure, I've felt that it handicaps a non-US founder significantly more as the chance to meet one of the mentors is pretty low.
However, there is still quite a large contingent of companies from abroad. I'd like to the different strategies to getting noticed, without stepping over the line of spamming.
However, there is still quite a large contingent of companies from abroad. I'd like to the different strategies to getting noticed, without stepping over the line of spamming.
3 Answers
Our portfolio and mentor network are global, so it's not as hard as you might think to get noticed. Over half of our current accelerator batch came from outside the U.S. to join the program and they came through referrals within the 500 family.
My suggestion is to get out there - attend events and get to know the startup community in your country, and in particular get to events where Silicon Valley people may be attending/speaking.
One of our companies actually decided to just make a trip to the U.S. (originally from Eastern Europe) They showed up at a random startup event, met a couple folks who knew us, and seemed to be able to impress them enough that they referred the company to us. They're now in our program. Not saying that will happen all the time -- the point is that where there is a will, there is a way (and a way to do it without coming off as if you're spamming or stalking).
My suggestion is to get out there - attend events and get to know the startup community in your country, and in particular get to events where Silicon Valley people may be attending/speaking.
One of our companies actually decided to just make a trip to the U.S. (originally from Eastern Europe) They showed up at a random startup event, met a couple folks who knew us, and seemed to be able to impress them enough that they referred the company to us. They're now in our program. Not saying that will happen all the time -- the point is that where there is a will, there is a way (and a way to do it without coming off as if you're spamming or stalking).
From what I've experienced most people in Silicon Valley are far more accessible then you would think.
Christine Tsai was at LAUNCH Education & Kids talking to everybody and so were a lot of notable industry people. As somebody who came to the valley from Toronto with no real connections outside Canada I was amazed at how accessible everybody was. My suggestion is to bite the bullet, get on a plane and go to as many events as you can. Your more then likely to find people who are partners at 500 startups or entrepreneurs they've backed.
Christine Tsai was at LAUNCH Education & Kids talking to everybody and so were a lot of notable industry people. As somebody who came to the valley from Toronto with no real connections outside Canada I was amazed at how accessible everybody was. My suggestion is to bite the bullet, get on a plane and go to as many events as you can. Your more then likely to find people who are partners at 500 startups or entrepreneurs they've backed.
