“One small step for the man, a giant leap for mankind”
Z Nation Lab (ZNL) in the recently held Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad, India, announced its own small step: We are taking our Bootcamp to Silicon Valley. ZNL formed a consortium partnership with Naya Ventures and BootUp Ventures to launch its first-ever Global Acceleration Program in line with its very successful Pre-Accelerator Startup Bootcamp programs & Corporate Innovation Programs in India. The Global Acceleration Program is designed to become the Anchor Pillar for achieving the vision of Open Innovation.
The goal is to provide Indian startups a Launchpad to connect with global corporates, investors and researchers; and in turn create a differentiator in the Indian ecosystem.
Why Global Acceleration Program (GAP)?
Startups are poised to be the next-generation drivers of the Indian Economy and will prove to be the growth engine of the country; by providing increased employment, capital creation and innovation that matches and competes at the global level.
GAP has been introduced to get the startups in India access to the global markets, especially the USA for their products and services. Silicon Valley has been the leader in tech startups and has the necessary ingredients; quality mentors, investments and partnerships that will help Indian startups to crack the code. Major startups ecosystem like Japan, Israel, Europe, etc. have already set their presence and innovation-centers in Silicon Valley, and are already utilizing the benefits of this hub. A presence in Silicon Valley will give Indian players a view of the global markets and will make them ready to expand.
Benefits from the Program
Startups applying for the program will be first selected for a one-week Bootcamp in India where they will be evaluated by experts from India and Silicon Valley on their product-market fit, go to market strategy and ability to scale up globally. Each participant will get an opportunity to pitch their product and interact with the mentors and investors from across the globe. From the participants, 15 startups will then be picked up for the Bootcamp program in Silicon Valley, USA.
For the selected candidates this would mean being part of the next Bootcamp in Silicon Valley, which will help them get:
• A launchpad for global scale-up
• Meet 5-10 investors from Silicon Valley
• Get individual pitch coaching & feedback from pitch experts from the US
• Showcase product/services to Minimum 3-5 potential customers and MNCs
• Minimum 10 hours of one-one mentorship with experts from Silicon Valley.
• Network and Learn from peers and serial entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
• Gather knowledge at various workshops like Digital marketing techniques, Branding, Business Modelling, Legal & Compliance, etc.
• 3 to 24 months acceleration support
• Startup establishment in the USA
• Leverage on Z Nation Lab global partnership in 10 Countries
• Office hours, mentoring and fund-raising support
• Facilitate exit opportunities
Startups graduating from the Bootcamp program in the USA will also receive a seed funding of USD 50K to 100K from the Acceleration Fund led by Naya Ventures and supported by BootUP Ventures and Z Nation Lab; potential credits by Amazon web services, Paytm, Microsoft, IBM Watson, SendGrid, Mail Chimp, Google, etc. Follow on investment offers may also be available from Naya Ventures Growth fund and its consortium partners.
Other Details
- The first-ever Silicon Valley Bootcamp will be held in March of 2018.
- Program fee – USD 1500; VISA-fee, Air Travel, and Accommodation to be borne by the participants
- The program in Silicon Valley will last for 10 days, which will include: Pitch events, Formal and Informal Networking events, Mentoring and critique sessions, Talks from key speakers/ guest lecturers etc.
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