The cheat sheet for successful 500STARTUPS applications

Aug 30, 2014

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Head straight to https://angel.co/500startups and apply if you plan to take your startup to the next level with the 500 startups' 4-month accelerator programs in Mountain View, San Francisco, and Mexico City.

Applications for batch 11 just closed .. dont give me those puppy eyes ! .. batch 12 applications are just around the corner.

I have been privileged to be part of the #500STRONG family for a few years now. I 1st joined as a member of the 500 mentors family [ http://500.co/ramialkarmi ], then joined the team that reviews the applications to join 500 ( hence the findings i will share during this post :) ) , and most recently joined 500 Startups Fund III's Limited Partner group (LP) representing ZAIN Jordan's Corporate Entrepreneurship & Venturing arm ZINC ( ZAIN Innovation Campus)

At 500, we invest $100k in exchange for 7%, and charge a $25K program fee for a net $75K investment. Our investments are usually through a convertible security structure.

I am proud that till date 11 arabic startup founders have joined the #500strong family ; 9 from Jordan 1 from Saudi Arabia, ,and 1 from Egypt.

We look forward to having more founders join #500strong :)

The partnership between 500 and ZAIN will be launching ( sometime during Q4 2014) the ZINC Startup Lounge at the King Hussein Business Park in Amman / Jordan, which apart from all bells and whistles will have a live video conferencing and telepresence machine connected directly to the 500 offices in Mountain View and San Francisco, to host live mentoring and live co-organized events, serving as a digital bridge between Silicon Valley and Jordan as the hub of startup activity in the Middle East.

so with regards to applying for 500 ..i will let you do the math :

if each batch gets a few thousand applications (5-6K) , while on average ~ 30 startups get accepted.

What would your odds be for getting accepted in 500 (one the top global accelerators in the world) if your application does not stand out ?

Puppy eyes again ? Getting in should not be an objective .. it should be one of the means of making your startup go BOOM !

ok , the title of this post implies there is a cheat sheet for getting in 500 startups , but it's really how much hard work , and how much homework to increase your odds of joining have you done ?

so there you go , the tips for a successful 500 startup application :

Have an Awesome AngelList Profile. Awesome includes being complete and up to date.
Ask #500Strong family for recommendations. Reach out to the 500 Network of Team members, Mentors, and Founders if you know any, because a recommendation can boost your application status. Yes, a recommendation from yours truly (myself) included ! ;)
Have a live product (we will check it). The least you should have is a minimal viable product (MVP) , but the more the merrier.
Have "relevant" traction to validate your business model. Make sure they are relevant i.e.make sure there are no vanity matrix types of traction mentioned ( For example a few million Facebook likes , or number of downloads of your mobile app are causes of automatic disqualification !)
Articulate your matrix clearly. Know how will you grow your business and make sure we understand that.
Show Momentum in you traction. Preferably lots of traction, but some traction with a hockey stick graph will do the trick .. also try to stick to past tense while describing traction , no future tense ;)
Have a balanced cross-functional founders team: combination of technical skills, design talent, marketing/distribution know-how team members that previously worked together.
Articulate a clear revenue model: Subscription, lead generation, transaction/SaaS, etc. Although we've had some exceptions, but at 500 we are not a huge fan of ad-based, affiliate, or the "build it and they will come" revenue models.
Present a capital-efficient business: We look for companies that can be operational with less than $1M in funding.

Most importantly , I urge you to apply as early as possible as batch applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Most of the applications fell in the trap of coming in on the last few days. while the review process starts as soon as the application process is open.

If you want us to spend more time on your application, make sure you apply as soon as the applications for the next batch are open !

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I am glad and really appreciate you are reading my post.

Here, at LinkedIn, I regularly write about entrepreneurship , building lean startup ecosystems , growth and distribution marketing and business model innovation.

If you would like to read my regular posts then please click 'Follow' (at the top of the page) and send me an Invite on Linkedin . Also, feel free to connect / follow onTwitter|Facebook|AngelList or my blog Ramialkarmi.com

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About : Rami Al-Karmi is an LP & Mentor at 500 startups, a proud geek, investor, and widely recognized advisor and expert in strategy, lean startup ecosystems, business models, growth & distribution through big data and viral marketing, and corporate venturing.

In 2013, he founded Arcoten Holdings as his advising/investing vehicle where he partners with corporates, accelerators, and incubators to build lean startup ecosystems, and helps companies through providing expertise in growth, hands-on mentorship, access to capital, and helps companies iterate product and grow fast. From time to time, he also likes to build companies with friends and partners inside Arcoten.

Photo: Dave McClure and Rami Al-Karmi @ 500's Mountain View Offices taken by my Nexus Phone.

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Rami Al-Karmi

The cheat sheet for successful 500STARTUPS applications

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Rami Al-Karmi