7 stories of what you’re in for when you become a #P18Startup
In case you’re still not sure if you should apply
It’s been almost three years since parallel18 started accelerating businesses all over Puerto Rico, the U.S., Europe and Latin America. We’ve had some pretty cool, creative and hardworking alumni and we love them all. Our wish for them is to always carry the experiences they had in our program and that those same experiences inspire them to keep innovating on a global scale. Here are some stories from each generation’s startups so that you know what you can expect when applying for Gen.6.
Some of these alumni received P18’s follow-up fund, Parallel18 Ventures. This fund is given to selected alumni who raise investment and meet the program’s expectations at the end of the 20-week-long course of the program. The condition to receive the US $75K in funds is that each startup has to keep operations in Puerto Rico and hire, at least, 5 full-time employees in the Island in the next 2 years. This is in addition to the US $40K free grant received by the startups who complete the P18’s acceleration program.
BUREA: Gen.1, Puerto Rico
Recipient of the follow-up fund, Parallel18 Ventures
In addition to P18’s follow-up fund, BUREA has raised angel investment from a local corporation and several other parties.
Vivian Vargas, founder of the app explained that P18’s program expanded the startup’s horizons and prompted them to think beyond Puerto Rico. Vargas added that they met most of BUREA’s investors through P18’s connections. Mentioning that the fact that they are P18’s alumni has helped in their plans to expand their business to Mexico and Colombia.
BUREA is a mobile app that helps you save on your purchases by virtually offering you deals and discounts. The platform also has a cash back feature, the more offers you redeem, the more money you can accumulate. Once you reach US $20 you can withdraw what you have accumulated and transfer it to your bank, cooperative or PayPal account.
Cinemad Gen.1, Argentina
Recipient of the follow-up fund, Parallel18 Ventures
Cinemad received investment from a Puerto Rican media company after a connection made through P18. During their time participating in P18 their platform reached markets in Brazil, Mexico and Spain, growing exponentially. They closed 2017, with operations in seven markets.
“Our startup has participated in several programs but parallel18 has been the best. The quality of the mentors is amazing. As well as the infrastructure and the support received by the staff, who are 100% dedicated to growth”, sustained Mariano LoCane, founder of Cinemad.
Cinemad turns viewers into clients. We’re talking about an online platform that allows the viewer to convert any ordinary promotional video into an interactive experience. It’s a mix between an infomercial and an online store where the viewer is able to click and participate.
BandsOf: Gen.2, Puerto Rico
Recipient of the follow-up fund, Parallel18 Ventures
Alan Taveras, co-founder of the platform, explained that BrandsOf started in Puerto Rico and now it’s growing in other countries with roots well established in the island. He described P18 as exactly what they needed to find a north in their business. That’s how they developed a global mindset.
“From measuring everything that we do, to start working with objectives based on data and metrics. This is the most important thing a startup can have”, Taveras said about how P18 impacted the way the company does things.
Brands of Puerto Rico is a digital platform of e-commerce that, initially, enabled local entrepreneurs to market their products around the globe, connecting them with the Puerto Rican diaspora, as well as with the rest of the world. Their goal has been to boost the island’s economy.
What they’ve done is expand their concept through Latin America and the U.S. with various platforms dedicated to each country’s local brands. Now they Brands Of is present in El Paso, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Argentina and Mexico.
Aseguratec: Gen.2, Puerto Rico
Winner of Grupo Guayacán’s first round of Springboard program
Aseguratec received US $25K in funds from Grupo Guayacán in addition to the US $40K equity free grant received when they participated in P18. Robert Calvesbert and José Luis Fernández explained that P18 really understands the space a startup needs to grow and the kind of environment that promotes creativity. They recount feeling very motivated as part of P18’s Gen.2. Furthermore, they pointed out how P18 continues to help them in providing the resources they need to scale their business.
“Through P18 we have found many services that have improved our business, interns that have helped us, great ideas that we hadn’t thought of and connections to business partners and friends”, the founders added.
After successfully finishing P18’s program, Entrepeneur.com highlighted how, in midst hurricane María, Aseguratec grew even faster.
What Calvesbert and Fernández came up with is the first online insurance portal in Puerto Rico. The platform allows clients to list, compare and buy car and life insurance from a variety of companies. The idea is saving time and money doing everything online.
Quiena: Gen.3, Argentina
Recipient of the follow-up fund, Parallel18 Ventures/ Recently raised 750K in investment
This year, Quiena Inversiones, subsidiary of the US investment firm ‘Quiena Wealth Management’ announced the closing of an investment round that totals US $750K. Along with funds Parallel18 Ventures, Incutex and La Turbina Ventures, said investment was led by ItalBank International — whose connection with the startup was established by P18 — and Alaya Capital Partners.
According to Nicolás Galarza, founder of Quiena, the launch of a product with ItalBank was the most important part P18’s program. Galarza said that partnerships usually take time and are difficult to achieve, but P18 made it possible for his startup.
Through an automated advisory system, the Quiena Inversiones’ robot analyzes stock history in seconds, generates an investment plan perfectly adjusted to the risk profile and personal objectives of each client, and manages its investment account 24 hours a day.
BrainHi: Gen.4, Puerto Rico
First Puerto Rican startup selected to be Y-Combinator
Before being selected to participate in Y-Combinator, which is one of the top U.S. based accelerators, BrainHi were P18 alumni. During this time, they had a round of investment where raised US $65K in Puerto Rico and Silicon Valley.
Their team explained that P18 gave them a roadmap on how to globalize their business and the diversity of the Puerto Rico ecosystem really helped them. They also highlighted the access to investors even during difficult times when they were trying to make their business survive hurricane María. BrainHi’s experience in P18 prepared them to give their best at Y-Combinator.
BrainHi is an automated receptionist that schedules appointments by: managing missed calls, answering questions from followers on Facebook and chatting with potential clients visiting a website.
Bien Cool: Gen 3, Puerto Rico
The Millennial greeting card brand
Josie Arroyo had a job in Yahoo, back in Miami, but she decided to come back to Puerto Rico. That’s when creativity and student loans inspired her to create postals and gifts with funky graphic design and colloquial sayings, she called her small soon to be business: Bien Cool.
Not long after, Bien Cool joined P18 as a Gen.3 startup.
Arroyo explained that P18 impacted the way Bien Cool did business and that it made her focus shift to a global one. This allowed the startup to start doing business-to-business deals, something Arroyo hadn’t even considered before.
“We’re doing collaboration with brands, now we have a collaboration with big companies for branded products. We’re doing a line of socks with Eleven Eleven”, Arroyo told us.
The startup already sale points around the island and it ships its products to the U.S. Arroyo assured that the collaborative space at P18 really gave her a worldwide vision