Cambridge is better than Moscow

Everyone knows that 99% of startups are dying. But it's not about probability and luck, but about recharge at the start. Money, quality feedback and motivation. We have the first steps to create a breeding ground for projects being made by Glavstart , but they are completely inadequate, especially considering the orientation of Arkady Moreynis exclusively on the Russian market.

In the post I want to tell in detail about the British incubator Springboard, the next session of which will be held in May. In yesterday’s Incubator post, the Academy of National Economy already mentioned Springboard, but it did not receive due attention. And the opportunity is, in fact, wonderful. I myself plan to apply. :-)
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How it all began - The Difference Engine

The current concept of Springboard evolved from the program Difference Engine , which took place last spring.

How it was:


9 teams gathered in Middlesbrough (400 km from London) and worked on business aspects and prototypes for 13 weeks with mentors from Amazon, Google, Paypal, entrepreneurs and marketers. It all ended at the bottom of an investor in London, after which many received further funding, and some even managed to move to the Valley .

New Springboard

Springboard has been holding sessions since 2008 and at first existed as a few free jobs in the Cambridge Redgate office. But for the current day, the program absorbed the entire experience of the Difference Engine, received support from the University of Cambridge, and entered the TechStars Network incubator network . Today Springboard is the leading incubator in Europe in terms of project support (UPD: and environmental quality) .

Mentors and alumni network

Springboard's own mentor pool exceeds 50 people: employees of large technology companies, venture capitalists, business angels, entrepreneurs, and graduates of the previous years program. In addition, through the TechStars Network membership, future session projects will have access to a mentoring network of several hundred people in the United States.

Program

The process starts on May 3, 2011, takes 13 weeks and takes place in 3 stages:

1. Shape. Together with the mentors, each team will check all the basic prerequisites of their projects, as well as make sure that the chosen platform, technology and planned functionality are optimal.
2. Build. Teams plow over the prototype. Ready features are tested on potential customers, mentors give a new feedback.
3. Sell Using the results of the previous two stages, the teams “sell” projects to investors. At this stage, product demos and public presentations are polished.

Financing

The most important thing. :-)
Each project receives X * £ 5000 of funding (X = number of team members) in exchange for 6% of the company.
If we recount the values ​​that are understandable to us, then a team of 2 people will receive about $ 16,000.

A place

The whole action will take place in Cambridge. IdeaSpace will become the direct “housing” of the projects - a cluster of offices sharpened by high-tech companies. In addition to fellow start-ups in the neighborhood there will be mature companies . Judging by the photos , the place is very pleasant.

Selection

The program is really open to early stage projects, only a team is needed and a firm intention to implement technological development with high potential. Teams will be selected from all over Europe, everyone has a chance.

Three reservations:

• Just in case, I emphasize that the project should be focused on a Western audience.
• The development of the first version of the project should meet in 13 weeks - it is not necessary to submit with high-level ideas (hardware or a new generation OS).
• If the project team consists of one person, the approval of the application is very unlikely. Ideal - 3 people with technical and business skills.

The process is quite simple: teams fill out an online application, the incubator team makes a shortlist, communicates with the most interesting candidates and invites the top ten to the program.

Application: springboard.producteev.com/home.php
Deadline: February 20th.

Finally

If you are no longer interested in digging into the small, underdeveloped and clone-infested Russian Internet market, this is absolutely a real opportunity to realize a really interesting and valuable project. For my application, I will sit down tomorrow morning, and what you want. :-)