500 Startups currently known as startup global is a Silicon Valley-based global venture capital seed fund founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai, with a network of startup programmes and over $350 million in committed money spread over 4 major funds and 13 micro funds. It is the #1 most active seed fund in the world.
They have a network of over 1800 startups around the world, with 3000 inventors. They operate in more than 60 nations around the world.
What is the 500 Global Flagship Accelerator Program?
500 global flagship accelerators began is a program that takes your startup to the next level in growth and performance and it began in 2010.
In 500 startups, you learn the ropes and knots in building and scaling a startup. Applications start on a rolling basis, tailoring each program to founder’s needs.
About 500 Startups
Over a year has passed since the startup accelerator, 500 Startups changed its name to 500 Global to establish itself as a venture capital firm. According to its website, it also established a $140 million fund to invest in later-stage businesses, bringing the total assets under control to $2.8 billion.
In contrast to Techstars, which recently created an $8 million pre-seed fund for firms too early for even its own accelerator, the new 500 fund has a strategy akin to Y Combinator’s continuity fund, which exists for growth-stage investments.
The venture capital company, 500 Global, with $2.8 billion in assets under management, makes investments in entrepreneurship, and establishing rapidly expanding technological businesses. They concentrate on industries and sectors where money, creativity, and technology can create long-term value and stimulate the economy.
How to Apply for the 500 Startups Flagship Accelerator Batch
Click here to fill out the form and apply for the 500 Startups accelerator batch programme.
Read – How to Identify the Target Market of your Startup.
500 Startups Focus Areas
500 Startups is focused on a wider range of areas:
- Consumer Goods
- Media & Entertainment
- Fintech
- Healthcare & Life Science
- IT & Software
- Marketplace & eCommerce
- Telecommunications
- Retail
SaaS, mobile, marketplaces, e-commerce, fintech, and music/video are just a few of the many industries that 500 Startups focuses on. In San Francisco, Mountain View, and Mexico City, the 500 Seed Program emphasizes web marketing and customer acquisition, design and user experience, and lean startup methods and analytics. The 500 Series A Program operates in numerous cities across the world and provides growth marketing and funding for post-seed and pre-Series A enterprises.
Nordic startups may apply to their seed programmes in Silicon Valley and San Francisco as well as their series A programmes in Europe (London and Berlin).
They believe that outstanding entrepreneurs can be of any race, gender, or nationality. Since the beginning, they have made it their aim to identify and support great innovators, whether they are located abroad or are unappreciated in their home community. Diversity has always been one of 500’s key values.
How much money does 500 Startups invest?
They offer a $150,000 investment in exchange for 6% and charge $37.5,000 to join the 500 Seed Program.
For participation in the 500 Series A Program, they levy a $25–$50,000 participation fee depending on the area and invest $100–250,000 in market conditions.
Read – Valuation For Startups
How long does the Startup Accelerator Program last?
The Accelerator seed programme lasts for 4 months.
Read – Crowdfunding For Startups.
How Many Startup Batches Does 500 Startups Sponsor Annually?
Through their accelerator programme (500.co), 500 invests in approximately sponsoring 35-45 companies per “batch” about three to four times a year (winter/spring, summer, fall/winter). Each batch lasts for four months and ends with a demo day.
Read – Investing in Startups
What Benefits Does the 500 Startups’ 4-month seed programme offer startups?
Here are several explanations on why entrepreneurs choose 500:
- Community: Launching a business is difficult and lonesome. Working with others who are facing similar difficulties is extremely beneficial. Founders who have completed the programme attest to how valuable the 500 community is.
- Advice: You will have access to a network of more than 1,000 founders, 200 mentors, and members of their team who will offer advice when you need it most. 500 Startups has built startups before. They will watch out for you to avoid making the same errors they did.
- Curriculum: 500 hires a wide range of specialists with expertise in marketing, culture, startup accountancy, product design, mobile, user testing, sales, and other areas. It’s like an MBA for startups on steroids.
- Hands-on– Support: For four months, startups live (in some cases too literally) in the workplace. On your business and product strategy, growth and KPIs, and investor pitches, 500 will collaborate.
- Connections: Because of the extensive network, startups form alliances and partnerships that, at their size, they couldn’t have done without 500. Want to meet a customer? Obtaining a new platform feature before others? Blocking access to APIs? At the border and stuck? 500 Startups has connections.
- Finances: Becoming a member of 500 Startups will legitimize your company, and their network will enable you to contact investors when the time is appropriate. Demo Day at 500 is a fantastic opportunity to network and pitch potential investors.
How Does 500 Startups Pick Investments
Here’s how 500 Startups assess potential investments in the early stages:
500 Startups is rather open about its investment philosophy. They favour a sizable, diverse portfolio of early-stage investments over more conventional VC businesses on Sand Hill Road to minimize risk and enhance possible reward. In other words, 500 encourages placing several small wagers.
The question is, how do you put that thesis into practice once you have it? Your frameworks and filters will be useful in this situation. Depending on their area of focus, each firm’s framework differs and is essential to their success.
500 Startups has developed a data-driven process over seven years based on a variety of predefined metrics;
- Kickass Team
- Solving Problems
- Capital-efficient business
- Path to Series A
- A Working Prototype
- Measurable Traction
- Scalability
1. Kickass Team
A cross-functional team with experience in design, engineering, and marketing is what they are ideally looking for. From experience, combining members of the technical team with talented product and distribution experts results in success.
2. Solving a problem
Your chosen investment should provide a solution to a problem for a particular target market. That frequently occurs in conjunction with a market shift and entails fixing a problem that wasn’t visible before.
3. Capital-efficient business
500 Startups are searching for companies with operating capital of less than $1 million.
Their CAPEX must be low or a slight increase in revenue must be noticed. Observe the burn rate!
4. Path to Series A
Likely, you have already run out of money if you’re trying to raise more. They need to know if you can raise the next round of funding because 500 is an early-stage investor.
5. A working prototype
Before making a purchase, you must first show a working prototype or, at the very least, proof of previous product success. An additional benefit is early consumer utilization.
6. Measurable traction
Don’t use vanity metrics. 500 Startups is looking for active users, some revenue, and appealing, rising unit economics.
7. Scalability
A business should have either scalable internet-based distribution (search, social, mobile) or a demonstrated ability to scale revenues after it has achieved product-market fit. The internal growth marketing team at 500 focuses on assisting post-seed businesses as they get ready to raise their Series A financing.
Other Aspects of 500 Startups
They consult governments and businesses on the best ways to foster entrepreneurial ecosystems so that startups may succeed by collaborating closely with important stakeholders.
Over 5,000 founders representing more than 2,700 businesses operating in 81 countries have received funding from 500 Global. 49 of the companies in their portfolio are valued at over $1 billion.
500 Global’s 180+ team members are dispersed across 27 nations and bring with them expertise from some of the top technology companies in the world as entrepreneurs, investors, and operators.
One of the most esteemed, highly sought-after accelerator programmes and venture capital companies in the world is 500 Startups. 500 Startups, the second-most active global venture capital business in 2020 after being the most active in 2019, aims to expand the global economy by fostering prosperous entrepreneurship.
To date, 500 Startups has funded over 2,400 startups, over 5,000 entrepreneurs, and more than 75 countries. According to exits and deal volume, it is the second most active VC internationally. The 500 family is a network made up of more than 200 mentors and all alumni founders. Using the network, startups can get in touch with an increasing number of global engineers, designers, marketers, and founders.
Numerous investors and accelerator managers from more than 50 nations, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs from around the world, have been assessed and educated by 500 Global(500 Startups).
500 Startups Experiences
Twilio (NYSE: TWLO), Credit Karma, Grab, Udemy, Ipsy, Talkdesk, Intercom, MakerBot (acquired by SSYS), Wildfire (acquired by GOOG), and Viki (acquired by Rakuten) are just a few of the 1,800 technology businesses in which 500 Startups has invested since their founding in 2010. Their 150-person team, which is spread across 20 nations, manages seed investments in 60 nations and speaks more than 25 languages.
Their mentor network and investment team have worked for organizations including PayPal, Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Apple.
Previously, Almi Invest, SUP46, Opera Software, and Telenor worked together as strategic partners to run programmes in Sweden and Norway.
Startups That Have Been Funded By 500 Startups
500 Startups have invested in companies like
- Pacemaker
- Brisk.io
- Mentimeter
- Timely, and
- Easysize in the Nordic region.
1. 500 Startups’ Batch 26 (Feb. 11, 2020 — SAN FRANCISCO)
Global venture capital company 500 Startups officially confirmed the debut of 29 companies in the 26th batch of its seed accelerator programme.
With this batch, 500 Startups continues its effort to identify and support the most outstanding business people throughout the world, acknowledging that exceptional founders come in all colours, genders, and nationalities.
Thirty percent of the 29 companies in Batch 26 have female founders, and seventy percent of the companies have one or more founders who identify as members of an ethnic minority. The batch brings together key stakeholders in the global startup ecosystem, fostering fruitful networking opportunities.
Companies in batch 26 are developing solutions to problems in a variety of industries, such as low-code development, which makes it possible for non-engineers to code, insurance-as-a-service API, which enables instant quoting, and software that aids advertisers in weeding out dubious social media influencers.
The startups in Batch 26 are:
- Acadium: Links aspiring digital marketers with company owners and marketing experts.
- Alloy Card: Provides a credit card for everyday use with automation that gives users better financial control while saving time.
- Amixr is an incident management tool that assists engineering teams all around the world in streamlining their operations and reducing hassles.
- AppBind: By integrating B2B SaaS into the global reseller market of implementation consultants, system integrators, and distributors, it enables partners to purchase and resell online software subscriptions as easily as licensed software.
- Bliinx: By collecting all contacts’ interactions into Office 365, it provides a simple and quick approach to accessing information about business relationships.
- Briza: Offers an insurance-as-a-service API that makes it possible to instantly quote, bind, and issue commercial insurance policies.
- Butlr: Enables companies to utilise real-time behavioural analytics and artificial intelligence to make data-driven decisions.
- CENOS: Simulation software that is simple to use and enables engineers to iterate designs more quickly than with real prototypes, including for antenna design and induction heating.
- Connected Analytics: A Nigerian company that assists companies and banks in integrating data analytics and incentives to boost client retention and revenue.
- Fakespot: Deletes false information and misleading content from e-commerce websites for users, businesses, and platforms.
- GamerzClass: Provides specialised esports masterclasses with industry experts to help define the future of gaming.
- Get on Board: A platform for hiring that links international businesses with the top Latin American tech talent.
- Juked: Combines data about esports games, such as live streams, player profiles, results, and schedules to make esports more accessible to viewers and to encourage participation.
- Kyndoo: Aids advertisers in identifying fake social media influencers and provides information on their performance and authenticity.
- Mero Technologies retrofits commercial structures with sensors to evaluate traffic and consumables, including soap and toilet paper, in real-time and guide cleaning routes.
- Omnitron Sensors: Provides cutting-edge silicon photonics techniques for sensors in safety-critical systems, enabling the complete autonomy of autonomous vehicles and drones.
- Pilota automatically rebooks a traveler’s flight for free and uses machine learning to predict flight disruptions for travellers.
- With Plant an App, IT teams can benefit from low-code development speed without sacrificing flexibility.
- Pluto: Optimizes sleep by scaling-up custom sleep pillows based on the user’s body metrics, including height, neck-to-shoulder ratio, and sleep preferences.
- Predina uses artificial intelligence to estimate the likelihood of car accidents for insurance and safety reasons by studying more than 14 million past collisions and other variables like street intersections, weather, and time.
- Renetec: Enables the development of GUIs for embedded systems using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, thereby speeding up and lowering the cost of development.
- ShardSecure enables businesses to transfer and store sensitive data in the cloud safely.
- Shiplyst: India-based ocean freight procurement markets that cut costs for exporters and importers and provide them greater visibility into their shipments.
- Silk + Sonder: Offers a women’s mental well-being subscription service that makes everyday self-help more personalised through journaling and peer-to-peer support.
- Sira Medical: By giving doctors access to highly realistic 3D holograms of CT and MRI images, this company uses augmented reality to help doctors plan surgeries more effectively.
- The Atlas: The local government market, worth $1.6 trillion, is being modernised by an online community of city officials who crowdsource ideas.
- Thematic: Connects musicians in need of influencer marketing with content producers who require amazing tracks for their videos.
- Trash Warrior: Provides businesses with on-demand junk removal services. Online service booking is available for those who want reasonable prices and high quality.
- Userpilot: Assists software product managers with mass-scale personalization of the in-app experience throughout the user journey.
What Makes 500 Startups Different?
Being a global organization, 500 Startups seeks out businesses that have a global mindset from the start. They typically invest in businesses that have products that ship, are functioning, and have a modest number of customers or sales.
Do 500 Startups make investments in the businesses that graduate from the Flagship Seed Accelerator?
Yes. The investment has a convertible security structure. Companies get a $150,000 investment for about 6% of their business (subject to dilution at the time of conversion of 500’s convertible security).
One of the special rights granted to 500 Startups by the convertible security is the ability to make a follow-on investment of an additional $500,000 or 20% of your subsequent priced round of $1,000,000 or more, whichever is lower. This right expires after the conversion of the convertible security.
Does it cost money to join the flagship accelerator programme?
Yes – 500 Startups charge $37,500 for each company to join, however, these fees can be removed from the investment amount, so you don’t have to pay out of pocket. The total investment, as previously said, is $150,000.
You would get $112,500 after programme fees are subtracted. These programme fees should be regarded as tuition because they go toward covering the basic expenses of conducting the Seed Accelerator and paying guest speakers.
Should I reapply if I am turned down?
Definitely, yes! It has no negative consequences to apply more than once. Many of the 500’s most successful founders were first rejected, but they opted to stay working on their businesses and reapply, which led to their acceptance.
How to contact 500 Startups
Website: https://500.co/blog
Address: 814 Mission St, Fl 6, San Francisco, California 94103, US
Phone: (415) 974-6343
Conclusion
One of the best accelerator programmes and one of the most well-known seed stage investors in the world is 500 Startups. The brand itself attracts a wide range of individuals, including investors, strategic corporations, prospective partners, the press, and even celebrities.
The participants and the standard of the events organized by 500 Startups result in significant exposure and awareness for startups. It