Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tetuan Valley wouldnt have been possible without the support of many individuals and organizations; thanks to: Our sponsors, who pay the bills to keep the lights on and provide essential services and freebies for our entrepreneurs:
Our mentors, guest speakers, and collaborators, who dedicate literally thousands of hours every year to help the next generation of entrepreneurs: Abel Muo, Agustn Cuenca, Alejandro Riera, Alejandro Santana, Alex Farcet, Alex Lobera, Alfredo Garca, lvaro Verdeja, ndres Burdett, ngel L. Quesada, ngel Medinilla, ngel San Segundo, Antonio Sez, Aurelio Lpez-Barajas, Benjamin Roh, Bernard Seco, Bill Liao, Byron Stanford, Carlos vila, Carsten Klbek, Cels Piol, Chris Cunningham, Chris McCann, Clint Nelsen, Corrado Tomassoni, Cristbal Alonso, Dom Jackman, Eduardo Berastegui, Eider Sola, Emilio Martnez, Emilio Rey, Eoghan Jennings, Eric Bergasa, Evan Nisselson, Flix Arias, Fernando Cabello-Astolfi, Fernando Sinz, Francisco Lorca, Francisco Rivillas, Gerardo Morales, Germn Del Zotto, Gonzalo Ulloa, Gregor Gimmy, Guillermo Falco, Guillermo Vicandi, Gwendolyn Regina, Horacio Melo, Humberto Matas, Ian Noel, Ins Leopoldo, Iaki Arrola, Jaime Abad, Jaime Garca Ban, Jason Meresman, Javier Cuervo, Javier Martn, Jenaro Garca, Jess Osuna, Joaquim Esteve, Joaqun Guirao, Joaqun Muoz, Joe Haslam, Johan Hellman, Jon Bradford, Jordi Oliver, Jorge Coca, Jorge Quitegui, Jos Cabiedes, Jos Luis Orgaz, Jos F. Vivancos, Jos Isaac Mendoza, Jos L. Marina, Jos Mara Joana, Jos Miguel Herrero, Jos Villalobos, Juan Alonso Villalobos, Juan Carlos Arrese, Juan Jos Peso, Juan Pablo Nebrera, Justo Hidalgo, Krzysztof Kowalczyk, Linda Hickman, Liz Fleming, Lucio Romn, Luis Martn Cabiedes, Manuel Balsera, Mara Encinar, Maria Sipka, Mariano Gmez, Marina Zaliznyak, Mario Lpez de Avila, Martin Kelly, Martin Tantow, Martn Varsavsky, Miguel Acosta, Miguel Cobin, Mnica Perez, Nacho de Pinedo, Nathan
Ryan, Nicholas Hawtin, Nieves Prez, Oscar Farres, Pablo Ventura, Patrick de Zeeuw, Paul Kedrosky, Paul Papadimitriou, Pedro Trucharte, Philipp Hasskamp, Rafael Garrido, Ricardo Fernndez, Rob Symington, Roberto de Diego, Rokas Tamoinas, Roxanne Varza, Ruud Hendriks, Sara Enrquez, Sergio Montoro, Sylvia Daz-Montenegro, Telmo Vlido, Tristan Mace, Victoriano Casajs and Vivek Wadhwa Our Analysts, who have made this possible: Jos Ramn Dez, Matthew Maxwell, Dominik Drechsler, Stefan Schachtele, Laura Spencer, Fredrik Hel, Katelyn Melan, Lena Carola Mauelshagen, Helena Huertas, Will Schubert and Julie De Mony Pajol Special kudos to Fredrik Hel for the cover of this playbook And above all, to our alumni, who are the real stars: Abel Muo, Albert Mascarell, Albert Morcillo, Alberto Costa Gmez, Alberto Fernndez, Alberto Nuez, Alejandro Hoyos, Alejandro Prez, Alejandro Riera, Alejandro Segura, Alex Recarey, Alfonso Gmez-Jordana, Alicia Caellas, lvaro Garca, Ana Mara Salas, ndres Burdett, Andrijana Culjak, ngela Ramrez, Antonio Encinar, Antonio Fernndez, Antonio Mel, Aravind Chandrasekaran, Asier Ros, Audrey Linares, Axel Garca, Bernat Fabregat, BK Khur, Camilo Lpez, Carlos Hernando, Carlos Muoz, Csar de la Cal, Chi-fung Kam, Chris Timuat, Christopher Valles, Clara Martn, Claudio Cossio, Cristbal Miranda, Damasia Maneiro, Daniel Alonso, Daniel Miranda, Daniel Rodrguez, Darko Stojanovski, David Fontanent, David Manero, David Moreno, David Pedroche, David Scarlatti, David Velayos, Diogo Teles, Eddie Salazar, Edin Kapic, Eduardo de Juan, Eduardo Gibaja, Eduardo Pola, Elena Prez, Emilio Gonzlez, Enrique Crcamo, Ernesto Arredondo, Ernesto Guimerans, Esteban Salazar, Eva Lpez, Fernando Alonso, Fernando Amenedo, Fernando Benito, Fernando Gil, Fernando Sinz, Francesc Lucena, Francisco Cuenca, Francisco de ngel, Francisco Javier Lpez, Francisco Martnez, Gabriel Garca, Geoff Gibson, Germn Del Zotto, Germn Retamosa, Germn Viscuso, Guillermo Arribas, Guillermo "Awesome" Vicandi, Gustavo Castillo, Hctor Ambit, Hctor Criado, Ignacio Martnez, Luri
Aranda, Ivana Marsic, Jaime de la Cal, Jamie Dick-Cleland, Javier Anaya, Javier Escribano, Javier Maestro, Jess Gonzalez, Joan Casadell, Joan Casas, Joan Muni, Joaqun Garzn, Joaqun Snchez, Jordi Corominas, Jordi Fierro, Jordi Martn, Jorge Gonzlez, Jos A. Gil, Jos Antonio Leiva, Jos Ignacio Galarza, Jos Mara Estevez, Jos Martn, Jos Simoes, Juan Mar, Liad Rubin, Lorena Pantano, Luis Aguilar, Luis Durn, Luis Manuel Prez, Luis Muoz, Luis Prez, Luis Snchez, Luis Santos, Madeln Lnchez, Manel Pacareu, Manu Arj, Manuel Gil, Marcello Rinaldi, Marcos Garca de La Fuente, Marcos Gil, Marcos Trivio, Mariano Torrecilla, Martn Huertas, Matko Balic, Maximilian Wei, Miguel Araujo, Miguel Florido, Mima Mochn, Miquel Camps, Miquel Las Heras, Miquel Puig, Miriam Wohlfarth-Bottermann, Natlia Castanys, Nilo Morn, Noemi Losada, Nozomi Yamawaki, Pablo Cosias, Pablo Llopis, Pablo Rodrguez, Paco Fernndez, Pau Gay, Pau Olivella, Paul Goldbaum, Paz Ferrer, Pedro Fraca, Philip De Smedt, Philipp Herkelmann, Pol Mir, Rafael Gonzlez, Ramn Recuero, Ral Snchez, Ral San Narciso, Robert Isaac , Roberto Costumero, Rodrigo Gmez, Rosendo Chas, Rubn Daz, Santiago Lizardo, Sergi Consul, Sergio Galn, Sergio Naval, Stuart Thomas, Taoufik Aadia, Toms Carbonell, Tony Martn, Vanessa Estorach, Vaibhav Puri, Victor Manuel Daz, Victor Mier, Victoria Arias, Victoria Martn, William D. Wallace, Wilson Toh, Xavier Burruezo, Xavier Mir, Xevi Gallego and Zubin Chagpar Special kudos to Asier Rios and Alberto Costa for the Tetuan Valley graffiti in our beta office and to Eduardo Pola for the design of the Startup Spain logo
In this document you will find comprehensive guidelines for the planning of your Tetuan Valley Startup School clone or affiliate program. For questions and specific requests please do not hesitate to contact us at playbook@tetuanvalley.com
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................... 5 Part I: Our Story ...................................................................................... 9 An Introduction to Tetuan Valley ....................................................... 10 The Origin of Tetuan Valley .................................................................................10 Okuri Ventures, Meet Tetuan Valley .................................................................11 The Tetuan Valley Manifesto ...............................................................................14 The Startup School ............................................................................... 16 The Course .................................................................................................................16 The Players .................................................................................................................17 Attendees..............................................................................................................17 Mentors..................................................................................................................17 Friends, and the People Who Hang Around Our Door .........................18 The Goals of the Startup School.........................................................................18 To Spain, and Beyond! ...........................................................................................19 Startupbootcamp, United Accelerators and TechStars Network ..... 20 The United Accelerators .......................................................................................20 The Danish Connection .........................................................................................21 A Leap of Faith ..........................................................................................................21 The United Cities of Startupbootcamp ...........................................................23 The First Results .......................................................................................................24 Accelerators on the Rise........................................................................................25 Startup Spain ........................................................................................ 27 Kauffman Global Partner Network ....................................................................29 Startup Nations ........................................................................................................30 How We Are Working to Start Spain ................................................... 31 The Accelerator Fund .............................................................................................31 The Angel School ....................................................................................................32 Startup Spain from a Birds-Eye View...............................................................34 Startup Galicia ..........................................................................................................35 Why Are We Open Sourcing This Manual? .....................................................35
Join the Movement and Start Spain ................................................... 36 The Startup Spain Partnership ............................................................................36 Co-Investor Group .............................................................................................36 Startup Spain Investor ......................................................................................36 Sponsors ................................................................................................................37 The School Network ..........................................................................................37 To Contact Us ............................................................................................................39 Part II: Running Tetuan Valley Startup School................................... 40 Tetuan Valley Startup School: The Basics .......................................... 41 What Exactly Is This Program About? ..............................................................41 Who Is This Program For? .....................................................................................42 Requirements to Be Eligible for the Program ...............................................42 The Selection Criteria .............................................................................................44 Dates ............................................................................................................................46 Fees and Weird Contracts Claiming Your Soul .............................................46 Program Structure................................................................................ 47 Session Structure .....................................................................................................47 Session Descriptions ..............................................................................................50 Session #1: The Way of the Startup .............................................................50 Session #2: Finance 101 ...................................................................................52 Session #3: Funding and Cash Flow Management ................................54 Session #4: Selling, Product and Brand Building ....................................55 Session #5: Corporate Culture Creation .....................................................57 Session #6: Critical Failure Factors Recap and Key Takeaways ..........59 Demo Day: Graduation Event ........................................................................61 Objectives and Success Metrics........................................................... 62 The Objectives of the Startup School ..............................................................62 Success Metrics ........................................................................................................64 Selection Statistics ..................................................................................................65 Impact Metrics ..........................................................................................................66 Some Success Stories and Anecdotes .............................................................67 The Tetuan Valley Community - Beyond Startup School .................. 68
Tetuan Valley Carabanchel Space .....................................................................68 Who Is This for and Requirements ...............................................................68 Summer Break: Tetuan Valley Events While Schools Out ........................70 Tetuan Valley Alumni Meetup .......................................................................70 Okuri Entrepreneur Feedback Day ..............................................................70 Okuri Talks ............................................................................................................71 Tetuan Valley Hackathons ..............................................................................71 Tetuan Valley Battledecks ...............................................................................71 Tetuan Valley Entrepreneur Speed-Dating...............................................72 Entrepreneur Commons ..................................................................................72 Other Events and Activities ............................................................................72 How to Build Your Own Tetuan Valley Startup School in 5 Easy Steps ...................................................................................................... 73 1. Getting the Program off the Ground ...........................................................73 1.1. How to Finance / Fund the Program ...................................................73 1.2. Mentors..........................................................................................................75 1.3. Space, Tools and Technology ................................................................78 2. Attracting and Screening Applicants ..........................................................83 2.1. Promoting the Program...........................................................................83 2.2. The Application Process ..........................................................................86 2.3. The Interview Process ...............................................................................89 2.4. The Selection Process ...............................................................................91 3. Personnel Requirements ..................................................................................94 4. Logistics for the Program .................................................................................94 4.1. Prepare for Session 1 ................................................................................94 4.2. Program Sessions 1-6 ...............................................................................94 4.3. Mentor Demo Day .....................................................................................95 5. Progression to External Programs ................................................................96 Part III: Annex ....................................................................................... 97 Materials, Examples and References .................................................. 98 1. Tetuan Valley House Rules ..............................................................................98 2. Email Templates ............................................................................................... 101
2.1. Selection Process .................................................................................... 101 2.2. Program Logistics Emails ..................................................................... 108 2.3. Life After the Program ........................................................................... 111 2.4. Sponsorship .............................................................................................. 115 3. Application Form ............................................................................................. 117 4. Interview Evaluation Form ........................................................................... 120 5. Confirmation Form .......................................................................................... 121 6. Peer Review Form ............................................................................................ 122 7. The Toolkit .......................................................................................................... 124 7.1. The Blog ...................................................................................................... 124 7.2. The Wiki ...................................................................................................... 125 7.3. The Mailing Lists ...................................................................................... 125 7.4. The Slides ................................................................................................... 126 7.5. The Streaming .......................................................................................... 126 7.6. The Twitter................................................................................................. 127 7.7. The TweetDeck ........................................................................................ 127 7.8. The Facebook Group ............................................................................. 128 7.9. The LinkedIn Group ................................................................................ 128 7.10. The Doodle.............................................................................................. 129 7.11. The Tickets .............................................................................................. 129 7.12. The Wi-Fi .................................................................................................. 130 8. Promoting the Startup School .................................................................... 131 8.1. Twitter Attack Strategy ......................................................................... 131 9. The Themes ........................................................................................................ 132 10. The Tetuan Valley Crew ............................................................................... 133 10.1. The Founders ......................................................................................... 133 10.2. Management Team.............................................................................. 133
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keynote talk and afterwards the attendees go to a nearby pub to grab a beer and network amongst each other. The event often missed its target in that most of the attendees werent entrepreneurs, but people trying to sell services and miraculous courses to the few entrepreneurs that were there. Bernardo and Luis found it very off-putting that, given the status of the already small and weak ecosystem, there were people trying to charge entrepreneurs thousands of Euros for things like outsourcing their product development or teaching them how to build a 150-page business plan filled with invented, untested hypotheses. All these offers were filled with false promises to give entrepreneurs more users, clients, or, the ultimate "big-sell," better access to funding. Amongst the crowd, Luis found a familiar face; a former high-school peer, Alejandro Barrera. Alex was a computer scientist that had just come back from a year at the University of California-Berkeley, studying and falling in love with Silicon Valley, the startup world and entrepreneurship in general. While catching up, sharing a few beers, hearing Alexs Silicon Valley stories, moaning about the local Spanish ecosystem and criticizing all the fame and front-page photo seekers, one thing was clear: criticizing and blaming others was not productive; they needed to do something about it.
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support and build tech startups. The company also advised local Venture Capital funds: scouting and filtering deal flow, conducting marketniche analyses and providing financial and technical due diligences. While doing so, it immediately became clear to them that something here was not right. Spain had (and still has) over 2,500 public & private institutions that foster and support entrepreneurs. The OECD1 claimed SMEs in Spain had lower barriers to entry to compete with larger companies than in other countries like Germany or the US. We were ranked 21st in the world in the production of talented graduates by Heidrick & Struggles Global Talent Index (In 2011, we were ranked 18th). However, the rest of the statistics published about our ecosystem were quite discouraging: Very few university graduates considered entrepreneurship as a career choice (recent statistics show this metric at 1.6% vs. the 60% that want a government job). The World Bank consistently ranks us as one of the most difficult countries in which to start a business (the "Ease of Starting a Business" ranking has Spain currently at 133th, right behind Kenya). OECD named us as Europes underdog in categories that ranged from institutional barriers (administrative burdens on startups, regulatory and administrative opacity, procedures to register and run a business) to more sociological and psychological factors (fear of failure, perception of opportunities, entrepreneurial intentions)
What was the problem in Spain? Bureaucratic red tape, endless paper trails, and a lack of educational support for entrepreneurship as a career option, for starters. At the time, most decision-makers and actors were more interested in using entrepreneurship as a marketing buzzword
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than as the center of a plan to regenerate local economical growth. The only model people were using to revamp and foster a tech ecosystem in Spain was based on small, unconnected clusters of activity. Vivek Wadhwa, a Washington Post columnist and scholar, describes the normal strategy of these cluster centers: Pick a hot industry, build a technology park next to a research university, provide incentives for businesses to relocate, add some Venture Capital and then watch the magic happen. As Dr. Wadhwa accurately points out, Such magic never happens. There was no community to support these centers, no culture of entrepreneurship to keep the talent coming. Islands of innovation alone would not help Spain. During his time in Silicon Valley, Alex had seen various startup communities and was inspired by the difference between the initiatives there and the ones in Spain. The Valley is not built on "centers" or individual celebrity entrepreneurs, but by an ecosystem where entrepreneurship is valued. The "pay it forward" culture kept it sustainable, the amazing ideas it fostered made it great. Luis, Bernardo and Alex decided to launch something to give back instead of take from entrepreneurs. They started off by putting pen to paper and creating the manifesto from which Tetuan Valley came.
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OUR MANIFESTO We believe. We believe that single individuals can change the course of history. We believe in a hyper-connected world, where flat is the norm and frontiers are just lines in a 2D map. But, above all, we believe in the talent and ideas of entrepreneurs all over the world as agents of change and innovation. Tetuan Valley isnt a place, neither is it a company, nor a person. Tetuan Valley IS a state of mind. Tetuan Valley is that person that has to fight against society to defend their vision and ideas. Tetuan Valley is that company that tries to create a breakthrough for humanity. Tetuan Valley is that place where you can empower your ideas with the aid of other like-minded people. Its not money, nor glory, that moves Tetuan Valley, its personal success and life changing experiences that drive it. Some places exist that share this mentality, but physical locations among others prevent them from reaching all four corners of the world. We need those places, we need a shared vision. We have talent, we have education, we have money but we lack that vision. We lack a common set of ideas that unify and stitch together a community strong enough to foster innovation and advance human knowledge. These abstract concepts, these distilled ideas ARE Tetuan Valley. Under the
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Tetuan Valley umbrella we want to concentrate individuals whose limits are the sky and beyond, who want to achieve greatness and grow as entrepreneurs and persons. We are looking for those persons, true entrepreneurs who dont take NO for an answer, that fight back with every ounce of energy they have, who will not back down until theyve conquered greatness. Persons that dont fear failure, that understand failure IS the key to success. Are you one of US or one of THEM? @tetuanvalley, July 7th, 2009 http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/about/manifesto
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The Course
The course takes place over a 6 week period that has two major components: 1. 2. A series of classes & mentor talks related to the non-technical aspects of starting an internet startup. The implementation of a business idea through the creation of an MVP.
Teams come to the Startup School with an idea they plan to work on throughout the course - ending 6 weeks later with a well thought-out business pitch and prototype. Once a week, we meet at our offices where, during each session, our staff gives a short lecture about a topic related to how to build an internet startup. These lectures arent technical in nature, but philosophical. The rationale behind this is that it is simply impossible to teach people how to program in 6 weeks (and expect to have an MVP done in that time). This is especially true of our students who enter the program in varying stages of development and using different coding languages. Our goal is to
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communicate the central principles behind starting a business in order to give people the tools they need to make the right decision for themselves deciding if the entrepreneurial path is for them, and if so, how to launch. After the lectures, we invite a mentor to come speak and share their experiences. Finally, the teams pitch their projects and present their achievements from the week to the TV Crew and their peers in the program. Through this practice, we work together to prioritize developments while focusing and improving communication skills. Both group and personal coaching is available outside the course if desired. At the end of the 6 weeks, we do a big Demo Day where everyone shows their final prototypes.
The Players
Attendees
This program is oriented nearly exclusively to people who havent experienced a startup; people who dont know there is life beyond the corporate world or being a government employee; people that are ambitious, but dont know how to materialize those feelings.
Mentors
Mentors are usually entrepreneurs who have already achieved a level of success and want to pay it forward, or experts in their industry who want to give back. We also have some who just love being around
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entrepreneurs. They are unpaid, and are a critical source of value creation in the program.
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learning from each other the best way to fine tune the Ycombinator model to other latitudes. We are honoured TechStars has been the third program to join us. Combined with our contacts at Seedcamp to help organize the Barcelona stage at IESE, and talks with other accelerator programs around the world, it seems the right time to open up the channels; if you are part of the organization of an accelerator program and would like to join our discussion group please shoot me an email @luisriverag, January 26th 2010 http://blog.unitedaccelerators.com/2010/01/under-construction.html
A Leap of Faith
We invested a significant part of the little resources we had in the Copenhagen pilot program without having ever met face-to-face with the Rainmaking team or the former DHL Manager, Alex Farcet, who was to run the show. It was a pretty risky move on our part, but we wanted to go big and we wanted to go international. We had seen what keeping the Spanish borders closed had done for the ecosystem here, and wanted to make a change. We wrote the Startupbootcamp Copenhagen Fund a check, and didnt look back.
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How far are you willing to go to launch your startup? It's been about six months since Alex Farcet and myself held a Skype conference after connecting through Twitter to share our experience with Tetuan Valley. That conversation led to my collaboration as mentor in Startupbootcamp and the launch of United Accelerators as a forum for Seed capital programmes to connect and share experiences, a group which TechStars and Seedcamp joined within a week and now includes Bucharest Hubb (Bucharest, Romania), Maverick Seed Capital (Lisbon, Portugal), Seed Accelerator (Sydney & Singapore, Australia and Asia), Tech Wildcatters (Dallas, U.S.A.) and The Difference Engine (U.K.), Recently, Startupbootcamp has set new standards for exchanging best practices. And when a few weeks back we were offered to participate in their new fund it was time for the team at Okuri Ventures to reflect on the whether international borders are just lines on a 2D map and seriously consider our first international transaction... even though we had never shook hands with the team in Copenhagen and have only been running our Valley program for 2 editions. As every entrepreneur knows, incentives push us out of our comfort zones and launching a venture is closer to a journey than to a destination. Not to mention we feel a lot closer to their Crew than to millions of people around the block who seem to live on another plane of existence. So, if you are a startup somewhere in Europe that could benefit from being part of this and believe Denmark is out of your way you might be missing the opportunity of a lifetime. I lived there over a decade ago and must admit it's cold and dark during the winter, but 10 lucky teams are going to experience the spring of their lives. Check out the details right now because deadline for applications is June 30th @luisriverag, June 28th 2010 http://blog.unitedaccelerators.com/2010/06/how-far-are-you-willing-togo-to-launch.html
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participated across the different chapters (cities), and all chapters saw a large growth in their international network of contacts and ambassadors. We open sourced the contracts in order to promote seed investment across Europe with simple, straightforward terms. The contracts were specifically designed to accommodate the expected growth of the startups and to facilitate investment decisions before and after Demo Day by simplifying the bureaucratic due diligence.
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Our investors werent the only ones excited about what was going on our offices in Tetun. We achieved significant media presence from all the activity that was happening here in Spain:
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With the huge rise of accelerators (from 2 to 230+ in just the last 6 years), there are more startups in this stage than ever before in the market, all actively seeking funding. Because of the influx of startups here, demand for investment at this stage is at an all time high. It is a unique and interesting place to be in, and one that our company has decided to pivot to be a part of.
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Startup Spain
We always have had a vision of doing something bigger than ourselves. When we started Tetuan Valley, we saw lots of "Return on Ego" (people who claimed to be helping entrepreneurs in order to help boost their own ego or name) everywhere we looked and, therefore, wrote off many initiatives that we knew were hurting the ecosystem. As former entrepreneurs ourselves, we were very wary of a lot of the "help" being handed out around Spain. Although skeptical, we never gave up being open to collaboration. It was only because we kept our eyes and minds open that we were able to see the people who were in this sector for the right reasons; people who didnt care about old competitions and political lines in the sand, but who wanted to do whatever it took, with whoever they could, to help entrepreneurs and the ecosystem here. We decided that we had to bring these people together, and that launching a unified movement to help startups was a banner under which everyone could get involved. We decided we wanted to Startup Spain.
Why moan about the crisis when we can Startup Spain? About two and a half years ago Techcrunch contributor Marina interviewed us asking how we planned to change the Spanish startup ecosystem. At that point we had a vision, but planned on figuring out tactics as we went along. Constant pivoting to figure out what works wasn't considered "normal" in Europe, and neither was trading in the suits I wore in my last job at Londons South Kensigton for our never-to-be-ironed, bright orange Tetuan Vendetta t-shirts. In those years we struggled a lot. Like most startups we ate, breathed, and (barely) slept lean. We took a hard line on for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs and having been entrepreneurs ourselves, took a very protectand-serve attitude that often had us pitted against other organizations in Spain. But, through that, we built a lot too. We started the first non for profit pre-accelerator in Europe which after its 5th edition now comes complete with an army of 200 alumni. We launched Startupbootcamp, the first pan-
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European accelerator, making Madrid the second of its five partner cities. We grew and we spread when two of our co founders moved on to launch new projects (@abarrera is busy with @42press and @btkutz with @Infoadmyo), and we now have a new senior team on board, including another former suit, @jmcobian, our visa experiment @kmelan and a wannabe MBA with a performer background known as @startupjedi. We have met a lot of amazing people who helped show us the way, from superstars like Paul Kedrosky and Vivek Vadwha, to our earliest entrepreneurs and mentors who grew right alongside of us. And, most importantly, we learned a lot. Looking for people who had the same goals as we did, we turned many an old competitors into a new allies. Soon we realised that instead of working in-spite of the government it is especially essential in countries like Spain to work with it. But how to do that when everyone here is complaining about the status quo? It is necessary to look inside of organizations to find those few who really want to make a change & engage them with entrepreneurs so they know how and where to help best.
So what are our plans for the next months? Two weeks ago we received a letter from the Kauffman Foundation confirming we had been invited as members of the future Global Partner Network that will help foster entrepreneurship in 14 countries initially. After seeing what Techstars has done with Startup America, and learning from the Crew at Startup Chile - we decided now was the moment to start-up Spain. We quickly bid $100 for startupspain.com in our first domain auction and launched the brand kicking off this huge task with three initial initiatives: The Angel School which sets out to help develop the other side by providing insight to a new generation of informed angel investors in Spain, and open sourcing of the Tetuan Valley model so Startup School preaccelerator Affiliates and clones can help entrepreneurs worldwide A 2 M EUR private seed fund for 2012 that will serve as a pilot for a much more ambitious 5 year fund that during its life we estimate can bring around 3000 global startups into the Spanish startup ecosystem offering 150k+ EUR to each of the 8-12 startups of the pilot program, a 14 day visa fast-track that will enable founders to stay in Spain if they
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so wish and a 6 month intensive accelerator program with support from the old and new mentors, VCs, BAs, and Institutional collaborators Fighting to get 5000 guiris a visa in Spain. This basically proposes we should copycat the Startup Chile import-export scheme. The difficulty in getting a visa in Spain is a roadblock that needs to be sorted out in order to move ahead and, if unresolved, will rob the Spanish economy of time it doesnt have. Thanks to the openness of some friends in our former colony we know its going to take 5 years to reach the speed of 1000 startups per year, but, as they say in Techstars, we need to do more faster.
Yes, it is hard to start-up in Spain, but when has any real entrepreneur shied away from difficult? It doesnt make sense for us to sit around and moan when we can make things here easier, and more importantly, worthwhile. So that's the challenge, and that's what we intend to fight for under one common name: Startup Spain. Will you join us? @luisriverag, Tetuan Valley, January 21st , 2012
http://startupspain.com/about-us/
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Startup Nations
We met up with our fellow KGPN members, Startup Chile, Startup Britain, Startup Malaysia and Startup Canada, at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Liverpool. Here we shared our visions for starting-up our respective nations. We all had the common goal of fostering entrepreneurship through building up our national start-up ecosystems. We soon announced we intended to open source our Tetuan Valley Playbook in order to contribute the best practices from our very early stage model to the group.
Startup Nations that attended the Global Entrepreneurship Congress: (left to right) Lanis Anthony and Rivers Corbett (Startup Canada), Luis Rivera (Startup Spain), Horatio Melo (Startup Chile), Jonathan Ortmans (Kauffman Foundation), Dash Dhakshinamoorthy (Startup Malaysia), Farid Haque and Jamie Williams (Startup Britain), and Erin Wiley (Kauffman Foundation)
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We know from experience that real value lies in the combination of nonfinancial investments (mentoring, advisory, events, network creation) with investment money. However, from our experiences and that of our Startup Nation peers, we have also learned that there needs to be an ecosystem in place for those elements, and therefore the startups, to thrive. This fund will ultimately encourage competition and increase the visibility of the national entrepreneurial ecosystem of Spain. We have begun part of that work through building our Tetuan Valley Community, which provides a lot of value for startups. But that is only one part of the problem in Spain. In February, we looked into tackling one of the other glaring truths about Spanish start-up ecosystem: the lack of Business Angels.
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traditional sectors switch into tech investing by giving them the tools to be successful and a community to reach out to. The course covers what internet businesses are, examining their business models, metrics, and negotiation. We try to show the participants strategies for adding value to startups as an investor in this sector. We build these theoretical courses around a practical case involving three real startups who the participants evaluate throughout the day (learning by doing). We also bring in panels of entrepreneurs and experienced Business Angels to help give a wider range of perspective. As explained earlier, in their early stages many startups need Angels, not huge VCs. The gap between the earliest stages of starting a business and the round where a VC enters is often, especially in Europe, too large to breach naturally. An "in-between" quantity is needed to help the teams reach early growth and expansion stages. Angel investments are, therefore, critical to the growth of a successful ecosystem: 70% of European entrepreneurs said they would have failed if not for the investor (VC and Business Angel) participation.2 US VC funds invest less than 2% in seed-stage start-up companies, creating a void filled by Business Angels who are responsible for up to 90 percent of all outside equity in seed and early-stage stages.3 In the US, the number of angel investors has quadrupled since 1999.4 Spanish VC fund volume per capita is less than USD 1 vs Israels is USD 142 or USAs is USD 70, enhancing the need for more active angel investors in Spain.5
EVCA Survey of the Economic and Social Impact of Venture Capital in Europe Marianne Hudson, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation 4 William H. Payne, Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur-in-Residence 5 ESADE Business School, 2012
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The need was great, and we created Angel School to meet it head-on. Business Angels are unique in that, rather than competing, they often coinvest. By building a community around the school, we hope to encourage those kinds of collaborations, amongst others. We are, therefore, nurturing the creation of an interconnected, collaborative and supportive network across all Spains regions of new investors with a global mentality.
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We think that centralizing in Madrid doesnt make sense in the context of this infrastructure, so we decided to grow by seeking regional partners to launch local chapters of Angel School and Startup School in order to put into play the bottom-up approach.
Startup Galicia
Startup Galicia will be launched partnering with Mara Encinar. Mara brought Startup Weekend to Spain, and coordinates the events across the country. In the summer of 2012, a Startup School and an Angel School will be launched there to support the Galician entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem. This also will be the pilot effort materializing the Playbook into an affiliated Startup School. From this pilot experience with Mara, we plan to leverage our experience to grow quickly.
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touch and we will send you more detailed information about the fund and how to get involved.
Sponsors
We are always open to exciting sponsors for Angel School and for Startup School. Sponsorships can be financial or non-financial. In the past we have had people sponsor our office, internet, and the pizzas from the Startup School. Were pretty open to new ideas here, so if you have your own suggestions, get in touch and well figure something out.
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Go My Own Way - Flexibility. - Independence. - Take what I like and leave the rest. - I dont like the color orange. - These timelines dont work with me, I have something else in mind.
Join School Network - Part of the established Tetuan Valley and Startup Spain brands as well as online and offline presence. - Enter in a community that already has six editions of Startup School Alumni and two editions of Angel School Alumni. - Let Madrid HQ handle most of the centralized work. - Get training from the Tetuan Valley team on how to run each session (we come to you).
Either way, if youre doing great things for startups and this manual helped at all, it was worth the write. Hope to hear from you, or better yet, hear about the success of your startups.
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To Contact Us
Email: playbook@tetuanvalley.com Phone: +34 91 186 30 08 Twitter: @tetuanvalley @startspain @okuriventures
The Startup Spain crew celebrating the affiliation with KGPN (From left to right): Nast Marrero (@startupjedi), Jos Mara Cobin (@jmcobian), Luis Rivera (@luisriverag) and Katelyn Melan (@kmelan)
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Tetuan Valley is the first non-for-profit pre-accelerator program in Europe. Our goal is to promote local Entrepreneurship and regional development towards technology. Twice a year, we host a 6 week Startup School focused on the training and implementation of a business idea. We have a portfolio of more than 70 top-notch mentors who participate to give the students a unique and valuable experience. All graduates of the Startup School get exclusive access to the Tetuan Valley Alumni Network
However, the Startup School is much more than this. Its an experience through which we try to bring to life many of the values of our manifesto. The Tetuan Valley Startup School is a 6 week program for young wanna-be-entrepreneurs who want to experience what it is like to build a startup.
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course, they learn the basics: what it means to be an entrepreneur, what investors look for, legal, marketing, and financial basics for launching their own startup, etc. The format of each class is: a brief course given by the Okuri Staff, one keynote from a mentor in a related subject, pizza for all, and then we finish with a pitch practice. Through the pitch practice, entrepreneurs are able to practice communicating their ideas. They receive feedback, and they iterate on that feedback week to week until they find a viable strategy for launching. They also learn how to communicate the viability of their product. Sometimes they find the projects wont work; thats OK with us since Startup School is a safe place to learn, pivot, and even decide, "hey, this isnt for me."
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spend the other 5 weeks playing Wii. We want them to be a bit stressed, since part of the startup experience is learning to cope with these feelings. Teams will range from 1 to 4 persons max. Teams must have at least one technical member on board. Due to previous editions, weve learned the hard way that its fundamental to have technical skills in the mix if youre going to make it to the end. Physical presence WILL be required, so they have to be sure they can attend all of the sessions during the 6 weeks before enrolling. No excuses will be allowed for missing classes. The course will be conducted 100% in English. Lectures and many materials like slides, videos, etc. will all be in English. Students are expected to be able to participate and work in English, even if they are not fluent in the language. This program will require them to work. Some homework will be assigned and weekly progress WILL be expected. Any team that doesnt complete their homework will be notified and possibly expelled from the program. Participation is a must. Constructive criticism is expected from everybody, so is motivating others to develop and improve their pitch and demos. If people are reserved, we recommend they leave their shyness at the door. If they dont have an idea, they need to come to the interview with one. Some teams dont have a clear idea of the project they want to work on during startup school. This is fine; we can help them narrow down from a list of potentials. We do require teams to come to the interview with one idea to pitch, so we can see how they have thought through that particular idea and can base our decisions on that. Projects often change
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completely during the Startup School; were open to that (and welcome it). This program encourages and expects participants to add value and participate in the Tetuan Valley Community. As Tetuan Valley Startup School students/alumni, teams help with things like developing content or programs, promoting Tetuan Valley, acting as an ambassador/mentor for the program, and expanding the Tetuan Valley network.
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just that. The 10% of the teams that made it without those materials were able to prove they cared enough to spend time, energy, and sometimes relocate because they wanted to do this program. We cannot ignore this kind of motivation. The same goes for teams that were denied last edition and still applied again; their drive doesnt go unnoticed. 3. Clarity. If teams dont know, or cant explain what it was they want to do and why it is unique, valuable and important, then come decision time, chances are we wont be able to either. Group Composition. We take into very serious consideration the composition of the team. Teams with three developers always receive lower marks than teams with a business person, a design/product person, and a developer. Copycats. YouTube exists. If someone is presenting us a video sharing site, there needs to be a clearly explainable competitive advantage to why or how they can do it better. Much better. Doubles. For Startup School, we cannot take two teams doing the same or very similar projects. It can sometimes prevent teams from being open about their progress and problems, creating a hostile environment. Market Size. We are idealists here (thats for sure!), but starting your own business requires that someone will want to pay money in exchange for what you are offering. They need to tell us who and why, especially if it isnt extremely obvious. Investment Potential. Tetuan Valley is a safe place to learn how to start your own business. But it is a program for businesses; when it comes down to two ideas, we lean towards the one that appears more fundable. Remember: Profitable does not always mean investable.
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Dates
Startup School runs twice per year in Madrid. The fall program starts in early October and ends mid November, 6 weeks later. The spring edition tends to happen between March and May. Meetups are scheduled every Wednesday afternoon (in Madrid) during those weeks. Some sporadic extra meetups might be scheduled to assist with specific topics, as well as some additional entrepreneurial events but they arent mandatory (although usually advisable). The first Startup Network partner, Startup Galicia, will launch its Startup School in the summer of 2012.
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Program Structure
Session Structure
As previously mentioned, the program runs over a period of 6 weeks, plus a 7th session for the graduation event. We meet once a week at 19:00 pm in our offices to run our weekly meetup. We choose that schedule to allow our candidates to coordinate their university and work schedules with the course. With the exception of the First Session and the Graduation Event, all classes follow the same structure: 19:00 20:00 Lecture During each class, one of the members of our Crew gives a 45 min lesson and a 15 min Q&A session on a specific subject related to entrepreneurial life and elements of starting your own businesses. Subjects covered in each of these sessions are detailed in the section Session Descriptions. 20:00 21:00 Mentor Session After each lecture, a mentor will give a 1 hour talk and Q&A session developing the subject reviewed in the lecture or a topic specific to his/her experience related to launching, developing or investing in startups. All mentors have different profiles and domains of expertise, and they might vary from one edition to the next. The most important thing is that the students get 6 different points of view from people with 6 very different backgrounds, all relevant to building a tech startup. For that, the most important selection criterion is getting mentors with the right mindset: completely passionate about startups and entrepreneurship and willing to help.
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In Madrid, our mentors profiles vary from an expert in public speaking and presentation design, to seasoned entrepreneurs, to former lawyers-turned-entrepreneurs, to former C-level executives at Big Corps, to hardcore hackers turned professors, to Business Angel investors and Venture Capitalists. 21:00 21:30 Pizza Time Each session we provide all our students with a nutritious dinner of pizza and soda. It is important to use that time to encourage them to mingle, share experiences, give informal feedback to each other and share a few laughs. When we were not strict about the timing of this part, we found ourselves risking extending the session past midnight, so we try to be conscious of keeping this time to a half hour. 21:30 23:00 Weekly Pitch Practice & Status Update In our experience running Startup School, we have seen that this is the most important part of each session and the most
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valuable part of the program. During each session, all the teams will go up, one by one, in front of their peers and pitch their startup as if they were pitching to an investor or at a startup competition. They then explain what they have been doing the previous week (covering the homework plus any significant advances), the key problems and questions they are encountering, and their plans for the following week. After this, their peers, the Tetuan Valley Crew, and all other spectators will have the opportunity to provide them with questions, suggestions and constructive feedback to help them continue to evolve their projects and improve their pitch. It is very important that the Crew is careful about keeping both the pitch and the feedback productive, efficient and on-time. It is not an easy task (everyone runs over!), but it is important to remind the students to utilize the other tools they have (like the Google group, other events, or reaching out to one another on their own) to provide any additional feedback they didnt get to give during class time. What happens outside of each session is just as important as what happens within the hours we are all sharing together in class. Also, encouraging communication outside of class makes the students more comfortable Best Practice: Cutting Teams Off We are strict, borderline cruel, about doing it with the cutting teams and feedback off community at large according to the time rules. Why? once they graduate. Because thats the way it works in the
real world. Most pitch competitions will cut you off if you go over time, and talking to an investor for 8 min when he told you 5 shows a lack of practice and consideration. We want to get the teams ready for this reality.
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Session Descriptions
Session #1: The Way of the Startup
The first session of the Startup School is crucial for the correct development of the next sessions and the whole program. It has to be both insightful and exciting; everybody should leave the session with an adrenaline rush (think Tony Hsieh WOW experience). The structure we usually follow for this class is the following: Introduction to Tetuan Valley (30 min) 20 min Quick review of the purpose of the program, the House Rules, the syllabus and brief introduction of the Tetuan Valley Crew. Lecture: The way of the startup (60 min) 20 min Philosophical talk about the entrepreneurial spirit, mindset and attitude. 25 min Introduction to the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup method. 15 min Q&A Mentor Session: How to build the perfect pitch and a great presentation (60 min) 50 min Mentor keynote about Zen Presentations and the importance of preparing and practicing your pitch, and effectively communicating and presenting yourself and your startup. 10 min Q&A
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Pizza Time (30 min) Pizzas usually are ordered ahead of time to be picked up right as the Mentor is finishing along with the sodas.
Pitch Practice Exercise (60 min) As this is the first class, slides wont be required for the teams. In this class theyll practice their Elevator Pitch (90 seconds max.). Each team will go up in front of their peers and have 90 seconds to pitch their project, no more (use a timer and cut teams off when the time is up; it is important that they learn to prioritize and summarize what information is important). After the pitch, allow 2 min for their peers to give feedback (use the timer again) and 1 min for your Crew to build on that feedback and digest it to actionable to-dos for the next session.
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Pitch Practice Exercise (90 min) Through the sixth session, the structure of the pitch practice part will follow the same structure: ! ! All teams need to have sent their presentation slides as PDFs two hours before the event. Each team will go up in front of their peers and make a 4 min and 30 sec. presentation covering (a) their pitch to investors, (b) what have they done over the past week, (c) what are they going to do next week and (d) what are the key problems they are facing.
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After the pitch, allow 2 min for their peers to give feedback and 2 min for your Crew to build on that feedback and digest it to actionable to-dos for the next session.
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During the 2012 Spring Edition we rearranged the order of the talks due to mentor scheduling requests
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50 min Mentor keynote covering the basics any tech startup member needs to understand about code and how both coders and non-coders should work and plan work in a startup with regards to building the product. 10 min Q&A Pizza Time (30 min) Follow process & Best Practice described in Session #1. Pitch Practice Exercise (90 min) Best Practice: 10s ,90s, 3m
Although the teams give a 3-4 min pitch every week at TVSS, they should also be able to do (and practice) a 1-2 phrase (<10s) pitch, and an elevator (90sec) pitch.
During the 2012 Spring Edition we rearranged the order of the talks due to mentor scheduling requests
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Mentor Session: Choose Your Own Adventure (60 min) 50 min Mentor keynote from a seasoned entrepreneur covering the basics about innovation, creativity, how to run your startup with these things in mind. 10 min Q&A
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Follow process & Best Practice described in Session #1. Pitch Practice Exercise (90 min) Same structure as in Session #2. Blog post with slides and videos http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/2012/04/tetuan-valley-session-5the-investor%C2%B4s-perspective.html
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Mentor Session: The Investors POV (60 min) 50 min Mentor keynote from a seasoned investor covering what he or she looks at when evaluating a project, what kinds of startups they are interested in and why, what are red flags for
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them when meeting teams, and how they make and follow through with investment decisions. 10 min Q&A Pizza Time (30 min) Follow process described in Session #1. Pitch Practice Exercise (90 min) Same structure as in Session #2. Blog post with slides and videos
http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/2012/04/tetuan-valley-startup-school-visession6.html
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Foster and sustain a real, collaborative community among the people that go through our program. Offer a well-rounded, objective overview of the entrepreneurial way, providing the teams the tools to make their own success. ! We take no equity and charge no fee, therefore removing any interest in the teams that would cause us conflict, allowing us to give impartial, objective advice. At each session, we provide a mentor from all walks of professional life; they help to provide different points of view. As shown in the infographic, we do not try to funnel teams into our own programs, but instead act as an "equal opportunity" recommendation source to external programs
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for those entrepreneurs that decide to stay with their projects. Improve the overall quality of the ecosystem by evangelizing an open-source mentality that avoids elitist and endogamic mentalities by: ! Encouraging and facilitating interaction between our alumni and ALL entrepreneurs and mentors, from both within and outside of the Tetuan Valley Community by making all Tetuan Valley events, including the Startup School (on a spectator basis), open to all interested persons. Uploading all the materials from our Startup School Sessions and events including slides, handouts, videos, pictures and blog posts. We also collaborate with other private and public initiatives in the promotion of their events, opening access and distributing information about these events to members of our community.
Improve the overall quality of Spains deal flow from its earliest stage. Contribute to the education and development of not only better entrepreneurs, but happier and more passionate entrepreneurs.
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Success Metrics
Most of the members from our Crew have a professional background working for the dark side as management consultants and corporate finance minions. Therefore, we do understand that numbers and statistics speak louder than words for people who dont have empirical evidence of Tetuan Valleys success. For that reason, we conducted a brief study to be able to provide cold hard facts to the non-believers. The outcomes of this research are:
Selection)Statistics
220+
40%
Impact)Metrics
158
75%
Some)Success)Stories
Funding while)still)in)Program
120+
70%
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72%
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Project. Applications
Projects. Selected
Projects. Graduated
Candidates. Graduated
Currently.in. Start>ups
Jobs. Generated
Tetuan Valley*is not only the first program of*its kind but a*highly successful source of*dealflow
Measuring "community" is hard, but between the above alumni, collaborators and our Crew, we have 186 people subscribed to our Alumni Google Group. This group has shared around 3,370 messages, sharing feedback, suggestions, contacts, information and key lessons learned through the continuation of their experiences.
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Selection Statistics
Of the project applications shown above, our single greatest source of applicants (over a third of the total) now comes from referrals from our former students. Our average acceptance rate was around 40% after our first edition, and it kept decreasing rapidly from one edition to the next. In 2011, acceptance rates were around 20%. We decided to make significant changes to the application process, and despite making it a much more involved application, acceptance rates hung around this percentage (leading us to believe that had we left the simple form up, we would have had rates much lower than this). Out of all the teams selected, only 72% have graduated from the program, implying they "survived" our assignments, strict attendance policy, and most importantly, successfully coped with the startup experience. We are proud of this figure. Why? Entrepreneurship is not made for everybody. It is a lot of chaos and work for very little money. In most cases, frustration and failure are knocking at every startups door every single day. The only real asset a wanna-be-entrepreneur has when he or she starts is their time. Therefore, figuring out quickly that this lifestyle is not made for you- in a night school (A.K.A. a low risk environment where no one has to quit their day jobs, yet) is a valuable way to save that time. Additionally, from our point of view, not being able to follow through with the work that needs to be done in order to graduate is a key indicator that a team is not going to add a lot of value to the other community members. Thus, expelling the "slackers" and procrastinators is a tough, but imperative, decision (and filter) to maintain the quality of our graduates.
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Impact Metrics
As of today, we have an alumni community of almost 160 people (this figure will be around 200 by the time we finish our sixth edition in spring 2012). It is impossible to describe how proud we are of each and every one of them. We have watched them grow, create ideas, throw those ideas away, make better ideas, build great projects, and even turn some into companies. From these 160 people, it is important to acknowledge that over 75% continue building and/or running their own startups; some continue running the same projects they gave birth to in the Startup School, others dropped those projects to build new ones that seemed more feasible or they were more passionate about. Some continue with the same team members that they started Startup School with, others have split up and built projects with other people they were more comfortable working with. In the end, the most important data point is that these entrepreneurs are currently generating jobs: up to one new job for every 1.43 participants. In a country that is currently close to reaching the 25% unemployment rate, these guys are taking a stand and positioning themselves to set the example for how to self-start. Have we mentioned were proud?
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Teams in TVCS can enter before, after, instead of, or in addition to their participation in Startup School. The flexibility in the requirements at TVCS and the added component of co-working space gives it many synergies with the Startup School and larger TV Community.
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they want Tetuan Valleys help in achieving. Once those goals are achieved, the project will graduate from the accelerator, but will still have access to all events at the Vivero, Tetuan Valley, and consulting from the TV Crew as needed. Some examples of typical milestones we try to complete during a startups time at the accelerator: ! Market study (testing). ! Creation of a minimum viable product. ! Launch plan. ! Creation and utilization of social networks. ! Creation of publicity and communication material. ! Strategy/ implementation for finding clients. ! Pricing strategy. ! Creating financial model. ! Pitch presentation for investors and clients. ! Business plan. ! Alpha/ Beta demo products. ! Incorporating the business. ! Search for financing. ! Progression to external programs. And more There is no team size or composition requirement. We can work in Spanish, English or both. We also accept non-tech teams to this program, and, as always, charge nothing.
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Okuri Talks
Entrepreneurship is a never-ending learning experience. There is a Spanish saying that, most of the Devils wisdom is due to his age, not from being the Devil. Through Okuri Talks, we try to leverage the experiences of more seasoned professionals in our community to create more variety in the kind of learning we offer to entrepreneurs. During Okuri Talks, we invite high-profile entrepreneurs, investors, innovation leaders, academics and top executives to give a brief keynote followed by a Q&A session in order to share their experiences with the audience.
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basing their whole story on the contents of a PowerPoint deck of 10 randomly disjointed and hilarious slides they have never seen before. They have no control over the timing and content of the slides, they have to just make it work with the pitch theyre giving and adapt fast.
Entrepreneur Commons
Entrepreneur Commons is a global, nonprofit organization with local chapters all over the world created for and by entrepreneurs dedicated to helping other entrepreneurs through peer-support groups. Tetuan Valley runs the official local chapter of this event in Madrid, Spain.
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How to Build Your Own Tetuan Valley Startup School in 5 Easy Steps
1. Getting the Program off the Ground
1.1. How to Finance / Fund the Program
As with any nonprofit initiative, we rely heavily on sponsorships and donations to run the program. However, during the first years, Okuri Ventures acted as the major financing source for the operational budget. 1.1.1. Selling and Recruiting Sponsors Sponsorship of TVSS is a great way to make a nonprofit investment in job creation and to support innovation in local and regional communities. TVSS provides a first look at up and coming talent, and many of the goals of our program align strongly with the corporate responsibility initiatives of others. Sponsorship ideally creates synergies around sustainable community growth, developing talent, and education. Sponsorship Types Because of the nature of TVSS, we are flexible in the types of sponsorships we seek: Financial Sponsorships are first priority, as they provide flexibility and are the most helpful in covering costs and expanding the program. Other types of sponsorships we are open to: ! ! ! Covering specific costs: food/drink, trips, events, etc. Product sponsorship (ex. Red Bull cans). Event collaboration (ex. Hackathons).
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Sponsorship Highlights Companies sponsor Tetuan Valley for some of the following reasons: To develop the economic, social, and cultural benefits of entrepreneurial communities. To identify talent from an early stage. To help grow and educate young entrepreneurial talent. To address the current challenge of economic crisis. To build brand name recognition through the visibility of our program.
Benefits for Our Sponsors Because we are flexible about the types of sponsorships we accept we are also flexible in what we offer our sponsors. Some examples are: Sponsors can have office hours IF the teams want office hours. The Tetuan Valley team can offer to host events if the sponsor is interested. Open invitation to all TVSS classes and events (including paid ones, like Angel School). Visibility through our press coverage and online sites. Access to early talent.
Additional Resources We have a basic pitch that can be changed to fit the needs of each sponsor available upon request (email playbook@tetuanvalley.com) as well as a first contact email template available in the Annex 2.4.1.
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1.1.2 Budget The program can be run with an operational budget per edition as low as about 1.600. This budget covers food costs (150 per week, for 6 weeks), mentor costs (budget 100-400 for things like taxis, dinners, etc.), edition-specific t-shirts (350-600), and sundry costs (100-700 depending on the needs of your specific city). However, access to larger financing resources can make the experience and impact more valuable.
1.2. Mentors
1.2.1. Why Do Mentors Mentor? If you understand the basics of why mentors work with companies, you'll have an easier time recruiting them, keeping them involved, and managing them. Here are some common reasons why they mentor: Someone, at some point in their career, mentored them. They might be looking for their next gig or investment opportunities. It's fun. They know a lot about the space and it's rewarding to help another company succeed there. They want to invest time in improving their entrepreneurial community or create a hub. The networking component. They want to meet other interesting, smart people.
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1.2.2. What Makes a Great Mentor From talking with companies, here's a list of what makes a mentor great. It is good to look for these traits in new mentors and cultivate them in existing mentors: Quality of input (most often comes from extensive domain expertise). The Socratic approach - they don't force an opinion onto a company. They ask thoughtful questions and let them get there on their own. Diving deep - A mentor that will dive deep with a company, get down and dirty with the product, the business, the customers, the financials, etc. can be the most helpful. Makes introductions when appropriate. Doesn't ask for anything in return. A great mentor isn't going to say, "Sure, I'll make that intro for you, but I want x% of the sale." During the program, a mentor should be willing to spend their time without the expectation of any return. Connects with the founders on some level, whether it is personal or business-based. A mentor that doesn't connect with either the business or the founders won't be motivated to help the company.
1.2.3. Recruiting Mentors When you first launch your program, recruiting the right mentors will be crucial. You want to look for mentors that have extensive domain expertise and experience. High-profile mentors are great because they can help attract a strong applicant pool, but some of the best mentors are not high profile. Task list for Mentors:
- Email prospective mentors/experts to confirm interest in giving a session. - Start designating mentors to sessions according to week/session topic. - Send follow-up emails with date suggestions. - Confirm & schedule mentors for 1hr/ea.
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You're ideally looking for 6-10 mentors, one for each session, and a few possible back-ups in the event of a cancellation. The best way to find great mentors is community networking: leveraging your network, getting the word out into your business community through local PR and highlighting the benefits and reasons to become involved.
1.2.4. Requirements for Becoming a Mentor As Tetuan Valley has grown, more and more individuals want to become involved as mentors. Some are truly interested in giving back. Others just want to promote themselves. Here's a simple workflow to help weed out the wannabes. Once a person has indicated interest in becoming a mentor, we: Meet them for coffee or invite them to the office for a one-on-one meeting. At this first meeting, we outline and explain the commitment level, taking note of how they respond and making a primary evaluation if the person could become a good mentor. Have them attend a session as a spectator to see their level of engagement with the teams, especially during feedback opportunities and Pizza Time.
Once a mentor is confirmed "on-board": Mentors are expected to attend their confirmed session, to present their topic to the entrepreneurs and conduct a Q&A session (1 hour beginning as soon as the Tetuan Valley Crew Member is finished giving the 45 min course with Q&A). Mentors are always welcome at Tetuan Valley and should be encouraged to engage in the community as much and as often as theyd like. Remember, these individuals are doing this for free, so make sure they feel welcomed and are genuinely interested in participating.
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Laser printers, fax machines, and scanners are always helpful to have around.
1.3.3. Blog, Google Groups & Wiki To communicate with the exterior world, we use our blog as a collaborative community effort to enhance the online impact and value perception of the Tetuan Valley brand. Blog Once teams sign up, a username and password is created for each team, (username: TheTeamName) giving them access to the blog. Part of the commitment the teams make to TVSS when they join is to write a blog post every other week about a topic of their choosing. We encourage them to write about their experiences, or something that they, as an entrepreneur, would want to read. We remind them that blog posts should not just be a written pitch of their company in 3 paragraphs with a picture. The Madrid office manages and posts all of the blog entries, but the local offices are responsible for checking and reminding their teams to do their homework assignments. Requirements for the blog posts are as follows: Each team will complete their blog posts on time by the date they are due. Blog posts get uploaded by the team to the Tetuan Valley WordPress as a draft, someone from the Madrid office will check it and then schedule it to be posted.
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Each blog post will begin with the following italicized phrase with the appropriate links to the company website and the participants Twitter/ LinkedIn profiles, etc.:
These series of guest posts are written by the teams attending the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2011 Spring Edition. This post is from the Cirkana team, formed by Clara Martn Cubero, Alicia Caellas, Pau Olivella, Sergi Perez Lerin and Bernat Fabregat.
Each blog post will include at least one picture, have tags and categories marked, and hyperlinks already inserted to link to outside pages (all to be done by the teams, checked by the Madrid office.) Additional Resources Annex 7.1. The Blog
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To communicate internally with our teams, mentors, and groupies, we use the following platforms: Google Groups We control our email communication through Google Groups. A new group is created by the Madrid office at the beginning of every edition (with a relevant name, ex. tetuanvalleyspring2012@googlegroups.com). Once teams sign up for the program, they are all invited to join this group. Teams that drop the program are deleted from it, and the entire group is always deleted after Demo Day. All the graduated alumni from that edition are then merged into the master Alumni Google Group (tetuanvalley@googlegroups.com) for all future communications. The point of having a separate Google Group for each edition is that much of the communication ("Do your homework!", "Send me your slides", etc.) isnt relevant to all the graduated alumni and mentors that are part of the larger TV Community - they already went through the school. Deleting each editions Google group after Demo Day pushes them out of the comfort zone of the small group they already know into the larger, TV Community - facilitating relationships across editions. Additional Resources Annex 7.3. The Google Group Wiki The PB works page is how we disseminate schedules, assignments, presentation slides, additional/interesting information, and other tools to our teams. Every team will be manually invited by the Madrid team to the Wiki at the beginning of the program. The Madrid office will do most of the management of the Wiki, however, any local slides that the local office or mentors use should be uploaded by the local management team. The local offices are also responsible for checking that their teams complete the assignments and upload their materials to the wiki.
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Each edition has its own section of the wiki that looks like: 4th edition (Spring 2011) Presentations (Tetuan Valley & Teams) Where to upload each weeks mentor, TVSS teams, and class ppts Startup School Spring 2011 - Teams Ask each team to fill out their profiles in the wiki in the following format: TEAM NAME [2 lines, no more, about what do you compromise to have finish by TVSS week 6 as your prototype] Url: [project website] Blog: [blog website] Twitter: [project Twitter] Team Member 1 Name [personal email] [personal website] [personal Twitter] [personal social network links, like LinkedIn, Facebook] Mentors Where we list the name, title, and contact info of each mentor by week for our teams Blog Schedule Team reference for their blog post assignments and due dates Projects Description Should be filled out by each team about their project at the beginning of the edition Technology Reference point of useful tools and references Additional Resources Annex 7.2. The Wiki
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! ! !
Outreach to the local universities. Some of the most important promotional efforts for the Tetuan Valley Startup School are the university information sessions. Start by compiling a list of the local universities and then begin looking for possible contacts within the Engineering, and Computer Science departments. We try to Best Practice: do some promotion for In all promotional activities include a the session beforehand link to the application form: to encourage good https://docs.Google.com/a/startupsp attendance. Finding a ain.com/spreadsheet/viewform?form "friend" or point of key=dEdISDctS3E3cjlNWGRONER0aF contact in the university hmdWc6MQ#gid=0 helps us to internally And/or the TVSS information page: promote the session. An http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/whatinsider contact is also do-we-do/startupschool crucial for the logistics of the info session
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(things like reserving a room). Possible contacts include professors, department directors, coordinators, students and alumni. The easiest way to find the contacts is via the university site, LinkedIn, blogs, and Twitter.
Activate your network. Ask alumni, mentors, partners, sponsors, and/or investors tweet and blog about the Startup School and encourage them to refer teams to your program.
You should blog about it. Blog about things like "the best way for your application to get my attention..." Befriend local bloggers or other local media. They'll help you promote. Hit the Twitterverse. One of the best ways to promote the Startup School is through Twitter. Using a program called TweetDeck, you can program tweets to be scheduled in advance to be posted at a later time. You can also tweet and retweet from various accounts simultaneously. This is the perfect tool for a Startup School Application Deadline Countdown which is, quite simply, tweets that go out every few days saying something similar to: Task list for Twitter:
-Input 1-2 tweets every week during the year gradually increasing to 1 every day during the last 1.5 weeks before the app deadline. -Conduct Twitter Attack" starting a few months before the applications close, also with increasing frequency.
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In addition to the Application Deadline Countdown, we also conduct a Twitter Attack. Once every three days during the countdown, we ask a renowned member of the Twitter/entrepreneurial community in Spain to retweet one of our tweets in order to push the movement along to his or her followers. These can also be programmed in TweetDeck ahead of time. These are people with many followers, are influential and have a good reputation, exhibiting the entrepreneurial spirit. The Twitter Attack Strategy in the Annex outlines this in more detail. Extra tweeting is also always encouraged especially when it comes close to the application deadline. Additional Resources Annex 7.6. The Twitter Annex 7.7. The TweetDeck Annex 8.1. Twitter Attack Strategy
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https://docs.Google.com/a/startupspain.com/spreadsheet/viewform?f ormkey=dEdISDctS3E3cjlNWGRONER0aFhmdWc6MQ#gid=0
All applications are then recorded in the Google doc: "Tetuan Valley Startup School Inscription Form"
https://spreadsheets1.Google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?hl=en_US&key=tG HH7-Kq7r9MXdN4DthXfug&hl=en_US#gid=0
In columns AD-AK of the inscription form, there is space to manually update the status of each application. Once the applications start coming in, check the "Tetuan Valley Startup School Inscription Form" for applicants for your city. Read through their information and respond based on if:
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1. 2. 3. 4.
Their idea/initiative is not related to the technology sector. The team does not have a tech person capable of producing a Minimum Viable Product. The idea is unclear and you need more information from them in order to proceed. The team meets the requirements for an interview.
There are sample emails for all of the above scenarios. For the unaccepted teams (1. & 2.), the sample emails suggest external resources that they can utilize to meet the criteria in the future, or programs that dont have the same requirements. It is important that Tetuan Valley communicates with all applicants (rejected AND accepted) and, whenever possible, provides valuable feedback and advice. In order to keep track of the emails, stay on top of updating the shared Google form. For each communication, update the date and email ID Number (the number that corresponds to the email format you used). For example, if you send an email to someone saying that they need a tech person, the ID is 2. (see the Annex for details). You will also record the interview times here once people have begun signing up. During the application process, you will be in charge of managing and communicating with all applicants for your city. Use a free online service called Doodle to create a calendar where applicants can pick their own interview slots based on the times you provide as options. Using the sample emails, begin appropriate correspondence with each applicant. For all teams that meet the requirements, add a link to the scheduling Doodle for your location so that candidates can sign up for an interview Doodle settings should be set as: slot, and modify any location 1. Hidden poll. specific information (for ex. 2. Participant can only choose one addresses) that is in the option. sample emails. 3. Limit the number of participants per
option (to 3-6 depending on how many interviews your office can do at a time).
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The interview slots in the Doodle should begin BEFORE the application deadline. Interviews may be done on a rolling basis in order to screen candidates faster. Add interview times to the Doodle on a rolling basis as well (for example, during the first week of interviews dont put 3 weeks' worth of timeslot options on the Doodle - teams will all choose the last date. They always do). The last few days should be reserved for last minute applications. There are also samples of reminder emails for teams that dont sign up for interview times once invited. Additional Resources Annex 2.1.1. Email for Teams with Startup Projects That Fall Outside the ICT Sector Annex 2.1.2. Email for Teams in the ICT Sector but Without a Tech Person in the Team Annex 2.1.3. Email Requesting More Information for Teams Whose Project Description Has Been Too Vague Annex 2.1.4. Invitation for an Interview Annex 2.1.5. Interview Confirmation Email for Candidates That Fill in the Doodle Form Annex 2.1.6. Reminder Email for Those That Do Not Fill in the Doodle Form Annex 3. Application Form Annex 7.10. The Doodle
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Time 40-50min Okuri meeting time. We allow teams to select interview slots of Time 50-60min One-on-one 1.5 hours. Here in interviews (8 min+ transition time). Madrid, we can handle up to 5-6 teams per 1.5 hour time slot (there is a setting that can be applied in the Doodle to limit the number of teams signed up for any slot).
When teams arrive, give them all a brief introduction to the logistics (an overview of the format of the interview). Tell them that their pitch is just as important as the feedback they give to the other participants. The first part of the interview is structured as a mini Tetuan Valley Startup School Session. Each team will go up in front of the Tetuan Valley Crew and the other applicants and pitch their project for 3 min (we use a timer and are very strict about cutting the presenter off when the timer sounds). After each pitch, we give another 3 min to the rest of the interviewees to give the presenter feedback. We take notes on both the pitch and how the teams give feedback to one another, also noting how they receive feedback. Then, the Okuri team takes 1 min to give any feedback that might have been missed and tells the candidate the things they should be prepared to answer in the second part of the interview process. After all teams in the slot have pitched, the Tetuan Valley Crew will meet privately to share their impressions of each of the teams,
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deciding who is going to interview which team for the one-on-one time. Making good use of this discussion time will save a LOT of time during the final decision making process. The second part of the interview is an 8 min one-on-one interview between each candidate (or team) and one of the members from our Crew. In the first 2 min, the interviewer will have the candidate explain why they want to be a part of Tetuan Valley and why they should be picked. The last 6 min are a Q&A session for both the interviewer and the candidate in which the candidate will clarify the doubts the interviewer might have about the project and the interviewer will answer all questions the candidate might have about the program. At the end of the interview, assign one of the interviewers to fill out the form evaluating the candidate interviewed.
The evaluation form is a numerical scoring tool that has proven to be helpful in sorting the teams come selection time. Within the form, the comments are the most important aspect, so be diligent in filling them out. It is easy to forget important details after you interview more than 30 people, so it is imperative that this form is filled out in a timely manner (the day of or immediately after the interview, if possible). As noted earlier, it is very important to get as many of the interviews done as soon as possible because the submitted applications are likely to double during the last week. Some Tips: Stay on top of all applications and review them regularly. This will keep the process from getting overwhelming. Keep the subject lines of your emails obvious - "Widget.com and your Tetuan Valley app" - so you know what each and every email is; use labels and folders to stay organized. Respond honestly and briefly to every single email. Try to always include the name of the entrepreneur and the project in materials and communications (to maximize search-ability).
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The ranking of the company is fluid; their responses to challenges and questions (via email or phone) can change an "out" to a top 10 team. We get a lot of applications in the last 12 hours of the application deadline (go figure). Plan spending the last 2 days straight with at least 1 full-time employee reviewing applications; consider lining up some additional help for those 2 days. Additional Resources
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back in order to give them specific, actionable, constructive feedback on why we didn't select them. If a team is a clear "no" from the interview, we use the one-on-one interview time to really elaborate on why that is. Using the private interview time for explaining why a team didnt make the cut helps the team to better learn from the experience and helps to reduce the email onslaught afterwards. Now that you've notified your non-selects, you want to narrow down your finalists to the top 10 teams. Hold a meeting with your team and go through the best prospects by having each person vote privately on their personal picks for the top 10 teams. Share the results and take note of the overlaps. Best Practice: 10 Teams? These candidates are in. Discuss the remaining teams Given that on average 1-3 teams drop in question and come to a out per edition, we, in the case of exceptionally good alternate teams, mutual agreement on who is will start with more than 10 teams. We in. Once you've selected your 10 (and 1-2 alternates), you can notify the rest of the finalists that they weren't selected, and you can start the welcome process. Additional Resources Annex 2.1.7. Email for Selected Teams Annex 2.1.8. Email for Rejected Teams Annex 5. Confirmation Form
have seen that 11 is OK (but sessions do run a bit long) and more than 13 takes away from the program in a serious way.
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2.4.3. Welcome Process Email all the candidates who have been accepted, including a link to the Google form to sign up with their contact information to confirm their participation. Example of the sign up/confirmation Google form8:
https://docs.google.com/a/startupspain.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fo rmkey=dEhVb1RJcjlFb mhUWW5jRWE2MWQ 4cmc6MA#gid=0
Task list for Accepting Teams Some will require phone calls. Make sure every team - Send acceptance email with Google form sign up link. clearly understands that they need to check their -Confirm 10 teams and send welcome schedules to make sure they package & House Rules. are available for every - Once confirmed add all teams to the session. Once you have the Google group, Blog and Wiki. 10 decided and confirmed by signing up in the form, email each one a welcome package email and The House Rules document to bring printed and signed for the first session. At this point, you can also add all the teams to the Google group, blog, and wiki. Be sure that they are all aware of the exact start date and location. Additional Resources Annex 1. House Rules Annex 2.2.1. Email Informing the Selected Teams About the Logistics for the First Session Annex 5. Confirmation Form
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3. Personnel Requirements
We've found that our Tetuan Valley offices don't need a large staff in order for it to be successful. An office typically has:
! ! !
Managing Director or Director. Office Manager/Program Administrator. 2 "analysts" (a.k.a. interns). Additional Resources Annex 10. Valley Crew The Tetuan
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There are a few tasks to be done on a local level in preparation for each Startup School Session: Email or call the scheduled mentor to make sure he/she is still confirmed and available to come to the upcoming session. You may have to call a backup mentor in the event that the original mentor has to cancel. Make sure all materials and PowerPoint presentations are prepared for the upcoming session (update and improve slides from previous editions as necessary, updating hashtags, theme, etc.) During session #6 there will be several things to be distributed to the entrepreneurs (t-shirts, diplomas, etc.). These will be sent via Tetuan Valley Madrid. Plan and order pizza/soda for each session. Make sure logistics with the Madrid office are going smoothly and that all of the participants are receiving emails/assignments. Make sure that teams are completing their assignments on time. Organize social events between the teams on a semi-regular basis. After the Demo Days we hear lots of complaints about the teams wishing they had gotten to know the other participants better before the very end. Forward all local press releases to the entire email list so we can create traffic and take note of all team/Tetuan Valley coverage.
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Make an educated guess on how many people are going to come and use the Pizza & Soda equation explained in the Session Descriptions section to calculate how many of them you should buy; plus add some beers in the mix. Remind all alumni, friends, mentors, and anyone else who might have one to bring their Tetuan Valley t-Shirts. Make sure every team sends you their final presentation 2 hours before the event.
After Demo Day, advise the members of the Google group that you will be deleting the editions group and inviting them to the Alumni group. Give them a few days in-between when you invite them to the Alumni group and when you delete the individual editions group. Additional Resources Annex 2.3.1. List Merge Email Annex 2.3.2. Demo Day Email Annex 2.3.3. Demo Day Invitation Email Annex 7.11. The Tickets
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Classes: Attendance is mandatory at all classes for at least one member of each team. Even 1 missed class will result in expulsion from the program. No exceptions. People who come late will be charged a 5 fine (seriously). We will use this money to buy alcohol (seriously). We wont share with you (50% chance). Odds of financial loss here are pretty solid if you do the math: Come on time. Feedback: Hearing that you did "great" makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Hearing five actionable items makes you better. This is school; we are here to get better. Let your Mom tell you how great you are. Give the kind of feedback you want to receive. That means pay attention when other people are presenting, so they pay attention to you. Be respectful, be polite, be fair BUT be honest. If you dont understand someones business model, tell them so. Responding to Feedback: You will have a limited amount of precious time to receive feedback during the session. Use that time to listen, not to defend why you are right or you didnt have enough time, etc. If someone doesnt understand something or has a doubt about your project it means you need to explain it better for next week. Dont excuse, improve. Slides: Pitch slides must be sent to Katelyn@startupspain.com no later than 2 hours before (AKA 5PM) each session, as a PDF. Dont ask about your Mac; the answer is no, although, of course, we are aware its far superior to our PC. If slides are not sent by that time, in that format, the team will not present. If a team does not present two times, they will be expelled from the program.
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No exceptions. You guys are about to go on a big journey together; make the most out of it. You'll be sad when its over (believe us, everyone always is). We, team _______________________________, confirm that we have read and will follow the TETUAN VALLEY HOUSE RULES and understand that conditions for expulsion from said, most-excellent school are: 1. Missing a class 2. Not pitching more than 1 time 3. Not doing assigned homework Signed:
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2. Email Templates
2.1. Selection Process
2.1.1. Email for Teams with Startup Projects That Fall Outside the ICT Sector <Insert Candidate Name>, Thank you very much for your interest in the Tetuan Valley Start Up School 2012 Spring Edition. Our particular program is only for startups in the ICT sector, therefore we are unable to accept your application at this time. We would, however, like to suggest you look at Madrid Emprende (@MadridEmprende) or the Accelerator in Carabanchel (http://j.mp/piyzx4) to pursue support for your startup. If you are interested, we will be streaming the classes and uploading materials online at www.tetuanvalley.com throughout the Startup School. Also, please feel free to participate in our Entrepreneur Feedback Day (face to face feedback sessions with the Okuri team members) or Entrepreneur Commons (group feedback sessions with members of the Tetuan Valley Community) as well as other free events you can find on the website here (http://bit.ly/xF2KTB). We wish you all the best, and please keep us in mind if your next startup is in ICT. Best Regards, The Okuri Team
2.1.2. Email for Teams in the ICT Sector but Without a Tech Person in the Team <Insert Candidate Name>, Thank you very much for your interest in the Tetuan Valley Start Up School 2012 Spring Edition. Unfortunately, we cannot accept teams that do not have a full-time member with the technological skills to develop the product due to some hard lessons we learned in previous editions.
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Its fundamental to have the technical skills on board if youre going to make it to the end of our program. Should you find a tech friend sometime before Feb 19th at 23:59 and are still interested, please fill the application form again, making note of this development. If you need tips on where you could find a techie to complete your team we strongly suggest that you go to networking events such as Iniciador (http://iniciador.com/) or others mentioned in StartupDigest Spain (http://startupdigest.com/). Some other options if you cant find someone before the deadline: - We will be streaming the classes and uploading materials online at www.tetuanvalley.com throughout the Startup School - The Accelerator in Carabanchel (http://j.mp/piyzx4) that does not have this requirement - Participation in other events like: Entrepreneur Feedback Day (face-toface feedback sessions with the Okuri team members) or Entrepreneur Commons (group feedback sessions with members of the Tetuan Valley Community) as well as other free events you can find on the website http://bit.ly/xF2KTB We wish you all the best, and hope you are able to find someone before the deadline. Best Regards, The Okuri Team
2.1.3. Email Requesting More Information for Teams Whose Project Description Has Been Too Vague <Insert Candidate Name>, Thank you very much for your interest in the Tetuan Valley Start Up School 2012 Spring Edition. After reviewing your application we are interested in learning more about you, but need some additional information. Please respond with more details about your idea. Also, be sure to include a website if you have one and any partners (one
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programmer required per group). Feel free to email contact us if you have any questions. Looking forward to hearing from you soon, The Okuri Team
2.1.4. Invitation for an Interview <Insert Candidate Name>, Thank you very much for your interest in the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2012 Spring Edition. After reviewing your application we are very interested in meeting you and hearing more about your startup. We would like to invite you to interview with us for the program. We are going to hold interviews in a multi- setting fashion, as follows: 1. Group presentation pitches: With up to 3 other teams, you will take turns pitching your project in MAX 3 minutes to the Tetuan Valley Crew. Include in your pitch: What your project is, what need it fulfills, who is it for, why they will use it, why you are better than your competition, and how you are going to make money. We anticipate your pitch will change dramatically over the next 6 weeks (even to a completely new idea). We arent doing this to lock you in on one thing, were doing this to see if you can think through and explain properly what it is you think you want to do now. If you have more than one idea, pick one to pitch, well go over the other one later. 2. Time-out: You will then have around 5 minutes to re-group, while the Tetuan Valley Crew meets briefly to discuss the pitches 3. Individual Interview: Teams will then be given a 1 on 1 interview with a Tetuan Valley Crew member. Interview structure will be: 2 min pitch about why you should be selected for the program & 6 min left for Q&A Sound like a doozy? We think so too, and Cant wait. The interview will last for a total of no more than 60 minutes. For your consideration we have here two examples of how to do a pitch: 1 minute pitch from Evernote:
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http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=wmNks09GZ3s 10 minute pitch from Timpik (Tetuan Valley Startup School and StartupBootcamp Alumni): http://vimeo.com/30206381 Your pitch will obviously be longer than Evernotes and much shorter than Timpiks, so practice, practice, practice, because at 3 minutes the buzzer will sound and thats it! Think you can hang? Sign up for a slot here: http://www.Doodle.com/cc592pu928epsq2e Only one member from each team needs to be present for the interview (although more are welcome) Sign up as: Name (Project Name) Only one member per each team should fill in the Doodle, and please only fill the Doodle in once. If you are signed up on the Doodle, that is your confirmation, we will contact you via email otherwise. Please be aware of the following: - Our office location is c/Bravo Murillo 244, it is right around the corner from the Tetuan metro stop, our entrance door is on Calle de Alonso Castrillo (look for the Body Bell store) - You must come on time. Even 10 minutes early if you wanna look good. If you arrive late you will take away from your own time, and we cannot wait for you to start - It is your responsibility to pace your presentation, and monitor your own time; we will cut you off after 3 minutes of pitching. No exceptions. We are sincerely very sorry that we cannot give you more time at the interview; however this will be good practice for the way pitching works in the "real world." Please take advantage of that opportunity and make sure you come with you pitch prepared and time tested. To Review you will need to come prepared (and on time) with: - A 3 min (timed and practiced) pitch about your project - A 2 min statement about why you should be part of the Startup School
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- Energy, enthusiasm about your project, your passion about your project is contagious... we love startups so dont be surprised if it catches on! Looking forward to hearing from you soon, The Okuri Team
2.1.5. Interview Confirmation Email for Candidates That Fill the Doodle Form Dear Teams, This email is a confirmation that we have received your interview time on the Doodle, and have you scheduled for that time then (unless otherwise contacted by email). Just a few reminders: 1. Come on time! If your interview is at 5PM thats exactly what time it will begin, with or without you. As you know we are conducting these in groups, so we must be fair to everyone. If youre worried about getting here on time: set your clock faster, anticipate traffic, and tell the Seoras to move out of the way! on the sidewalks 2. If you have slides that you want to use for your 3 minute pitch, you need to send them to me no later than 5 hours before your presentation as a pdf. No exceptions. (You also dont need slides but some people prefer to have them and thats fine with us). If you have slides you want for your one-on-one pitch bring them with you on your tablet or laptop. 3. Come prepared and PRACTICED with: a. A 3 min (timed and practiced) pitch about your project b. A 2 min statement about why you should be part of the Startup School 4. Logistics: Our office location is c/Bravo Murillo 244, it is right around the corner from the Tetun metro stop, our entrance door is on Calle de Alonso Castrillo (look for the Body Bell store) 5. Interview:
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a. Group presentation pitches: 3 min each, timed, in a group setting b. Time-out: You will then have around 5 minutes to re-group, while the Tetuan Valley Crew meets briefly to discuss the pitches c. Individual Interview: Teams will then be given a 1 on 1 interview with a Tetuan Valley Crew member which will be: 2 min pitch about why you should be selected for the program + 6 min left for Q&A There are more than 5 teams signed up for most time slots, in which case one+ team will have to wait an additional 10 minutes for their one-on-one interview as the Tetuan Valley Interview Committee is 4 people strong. Thats it! Cant tell you guys how excited we are to meet you all. Best, The Okuri Team
2.1.6. Reminder Email for Those That Do not Fill in the Doodle Form Option A Thanks again for applying for the Tetuan Valley Startup School Spring 2012 Edition. We would like to remind you to contact us with your availability in order to set up an interview. New applications are coming in each day and we want to be sure we get a chance to meet with everyone. Best, The Okuri Team
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Option B Hi from TVSS! We wanted to check if you were still interested in participating in the Tetuan Valley Startup School Spring 2012 Edition. If so please fill out the Doodle in order to set up an interview. New applications are coming in each day and we want to be sure we get a chance to meet with everyone. Questions? Feel free to email me. Best, The Okuri Team
2.1.7. Email for Selected Teams Congratulations! You have been accepted to the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2012 Spring Edition!!! Please read the attached document, which outlines all of the house rules, you will need to bring a signed copy of this to the first class, should you choose to accept.... If you are brave enough... have each member of the team fill this form out ASAP to confirm your participation, and we will then send you all the details for the first class. Also just to make sure there is no doubt, sessions are WEDNESDAYS at 7PM (sharp) on: - March 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th - April 4th & 11th All are mandatory The Demo Day will be April 25th Congratulations again, it was a tough selection process, and we are excited to have you on board! All the best, The Okuri Team
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2.1.8. Email for Rejected Teams Candidates, Thank you very much for your interest in the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2012 Spring Edition. Unfortunately, this edition we have received many strong applications, and are simply unable to take everyone. However, we would like to invite you to apply again in the fall, and also to suggest you look at Madrid Emprende (@MadridEmprende) as another option to pursue support for your startup. If you are interested, we will be streaming the classes and uploading materials online at www.tetuanvalley.com throughout the Startup School. Also, please feel free to participate in our Entrepreneur Feedback Day (face to face feedback sessions with the Okuri team members) or Entrepreneur Commons (group feedback sessions with members of the Tetuan Valley Community) as well as other free events you can find on the website. We wish you all the best, and hope that you continue with determination in creating your startup. Best of Luck in the Future and let us know of any new developments, The Okuri Team
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Bodybell on the corner). Our door is very... colorful, it should be hard to miss but just in case its the one that says "Tetuan Valley" on it ;) We ask that each team comes prepared with an elevator pitch 90 seconds or less that is meant to explain the concept of your idea and to attract the interest of those who are listening to the point where they want to know more. No slides, just you, WOWing us with your idea, remember the Evernote video we sent you? (Try be a little more excited than that though ;) Be concise and direct and avoid getting into minor details. It is important to provide an example of how your idea is used. Also please bring a signed copy of the House Rules that we sent to you. The only other thing we ask is to bring yourselves and your excitement and enthusiasm. We had a lot of teams apply to this edition and you should be proud of the initiative you have taken thus far. At this point everyone should be added to the tetuan-valley-spring2012 Google group, if anyone from your team has not received that invitation, please let me know, because as of tomorrow that will be the only way we contact yall, and all info will be sent through there. If you have any additional questions do not hesitate to contact us. LETS DO THIS! Best, The Okuri Team
2.2.2. Email Reminder Week 1 Homework Hi everyone! If I did everything correctly you should all be receiving this email :) This is the official TVSS list for this edition and we'll use it to manage all our communications with u guys from now on :) Please check that your other team members have received this email too. So, things you should have by now: - Access to this editions mailing list (the Spring 2012 Google Group) - Blog access (username: Project name, password: Project name123. For example username: Coomunity, password: Coomunity123) Feel free to change your password as they are not very creative.
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- Access to the wiki Homework for next week (week one is the worst dont worry) 1. Your peer evaluation assignment (These will be sent separately, later) 2. Company Pitch with slides, problems you encountered this week + your plan for next week Plan your presentation for something like 4:30 min, because on stage you'll do it slower. Refine your ideas, remove any concept that's not essential. The presentations have to have flow: Pitch (30sec) + BOOM problem 1, 2, 3 (1m) BOOM data to support the claims (no need to put ALL of it, one or two numbers supporting it!) (20secs) BOOM solutions (1m) BOOM data to support it (20sec), BOOM customers (30sec) BOOM key activities (or how we retain users and make them pay us) (1m) BOOM Unique value proposition (30sec) BOOM prev. week (10sec) BOOM problems (30sec) BOOM next week (10sec). 3. Send your logo, and a 2 sentence summary of what your company does (have any hyperlinks you want done already linked up). We are going to make an introduction blog like this one. Dont have a logo? check out http://99designs.com/ or the free app http://itunes.apple.com/es/app/i-love-logos/id441978312?mt=8 4. Check the blog schedule for your assigned due date for the blog (you should upload these as a draft- we will post them). Blogs should include a. Interesting title b. The following introduction (update with your teams information and links to your webpages/ Twitters/ whatever youd like):
These series of guest posts are written by the teams attending the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2011 Fall edition. This post is from the Mobitto team, formed by Jos Simoes.
c. At least one picture to break up the text d. It does need to be in English e. Dont use large blocks of text Here is a good example of a good blog post from an alumnus:
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http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/2011/04/startup-wannabe.html Let us know if there are any questions about anything, The Okuri Team
2.3.2. Demo Day Email to Teams Spartans! Prepare for Glory! All things must come to an end, so let it be with this edition. And let us make it an epic closing. Let's celebrate the great people we' ve met these months and the journey we've walked together to make our ideas a reality. 1. Work hard on your presentations: take in all that feedback, make em flawless, and rehearse! Dont forget: - Tell a tale and let us enjoy the story - Adjust your timing because you need to show your demo during your pitch, dont rush (ie try to say the same things faster) BUT INSTEAD cut down, and give only the important information in an efficient way - Include a Call to Action: make sure you say what you want from the audience (and what you offer )
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- Put contact info in the presentation - Dont forget to give meaningful financials and metrics (no fake titty graphs, no made-up, non-relevant information) - If You want to practice one more time with feedback, we have a pitch practice Tuesday at Carabanchel at noon, let us know 2. Get social: Help generate buzz before the event using the Ticketea link (http://www.ticketea.com/demo-day), #startspain, and @tetuanvalley tags. This way we can generate more buzz on the event and on your startups 3. Turn in your presentation deck before 17h on Wednesday 4. All demos must be sent before 17h on Tuesday 5. We are publishing the info you uploaded to Referama on Monday morning, if you are missing this (team member or team description) that counts as missing homework, I also will not go back and add in missing teams/ entrepreneurs, if you are missing a picture or link or description, re-upload before then to the site There will not be Q&A, only 3 min pitches and 1min for the demo. The event will be as follows: 18.15 - 18.45: Technical set up and error-proofing with the computerthis is optional, but a good idea if you want to check that your demo video works (Remember: your presentations have to be turned in by 5pm) 18.45 - 19.00: Meeting with Tetuan Valley Startup School Teams & Crew 19.00 - 19.30: Audience arrival and networking 19.20 - 19.30: Crew Introduction to Demo Day 19.30 - 20.00: Guest Keynote 20.00 - 21.00: Pitch Slam 21.00 - 21.45: Startup Pizzas, Sodas, and Beers 21.45+ .. ;) If you want to invite somebody to the Demo Day, please tell them to get their tickets at: http://www.ticketea.com/demo-day Congratulations again you guys, your work over the past 6 weeks has been amazing, and we are proud of all of you!
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2.3.3. Demo Day Invitation Email Tetuanees! Its time again for another Startup School Editions Demo Day. As Im sure from when "back in the day" you yourselves were students you remember all about how the big event goes. 5 Good Reasons to Attend 1. You can catch up with other alumni and mentors who will be there 2. You are aware that from the graduating teams come: - Great "single" entrepreneurs that you can head hunt to make part of your team - Great projects that you can follow & try to get involved with 3. There will be beer (and pizza) at the office. nough said 4. You remember how important it was to you to have a big turn out during this day 5. Youve been looking for an excuse to wear your orange t-shirt (as though you need one...) How to Attend Sign up by getting a ticket Here Show up (at the normal spot) Here How to Help Help us generate buzz before the event by Tweeting, including the Ticketea link (http://www.ticketea.com/demo-day), #startspain, and @tetuanvalley tags The Event will Be as Follows Wednesday, April 25th 19.00 - 19.30: Audience arrival and networking 19.20 - 19.30: Crew Introduction to Demo Day 19.30 - 20.00: Guest Keynote 20.00 - 21.00: Pitch Slam
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21.00 - 21.45: Startup Pizzas, Sodas, and Beers 21.45+ .. ;) Do we even need to say it? Thanks you guys, we hope to see you there to help welcome these guys into the TV Community. Come by n show em how we be ;) Best, The Okuri Team
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2.4. Sponsorship
2.4.1. Sponsorship Email Dear Madam/ Sir My name is [Name] and I work at Okuri Ventures, a Spanish company that manages a nonprofit pre-accelerator, Tetuan Valley Startup School (http://www.tetuanvalley.com/). We believe our program has the potential to realize many synergies with your Global Citizenship initiatives and the investments that you have already made in projects that support sustainability and building small businesses. Our team would like to have the opportunity to meet with you to explore some possible international extensions.[Modified to fit synergies with potential sponsor] Tetuan Valley Startup School is a wholly nonprofit program which aims to guide young entrepreneurs through the process of building product prototypes and business strategies in order to create their own businesses. We organize four six-week sessions a year in Madrid and Barcelona through which we have already graduated more than 50 teams of innovative entrepreneurs. Proof of our model is best demonstrated by the many Tetuan Valley Alumni who have successfully launched their businesses, some with external financing. We are expanding to a third city in 2011 and are closing agreements to open Tetuan Valley internationally in 2012. The goal of Tetuan Valley is to create an entrepreneurial environment on a local scale with a global perspective. We ask the participants to add value to the program in order to grow our community sustainably. Our other line of business is a pan-European accelerator called Startupbootcamp. While this is a completely separate entity from Tetuan Valley, Startup School graduates often apply to Startupbootcamp in order to further accelerate their projects through actively seeking investment. Currently the Tetuan Valley / Startupbootcamp programs in Madrid have been ranked together as the second best accelerator program for startups in Europe (by the Kauffman Fellows Program) and Tetuan Valley remains the first and only nonprofit pre-accelerator program in Europe. To match the growth strategies of Tetuan Valley we are currently looking
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for the support of international sponsors that are interested in supporting entrepreneurship in Spain, Europe and Latin America in order to take our program to the next level. Thank you in advance for your consideration. We truly believe in the potential for our programs to add value and expand the other activities sponsored by your Global Citizenship initiatives in a meaningful way. Please do not hesitate to call our offices at +34 91 186 30 08. I myself or any of the partners at Okuri would be happy to clear up any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you. Best Regards, [Name]
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3. Application Form
Enrollment inscription form for the Tetuan Valley Startup School Spring 2012, Madrid (March/April). For more info check http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/startupschool * INSCRIPTION CLOSES 19th February 2012 11:59pm (No more inscriptions will be accepted after that date) ** NOTE: All participants that meet the requirements will be interviewed by our staff. We will confirm each inscription personally. ________________________________________ The Team Liaison Please submit only one application per team First Name Last Name Project Name Birth Year Nationality City / Town of Residence Maximum degree of studies obtained If you hold or are in the process of obtaining an Associates's Degree or higher, please specify which institution you are going or went to If you hold or are in the process of obtaining an Associates's Degree or higher, please specify in which field or subject you are going to graduate or have graduated Contact Information Telephone Cell phone number (+34 xxx xxx xxx) Email yourusername@youremailclient.com Website
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Any personal, company website Twitter Your Twitter account (i.e http://www.Twitter.com/myusername) Social Network Profile Any social network profile, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. (i.e. http://www.linkedIn.com/in/myusername)
Project Information Have you read the requirements and recommendations for joining Tetuan Valley? If not, please go to the following link and read carefully before continuing with your application form: http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/startupschool (Yes / No) Do you already have a concrete idea of the project you want to develop or are you deciding between a couple of them? (I have one concrete project idea / I am in the process of deciding between a couple of ideas) Select the appropriate stage of the development of this / these idea/s: If you have more than one idea, choose the stage of the idea you like best at the moment (Idea Stage / Untested Business Plan / Already started testing business plan with some potential customers / Already some Product Development) Which of these categories best describes your project's realm? If you have more than one idea, choose the realm of the idea you like best at the moment Project Idea Describe any specific projects or project ideas you want to work with during the course
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Rest of the Team Have you any partners for the course? (Yes / No) How many people are involved full-time in the project? Please include yourself in the calculation if you are working fulltime in the project How many people are involved part-time in the project? Please include yourself in the calculation if you are working parttime in the project Do you or any of your partners have the technical background required to develop a Minimum Viable Product or "MVP" (functional demo) to be presented by the end of these 6 weeks? As mentioned in the requirements section of the Startup School description in tetuanvalley.com "Teams should have at least one technical member on board" (Yes / No / Other) Expectations from the course and Additional Information What you expect from the course? Explain what do you expect to learn, to see, to experience, etc. How did you learn about the Startup School? (Alumni / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn / A friend / Other) If you are applying from a city other than Madrid, please provide a skype username below If selected to Tetuan Valley what would you be able give back to the community? Some examples could be networking, special skills or knowledge (legal, programming, design), etc.
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5. Confirmation Form
Once teams are invited to participate in the program we collect their contact information using the following form :
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Team's progress Rate from 0 to 10 how the team is advancing with their idea (if it is the first session, evaluate how advanced is the project compared to your other peers) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Suggestions for improvement Please explain your constructive point of view on how this team could improve both their contributions towards their interactions in our meetups and their progress on developing their idea.
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7. The Toolkit
7.1. The Blog
Example of a good blogpost: http://blog.tetuanvalley.com/2011/04/startupwannabe.html
List of what to include: a. An interesting title. b. An introduction (update with the teams information and links to their webpages/ Twitters/ LinkedIns, etc.): These series of guest posts are written by the teams attending the Tetuan Valley Startup School 2011 Fall Edition. This post is from the Mobitto team, formed by Jos Simoes. c. At least one picture to break up the text. d. It needs to be in English. e. Break up large blocks of text (with numbers, bullets, graphs, etc.)
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4. Programmed Tweet Examples @... Could you help us w/a RT, thx!: 5 DAYS LEFT apply to @TetuanValley Startup School http://bit.ly/Ax8tAc @... Can you help us w/a RT, thx!: Take your idea to the next level! Apply to @TetuanValley Startup School http://bit.ly/Ax8tAc @... Could you help us w/a RT, thx!: apply to @TetuanValley Startup School - applications close feb 19th http://bit.ly/Ax8tAc
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9. The Themes
Each edition is themed after a movie, here have been the picks so far:
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