CAJ#6_Want to apply? All you need to have...

Maybe my last post about the German Silicon Valley Acceleration and the benefits you gain from participating in the program convinced you and you now want to join the program. Unfortunately, you are a bit late as you missed the application deadline on March 15. You could start, however, working on your idea for next year. If you really do so, make sure you know the most important selection criteria. Here are the most important ones:

As GSVA is investing significant time and resources into program participants, the Steering Committee’s role is to select the most promising companies of all applicants. It does so by focusing on the following areas:

Overall concept: Does the company address a clear and large market need with an innovative solution?

Market opportunity: Is the market size and opportunity large enough to make this a compelling business? Remember: GSVA is striving to support the creation of the next global category leader.

Competitive landscape: Are there significant or dominant competitors? Has the company constructed strong differentiation and/or barriers to entry?

Product execution: How much work from concept to current status? Smart engineering, good use of technology. Degree of product/market fit.

Business execution: Partner deals. Customers. Distribution. A clear go-to-market strategy being executed and proven traction.

Team: The right combination of dedicated individuals with the required experience and skills. Are team members “knowers” or “learners”? Are they open to questioning their ideas and brave enough to try new behaviors that will enable them to be successful?

Business model: Revenue streams or customer acquisition model is determined. Will it work in the U.S. market?

Entrepreneurial mindset: Will the company be able to develop a Silicon Valley-like mindset and entrepreneurial culture? Will they discover the critical success factors for their company?

Program relevance: Does the company have a clear perspective on how it will benefit from the GSVA program, i.e. has it identified specific U.S. customers or a U.S. customer group? Does the company have the potential to become a global category leader?

To sum it up your idea needs offer an innovative solution for a problem of a global market, you should be the first to come up with this idea, you should already have improved your first concept to show how efficient you use technology, you should already have partners who support you and your idea, your team should be experienced but still show willingness to learn, your idea should meet the needs of the United States….

Seems like simply having an idea is not enough :)

CAJ#5_The German Silicon Valley Accelerator

The German Silicon Valley Accelerator (GSVA) supports German tech startups to accelerate their growth and to become global category leaders. Selected startups participate in a three to six months training program in the heart of Silicon Valley. The goal is to support the young entrepreneurs in their first steps to becoming internationally recognized and successful companies. 

Through this program young people with great ideas have the opportunity work in the dynamic and competitive international environment and to dive into the spirit that makes the Silicon Valley the world’s premier center for innovation and startup success. As part of the program, founders develop a U.S. go-to-market strategy, make initial customer contacts, and continue to engage and build relevant networks. The founders also gain an understanding of possible financing options for their venture and potentially receive introductions to business angels and venture capital investors.

This sounds already really great, ha? Here are some more benefits you can gain from participating in the GSVA program:

Silicon Valley Culture: Understand the U.S. startup and business culture and leverage the resources and support infrastructure unique only to Silicon Valley.
Go-to-Market: by developing a go-to-market strategy and business plan for the U.S. you can understand the importance of corporate partners as a channel for market validation. With this program you learn how to successfully approach possible partners and how to close a deal.
Mentoring: This is the key word of this program. Being mentored by experienced entrepreneurs and investors means that your thinking is challenged, hurdles are discussed and new opportunities arise.

Presentation: You can adapt your communication and presentation style to Silicon Valley expectations. By having the right presentation skills you can convince customers, investors and potential team members more easily.
Experience: Even if the worst case scenario becomes reality and your company does not fit in the Silicon Valley’s expectation at all, you still had the experience of living and working there. You could use this experience for your next idea or to improve your first idea.

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Education for All

 text based on this article

Zola and her family live in a makeshift home built from scrap

Nigeria, which is located in West Africa, has not only the largest population of any African country, but is also the most densely populated country in Africa. Nearly one in six Africans is a Nigerian. Despite the rampages of AIDS, Nigeria's population continues to grow at about 2.6 percent each year. The Nigerian population is very young. Nearly 45 percent of its people are under age fourteen. One of them is the 9 year-old girl Zola who lives with her grandparents, her parents and her four younger brothers in a makeshift home built from scrap in the dry, open grasslands of the Nigerian savanna. A single room shack is home to the entire family of nine who sleep, eat and live on the same small patch of floor.

Although Zola is the oldest child in the family, she still does not attend school. Her labor is needed to either bring additional income into the family or to help at home and take care of her youngest brother. While three of her younger brothers, get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to reach their school, which is located in the neighboring village 3 km away, Zola has to be on the field at half past four to work until the sun goes down. Afterwards she still has to take a 2 hours walk home, prepare meal, and take care of all her younger brothers.

Zola has to work very hard in order to earn money

Many children in this rural area of Nigeria do not attend school. The reason for this are not only the associated costs of sending their children to school such as uniforms and textbooks. The cultural bias is the biggest problem. Most parents do not send their children, in particular girls, to school and make them take care of their siblings instead. In the North the gender gap remains especially wide and the average proportion of girls to boys in school is 1 to 3. The Northern region is generally recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country. It is estimated that about 4.7 million children of primary school age are still not in school.

Zola would love to go to school in order to learn how to read and write. Education is the only chance for her to find a way out of poverty and to have a better live than their parents and grandparents do. Most of the parents, however, do not want their children to break the “tradition” of living in the poorest parts of the world. As Zola is the family’s only daughter, she is already promised to a man in the village and she is expected to give birth to several children after the forced marriage.