Puerto Rico Startup Showcase Release
Today the Founder Institute (http://fi.co), the world’s largest startup accelerator, is announcing the Puerto Rico Startup Showcase, an event to be held in New York City where Puerto Rico startups can present to New York technology investors. To be held on October 17, 2013, the showcase will give island startups the opportunity to raise capital from the same firms that have funded top internet and mobile companies.
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Founder Institute Puerto Rico
CONTACT Ramphis Castro [email protected] 787.223.4851 @jramphis Marcos Polanco [email protected] 787.529.5892 @marcospolanco http://facebook.com/ FounderInstitutePuertoRico
Puerto Rico Startups to Present to New York Investors at Puerto Rico Startup Showcase
The Founder Institute aims to create jobs in Puerto Rico by matching the capital resources of the New York investment community with the ideas and talents of local entrepreneurs
Today the Founder Institute (http://fi.co), the world’s largest startup accelerator, is announcing the Puerto Rico Startup Showcase, an event to be held in New York City where Puerto Rico startups can present to New York technology investors. To be held on October 15, 2013, the showcase will give island startups the opportunity to raise capital from the same firms that have funded top internet and mobile companies. “Puerto Rico’s startups have created a strong sense of community and collaboration, and are receiving mentorship from experienced technology entrepreneurs. The next step is to create relationships with technology investors, and we are delighted to count on the Founder Institute’s network to open those doors,” said Marcos Polanco, co-director of the Puerto Rico program. In just four years of existence, the Silicon Valleybased Founder Institute has launched over 800 new technology companies across the globe that have
created over 2,250 new jobs and raised over $70 million of capital. In its 2012 edition, the Puerto Rico chapter graduated firms including iGenApps, KeynoteStar, Crowdville and Memory Palace. These companies are already creating jobs, raising capital and reaching global markets. “Our program teaches entrepreneurs the best practices of Silicon Valley innovation, enabling them to avoid rookie mistakes, work frugally, ,and create value quicker,” said Adeo Ressi, Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute. “This is a grassroots model of local economic development that is sustainable.” According to a study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, startups are responsible for all net job creation in the U.S. economy. With the Founder’s Institute’s part-time structure, aspiring tech entrepreneurs in Puerto Rico can test their business ideas, assumptions, and entrepreneurial resolve with the Institute’s experienced founder and CEO mentors, all without quitting their jobs. “Puerto Rico startups are leveraging the billion people on social media and the billion smartphone users to reach global markets from their home island. We do not lack talent...we do lack the financial resources to build world-class companies, which motivates our connection to New York City, which reached 1.67 billion in venture capital investments last year,” said Ramphis Castro, co-director of the Puerto Rico program. Interested applicants are invited to take the free Predictive Admission Test at http://fi.co/join/ showcasepr. Those who score highly on the test and demonstrate the DNA of successful entrepreneurs will qualify for evaluation to present at the Puerto Rico
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Startup Showcase as well as enroll in the 2013 Summer Semester of the Founder Institute in Puerto Rico. The Final Application Deadline is on Sunday, June 2nd, but applying by May 19th provides eligibility for full program scholarships, including the Female Founder Fellowship. ---About the Founder Institute The Founder Institute (http://fi.co) is an early-stage startup accelerator and global launch network that helps entrepreneurs create meaningful and enduring technology companies. Through a part-time four month program, existing and prospective founders can launch their dream company with expert training, feedback, and support from experienced startup CEOs - while not being required to quit their day job. Our unique Graduate Liquidity Pool also enables graduates and mentors to share in the equity upside of each graduating class, creating local, teamworkbased ecosystems where new businesses can flourish. In just three years of operation, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 800 companies across 42 cities and five continents - making us the world's largest startup accelerator. Our goal is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" by launching 1,000 meaningful and enduring technology companies per year in over 75 cities worldwide.
About Marcos Polanco Mr. Polanco is the Founder of offshore services firm Clearshore; he started his career in Silicon Valley performing database research at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories that resulted in the TimesTen technology later acquired by Oracle. Mr. Polanco went on to various technical & managerial roles at
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Silicon Valley startups before co-founding Imana, Inc. in 1995 to commercialize social search algorithms he co-invented and patented. Returning to his hometown, he led the establishment of an undergraduate software laboratory at Interamerican University in Puerto Rico which released the open source SNAP Platform for Java developers. Subsequently, he joined the Government of Puerto Rico as Founding Director of its information technology investment promotion division. In that role, Mr. Polanco negotiated the launch of Microsoft, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, and HCL Axon technology centers on the island. Returning to private industry, he has cultivated the startup community as co-organizer of Startup Weekends, and co-director of the Founder Institute. As COO of medical device startup iCare Medical, he played an integral role in opening the United States, United Kingdom and Puerto Rico markets for the company. Mr. Polanco holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Stanford University. About Ramphis Castro Licensed professional engineer graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Computer Engineering program. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law and certificates in entrepreneurship and public policy from MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School, respectively. Worked at Microsoft and Rock Solid Technologies (two time, Microsoft Global Public Sector Partner of the Year). Founding partner of Mindchemy, enabling most of the relevant tech-entrepreneurship programs in Puerto Rico Startup Weekend, NEXT, Startup Digest, Hack Puerto Rico, TEDxSanJuan, Founder Institute, among others. He’s a pioneer in cross-platform native mobile technology and successful technology investor. Mr. Castro is 30.
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CONTACT Ramphis Castro [email protected] 787.223.4851 @jramphis Marcos Polanco [email protected] 787.529.5892 @marcospolanco http://facebook.com/ FounderInstitutePuertoRico
Puerto Rico Startups to Present to New York Investors at Puerto Rico Startup Showcase
The Founder Institute aims to create jobs in Puerto Rico by matching the capital resources of the New York investment community with the ideas and talents of local entrepreneurs
Today the Founder Institute (http://fi.co), the world’s largest startup accelerator, is announcing the Puerto Rico Startup Showcase, an event to be held in New York City where Puerto Rico startups can present to New York technology investors. To be held on October 15, 2013, the showcase will give island startups the opportunity to raise capital from the same firms that have funded top internet and mobile companies. “Puerto Rico’s startups have created a strong sense of community and collaboration, and are receiving mentorship from experienced technology entrepreneurs. The next step is to create relationships with technology investors, and we are delighted to count on the Founder Institute’s network to open those doors,” said Marcos Polanco, co-director of the Puerto Rico program. In just four years of existence, the Silicon Valleybased Founder Institute has launched over 800 new technology companies across the globe that have
created over 2,250 new jobs and raised over $70 million of capital. In its 2012 edition, the Puerto Rico chapter graduated firms including iGenApps, KeynoteStar, Crowdville and Memory Palace. These companies are already creating jobs, raising capital and reaching global markets. “Our program teaches entrepreneurs the best practices of Silicon Valley innovation, enabling them to avoid rookie mistakes, work frugally, ,and create value quicker,” said Adeo Ressi, Founder & CEO of the Founder Institute. “This is a grassroots model of local economic development that is sustainable.” According to a study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, startups are responsible for all net job creation in the U.S. economy. With the Founder’s Institute’s part-time structure, aspiring tech entrepreneurs in Puerto Rico can test their business ideas, assumptions, and entrepreneurial resolve with the Institute’s experienced founder and CEO mentors, all without quitting their jobs. “Puerto Rico startups are leveraging the billion people on social media and the billion smartphone users to reach global markets from their home island. We do not lack talent...we do lack the financial resources to build world-class companies, which motivates our connection to New York City, which reached 1.67 billion in venture capital investments last year,” said Ramphis Castro, co-director of the Puerto Rico program. Interested applicants are invited to take the free Predictive Admission Test at http://fi.co/join/ showcasepr. Those who score highly on the test and demonstrate the DNA of successful entrepreneurs will qualify for evaluation to present at the Puerto Rico
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Startup Showcase as well as enroll in the 2013 Summer Semester of the Founder Institute in Puerto Rico. The Final Application Deadline is on Sunday, June 2nd, but applying by May 19th provides eligibility for full program scholarships, including the Female Founder Fellowship. ---About the Founder Institute The Founder Institute (http://fi.co) is an early-stage startup accelerator and global launch network that helps entrepreneurs create meaningful and enduring technology companies. Through a part-time four month program, existing and prospective founders can launch their dream company with expert training, feedback, and support from experienced startup CEOs - while not being required to quit their day job. Our unique Graduate Liquidity Pool also enables graduates and mentors to share in the equity upside of each graduating class, creating local, teamworkbased ecosystems where new businesses can flourish. In just three years of operation, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 800 companies across 42 cities and five continents - making us the world's largest startup accelerator. Our goal is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" by launching 1,000 meaningful and enduring technology companies per year in over 75 cities worldwide.
About Marcos Polanco Mr. Polanco is the Founder of offshore services firm Clearshore; he started his career in Silicon Valley performing database research at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories that resulted in the TimesTen technology later acquired by Oracle. Mr. Polanco went on to various technical & managerial roles at
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Silicon Valley startups before co-founding Imana, Inc. in 1995 to commercialize social search algorithms he co-invented and patented. Returning to his hometown, he led the establishment of an undergraduate software laboratory at Interamerican University in Puerto Rico which released the open source SNAP Platform for Java developers. Subsequently, he joined the Government of Puerto Rico as Founding Director of its information technology investment promotion division. In that role, Mr. Polanco negotiated the launch of Microsoft, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, and HCL Axon technology centers on the island. Returning to private industry, he has cultivated the startup community as co-organizer of Startup Weekends, and co-director of the Founder Institute. As COO of medical device startup iCare Medical, he played an integral role in opening the United States, United Kingdom and Puerto Rico markets for the company. Mr. Polanco holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Stanford University. About Ramphis Castro Licensed professional engineer graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Computer Engineering program. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law and certificates in entrepreneurship and public policy from MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School, respectively. Worked at Microsoft and Rock Solid Technologies (two time, Microsoft Global Public Sector Partner of the Year). Founding partner of Mindchemy, enabling most of the relevant tech-entrepreneurship programs in Puerto Rico Startup Weekend, NEXT, Startup Digest, Hack Puerto Rico, TEDxSanJuan, Founder Institute, among others. He’s a pioneer in cross-platform native mobile technology and successful technology investor. Mr. Castro is 30.
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