19 local, int’l startups complete P18’s 11th cohort
In front of a full audience of investors, corporate partners, and members of the local and international entrepreneurial ecosystem, 19 local and international companies from parallel18’s 11th generation (Gen. 11) presented their solutions, achievements and plans at the DemoDay.
The program, which is part of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, also took advantage of Global Entrepreneurship Week to celebrate the parallel18 Ventures Summit, an event that brought together 18 program alumni who are raising capital and had the opportunity to present their solutions to the program’s investor network.
Generation 11 consisted of companies from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, the United States, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. These included: Cuvro (Puerto Rico), Quibble (Puerto Rico), Buzzzy (Puerto Rico), EcoSiS (Mexico), PATHBOOKS (Mexico), R3D (Mexico), Kasera (Mexico), Nume (Mexico/Argentina), CryptoMate (Argentina), Flexit (Argentina), Foothold (USA), Parrots Inc. (USA), Recepta Inc. (USA/Azerbaijan), GyftGram (USA), Sekure (Colombia), Skyblue Analytics (Uruguay), Unicorn Academy (Peru), Adaflow (Brazil), and Botcity (Dominican Republic).
The cohort represented several industries such as Insurtech, Proptech, Enterprise SaaS, Productivity SaaS, Education, Consumer Goods, eCommerce, Healthtech, and FinTech. Each startup received a $60,000 contribution divided into a $40,000 equity-free grant and a $20,000 investment through a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE).
“With this generation, once again we take a step forward in supporting technology development and innovation, as we now have our first generation where 100% of the companies are technology-based,” said Héctor Jirau, executive director of parallel18.
“Not only have these technologies and solutions accelerated their development on our island, but they have also leveraged the resources Puerto Rico offers to lead that growth. With diverse representation from Latin America, the United States, the Middle East and Puerto Rico, we once again position the island as a global innovation hub,” he said.
“We celebrate that 275 companies have now completed the international acceleration program P18. This cohort is the second in which the Trust has made an investment, and we do it because we believe in each of these 19 valuable companies,” said Science Trust CEO Lucy Crespo.
“I’m confident that the learning and mentoring they have received during the past 20 weeks at parallel18 will allow them to continue growing and expanding into more markets, facing challenges and seizing business opportunities, thus impacting the local and international economy,” Crespo said.
In addition to the traditional DemoDay, parallel18 will hold an event today for program alumni (pre18, P18 and Xpand) along with the accelerator’s network of investors. The parallel18 Ventures Summit will feature participation from graduate companies such as Flexit, Wihom (P18 Gen. X), Pathbooks, dBlocks (pre18 Ge. 5), CelerOps (P18 Gen. 9), SkyBLue Analytics, Abartys Health (Xpand Gen. 2), KONTI Design Build Studio (Xpand Gen. 3), Red Atlas (P18 Gen. X), Piloto Mail (P18 Gen. 9), Cuvro, Gyftgram, Unicorn Academy, Sekure, Stream Technologies (pre18 Gen. 4), Buzzzy, and InsuHealth Design.
During the second day, program alumni, currently raising capital, will have the opportunity to pitch their products and services to local and international investors.
“Once again this year, we incorporated the Ventures Summit to expose our program alumni seeking capital to our investor network. Our commitment to our graduates is ongoing because we always look toward the growth of startups. Parallel18 will always stand hand in hand with the entrepreneurs and support them throughout their entrepreneurial journey,” said Jirau.
At Demo Day, Cuvro received the People’s Choice Award and a $2,500 cash prize sponsored by Banco Popular.
Additionally, Buzzzy received the GiveBack Award, which is given to the startup that gave back the most to the entrepreneurial community. Buzzzy and its founder, Nina Rodríguez-Quirós, provided 33 hours of service, resulting in eight talks and six mentorships to startups in the Puerto Rican business ecosystem. The effort impacted 177 university students and other ecosystem members. The award, valued at $1,000, was presented by the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce (NPRCC).
DECA Analytics, an investment advisory firm, awarded four Gen. 11 companies. These were Cuvro, Buzzzy, Pathbooks and Parrots. Cuvro received services valued at more than $6,000. The rest of the companies received $2,000 each.
At the parallel18 Ventures Summit, three companies will be awarded prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250, also sponsored by the NPRCC.
