Grupo Guayacán opens call for Scale Up Bootcamp program
Grupo Guayacán and Popular have announced the third edition of the Scale Up Bootcamp to support Puerto Rican companies’ rapid and sustained expansion.
This year, up to 25 businesses will be selected, with the top company receiving $50,000 in seed funding to fuel its growth.
Applications are open until April 30, and can be completed en línea.
“FLEXIO was in a growth phase which did not fit in with many of the available entrepreneurial development programs, as many focus on companies in earlier phases. We were interested in the Scale Up Bootcamp because it works with companies with similar needs,” said Orban Mendoza, co-founder of FLEXIO and winner of the 2023 Scale Up Demo Day.
“We were selected along with other entrepreneurs who shared the same difficulties to grow their businesses. The feedback and mentorship that Guayacán offered impacted us personally and professionally while greatly impacting the company and its plans,” he emphasized.
“We were the program winners, and now we collaborate with Guayacán to support the next groups of companies in their programs,” Mendoza said.
For this edition, Grupo Guayacán and Popular seek to benefit companies established in Puerto Rico that generate at least $500,000 in annual revenue. Companies must have concrete growth plans, such as exporting products or services to other markets, optimizing processes, expanding operations or opening new facilities.
The active participation of a two-person team, including the founder and executive team members, will be required.
“The Scale Up Bootcamp was established to fill a gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Puerto Rico. For the past two years, we have been working with high-potential companies that need technical assistance in specific areas to achieve exponential growth,” said Beatriz Polhamus, senior vice president of the Social Commitment Division at Popular.
“The Scale Up Bootcamp allows them to move on to more advanced stages of growth through a platform that offers tools to continue growing or solidifying their company,” Polhamus said.
The program workshops, redesigned for this third edition, focus on the Scaling Up framework, emphasizing four decision-making areas for every company: team, strategy, execution and cash. In addition, participants partake in specialized workshops in marketing, sales and tax compliance, accompanied by one-on-one support from instructors.
Part of the program’s updates include managerial finance as a new topic that will also be incorporated for the first time to offer entrepreneurs an effective tool to prepare them to access financing opportunities, helping them scale their businesses.
“The Scale Up Bootcamp allows participants to learn critical skills to develop their businesses, including the preparation and presentation of growth plans, business model adjustments and optimization of sales and market efforts, and the efficient use of financial information to grow the business,” said Katerina Sánchez, program director for Grupo Guayacán.
The program will blend online and in-person workshops, offering a hybrid format for convenience. An informative virtual orientation session is scheduled for April 16.
Scale Up Bootcamp is sponsored by Popular and has matching funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the American Rescue Plan-State and Local Recovery Funds through the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority’s State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSFRF).
