Sep 19, 2018 On Our Blog

10 US & Latam startups selected for our 2018 Miami Growth Program!

500 Startups Miami has selected the 10 startups that will make up the Miami Growth Program Batch 2018. 500’s hallmark 10-week program brings mentors, experts and investors from our global network  to accelerate the startups’ growth trajectory and support fundraising to scale. The selection was a very competitive process that included reviewing over 200 applications from all over the world. The selected startups all share the following characteristics: Seasoned teams with solid track record working together Disrupting large markets in the US and Latam through highly scalable products & services Impressive traction in terms of revenue and user acquisition. The startups hail from Miami, Dallas, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, and represent an array of sectors that include fintech, AI …

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Sep 17, 2018 On Our Blog

Why you should use security tokens in Crypto fundraising

As an alternative to selling to the masses, US companies can issue security tokens to attract investors. Whereas 2017 was the year of the utility token, 2018 is for building new and better ecosystems, showing the maturation of the crypto world. Defining utility and security tokens Tokens can provide value for companies offering services. A security token is a type of investment instrument that may be issued by companies and purchased by institutional investors, accredited investors, and qualified purchasers. For contrast, utility tokens can be purchased by anyone, as currency in an ecosystem. Previously, many companies issued utility tokens as a way to offer future access to something still under development, like a pre-purchase of future software, access to services, …

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Sep 17, 2018 On Our Blog

PreMoney 2018: Meet Garry Tan, the Former YC Partner Forging his own Path

If you don’t know who Garry Tan is yet, you will soon—the investor was just name dropped on Forbes’ 2018 Midas Brink List of Venture Capital’s biggest up-and-comers. He’s making big waves in the investment world and we’re thrilled to have him lined up to speak at our PreMoney Investor Conference on October 2nd. Tan was previously a partner at Y-Combinator and is now the cofounder of Initialized Capital, an early-stage seed fund he started with Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian. Initialized Capital was the earliest investor in trailblazers like Coinbase and Instacart, so Tan knows a thing or two about spotting the “it factor” in young companies. Not Your Average VC While many big investors come from a more buttoned-up business world, Tan boasts an impressive …

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Sep 17, 2018 On Our Blog

Breaking into the
Asian API market:
RapidAPI and Rakuten Team Up

We met RapidAPI founder Iddo Gino when he and his team were merely a promising seed stage company; they were a part of our 16th accelerator batch in the fall of 2016 and were just breaking into the application program interface (API) space. For those unfamiliar, an API is a set of procedures, protocols, and tools for building software applications. Similar to how a visual user interface makes it simple for end users to use programs, application programming interfaces (APIs) make it easier for developers to use certain technologies in building applications. Since their time with 500, Rapid API process hundreds of billions (yes, with a “B”) of API calls every month and have raised capital from Silicon Valley giants …

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Sep 12, 2018 On Our Blog

Ann Miura-Ko: Raising the Bar for Women VCs Headlining PreMoney 2018

The pioneer in female-forward investing is one of the keynote speakers at our upcoming PreMoney Investor Conference on October 2nd, and she’s someone we’re certain you won’t want to miss. Miura-Ko has a PhD from Stanford, a Bachelor’s from Yale, and this year she was on the cover of Forbes—but those are only a small handful of the notable credentials that make her one of the most admirable investors in the game. She’s got a keen ability to spot a unicorn in its early stages, she was an early investor in Lyft, and she has a solid spot on Forbes 2018 Midas List—a roundup of the top 100 venture capitalists in the world. The Most Powerful Woman in Startups Back in …

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Aug 28, 2018 On Our Blog

The evolution of crypto – It’s time to ship some product

Is crypto just another trading platform or can it evolve into something with real long-term value? If you’re reading Cointelegraph, Cryptonews, or other industry outlets, you’ll notice the news is dominated by coin trading information, from BTC price changes to the analysis of alt-coin price movements. To a casual observer, crypto is highly focused on coin trading, much of which is driven by speculators. There’s less of an emphasis on the long-term value of the underlying products in crypto. Functional products are few and far between, and the majority of coins have little practical use as a way to pay for products or services. Speculation does have some positive effects on the ecosystem. More speculators buying coins tends to drive …

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Aug 24, 2018 On Our Blog

500 Blockchain Wants You!
Are you ready to turbocharge your project?

500 Blockchain Track is Back and Open for Enrollment! Join us and learn how to turbocharge your project. No matter where you are in the world, if you are a passionate team looking to push the forefront of blockchain innovation using your experience in distributed networks, cryptography and security, we want you! We understand building a truly impactful blockchain-oriented company can be a daunting journey. 500 is here for you. As part of our flagship 500 seed accelerator program, our tailored “blockchain track” will guide you through the ins-and-outs of global community building and marketing, token design, business development, hiring, and much more. In Borderless Blockchain We Trust. We know building a blockchain company means building a global company from …

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Aug 22, 2018 Official Announcement

Announcing 500 Startups Latin America Batch Nine!

500 Startups is thrilled to announce our latest batch from our Latin America Seed Program! Based out of Mexico City this new batch consists of founders from all over Latin America; with companies from Chile (1 company), Colombia (3 companies), Mexico (5 companies), and Peru (2 companies). The 4-month intensive Seed Program will focus on legal, product, sales/all things growth, culture, fundraising, and more, which prepares the companies for the culminating Demo Days taking place in Mexico City and Bogota November 15th and the 22nd. Companies will continue to put in the hard day to day work with the local 500 team, investors, and more then 15 international mentors that will be visiting us throughout the 16 week program. We’re …

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Aug 16, 2018 On Our Blog

Making Crypto Taxes Less Cryptic

Roughly 5% of Americans own crypto assets, but only 0.04% of those people reported crypto gains or losses on their taxes. Clearly, something doesn’t add up, and the government tax collecting agencies are starting to notice the delta as well. Although regulations are still playing catch up in many countries, the tax law is often clear: you need to pay taxes on the gains. When it comes to traditional assets, governments rely on financial institutions such as banks and brokerage firms as a check and balance against consumers hiding their gains. However, no such audit record exists in the crypto world. Now governments are starting to build their own audit tools in order to examine the transactions of traders and …

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Aug 14, 2018 On Our Blog

Third Time’s a Charm:
500 Kobe Accelerator Program Returns

500 couldn’t stay away for too long! We are proud to officially announce that we are returning to one of our favorite cities – Kobe, Japan! Since last year’s program with our Kobe City partners was such a success, we are together launching the 2018 500 Kobe Accelerator program for a third consecutive year, which will kick off this fall for six weeks. 500 will bring our Silicon Valley expertise and mentors, who will focus on growth marketing for emerging companies in Kobe and beyond, while also boosting Japanese and international entrepreneurship in the region. The international scope of the program aims not only to work with Japanese companies but with startups from around the world, who are invited to one …

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