Apr 18, 2019 On Our Blog

500 Startups Launches “Falcon’s Nest” Pitch Competition in Kuwait

In partnership with Ahli United Bank, 500 Startups is proud to announce the first of its kind pitch competition in Kuwait—Falcon’s Nest. Kuwaiti startups from across the country are flocking to earn the position as the top national startup. Falcon’s Nest is an opportunity for local startups to secure a chance to pitch their company to Silicon Valley venture capital firm 500 Startups along with prominent Kuwaiti business executives who will give their candid feedback on the quality of their businesses and presentations. Open to Kuwaiti startups of all stages, participants will be selected to pitch in a “Shark Tank” style competition on the 21st of April. Startups can apply online from today or show up early for a limited …

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Apr 17, 2019 On Our Blog

Announcing the 3rd Batch of the MENA Dojo

Continuing our MENA Series A Programs 500 continues to work hard to bring the best industry knowledge and mentoring from our Silicon Valley-based global network to our programs in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. For this reason, we are pleased to announce the startups participating in the 3rd Batch of our regional Series A Program, the MENA Dojo. The MENA Dojo program is part of a continued partnership with Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) which was launched in the MENA region 2 years ago. We are also honored to welcome Ahli United Bank in Kuwait as our new strategic partner in this year’s program alongside Zain as our gold partner.  Other partners include Niu, KAFO and …

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Mar 25, 2019 On Our Blog

500 Falcons Final Close Oversubscribed at $33 million!

We are happy to announce that we’ve had an oversubscribed final closing for our first MENA region focused fund, 500 Falcons. We set out to raise a $30 million fund to have a significant impact in the MENA region, and thanks to the support of our Limited Partners we held an oversubscribed final closing for the fund at $33 million. 500 has been an active player, investing in talented entrepreneurs in the MENA region since 2012. We’ve been helping the ecosystem develop, supporting not just founders, but other ecosystem counterparts like investors, governments, and corporations engage effectively with startups in the region. Since our Falcons Fund first close, we have been quite active in the MENA region. Here is a …

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Mar 25, 2019 On Our Blog

To Infinity and Beyond: 500’s Next Chapter

My journey with 500 began eight years ago as a startup founder in Batch 3.  At the time, 500 was a fledgling early stage investor just beginning to establish itself in Silicon Valley. 500 and its team of underdogs were making a name for themselves as scrappy investors willing to take risks in areas they believed other VCs overlooked, and their boldness skyrocketed them into national recognition. I was excited to join the ride. Over the next eight years, I grew with 500 as we scaled from a small group of passionate investors to the array of global-minded investors we are today. In 2013, I became an entrepreneur-in-residence and helped run the accelerator batches when 500 expanded to San Francisco. …

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Mar 19, 2019 On Our Blog

Key B2B Metrics You Need To Communicate To An Investor

Are you selling your product to another business? Whether your customer segment is an SMB or an enterprise, you need to get a handle on your key B2B metrics before you talk to an investor! No matter how novel an idea you have, investors hear many pitches and are grading you on a curve to other founders and startups. They want to know how you are sourcing, closing, and scaling your customer base. Regardless of what stage you are at, you need to be able to share your approach, and back it up with data and B2B metrics! The Baseline B2B Metrics You Need To Know About Your Business During the course of an initial conversation, expect investors to ask …

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Mar 18, 2019 On Our Blog

Announcing Batch 1 of the Misk 500 MENA Accelerator Program

Six weeks ago, we launched the inaugural batch of the Misk 500 MENA Accelerator Program, bringing the best of our flagship Seed Accelerator program to the MENA region in partnership with Misk Innovation. Targeted at pre-seed companies, the program is structured as a 4-month curriculum focused on helping companies get to product-market fit, as well as preparing them to raise seed funding. Each company received an investment from 500 Falcons upon acceptance into the program. Batch 1 consists of 19 companies spanning a number of sectors and countries across the MENA region including Saudi Arabia (42% of the companies), Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates. Sectors represented by the batch include AgTech, B2B, Developer Tools, eCommerce, EdTech, …

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Mar 12, 2019 On Our Blog

Miami’s Blooming Ecosystem

Image Gallery: 500 Startups Unity + Inclusion Miami 500 recently hosted another hugely successful Unity + Inclusion Summit in Miami on Thursday, March 7th, where over 200 entrepreneurs, investors, and members of the tech community gathered to address the state of diversity and inclusion in tech. Our southeastern hub, 500 Miami, continues to lead the charge in developing an innovation-focused ecosystem designed to inspire and empower entrepreneurship, increase employment, and boost the local economy. The Unity + Inclusion Summit is just one more program that 500 was thrilled to bring to the bustling startup environment in South Florida. Visit our website or more workshops and founder-focused programming in Miami. Industry Leaders Abound Our latest Unity + Inclusion boasted an impressive array of thought …

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Mar 11, 2019 On Our Blog

Women in the Startup Ecosystem: How Can We Accelerate Inclusion?

From Salaried Employee to Entrepreneur According to the IDB (Interamerican Development Bank), if we had equal participation of men and women in the Latin American labor market, the regional GDP would increase by 16%. On the other hand, according to the ILO (International Labor Organization), women are more likely to be unemployed than men. In Latin America, the rate of male unemployment is 6.8%, while female unemployment is a considerably higher 9.5%. According to academic research, some of the factors that lead to this figure include discrimination, barriers to work-life balance, and lack of perspective for career growth. However, many of those reportedly unemployed women are not doing so to stay at home, but rather to become entrepreneurs. The GEM …

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Mar 11, 2019 On Our Blog

Announcing a new admissions process for VC Unlocked at Stanford University

In 2015, I wrote a LinkedIn post about “Investing in Women” and a new investor training program we were launching at 500 Startups. “The Investor’s Guide to Silicon Valley Investing” (IGSVI) was just a pilot program but it immediately resonated in our community. It’s been so amazing to watch early participants like Arlan Hamilton, Pocket Sun and Elizabeth Galbut embody our program’s values, and redefine our industry in the process. A lot has happened in the venture world since that first program. The artist formerly known as IGSVI eventually grew up, got a little (just a little) more serious, and became VC Unlocked, the series of investor education programs we run around the world. Today, as we launch the recruitment period …

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Mar 8, 2019 On Our Blog

Supporting our MENA Community

One of the ways in which we aim to differentiate ourselves from other VCs is in the value of our community. Once we complete an investment, we truly are welcoming those founders into the 500 Family. The MENA region is a big place, with our investments spanning across 16 countries, and founders are often isolated both from each other and key stakeholders of the ecosystem. Last year, we decided to hold an annual portfolio retreat for the MENA region to bring our community together. Our second annual MENA Portfolio Retreat was held in Bahrain this year, from the 21st-25th of February. We chose Bahrain as it’s a quickly emerging ecosystem, welcoming founders from anywhere in the world to use Bahrain …

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