Startup Ecosystem Analysis

STARTUP ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS A LOOK AT ACCELERATOR APPLICATIONS AND NATIONAL SUPPORT

INTRODUCTION 03 ECOSYSTEM INSIGHTS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE 04 WHERE DOES STARTUPBOOTCAMP LOOK FOR STARTUPS? 05 WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE THE MOST DEVELOPED STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS? 06 WHAT DOES A TYPICAL STARTUPBOOTCAMP APPLICANT LOOK LIKE? 07 STARTUPBOOTCAMP WHAT DO OUR TYPICAL STARTUPS LOOK LIKE? 08 HOW DO WE FIND OUR STARTUPS? 09 CONTENT WHERE DO WE CONNECT WITH THE TEAMS WE ACCEPT? 10 HOW CAN YOU BOOST YOUR CHANCES OF BEING ACCEPTED? 11 THANK YOU 12

03 INTRODUCTION IT’S A STARTUP WORLD Startupbootcamp has been running programs We also hope that the report provides startups around the world since 2010. In 2016, we selected an insight into what we look for when we select startups for our programs on 3 continents. With the teams to invest in. To this end, we’ve worked investment teams from 14 programs scouring the with ecosystem organizations who have helped globe for the best startups around to accelerate, we to provide us with access to robust datasets. By have a bird’s eye view on startup ecosystems across referencing the invaluable data provided by these the world. Our analysis is compiled from thousands partners against our internal data, we’ve created this of applications received by our accelerators, as report to share some of our learnings. well as data on VCs, universities, and other types of organizations that support entrepreneurship. We’ve created this analysis to better understand the startup hubs that exist across the world and the teams that apply to our programs.

04 INSIGHTS FROM 14 ACCELERATOR PROGRAMS ACROSS THE GLOBE TEAMS FROM 120 COUNTRIES Startup ecosystems are rapidly emerging and expanding across the globe. Peripheral technology, SUBMITTED APPLIED business, and startup support organizations provide valuable resources to early stage companies. They City Cohort Teams Applications also serve as both leading and following indicators for identifying more developed hubs. Netherlands 18 294 We received more than 6,000 applications from startups across 100 countries. We also ran events United Kingdom 17 496 on 6 continents providing mentorship, resources, and connections to entrepreneurs. In 2016, our 300 strong team met with tens of thousands of people United States 12 590 and worked with companies both small and large to find and accelerate our startups. India 7 411 It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States Italy 7 360 field the majority of Startupbootcamp startups - we run multiple programs in each of these countries. Germany 6 290 However, foundational elements in each of these local ecosystem encourage innovation as well. Spain 6 261 Initiatives such as the SIES tax credit in the UK reduce the amount of risk seed investors incur in Turkey 4 253 investing in startups. Publications and events such as TheNextWeb in the Netherlands and TechCrunch Disrupt in the US provide a platform for startups to Poland 4 97 launch from and gain initial traction. And each of these countries boast at least 5 schools ranked in South Africa 4 57 the top 200 worldwide for engineering programs, providing a stable stream of technical talent. 14 PROGRAMS OPENED FOR APPLICATIONS IN 2016 FINTECH | INSURTECH ECOMMERCE | SMART CITIES IoT DEVICES FINTECH & CYBER LONDON AMSTERDAM TRANSPORT & ENERGY FINTECH DIGITAL HEALTH NEW YORK BERLIN IOT & DATA MENA BARCELONA ISTANBUL DIGITAL HEALTH MIAMI FOODTECH FINTECH ROME SINGAPORE Indicates new program

05 WHERE DOES STARTUPBOOTCAMP MEET STARTUPS FOR OUR PROGRAMS APPLICATION NUMBERS INCREASED In an effort to both find startups for our programs, as well as provide support for startup ecosystems BY 50% IN 2016 across the world, we ran 266 mentorship events in Number of applications per program: 53 countries in 2016, nearly double the amount we ran in the previous year. More than 10 events were hosted in the USA, Germany, Spain, India, and the 2016: 429 UK. +97% 2015: 218 We saw a dramatic increase in the amount of events we produced in North and South America, as well as Number of mentorship events: Central and Eastern Europe. With the opening of 2 new programs in Asia since this analysis, we expect to see quite a surge in applications from, and an 2016: 266 increase of events in the APAC region in 2017. +100% 2015: 133 Startupbootcamp also sources a large portion of their teams at major conferences and industry Number of cities visited: events. In 2016, we attended more than 40 including Pioneers Festival in Vienna, RISE in Hong Kong, and Wolves Summit in Warsaw. 2016: 102 While many accelerators and investors use +52% 2015: 67 events to simply filter teams into their programs, Startupbootcamp aims to create a true mentorship Number of conferences attended: environment that can produce valuable relationships. Teams that attend our FastTrack events are 2 times more likely to be accepted into 2016: 45 one of our acceleration programs. +55% 2015: 29 WE RAN MENTOHRSHIP EVENTS ON EVERY CONTINENT IN 2016

06 ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS In order to better understand where around the TOP 25 COUNTRIES FOR world startup hubs are emerging, we decided STARTUP SUPPORT to collate our data from applications to study it on a country-by-country basis. We processed United States over 100,000 startup related data points from United Kingdom applications to our programs, and from CrunchBase Germany and other external sources. Canada France To better conduct our analysis, we scored each India ecosystem based off their support for startups at Spain early stage and at late stage, which you can see Netherlands in the bar chart to the right. The early stage score Israel is based on the presence of seed investment, Australia incubators, engineering schools, and hackerspaces. China The late stage score is based late stage funding Italy availability, exits, accelerators, and the presence of Singapore large technology companies in the country. Switzerland Brazil Sweden Generally, these scores were relatively balanced. A Japan few countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Finland Austria, see more support available to earlier stage Ireland startups relative to later. However, in many of the Belgium countries where more overall support is available Mexico such as the UK, China, Israel, and the Netherlands, Russia we see support skewed towards later stage Denmark companies. Austria Turkey 0 25 50 75 100 Early Stage Score Late Stage Score

07 MORE LATER STAGE STARTUPS ARE APPLYING OVER 90% OF STARTUP APPLICANTS HAVE PROTOTYPES In 2015, we received around 3,000 total application to our programs and events. In 2016, that number nearly doubled. Even accounting for the addition of new programs, this marks a more than 50% increase in the amount of applications per program spot in our programs. Over 95% of teams have more than one team member, and the average funding raised prior to applying is now over €100,000. So how can a startup increase their chances of getting into one of our programs? One of the most important criteria we look at is the founding team. A solid founding team with past industry experience, technical expertise, and the ability to make well-reasoned decisions is of the utmost importance to any investor. We generally like to see both extensive technical and industry-specific expertise on the founding teams for our vertical- focused accelerators. However, being a solo founder, having a small engineering team, or being pre-revenue by no means eliminates your possibility of joining one of our programs. Past successes as a founder, a wealth of industry experience, a strong supporting team, or significant market or technical traction can significantly increase your chances of being accepted into one of our programs. 2016 PROGRAM TEAM AVERAGE STATS €8,200 €7,000 €169,600 Monthly Burn Rate Monthly Revenue Funding Raised 4.91 2.86 2.73 Employees Engineers Founders

08 FINDING STARTUPS AND MAKING CONNECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD As pre-prototype stage startups are generally still HIGHER DEMAND FROM seeking product-market fit, they are less suited to EMERGING MARKETS begin rapid growth. Of the 138 teams in our programs in 2016, only 9 were at the idea stage. The teams London that benefit the most from our programs are looking Score: 44 to scale their sales, business development, and operations. To accelerate growth-stage teams, many Dublin Tbilisi of our programs in regulation-heavy industries such Score: 41 Score: 52 as finance, healthcare, and insurance are oriented New Delhi towards corporate partnerships. Score: 50 As a result of this, many of the teams coming through Istanbul our program are B2B focused, and much of the Score: 60 support provided in these programs is oriented Kuala Lumpur around business development. Nevertheless, this is Score: 74 certainly not true across all our programs. Verticals Sao Paulo in less regulated industries and more consumer Score: 45 Nairobi driven sectors will often take a higher proportion of Score: 40 B2C teams. However, almost all our programs do take some consumer-facing startups in each cohort, High Performing City particularly if there is a long term possibility of them working with corporates. *This data is based on application data, program research, and external data from friends such as CrunchBase. REFERRALS HAVE HIGHEST ACCEPTANCE RATE 6% 8% 30% 14% 16% 26% GETTING MORE COMPETITIVE We had a nearly 2X increase in applications from 2015 to 2016 to our Contacted by Startupbootcamp programs. Still, this isn’t reason to be Social Media discouraged from applying to one of Referrals our programs or mentorship events. Search Our events can be a great way to build a relationship with our staff, create Conferences/Events valuable connections, and increase your Press/Blog chances of being accepted into our programs.

09 MOST OF OUR STARTUPS ARE DIRECT SALES WITH LAUNCHED PRODUCTS Meeting us is a great way to learn more about what to expect from our programs, and to meet the people you will be working with to grow your business. Our FastTrack events pair 10 startups with 10 expert mentors for a day of rotating mentorship sessions. While we run these events to meet startups for our programs around the world, we aim to make them as beneficial as possible to the startups in attendance. By connecting startups with mentors from major corporates, investment funds, and high-growth tech companies, we are able to give a taste for what startups will gain in our programs. ATTRACTING PROTOTYPE/PRE-LAUNCH STARTUPS DIRECT SALES IS PREFERRED REVENUE MODEL 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Idea Prototype Closed Public Customer Customer Audience Direct Sales Licensing Marketplace SaaS Alpha Beta growth growth (non revenue) (revenue) Applied Selection Day Accepted IMPROVING YOUR CHANCES You’re more than 2.5X more likely to get into one of our programs if you attend a FastTrack or Office Hours event. We ran these events in over 100 cities and 50 countries in 2016.

10 WE PREFER TO FIND OUR STARTUPS VIA REFERRAL FROM OUR NETWORK ARE KING Like most investors, we find many of our best STARTUPBOOTCAMP 2016 SELECTION applicants through referrals from alumni, mentors, LESS THAN 3% OF STARTUPS THAT APPLY partners, and sta at other accelerators, in the ARE ACCEPTED Startupbootcamp family or otherwise. Last year, 27% of our cohort teams came via referral from mentors, alumni, investors, and Startupbootcamp staff. When 6,000+ compared to the total applicant pool, we were nearly Applications Initial Filter twice as likely to accept a startup we met through a personal referral. Particularly, referrals from Alumni and Mentors have the highest acceptance rate. Alumni and mentors have an intimate knowledge of the curriculums of our 1,000+ Video program, so can also be informative to talk to as you Interviews Virtual Eval explore acceleration options. However, if you don’t have a referral, don’t be discouraged. Our teams of analysts and scouts also reach out to suitable startups directly. Attending one of our FastTrack mentorship events, or meeting us 320 Selection during one of our office hours sessions can also be a 16.7% Interviews In-person Eval great way to get a leg up into the program without a referral. So how can you meet someone who can give you a 5.3% referral to one of our programs? Try reaching out to one of our alumni working in a similar space to 138 Enter you, or a mentor for one of our programs. If you’re 2.3% Program Enters Program polite and respectful in how you do so, they will likely be impressed by your hustle, and introduce you to program staff if they think you’d be a good fit.

11 HOW CAN YOU BOOST YOUR CHANCES OF BEING ACCEPTED? 1 Research the mentors, 2 Talk to our alumni when you’re partners, and investors you will applying. They can tell you what be meeting to better identify to expect in our programs, as potential ways to collaborate. well as provide a reference. 3 Attend one of our mentorship 4 We invest in people. Submit events. They’re a great your application early and opportunity to connect with then spend time forming a potential mentors and create relationship with the program business opportunities. team. 5 Answer the application 6 Our Selection Days and questions thoroughly and programs are intense. Be honestly. The more information ready to join in-person to fully you provide, the easier it is for leverage the 100+ mentors, us to see if you’re a good t for partners, and investors you will our programs. meet. 7 Top startups focus on 8 Be firm and confident but open outcomes. Understand why to input and feedback. You you want to join the program need to be able to effectively and what goals we can help you receive, filter, and incorporate achieve. advice.

Acknowledgements We’d like to thank Keboola, CrunchBase, and RELAYTO/ for their help making this report possible. Without their technology, the data collection, analysis, and production necessary to create this would not be possible About Startupbootcamp Startupbootcamp is a global accelerator group with 19 industry-specific startup programs around the world. We partner with leading global brands to support the next generation of innovators. Since our founding in 2010, we have accelerated hundreds of startups with a cumulative market value of over €1billion. For more information about Startupbootcamp www.startupbootcamp.org For media inquiries [email protected] For other inquiries [email protected] Join the conversation #StartupEcoReport @Sbootcamp www.linkedin.com/Startupbootcamp www.facebook.com/Startupbootcamp