Abril Plug and Play will primarily support mobile and early-stage solution startups. The objective is to help these companies to develop solidly in a short period of time. For that, the project allows taking the best entrepreneurs of the program for a season in Silicon Valley, after three months of acceleration inside Grupo Abril's headquarters, in São Paulo. It also offers exposure to these companies in the publisher's major media outlets.
“The focus is on finding people with talent, determination and good ideas, especially not linked to our content production and distribution core, and causing a shock in the way we do business, radiating the entrepreneurial culture of taking risks and testing hypotheses. We are extremely excited”, says Lemos, Abril's digital superintendent, who comes from the world of startups and now also works as an angel investor.
For the CEO and founder of Plug and Play, Saeed Amidi, the partnership will further open the doors of Silicon Valley to the growing movement of Brazilian startups. “We are very excited to find talents in Brazil and act in this promising market together with Abril. We are going to help entrepreneurs not only gain space nationally, but also allow them to grow globally. Plug and Play had the opportunity to support major success stories including Paypal, Google and Dropbox. With Abril Plug and Play we hope to continue our mission of inspiring entrepreneurs around the world”.
How the program works
Startups interested in the project can apply through the Abril Plug and Play website (www.aprilplugandplay.com). Entries will be analyzed and some will be selected for a pitch (presentation of the company and business) in front of a panel of evaluators. After this meeting, the best ones will be called for a period of three months of incubation in the Abril building, in São Paulo, under the management of Rogério Tamassia, executive director of the accelerator.
During this period, entrepreneurs will have lectures, workshops and mentorships from experienced professionals in the market, as well as easy access to potential clients and partners in various areas, such as direct marketing (with Alphabase), web services and legal support. To increase the chances of success, startups will also receive a contribution of US$ 25,000 (seed capital or seed investment), intended to assist in the development of the business or adjustments to the product or service. At the end of the three months, the companies will make the Demo Day – a presentation to the market and to Abril shareholders, with the objective of obtaining investment.
The startups that show the best performance in the program will be taken to another period of acceleration, this time at Plug and Play, in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the program organized by Fernando Gouveia, director of international partnerships at the American accelerator. This approach will also enable the opening of the selected company also in the United States.
For all the support offered, Abril and Plug and Play will have up to 15% of equity participation in the startups. For Manoel Lemos, the creation of Abril Plug and Play reinforces how promising Brazil is for high-impact technological entrepreneurship: “We have a lot of talent, but we need to polish it. We also hope to help structure the entrepreneurial ecosystem more and more, without which startups don't take off”, he says.
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