European accelerators are going by means of an fascinating time proper now. For example, TechStars Stockholm was all set to launch after which abruptly shut down. And I feel it’s now generally accepted that the majority accelerators exterior of YCombinator can too be usually ‘lower than sufficient’, to place it diplomatically. Maybe an exception to this oft-repeated phrase, in my expertise, is Entrepreneur First out of London/Europe (however now additionally in Asia), and even then that entity is barely nearer to a pre-accelerator in the best way it assembles expertise earlier than it assembles the startups (though it does additionally fund its startups).
Having stated that, accelerators nonetheless have a task to play in Europe’s rising ecosystem. Admittedly, within the ‘developed’ international locations of Western Europe, startups are usually higher off skipping accelerators and elevating straight from Angels, HNWs and pre-seed funds. In fact, “your mileage could range.” Nonetheless, it’s in Jap Europe that — I feel, not less than — that accelerators have their finest impact in markets the place the place the tech startup ecosystem barely exists, if in any respect.
Central, South Jap, and Jap Europe have already seen plenty of new VCs acknowledge the expertise popping out of these areas (see Inovo, Credo, LauncHub, Vitosha, VentureFriends, Marathon VC and so forth). Plus, 500 Istanbul final yr relaunched istelf as 500 Rising Europe with a €70 million early-stage fund. The latter has made investements such in Greece (Plum), Latvia (Printify), and Bulgaria (Cloudpipes).
So it’s undoubtedly of curiosity that there’s a brand new child on the block in accelerator land within the form of 500 World’s new program in Georgia (the nation, not the US state, for these on the again).
As a part of this they’ve bagged a former companion at Shilling VC in Lisbon, Pedro Santos Vieira. Fortunately, Georgia’s acquire will not be Shilling VC’s loss, as he isn’t leaving Shilling fully, stay on the Funding Committee as as non-Exec. Shilling continues to be amongst these Lisbon-based VCs having fun with the tech increase that’s been occurring in Lisbon these previous couple of years.
Pedro Santos Vieira
Fortunately, that is no ‘left discipline’ transfer for Vieira, who isn’t any stranger to the area, having served as a mentor beforehand for 500 World in that a part of the world.
As a newly-appointed Accomplice for 500 World, Vieira will oversee this system, based mostly out of Tblisi, Georgia, which plans to speed up upwards of 100 pre-seed to seed stage firms from international locations within the Caucasus, Jap Europe, Central Asia, and the Baltics, with pre-seed investments beginning at US$100,000.
This system is a continuation of 500 World’s partnership with Georgia’s Innovation and Expertise Company (GITA) and the Financial institution of Georgia to convey one of many first startup accelerator packages to the nation
Certainly, since 2016, there have been three batches with a complete of 43 startups out of the area, similar to Payze (Georgia), Cargon (Georgia), Finmap (Ukraine), and TASS Imaginative and prescient (Uzbekistan), with many happening to lift vital additional rounds.
Vieira informed me: “Three years in the past, earlier than Shilling, I used to be working with 500 World, doing accelerators for them around the globe. And one in every of one in every of them was Georgia. We had educated 30 firms right here and the outcomes have been actually good.”
“We are going to spend money on 100+ firms and prepare them with an accelerator out of Georgia. Nevertheless it’s not only for Georgia firms, however vastly regional, throughout the entire of Jap and Southern Europe, the Baltics, and the Caucuses,” he informed me.
He stated it’s a really ‘fascinating’ time in Georgia: “You’ve gotten Ukrainians and Russians co-living right here! You even have Azerbaijani and Armenians after all. We’re dedicated for the long term within the area to constructing a big portfolio within the subsequent few years.”
It looks like a really fascinating transfer, and complimentary to 500 Rising Europe in Istanbul, which doesn’t have an accelerator program and tends to spend money on extra mature firms with greater checks, therefore why this new 500 entity out of Gerogia is smart.
With TechStars’ European technique wobbling and YCombinator withdrawing from the worldwide stage, maybe it’s 500 World’s ‘day within the solar’, as soon as extra?
