San Juan, Puerto Rico – Wednesday, April 9, 2024 – Parallel18, a program of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust (FCTIPR), celebrated the DemoDay of the seventh generation (Gen.7) of its pre-acceleration program pre18. Twenty-three local companies presented their products, services, and achievements after completing 12 weeks of mentoring and business education.
The event, which took place at the parallel18 coworking space in San Juan, Puerto Rico, gathered a captive audience composed of business partners, mentors, and investors, who witnessed the extraordinary progress of these emerging startups.
In this seventh edition of the curriculum, a direct pass to the P18 acceleration program, which will begin in mid-July, was awarded. Startup Raya Power will soon participate for 20 weeks in parallel18’s international curriculum. This admission to P18 will facilitate their path toward scalability to new markets, and they will receive a grant of $40,000.
During the pre-acceleration program, the startups of the seventh generation of pre18 received specialized mentoring in areas such as legal, financial, brand development, digital marketing, and capital raising. Additionally, they established valuable business connections and actively participated in “GiveBack” initiatives (giving back to the community). All participating pre18 companies received a $25,000 grant to help move their ventures forward.
“The evolution we have witnessed in these 23 Puerto Rican companies confirms that innovation continues to be a vital economic driver for our island. From the Trust, we will continue to bet on these entrepreneurs because they represent the sustainable economic future we are building for Puerto Rico,” said Eng. Lucy Crespo, Chief Executive Officer of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.
The 23 companies in the cohort represent a wide variety of industries: artificial intelligence, consumer goods, agricultural technology, health, digital commerce, education, real estate,
human resources, business automation, and legal technology, among others, representing the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of the island. The entrepreneurs come from municipalities such as Bayamón, Carolina, Guaynabo, LoÃza, ManatÃ, Mayagüez, Ponce, San Juan, and Toa Baja.
During the 12 weeks of the pre-acceleration curriculum, the startups received more than 20 business education sessions, impacted more than 950 people with their Giveback initiatives, and received more than 175 hours of individualized mentoring (Office Hours).
The participating companies that presented at DemoDay were: AnaYAna, BookSell, Clear Desk, ClubesPR, ComfyBum, Cultimar Technologies, EC-Safety, GENOS LLC, Hospitri, iTerra Solutions, Klotofy, Moneyball, Oasis Innova, Tu Pausa, ProRanked, Puny.bz, QTC, Quimba, Raya Power, UnoSec, UProspect, Yestoday y Yosubi.
Dr. Héctor Jirau, Executive Director of parallel18, expressed his satisfaction with the success achieved by this generation. “We are proud to closely observe the significant growth in sales, product development, and impact of these 23 companies. Furthermore, granting a fast pass to P18 represents an unprecedented opportunity for the winning company to expand its reach to the international market, thus validating our commitment to creating bridges between local talent and global opportunities.”
Recognition and Awards for the Most Outstanding Startups
As part of the closing event celebration, some pre18ners were honored with awards sponsored by parallel18’s corporate partners.
Banco Popular presented the Mi Banco Comercial award to ProRanked, an electric vehicle charging software that enables intelligent charger management. This recognition grants the startup one year without service charges on their commercial account and one year without charges for access to Mi Banco Comercial.
Additionally, Aeronet and Co.Co.Haus offered valuable scholarships and memberships to support the business development of the startups. Aeronet conferred a one-year internet connectivity scholarship with the Aeronet High-Speed Award. This prize also went to Raya Power, which offers affordable solar energy systems.
Co.CoHaus, the collaborative workspace located in Santurce and also a collaborator of parallel18 for the past years, granted a Co.Existe membership for one year valued at more than $7,000. The startup that received this prize was Puny.Bz, a platform that allows you to create a website in minutes. This company also received the award from media company Hello Media, which granted them a 3-month consecutive advertising campaign and 300 daily impressions valued at $10,500.
Finally, the People’s Love Award, chosen by public vote, recognized BookSell as the favorite of the event. The winning company received $1,000, and the law firm Sifre Group, sponsor of the recognition, will provide 4 hours of free legal consultation as part of the distinction.
With this generation, the total number of Puerto Rican companies that have successfully gone through the pre18 program reaches 207, with 53 of them subsequently participating in the international acceleration program P18.
For more information about parallel18 programs, contact [email protected] or access the contact information for each company in the e-book at the following link. To view the event in its entirety, you can access this link on our YouTube channel.
About parallel18 and the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust
Parallel18 is a business support initiative with a social mission: to offer entrepreneurs around the world access to high-quality business education, financing and networking to help them expand globally, while positioning Puerto Rico as a strategic center for business technology-based innovators. Created in 2015 by the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, parallel18 stands out for its high-caliber, results-focused incubation, pre-acceleration, acceleration and post-acceleration curriculum.
About the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research, as described in Public Law 214-204, as amended, is a private, non-profit organization, created in 2004 to promote the Island’s participation and job creation in the global knowledge economy by promoting investment and financing of research and development of science and technology. Invest, facilitate and develop capabilities that continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and the well-being of its citizens, through companies based on research and development, science and technology, public health and innovation. With the goal of Puerto Rico being an innovation center of global recognition. The Puerto Rico Science,
Technology and Research Trust was also designated one of 31 Tech Hubs, by President Biden’s administration in 2023, to lead the PRBio Tech Hub, with a multi-sector consortium on the Island. For more information: www.prsciencetrust.org.
