Start of the programme 2018

This October, the Collider Amsterdam Class of 2018 started with their programme. Of course Collider provides funding and connections, but in the programme coaching is the main focus.

Our 6 MadTech startups from all over the world kicked off at the Prep Days in September, before they where selected. This was a sneak peak of the programme, because in this process you really accelerate. Our cohort kicked the programme off with a presentation by Ellen Bark & Rose Lewis: Co-founder of ColliderNL and ColliderUK. In this week they learned about focussing, customer insight and had 1-on-1’s with the investors.

Our program consists of plenary sessions, 1-on-1’s, workshops and more. From Legal subjects to Sales…

We really love the programme weeks. Everytime Collider provides a brilliant speaker on a subject that we need to help us grow. - Kiran Gange, CEO Rapidpricer

Get up to £100k to fund your startup from the Collider accelerator

Collider is looking for the very best startups to join our next accelerator programme. We exist to shape the future of marketing and sales technology, and with over five years' experience, we know this space like the back of our hands. Get funded by the Collider Accelerator and apply today.

What's on offer

Cash We offer two levels of investment – £35,000 net (£50,000 in total) for early stage companies, and £70,000 net (£100,000 in total) for later stage (companies with some proof of value with commercial traction or prior fundraising). All of our investment comes directly from angels with incredible industry specific experience.

Coaching A three month programme and lifetime support to help you scale with speed.

Connections Meet the leaders in this industry, including the most relevant, senior team members from top corporates.

Community Our startups, scaleups, corporates, investors and mentors become your community too.

https://vimeo.com/234639816

What we're looking for

• Marketing and sales technology that's B2B focussed - that's B2B or B2B2C technology that helps corporates find, understand, engage, sell to or retain customers

• Early stage businesses with an MVP or later stage businesses with some proof of value - be that commercial traction or prior fundraising. We invest in startups with SEIS or EIS

• Impressive teams with personality - with a minimum of two co-founders.

Apply now!

Best Things We've Heard All Week: MadTech News

The working week never feels long enough, but if someone suggested lengthening it, we'd laugh, cry and result in a resounding no. (Come on, even you entrepreneurial types).

But with so much going on in MadTech, from adtech and martech news, industry events, recent raises and inspiring people, here's our summary of the best things we've heard all week.

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1. "As the world gets more serious, social media becomes more trivial".

As a die hard lover of the Nokia 3210 ("I mean... it has snake"), Bob Geldof is never going to be the biggest fan of social, but his views gave us some serious food for thought.

Our marketing lady Tazz headed to a breakfast meet up with the man himself, who blames social media for many people's misjudgement, raising the point that speaking out on social isn't 'doing something' or 'doing good', it's just a self fulfilling prophecy which blocks us from making things count.

https://twitter.com/TazzGault/status/857596591338917888

2. We coined FONK.

Thanks Gabbi.👌

https://twitter.com/GabbiCahane/status/857980672929124354

3. Business is to "work with people who believe what you believe".

You know the quote? It's pretty powerful, no matter how many times you hear it. And that's why Co-Founder Rose thought this article – 27 things one person learnt from Simon Sinek – is well worth a read.

Point one: It took Simon over 11 years to become an overnight success...

4. Will the UK manage to fill the gap between seed funding and Series B?

It's a common debate in the office, and this week in particular, it became a bit of a theme.

We read this article from the Financial Times, and enjoyed a heated debate at FastPay's meet up, discussing the crucial matter of how to scale a digital media business. We'd love to hear your thoughts?

https://twitter.com/ColliderGB/status/857871545997430785

5. The llama at Kamarama's legs are too short.

Well, according to Co-Founder Andy anyway, who spent Friday afternoon with the Unilever Foundry judging a panel.

https://twitter.com/andyt8/status/860482978815803392

How To Be Successful In A Startup Accelerator

After relaunching our Collider quarterly MadTech drinks, it would only be right to get someone to say a few inspirational words to a room of startups, investors and brands, right? And that someone could only have been Carl Wong from Living Lens. Check out his top six tips to all startups on how to really get the most from an accelerator programme.

1. Play the long game.

Don't ever forget who you've spoken to. Meet them. Follow up with them. Make demands of their time, but play the long game.

2. Keep at it.

It's bloody hard raising money, and much, much harder than you think it is now [early stage]. You have to keep at it, you have to keep going, and it's going to take three times as much effort and three times as long in terms of time. If you do keep at it, you will make it happen.

3. Craft your story.

That's a learnt skill, not an art. There's a way to tell your story, but make sure you know it inside out.

4. Be bold.

Show off. It's not about what you think you may be able to do, but what could you do if you had everybody behind you and all the starts aligned.

5. Be prepared.

You should be prepared for all the questions – that's what's going to help you in shaping, thinking about your product market fit, who your competitors are, what is your pricing, your distribution, how are you different from the rest, how do you prove that? Who is going to beat you? You need to know the answers to all of that because somebody is going to ask you and you need to be coherent.

6. Love it.

Have a brilliant time, because, do you know what? You may never get the exit. You may never even fundraise to the level that you want to. But if you keep thinking about tomorrow, you're not going to be able to enjoy today.

Applications Have Closed: Now What?

It’s happened. Yes, the time has come – our applications have now closed. And honestly, we’ve been seriously impressed.

The quality this year has been second to none, and whilst that’s made things harder for us, it’s a pretty awesome problem to have.

It’s been a record year for us with well over 300 applications, even surpassing Ed’s ambition target by TWO – and so now we’re in the process of whittling it down to our top applications, with only 2% getting through.

We recently did a little digging into the numbers, countries and themes of applications this year and it seems the snippet that created the biggest buzz was that Brexit has made no impact on quality, numbers or location whatsoever.

But for those wondering what happens next, here's a quick rundown:

1. Startups will hear back from us with a yes or a no.

2. For those who get through will move onto screening.

These sessions are with Collider cofounders, Rose and Andy.

3. If they make it through that (WAHOO!) then it's time for Pitch Camp.

That's where we help startups clean up their deck before meeting investors.

4. In the meantime, our investors will receive some reading material on our top 20 startups.

5. Then it's Selection Day!

– or more commonly known in the Collider office as 'The Big one'. Each investor will have a vote and will be asked to nominate their top choices.

Want more information on the selection process? We’ve got that for you right here.