Did you still have any doubts?
FAQs for Entrepeneurs
What is Ufounders?
Ufounders is a startup incubator and accelerator that helps entrepreneurs from the idea stage to the internationalisation and sale of the startup.
We rely on online programmes with an entrepreneurship methodology that minimises the risk of failure and enhances the talent of our entrepreneurs.
Throughout the process as an entrepreneur, you will be in contact with a professional Advisor, who has already undertaken and has gone through the challenge you want to go through, and also together with the director of entrepreneurs. Both will accompany you throughout the process and will be in contact with you weekly.
Finally, we have learned that entrepreneurs waste a lot of time raising investment rounds. For this reason, at Ufounders we raise all the investment rounds that your startup needs.
What is the Entrepreneurs Program?
All our entrepreneurs go through a program that lasts an average of 7 weeks. In this program they learn to correctly build their business idea and find a business model. We teach a work methodology used by the best startups and technology companies in the world, Agile (Scrum). Then we build the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and, finally, we develop the finances, and the investment part.
The program has online sessions, so you can watch them whenever you want and wherever you want. You also have downloadables and tools to develop your startup. An important part is deliverables and meetings. Throughout the program you will have to deliver missions that will help you improve your business idea. These deliverables are reviewed and validated together with your advisor and the Ufounders Entrepreneurship Director.
What kind of business model do startups require to enter the programme?
Only companies whose project is supported by technology can enter the program, such as SAAS (Software as a Service), marketplace, FinTech, etc. models. Examples: Spotify, Airbnb, Netflix, Uber, Facebook…
In addition, their business model must be scalable, i.e. they must be able to increase their revenues steadily and anywhere in the world, without the need to reinvest more money in infrastructure. Constant innovation is non-negotiable.
What happens when the entrepreneur program ends?
When you finish the entrepreneurship programme, the Ufounders investment team gets to work on the investment round, looking for the best investors for your startup. We focus on the active search for smart money: investors who bring you money but above all business. We want the entrepreneur to focus on the project, while we take care of raising the investment rounds.
For this reason, the Ufounders team is made up of professional entrepreneurs, advisors and investors.
How much time do I have to complete the program?
We have validated with our entrepreneurs that the programme can be completed in 7 weeks but, for reasons of commitment, we give a maximum of 16 weeks to start achieving the metrics needed to raise the round. That doesn’t mean that we won’t iterate and pivot as many times as necessary to make your project a success.
But Ufounders does not stop there. Ufounders wants to support you throughout the life of your startup, so the programme never ends. We will also stand by you in the traction stage, in the consolidation stage and in the internationalisation stage.
How do we become your partners?
We only enter the equity of the company if we close the investment round, so we operate on a success basis.
We captured 10% of the company’s equity. Of this 10%, 7% is earmarked for Ufounders and the remaining 3% would be captured by successful Advisors. In this way, we become partners for life and both Ufounders and the Advisors will continue to support and work hand in hand with the entrepreneur in the next stages of the startup.
Can I combine the program with my current job?
You can combine it perfectly. The sessions are designed for this and are of short duration (5-10 mins). However, it is essential that when you raise the investment round you dedicate yourself 100% to the project, not because we are forcing you to do so, but because otherwise investors will not dedicate time or money to your business.
Can I undertake alone?
Yes, you can. Many of our entrepreneurs are currently pursuing entrepreneurship on an individual basis. In addition, you will be accompanied by your mentors throughout the entire project, so you will not be undertaking alone, but we will be with you.
In any case, it is important to know that the road is long and you need a team to help you. During the creation of your startup, we will also help you to recruit talent for your project. It is important for an entrepreneur to always be constantly onboarding people into their startup. This is an important value when it comes to minimizing the risk of failure.
Do I need to have programming knowledge to develop my startup?
It is not necessary, we have a service platform, where you can find resources of different categories to respond to those day-to-day challenges.
How much time do I have to dedicate per day/week?
The programme can be combined with everything before raising an investment round. We have calculated that by dedicating 3 hours per week, the programme can be completed in 7 weeks, but that will ultimately depend on you and how the different scenarios are received by the market.
How much money do I need to invest before raising the round?
You do not need to invest a single euro. We use a methodology brought from the USA, specifically from Ycombinator, which allows you to validate all your scenarios, develop an MVP and obtain the necessary metrics to raise the investment round without the need to start investing a lot of money.
This methodology, known as Lean Startup, applies a model called Bootstrapping, which ultimately seeks to do a lot with little.
Why don't we support e-commerce?
They are businesses that are based on advertising-sale. Although it can be considered scalable, the product can be exhausted. In addition, they are businesses with unprofitable margins.
Can my business idea change throughout the Program?
In Ufounders, we use two terms that we consider very important and that you will see in the programme, which are iterate and pivot. We are going to help you make the necessary changes so that you can validate your scenarios with customers.
We never abandon entrepreneurs in any way. We use a quote: “Startups do not die by murder, but by suicide”. In other words, we will push you as many times as it takes for your idea to go ahead, but what we cannot do is force you to do it, nor can we do it for you.
At Ufounders, we show you the doors to open, but it is the entrepreneurial team that opens them.
Can I start the program myself and have the partners join later?
It may happen that you start, and other partners join in during the course of the programme.
What is important is that all partners go through the program. For this reason, as you move forward with the project, if new partners join before the round is lifted, they should enter the programme.
Can I, as the CEO, do the programme and my partners stay out of it?
No, you can’t because you don’t invest in projects or ideas, you invest in people. Moreover, it is a requirement of our investors that all these people go through our programme, as not everyone knows how to be an entrepreneur.
It is also important because we want everyone in the team to be involved in all aspects of the company.
What does the term "scalable" mean?
Ufounders is solely focused on technological and scalable businesses. This means that the business cannot depend on people or infrastructures, as this dependence does not allow you to grow exponentially.
There should be no need to reinvest all the money so that our business can continue to grow. The money is reinvested to improve the project and continue innovating, but never because we depend on its reinvestment to exist. Examples: Airbnb, Blablacar, Wallapop, etc.
Who are the advisors?
Advisors are people with experience in the startup sector. They have been in the world of entrepreneurship for between 10 and 15 years and have usually managed to find their own company. In addition, they must know the world of technology, since we are only focused on this type of business due to the scalability that this entail.
The advisors also go through a programme so that they are constantly aligned under the same methodology as the entrepreneurs.
Where do investors come from?
We have formed a private investor network, composed of private investors, investment funds and venture capitals, which are specialised in the technology startup sector.
What does the percentage of equity that investors take depend on?
It mostly depends on how strong your metrics are. The better metrics you have, the higher the valuation of your company and the more power you will have with investors.
What percentage do investors take?
That cannot be guaranteed since each startup is analysed independently. It will depend on the metrics and the traction that the company has. These metrics, traction and the experience of the entrepreneurial team will position the startup in a valuation. Apart from this, if all goes well, the idea is that in each investment round a percentage of between 10-20% of the company will be sold to investors.
If the startup has good metrics, traction and a team, the valuation will be high and vice versa.
When does the LLC have to be incorporated?
The corporate form under which a startup must be incorporated is a limited company. At Ufounders we recommend doing so when the investment round is to be raised; please note that the cost is around €300.
What happens if I can't raise the round?
Raising a round of investment is a long and tedious process that we have managed to minimise, but it will depend on the work you have done previously and how the market has responded to your idea. After all, the market is sovereign. What we can be sure of is that we will iterate and pivot as many times as necessary to achieve a business model capable of raising a round of investment.
Why can't you send me the incubation program and/or the partner agreement?
We will sign the incubation programme before developing the MVP, as it seems unfair to ask you to sign up with us when we have barely met. Our relationship as partners is like a courtship: we will get to know each other and work together until we know that the commitment is 100%. For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot show it beforehand.
As for the partnership pact, we will sign it when we raise the investment round, as we want to be your partners for life.
Does it cost anything to enter the Entrepreneurs Program?
Yes, depending on the partners/entrepreneurs the start-up is made up of, it has a different cost, which can be financed in up to 12 months. If you are shortlisted by the Steering Committee, you will have 24 hours to enter the programme, or we will have to give the place to another startup.
Do you sign any confidentiality agreement?
No. We do not sign any confidentiality agreement or NDA. To develop your project, it is very important that you validate your idea with people you don’t even know, so we understand that it makes no sense. In addition, our business model is oriented towards raising investment rounds and becoming your partners, so we are the first ones interested in taking the project forward.
Likewise, at Ufounders we believe in people before ideas, as it depends on the entrepreneurs the way the startup is executed and developed.
