Betaspring attracting applicants from around globe

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Pablo Fernandez, a native of Argentina and co-founder of SkillHound, awaits his turn to pitch his company at a Betaspring event for its newest class of startup companies and business hopefuls. / PBN PHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Pablo Fernandez, a native of Argentina and co-founder of SkillHound, awaits his turn to pitch his company at a Betaspring event for its newest class of startup companies and business hopefuls. / PBN PHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE

Winter storm Nemo made for a less-than-ideal welcome for some member’s of Betaspring’s latest cohort, which, for the first time, includes three teams from India.
The Indian teams arrived in the midst of Nemo, in some cases lacking winter gear, to spend their first 20 hours in New England trudging through the snow and finding their hotel rooms to be without power.
But despite an inclement beginning to the startup accelerator’s sixth session, Betaspring’s three Indian participants, LocusPlay, Recroup and Stem2O are now settled in and more than halfway through the program. They were selected from a pool of approximately 300 applicants, about 15 to 20 percent of which were also from abroad, said Melissa Withers, Betaspring’s chief of staff and “nerd whisperer.”
Since the beginning, Withers said, Betaspring has sought strong teams with proven experience that were at the right stage in the start-up process.
“Geography really isn’t a consideration with us,” she said.
While Betaspring is not doing anything new to attract foreign applicants, they are becoming increasingly common. In recent years, applicants have had roots as close by as Canada and as far off as China, Russia, Italy and Kazakhstan.
During Betaspring’s initial session, most applicants were not only domestic, but local, Withers said.
A few foreign teams have been involved in recent years, including from Canada and Israel.
In addition to the three Indian teams, this session’s cohort also includes companies that were founded in the U.S., but have individual leadership from participants originally from England, Argentina and India.
But Withers doesn’t see this session’s increased foreign participation as a trend. All of the participants were selected because their pursuits aligned well with Betaspring’s interests, she said.
But while the uptick in international participation is not intentional on Betaspring’s end, for the Indian teams, applying to Betaspring was strategic.
Nikhil Wate, the chief-product officer for Learning Hyperdrive, the company behind the Stem2O, said the biggest draws for his team were Betaspring’s location and the connections available through the program’s network.
With years of experience already under their belts, “we didn’t need someone to tell us what to do,” Wate said. Rather, they needed the connections that Betaspring has access to. “That’s something that’s really part of the accelerating process,” he said.
Stem2O, described as a “pioneering learning and assessment environment that helps teachers and students build, use and share interactive and experiential science and math-earning tools,” was also attracted to Providence’s East Coast location and its proximity to Boston, an area with many schools and universities.
Rahul Rajguru, the co-owner and CEO of Locus Play, which offers a platform for lottery operators that automates business operations via mobile and cloud technology, said Betaspring appealed to his team for the same reasons. Rajguru noted that Providence was home to gaming-services and technology company GTECH, and that the connections Betaspring could offer were appealing.
“Betaspring has a tremendous amount of connections,” he said.
The other Indian company, Recroup, also chose Betaspring for similar reasons. Kaushik Vinay, a co-founder, said Recroup had looked at programs in a variety of locations, including one in Amsterdam. His company aims to help job seekers and recruiters by replacing traditional resumes with quick-to-create visual profiles. “I think when you’re looking for a startup accelerator, you’re looking for the right match,” Withers said.
Both domestic and foreign companies looking to take part in an accelerator program are all searching for the right culture, the right location, but also, the right people, she said.
Withers noted that the part of Betaspring’s website that gets the most hits is actually its Mentors page, which provides names, biographies and photos of mentors and their company affiliations.
Withers said that accelerator programs exist all over the world, and that most of them are well-known among startups. So, for companies to get involved, it doesn’t necessarily take a lot of digging.
Some of the Indian startups said they learned about Betaspring through colleagues and through the Internet, specifically LinkedIn in at least one case.
Withers said Betaspring’s only requirement for companies conceived abroad is that they’re registered in Delaware as C corporations.
Pablo Fernandez, CEO at SkillHound, is originally from Argentina. His company, which uses “big data” methods to analyze websites and help recruiters find and hire developers, had previously participated in MassChallenge.
He said Betaspring appeals to him because it provides the structure he needs.
“These guys are tough,” he said. “But starting last week, I started to feel a little bit of the energy. The company owners, the cohort, every single person is pushing you and you’re pushing the others, so I’ve been feeling really energized.” •

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