A short questionnaire is required by all founders and/or teams looking to apply. Following the close date for applications, companies will receive notification of selection and request to complete a legal questionnaire and submit legal documents before attending a selection bootcamp.

Following the 2-day bootcamp, selected participants will receive formal offers to enter the program.

We are looking for ambitious founders, working as part of a balanced team to solve global problems they are passionate about, with high potential to scale. Here are some of the most important criteria we will be looking at:
‍
• CLEAR VALIDATION OF YOUR PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
• A SCALABLE BUSINESS WITH GLOBAL POTENTIAL TRACTION - DO YOU HAVE CUSTOMERS?
• SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE
• MISSION AND PASSION
• A GREAT AND COMPLEMENTARY TEAM
• HUSTLE AND WILL TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN

If you feel like you are still not at the traction stage, please check our Sprint program.

• Committed to the business and the program full-time
• Able to fund yourself through the program
• Able to attend all the masterclass sessions and overseas trips
• Be in a position to agree to our SAFE note terms

We do not have an industry bias, however we are especially excited about seed to series-A startups tackling global challenges in the following areas: Digital Health, Agtech, Proptech, Social Impact. As long as it’s ambitious and solving a big problem - we want to hear from you!

​We do not sign NDAs, however we do include a commitment to secrecy in our application form. Please note that no venture firm would sign an NDA. NDA's should be irrelevant to driven founders. Your connectedness to the problem you are solving and motivation to solve it are more important to us.

Yes, you should apply. We do however like to see that you are capable of leading and bringing other people into your vision. It can be a red flag if a founder is incapable of building a team of people that want to work with them. You will need a team to really take full advantage of the growth opportunities presented by the program.

No, the Plus Eight Accelerator costs are covered by our amazing partners. However, when you get investment, we become partners of the startups by acquiring shares.

We fund a significant portion of the trip for one founder per startup. Other founders are welcome to join by covering their own costs, and can use their investment for some of the costs.

Plus Eight invests in startups via a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) note, which is a form of convertible note.

In practice, a SAFE is an agreement that can be used between a company and an investor. The investor invests money in the company using a SAFE. In exchange for the money, the investor receives the right to purchase stock in a future equity round (when one occurs) subject to certain parameters set out in the SAFE.

This means that when you receive your money after the pitch, we sign a document saying that the next time you undertake a qualifying capital raise, the SAFE will convert into shares.

Plus Eight Investors are buying the shares with a 25% discount over the valuation that you get during your next capital raise. If you don’t undertake a qualifying capital raise within 2 years, the SAFE converts at the Fall-back Valuation ($2m).

The discount is the easiest way of recognising the Program Investor’s early risk and substantial non-cash contribution. We commit to investing in you when your startup is still at the beginning of the journey, and provide you with the expert program, the trips, the co-working space, the mentoring and the network to unleash growth. With our investment and support your chances of sky rocking your valuation are significantly higher, and the discount is a way to recognise that!

That will depend on the terms of your next capital raise.
‍
Example 1: You got $150k from Plus Eight, and you get an investment after 1year valued at $5million.
> This means that Plus Eight is entitled to $200k in shares over a $5million valuation, or 4% of the company.
‍
Example 2: You got $150k from Plus Eight, and you don’t get any investment within 2 years.
> This means that Plus Eight is entitled to $200k in shares over a $2million, or 10% of the company.

Yes. If your company has previously issued shares at a valuation which is higher than the Fall-Back Valuation, we are open to increasing the Fall-Back Valuation Floor to match this.