Seedstars World is coming to Manama! The 10 best startups from Bahrain will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars Manama 2018.

B Entrepreneur Magazine sat down with the awesome team behind Seedstars Manama to find out more about this exciting initiative.

Can you give us an introduction about Seedstars Manama and why it is an exciting addition to the line-up of entrepreneurial events in Bahrain?

10 of the best startups from Bahrain will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars Manama 2018. The winning startup will join the global Seedstars Family and take part in the regional and global Seedstars Summits that include our tried and tested bootcamp and investor forum. It’s a catalytic platform for high growth emerging market startups.

In addition to seeing the top startups pitch, you can look forward to an event filled with disruptive tech, inspirational discussions, networking sessions and one flight ticket for the winner to come to Switzerland to compete for over $1mn in investment.

What do you look for in a startup initiative and what does it take to be part of Seedstars Manama?

We look for startups that are less than 2 years old since if they are a company that has spent more than 2 years developing their business and they are still at a seed-stage level, they might not have figured out the most suitable business model / investor readiness (but of course, this depends on the industry, since eg. medtech has longer development cycles).

We are not interested in investing in companies that are just at the idea stage. We want to see a real proof of concept and a working prototype, as anyone can have an idea, but having at least a minimum viable product (MVP) shows execution skills and possibly already having talked to customers.

The companies have to have raised less than 500k USD funding, since we will be potentially investing up to 500k USD, it makes no sense that the companies would have raised more than this. If companies have already raised more than 500k, they will be normally looking to raise larger amounts than what we can provide.

We are looking for startups that have a huge potential with an amazing team that are really passionate about their startups and are looking to scale. We care about what they are selling, the scalability of their business and how they are looking to impact the community.

 Can you tell us more about the bootcamp process and who are the mentors of this lucky group of startups?

We bring in the participating startups for a bootcamp, two days before the event, to have our mentors help them with their pitches and their pitch decks. It is a preparation for the startups to be the best they could be in the event for them to have the skills to compete for the chance to win a ticket to our Regional Summit in Beirut, and a ticket to our Global Summit in Switzerland and be Crowned as Seedstars World Global winner.

Our Mentors will be Ali Abdullah, Head of Marketing and Conferences, (Bahrain Fintech Bay), Abdel Rahim Fakhroo, Vice Chairman (Bahrain SMEs), Fetooh Al Zayani, Board Member (Trust RE), Abdul Hassan Al Dairi, Chairman (Bahrain SMEs), Bader Sater, Chairman (C5), and Paul Lalley, Head of product (Brinc).

We are sure that our choice of mentors will add the maximum benefit to the startups as they are also very passionate about the ecosystem and its development.

From Seedstars World to Manama, why did you choose Bahrain as a home of Seedstars?

According to Meghan, Seedstar MENA’s regional manager, “Seedstars is a platform that connects investors and stakeholders with the next generation of entrepreneurs. Since this will be our 3rd time organizing the event in Manama, the stakes are high and we are very excited. We have been in the ecosystem for more than three years now and know there are companies in Bahrain developing high-quality products. We are looking for the best and will take it with us to Switzerland in 2019!”

We believe that there is so much potential in Bahrain and we are very happy to be a part of it.  In order to provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity and aiming to deliver the best possible event Seedstars is closely working with Tamkeen and CH9 who are representing the initiative throughout the year.

What is your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

We advise them to really consider their product before starting and study their market really well in order for them to find the correct product that is needed, relevant to the market and that is scalable with minimal costs. Their solution needs to be better than what is already out there and that their product can gain a strong position on the market.

Their business model also needs to be validated with revenue traction and product engagement. So the team needs to have a strong grasp of their unit economics.

The strength of the founding team and their commitment can determine the destiny of their startups. They need to have the relevant skills and experience to execute the opportunity at hand. They also need to be able to avoid conflict internally and have their team roles in place.

For more information:
Seedstars World—Manama
www.seedstarsworld.com