Draper University x Polkadot Pre-Accelerator Silicon Valley

Draper University aims to scout, accelerate and invest into startups building the future of the Polkadot ecosystem. Draper University x Polkadot Pre-Accelerator

Draper University proposes a new pre-accelerator program aimed at attracting and developing new builders and entrepreneurs for the Polkadot Ecosystem.

The pre-accelerator would provide early-stage startups with the resources, education, capital, and network to build and scale on Polkadot and include a residency at Draper University in Silicon Valley.

This program would fit at the intersection of software development, infrastructure, community events and marketing. We are both creating awareness for Polkadot chain to external developers and entrepreneurs, in addition to growing the ecosystem with the acceleration of on chain projects that benefit the larger web3 community (ie. new infrastructure and new users)

Proponent: Chris Joannou - VP of Ecosystem Growth at Draper University

Multisig includes Asra Nadeem — CEO at Draper University and Irene Yiu (from Draper VC) 14uuQKfH3qF8k18RpFZkN5s4bDyjiRtsVZZw4WneY7zjiTVo

Requested allocation: USDC $438,600

We are seeking USDC $438,600 to run the Draper University x Polkadot Pre-Accelerator.

Please note a significant amount of the budget requested goes directly to the participants/startups in the form of grants and not directly to us. These incentives are necessary to attract the right caliber of talent. We also agree to match the grant funding in the pre-accelerator with capital in exchange for equity.

 

Draper University x Polkadot Pre-Accelerator (6 weeks)*

Is a 6 Week Residency Program (includes Draper’s flagship Hero Training Program and Bespoke Polkadot Track with Pitch Day).

*This pricing includes $150k (ie. $15k x 10 startups in grant funding) which will be matched by Draper University Ventures for a total of $30k per selected team in exchange for equity (targeting 4%)

 

Context: Draper University is a world-leading pre-accelerator based in Silicon Valley founded by venture capitalist Tim Draper. It is part of the Draper Venture network which includes the Draper Network of funds (24 global funds including Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, Draper Espirit (now Molten Ventures), Boost VC, and Draper Startup House a global chain of affordable hotels for entrepreneurs. The Draper Venture Network is an ecosystem built to accelerate global deal flow, create awareness, build community and act as a distribution network for our startups. We are seeking to run a pre-accelerator program to help grow the Polkadot ecosystem globally and create a pipeline of loyal international startups. By educating early-stage founders on entrepreneurship fundamentals, along with tailored mentorship, you give potential entrepreneurs to enter and grow within the Polkadot ecosystem with the support of Draper.

We have extensive experience collaborating with governments, enterprises, and Web3 ecosystems to filter and select startups to be eligible for investment or grant funding. We have: 3,700+ alumni from 103 countries 700+ startups accelerated $1.05 billion raised in venture capital

Specifically, we have collaborated with governments and organizations worldwide to incubate startups and deploy funding. Some of our government partners include South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the OECS (Caribbean), UNDP, and USAID,. Whilst our enterprise partners include ING, Turkish Airlines, EY, and others.

As part of the Draper Ecosystem, and our network of funds we have deployed over $7 billion in venture capital in 34 unicorns and 6 rhinos ($10BN+ companies) at their infancy including; Tesla, Skype, SpaceX, Twitch, Robinhood, Hotmail, Carta, Baidu, and Webflow.

We were early-believers of blockchain and web3.0 education. We are proud to be integrating blockchain education into our flagship program “Hero Training” before institutions like Stanford. Over the last four years we have been selected as dedicated programming partners for Web3 ecosystems. We have scouted over 10,000 web3.0 startups, managing end-to-end incubator and accelerator programs for leading protocols, foundations and government agencies. These programs include both equity-focused initiatives, offering investment for participating startups, and grant-focused programs, awarding funds upon milestone completion.

Our partners include Stellar, VeChain, Algorand, Tezos, Neo, Cyberport (Hong Kong), and JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization).

Past Blockchain Program Highlights:

$17.5 million committed on demo day, with 8 startups raised over $1 million each for the Algorand Accelerator

$5M Raised for Startups in the Draper x NEO Launchpad

55 New Projects launched on Tezos in the Draper x Tezos Developer Program

40 Projects Incubated in The Draper x VeChain Fellowship

More broadly Draper University has produced Web3 unicorns such as Highstreet and Lemon Cash along with other notable projects such as Qtum and Harmony.

The larger Draper Ecosystem were early-stage backers of several major startups that make the industry what it is today. These include; Telegram, Coinbase, Ledger, Maker, VeChain, Gemini, Unstoppable Domains and more.

 

The Problem

While Polkadot is a brilliant producer of technical talent we believe it can benefit from more entrepreneurial focused builders that appeal to mainstream venture capital which in turn allows them to raise funds and build global businesses much faster. We believe, we are uniquely positioned to nurture this entrepreneurial talent and provide access to venture capital for high potential startups that can accelerate Polkadot’s mainstream adoption.

 

The Proposal

Draper University is interested in delivering a major pre-accelerator for the Polkadot system in order to support its growth with leading blockchain founders and startups. We believe this is done by creating a pipeline of entrepreneurial talent, allowing aspiring entrepreneurs and technical founders to learn about and build on Polkadot. And secondly, to help them develop their business amongst other leading founders and supported with pre-seed funding. The pre-accelerator will also see the Draper team scout globally for leading projects suitable for the program to fill the cohort. These startups will present at a global demo day for the chance to receive further external capital.

Our scope of work is primarily bundled into two phases: “the preparation” and “the delivery”.

The preparation includes all of the pre-program activity necessary in to deliver a flawless program. That is everything from the design of the program, through to the launch, marketing and social media planning / execution to create awareness and drive applications. In addition, we start our outreach and scouting processes to source the ideal companies for the program and sell them on the benefits of joining. The best companies generally do not need to apply, so they need to be informed of the opportunity.

Once the startups have been secured (that is after interviews / light due diligence via our admissions team and joint investment committees) we then move to phase 2 “the delivery”.

This is when we actually deliver the program in its entirety, for clarity this is several sessions per day, combined with mentoring, investor introductions and meetings culminating in a pitch or demo day to a room full of investors, plus our final report.

 

Each program follows a similar pattern outlined below:

Program design
This initial phase involves defining the accelerator's focus areas, target audience, curriculum, mentorship structure, and overall goals. Key decisions include program length, cohort size, and the specific resources and support to be offered.

Pre-Program Marketing

To attract high-quality applicants, we start marketing efforts to raise awareness about the program. This can involve PR, social media promotion, hosting industry events, and leveraging partnerships with relevant organizations and across our own network. Scouting We actively search for promising startups that align with their program's focus. This can be done through online platforms, referrals from our investor network, mentors or alumni, and attending pitch competitions or demo days. In addition, our scouting team starts multi-channel outreach and invites startups to apply. Admissions Once startups submit their applications outlining their business model, team, traction, and growth potential. Our team reviews these applications to assess the startup's fit for the program. Selection / Investment Committee A committee, comprising of experienced investors and industry experts from both of our teams, evaluates the shortlisted startups. They assess factors like team dynamics, market opportunity, scalability, and the potential impact we can provide.

Delivery

This core phase involves providing startups with a structured curriculum, mentorship, workshops, and access to resources. The focus is on refining business models, product development, market validation, and preparing for investor pitches and demo day.

Pitch Day

A culminating event where startups showcase their progress to a curated audience of investors, industry leaders, and potential partners. This is an opportunity for startups to secure funding and gain visibility.

Final Report

After the program concludes, we will compile a report summarizing the achievements of the cohort, including metrics like funding raised, partnerships formed, and overall growth. This report can be used to secure additional programs and demonstrate the program's value.

Post-Program Support.

Startups can expect ongoing mentorship, fundraising guidance, network / alumni access, and valuable resources to help them thrive in the competitive landscape beyond the program.

Please note Draper University will require the support from the Polkadot developer relations team to deliver a few technical sessions and be available on our discord for light support.

 

Milestones

Milestones will also be broken up into these two phases “the preparation” and “the delivery”; Below I’ll go through the deliverables, timeline and budget for each milestone.

Timeline

Budget

 

Draper University x Polkadot Pre-Accelerator

SILICON VALLEY (6 Week Residency Program) 2025

Milestone 1

“Preparation” Pre-Program Program Design Program Announcement Social Media Campaign Scouting / Sourcing Campaign Deliver shortlist of 20 high-caliber founders (to be narrowed down to 10) USDC $219,300 “50%”

Accepted Startups given their cash with proof of travel booked

Milestone 2

“Delivery” In-Person Program Delivery (Lectures, Investor / Technical Sessions, Speaker Dinners, Mentoring, etc) Pitch Day Final Report USDC $219,300 “50%” Total budget USDC $219,300 + USDC$219,300 = USDC$438,600*

Includes $150,000 (10 x $15k per team) in grant funding for the startups selected. This will be matched by Draper University so each startup receives $30k in funding in exchange for equity (targeting 5%)

 

 

Key deliverables

The main deliverable will be the procurement and acceleration of 10 high potential projects/startups via pre-accelerator.

In addition there is exposure and interest in the Polkadot ecosystem from a new network of entrepreneurs, developers and investors as we scout and promote this collaboration. We expect to have a growing number of new projects entering the Polkadot ecosystem from the incubator and accelerator.

This will grow the developer community and its infrastructure to support more innovation onchain. Finally, there is the potential for further capital invested into the startups and as a result, the Polkadot ecosystem.

 

 

Objectives

Our programs have been designed to attract entrepreneurs and builders of all stages to the Polkadot platform and provide them with an accelerated learning experience and a global network of best-in-class investors and mentors.

Learning from our past blockchain programs; namely Tezos and Algorand we realized during our scouting process and sometimes during our program that a portion of the founders while technically capable lacked some of the business fundamentals necessary to succeed - this ranged from the ability to pitch effectively through to deploying the experimentation necessary to validate markets and de-risk their projects.

We believe that the modules we consistently teach throughout our pre-accelerator programs (ie. lean startup, 10x thinking, introduction to venture capital, etc) coupled with blockchain specific learning (Tokenomics, Polkadot Programming basics, etc) are essential to produce better founders, startups and ultimately improve their chances for success. This is also something that our VC network and traditional VCs need to see in order to invest. This is the reason that we have developed a program that is progressive and helps grow the Polkadot ecosystem by accelerating market-ready startups.

 

DRAPER UNIVERSITY X POLKADOT HERO TRAINING PRE-ACCELERATOR PROGRAM (6 WEEKS)

Target: High-growth / Potential Startups building across Web3 in these 3 key verticals;

01 Artificial Intelligence

02 Real World Assets

03 Gaming

Designed specifically for high-potential startups building on Polkadot in mind, we scout the globe utilizing our own ecosystem and the market to shortlist and narrow down a list from hundreds of applications to 10 investible teams with global ambitions and disruptive business models.

Over the span of 6 weeks, we accelerate their growth with bespoke programming, world-class facilitators, industry experts, mentors, and investors while crafting their pitch.

The program culminates with a demo day in a room of investors to showcase their growth, to raise capital and take those businesses to the next level. Recruitment of startups will be based on the thematics above.

These themes also influence who we choose as facilitators, mentors and investors to nurture the cohort throughout the programs.

During the program Draper University we will require light technical assistance from Polkadot to liaise with the developer community, to facilitate workshops and answer technical questions (usually via Discord).

 

What makes this Accelerator unique?

There are 4 key attributes that make Draper University Programs unique.

Our Facilitators - Entrepreneurship taught by Silicon Valley experts and founders. As an extreme example, Elon Musk has taught a couple of classes.

Access to our network and portfolio companies allows us to bring together truly exceptional teachers.

Our Network - Alumni, portfolio companies, truly global grass-roots startup communities and Venture capital funds.

Venture Capital - From our pre-seed fund through to some of the most notable Venture Capital and Crypto funds globally we have the ability to provide the startups with support at each stage of their journey.

Blockchain Expertise - Draper University was proudly teaching blockchain technology four years before Stanford. This is not learning we added to stay on trend, we have truly believed in this space since day one and are 100% invested.

 

Reporting 

Reporting is done post-program and includes an executive summary, participant statistics and details on every session. We provide a detailed overview of speakers, session objectives, and summaries along with links to speaker bios and media captured.

 

Team Board

Timothy Draper Founder at Draper Associates/DFJ/Draper Tim Draper founded Draper Associates, DFJ and the Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture capital funds. Funded Coinbase, Baidu, Tesla, Skype, SpaceX, Twitch, Hotmail, Focus Media, Robinhood, Athenahealth, Box, Cruise Automation, Carta, Planet, PTC and 15 other unicorns from early/first rounds. He is a supporter and global thought leader for entrepreneurs everywhere, and is a leading spokesperson for Bitcoin and decentralization, having won the Bitcoin US Marshall’s auction in 2014, invested in over 50 crypto companies, and led investments in Coinbase, Ledger, Tezos, and Bancor, among others. He is regularly featured on all major networks as a proponent for entrepreneurship, innovative governance, free markets and Bitcoin, and has received various awards and honors including the World Entrepreneurship Forum’s “Entrepreneur of the World,” and is listed as one of the top 100 most powerful people in finance by Worth Magazine, the top 20 most influential people in Crypto by CryptoWeekly, #1 most networked VC by AlwaysOn, #7 on the Forbes Midas List, member of the Global Guru 30 Startup Gurus in the world, and #48 most influential Harvard Alum.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothydraper/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Draper

 

Andy Tang Executive Chair - Draper University Partner at Draper Associates, Managing Partner - Draper Dragon. He has over 20 years of operating, research and development, investment banking and investing experience in the high-tech space. In his career he co-founded DraperDragon Fund in 2006 to focus on cross-border investing. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andytangvc/

Joon Yun Doctor and Hedge Fund President President Palo Alto Investors https://www.linkedin.com/in/joony1/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joon_Yun

Surbhi Sarna Draper University Board Member and Y Combinator Group Partner Founded at Draper University - nVision was acquired by Boston Scientific on Demo Day (2018) for $275M https://www.linkedin.com/in/surbhi-sarna/

Gina Kloes Chief Inspiration Officer & Peak Performance Educator for Entrepreneurs Branson Center for Entrepreneurship mentor and Tony Robbins lead Trainer. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-kloes-04154270/

CORE TEAM

Asra Nadeem CEO & Partner https://www.linkedin.com/in/asranadeem/

Chris Joannou VP - Ecosystem Growth Global ecosystem growth expert. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjjoannou/

Suffiyan Malik Program Director https://www.linkedin.com/in/suffiyanmalik/

Khadija Ghazi VP Innovation and Development https://www.linkedin.com/in/khadijaghazi/

Arisa Chelsea Ueno Program Manager Ex - Shopify, StockX, Noom and Plug and Play Silicon Valley https://www.linkedin.com/in/arisa-chelsea-ueno/

Aaliyah Barker Crypto Program Manager Stellar Program Manager, US Aid Program Manager, Ex-Techstars https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaliyah-barker/

Mohammad Mustafa Program Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammadmhassan/

Subah Zaeem Alumni Relations Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/subahshahid/

Viridiana Aguilar Medina Media Operations https://www.linkedin.com/in/viridiana-aguilar-medina-268a91bb/

Daniela Quintero Head of Admissions https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielaquinteroc/

Ibrahim Zoqi Design https://www.linkedin.com/in/ibrahim-zoqi-a97b20233/

Tim Cai

Head of Marketing Ex- DoorDash, Startupbootcamp

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-j-cai/

 

We are working on this proposal with Irina Karagyaur, who is helping us to navigate the Polkadot ecosystem. We will be happy to answer your questions in the comments section to this proposal.