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FIGHT THE VIRUS CHALLENGE

Up to $1M for each startup tackling the coronavirus crisis

This is our generation's moment. Let's lead a World War II worthy effort to battle the virus, and help everyone adapt to the new normal - especially kids and grandparents.

Request for ProposalOverview
The Challenge
Mentors
Quotes
FAQ

Request for proposals

We don't believe the virus can be contained; our lives will be massively impacted for at least a year. If that is true, we'll need to unleash our creativity to solve problems such as:

  • Social interaction, especially for elderly
  • Homeschooling for kids
  • Remote education tools
  • Remote collaboration
  • Remote health and home workouts
  • Safer childcare solutions
  • New approaches to vaccines & treatments
  • Medical devices
  • Distribution of supplies to those in need
  • Faster ways to produce medical supplies
  • Better ways to fund small businesses
  • Better ways to support workers in lockdown
  • Improved monitoring of illnesses & quarantines
  • Spreading patient load across hospitals
  • Improving hygiene and sanitation
  • Protective clothing
  • Telemedicine
  • Any other idea we didn't think of that could save lives...

Some of these startups may help our immediate crisis. Others may help us be better prepared for the next one.

In times of great need, the next generation of great startups is born.

Quick Facts

  • Get $50K immediate investment; uncapped MFN SAFE
  • Raise up to $1M in an online demo day
  • No fees. 0% equity fee.
  • Office hours with world-class mentors
  • Weekly 'fireside' chats
  • Meet life-long online friends. You'll meet at the post-vaccine party!
  • Apply by April 3

The Challenge

The challenge is simple: take your ideas to tackle the coronavirus and turn them into reality, as fast as possible. You'll be in an online community with other motivated founders working around the clock.

Get a $50,000 investment now

Each startup we accept will receive $50,000 in immediate funding, with an uncapped MFN SAFE. We charge no fees & 0% equity. It'll run April through June. We hope you will attend Y Combinator's Summer 2020 cohort next.

Race alongside other founders

As Y Combinator alumni ourselves, we've been indoctrinated with the YC ethos: talk to users, build your product, and ruthlessly iterate as fast as possible. Our program will encourage velocity. There is no time to waste.

  • Personal Mentor. Each startup will be paired with a mentor who will hold them accountable each week, help solve bottlenecks rapidly, and ruthlessly focus on 'the most important thing'.
  • Online Wine & Cheese Fireside Chats. Every Tuesday, we'll interview a super-experienced founder on Zoom while we drink wine, and then open it up to questions. (One of us will have a fireplace on Zoom!).
  • Expert Office Hours. We know someone who can help tackle any problem.
  • Community Slack. A private Slack channel for founders, mentors, and alumni.
  • Video Game Night. Isolation gets hard. Once a week, we'll play an online game together - consider it "founder therapy".
  • Post-Vaccine Celebration. Whenever this is over, we'll invite you to an in-person celebration somewhere around the world - and pay for food & lodging.

Raise up to $1M with an online demo day

Our mentors will help you work on your investor pitch.

Whenever your startup is ready (even as soon as now), we will help you raise up to $1M from Wefunder's 400,000+ investors. (All investors are aggregated into one entity on your cap table.)

Mentors

We're all founders that have built companies. Most of us are YC alumni.

 Paul Sawaya
Human Interest (YC S15)
Nicky Goulimis
Nova Credit (YC W12)
Justin Kan
Twitch (S05, W07, W12, W18)
Laks Srini
Zenefits (YC W13) & Zerodown
Shruti Shah
Move Loot (YC W14)
Steven Hsiao
SpoonRocket (YC S13)
Daniel Ha
Disqus (YC S07)
Cindy Wu
Experiment (YC W13)
Brandon Hill
Greo (YC S16)
Nick Tommarello
Wefunder (YC W13)
Shawn Tsao
Caviar (YC S11)
Janelle Tam
Molecular biology
Stefan Seltz-Axmacher
Starsky Robotics (YC S16)
Patrick Lee
Rotten Tomatoes
Wei Deng
Clipboard Health (YC W17)

What founders say

Through the XX, we've run two cohorts previously in San Francisco.

“XX transformed our startup by 10X-ing us as founders. We learned to be relentlessly iterative in finding product market fit and the weekly office hours were crucial to bringing an intentional focus and clarity to challenges, both knowns and unknowns. Most importantly, we found our people - genuine, salt of the earth, impact-driven founders who've also built tremendously successful companies. They shared the greats, but also the bad and the ugly. Our mentors humanized the startup journey and continue to inspire us in expanding what we believe to be possible. We found a lifetime of people on our side through XX and would recommend it in a heartbeat.”
“The best thing about XX was that we raised $2M in less than a week. Also my relationship with mentor Daniel [Ha] has been super helpful. He spent a lot of time with us and changed the future of our company forever.”
"XX was the best thing that could have happened to us as early-stage founders. They provided us with extremely relevant advice, a strong and robust network in Silicon Valley and a community of friends that cheered us on when things went well as well as supported us when we hit low-points. The program was a major reason why we got into YC and some of the people we met there became our earliest investors and closest advisors. The whole team and everyone involved combines the rare feat of both being extremely accomplished and among the friendliest and most supportive people, we have met."
"Being part of XX has been a life-changing experience. The team believed in us at the earliest stage possible and we will be forever grateful for that. The program provides everything a founder could wish for – from unique insights to an emotional support network and lifelong friends. They have also helped us significantly to get into YC. We can’t wait to pay it forward one day. "
The Wefunder team and all the friends we have made here are one of the best things that happened to us since venturing to the start-up savannah. The first stages of a start-up can feel quite lonely, and having such a wonderful and supportive group of people around us have been super helpful. Wefunder team have helped us so much, from listening & problem solving, to critical introductions to drive us forward. It is also obvious the team truly cares about our success and put tons of effort along the way. Words cannot express how much we enjoy being part of xx.
xx has been amazing, especially since we’re so early stage. I think this whole starting-a-startup thing would have much more daunting if not for the network and resources that you guys have provided us with!

It’s been so incredible to build alongside this group. The energy is infectious and it really makes you want to aim higher and work harder. From one-on-ones to weekly group check-ins to casual conversations, I’ve received so much help from the WeFunder Team and am so happy for the opportunity to work with such a fun, friendly, and knowledgeable group. Last but not least, the dinners! The weekly dinners and fireside chats are such a refreshing way to meet and connect with experienced founders, investors, the WeFunder Team, and xx cohort.

Being part of xx has been amazing. It's run by a group of the most genuine, brilliant and awesome human beings (Nick, Jiwon, Jacqueline, Cindy, Greg and many others). Every time I was stuck on something, a solution was offered.

It's rare to be part of a group where you feel comfortable discussing all of your ups and downs. Although it has been less than 2 months, I have already learned a great deal from the xx founding team and through them, met with some incredibly successful and down-to-earth founders and investors.

Special thanks to mentors in the last cohorts

Jon Dishotsky, Starcity
Chai Mishra, Move Butter
Karthik Balakrishnan, Coin
Nicky Goulimis, Nova Credit
Immad Akhund, Mercury
James Richards, Teleborder
Rishi Taparia, Garuda Ventures
Romish Badani, Bridge
Adam Goldstein, Hipmunk
Brandon Hill, Greo
Chris Smoak, Atrium
Bill Clerico, WePay
Andrew Chau, Boba Guys
Vasco Pedro, Unbabel
Tracy Young, Plangrid
Pete Koomen, Optimizely
Maria Alegre, Chartboost
Shri Ganeshram, Eaze
Sam Hashemi, Remix
Shruti Shah, Moveloot
Holly Liu, Kabam
Julia Collins, Zume Pizza
Paul Fletcher, Veil
Richard Din, Caviar
Jason Boehmig, Ironclad
Siri Srinivas, Draper
Tom Willerer, Venrock
Miriam Brafman, Packlane
Alice Zhang, Verge Genomics
Jahanzeb Sherwani
Danielle Strachman, 1517 Fund
Laks Srini, Zerodown
Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb
Beth Turner, SV Angel
Lynne Tye, Key Values
Tenzin Seldon, Kinstep
Nancy Hua, Apptimize
Kat Manalac, Y Combinator
Steven Hsiao, Spoonrocket
Avni Patel Thompson, Poppy
Jay Kim, Nexon
Chris Maddox, Seneca Systems

FAQ

Expand all
What's the format of the accelerator like?

We follow the Y Combinator ethos. All your time should be spent talking to users, building product, and staying healthy. Every Tuesday, there are group office hours, followed an intimate chat with an accomplished founder. You can request individual office hours if you feel stuck on a problem. This all happens with video chat.

What % of my company will you take?

We invest $50,000 with an uncapped SAFE with MFN provision. This basically means that we get the same terms that later investors offer you. You can read about how this works here.

Unlike almost all other accelerators, we charge a 0% equity fee.

How much will this cost me?

Nothing. We charge 0% equity fee and $0. We’ll provide a $50k investment so you can focus on building your business.

Do I need to be a company in the United States?

No. Anyone can apply.

What stage of companies can apply?

We have accepted founders with just an idea to founders who've been working on their companies for 2+ years. We're often the founders' first investments.

We encourage companies in any sector to apply. We'll pair you with a mentor who can best help you.

What happens after I apply?

After you apply, we'll get back to you by April 5th. If you make the first cut, we'll set up a 30 minute Zoom interview before April 10th.

What is the interview like?

We'll have a 30-minute interview over Zoom the first week of April. We'll let you know by April 10th.

Have you done this before?

We've done two batches in-person in San Francisco. Most were funded afterward, including several by Y Combinator. This will be our first time running an online accelerator.

As a platform, Wefunder has funded ~$130 million into startups, all online.

What's the startup's obligation to Wefunder?

Nothing. We're doing this because we genuinely love helping founders. We're running this program now because this is the best we can be helpful during the crisis.

Do we have to crowdfund the $50,000?

No, we're investing directly from our Pandemic Fund. You'll get the $50K investment after you are accepted to our program.

You have an option to raise from our 450,000+ investors with a crowdfunding campaign and we'll help you with that if you'd like. If you do, those inevstors will be one entity on the cap table.

When is 'Demo Day'? How does it work?

When your company is ready, we can help you raise up to $1M online from Wefunder. We'll help craft your pitch to our 400,000+ investors on our platform. All investors are grouped into one entity on the cap table.

We'll charge a 0% fee to raise more money on Wefunder, if their business can save lives. We don't feel right profiting off a crisis.

Given the need for speed, we'll do this as soon as it makes sense for your business.

Can I be a mentor?

Absolutely! If you'd like to be involved, please email [email protected]

Can I invest in the fund?

Absolutely! Please email [email protected] The more money we raise, the more founders we can help.

I have more questions! Can I talk to a human?

Sure! Shoot an e-mail to [email protected], and we'll get back to you.

Application

Earlier applications have better odds, as we'll have more time to review them. You may always edit your application as you make more progress.

Application Deadline
April 3rd 2020
Results Delivered By
April 10th 2020
Program Starts
April 12th 2020

About Wefunder

We're like Kickstarter for investing. We've funded 1,336 companies with $598,392,947. Our companies have gone on to raise over $2 billion in venture capital.

We're a Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to keep the American dream alive. Our goal is to help 20,000 founders get off the ground by 2029.

Questions? Contact a friendly human at [email protected].

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