BootstrapLabs launch Silicon Valley FastTrack Partnership with HaxAsia, a Hardware 2.0 Accelerator in Singapore

San Francisco, April 3, 2014 – We are excited to announce that HaxAsia, a global Hardware 2.0 startup accelerator based in Singapore, is joining BootstrapLabs’ Silicon Valley Fast Track partner program. This means that BootstrapLabs and HaxAsia will jointly review and vet the Startups that go through HaxAsia’s program to find the ones that can be relocated and accelerated in Silicon Valley to build global companies.

“We’ve seen the explosion of successful crowdfunding launches recently, which brought to the world great products such as Oculus Rift and Pebble Watch,” said Slava Solonitsyn, Managing Partner of HaxAsia. “However, most of the hardware teams launching crowdfunding campaigns often fail to communicate their product ideas well, lack the distribution network and underestimate the manufacturing risks and costs. All these undermine the success of hardware startups and leads to overall disappointment when it comes to crowdfunding hardware products”.

The partnership between BootstrapLabs and HaxAsia means that companies going through HaxAsia’s program will have a strong bridge to get to Silicon Valley, and BootstrapLabs will help to select the companies best suited to do so. Once identified, BootstrapLabs will mentor and help these companies to more quickly become ready to go to Silicon Valley and possibly join BootstrapLabs’ Accelerator program in Silicon Valley.

“We are excited to work closely with HaxAsia and build future hardware 2.0 category leaders. The hardware renaissance movement is underway and many billion dollars markets are ripe for disruption”, said Ben Levy, Partner at BootstrapLabs.

Nicolai Wadstrom, Founder of BootstrapLabs added: “Beyond the experience of the partners involved, HaxAsia’s program leverages Singapore’s central location to tap into global talent, chinese manufacturing capabilities and Silicon Valley mojo, a philosophy very aligned to BootstrapLabs’ core mission.”

About HaxAsia

HaxAsia Pte. Ltd., is a new startup accelerator focused on Hardware 2.0 and Internet of Things. The program, sponsored and supported by Ruvento Ventures, Incuvest, BootstrapLabs, DI Group, SpinUp Partners and a few angels, will invest in 10 startups working on amazing consumer hardware products such as smart gadgets, wearables, drones and other connected hardware via a 180 day accelerator program to be held in Singapore, Silicon Valley and China. The program is specifically designed to avoid many of the pitfalls hardware startups struggle with, including sleek prototype vetted by industrial design partners, cost and delay of production confirmed with preferred manufacturers in China and support with crowdfunding preparation, marketing and PR.

The program is flexible in a sense that there is no deadline for the application, the only requirement is that startups need to launch their crowdfunding campaign within 6 months from receiving the accelerator’s funding. The team can get up to USD50K upfront from HaxAsia itself, and up to USD1M from HaxAsia backers, upon successful crowdfunding campaign. In order to qualify for the program, the teams need to demonstrate a functional prototype.

About BootstrapLabs Silicon Valley Fast Track

BootstrapLabs Silicon Valley Fast Track is a partner program for Incubators and Accelerators designed to jumpstart local startups and innovation eco-systems around the world through existing incubators and accelerators, and provide them with a Silicon Valley DNA, link and quick path for their startups with global potential to reach the world from Silicon Valley.