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Mx Challenge

We are awarding a $500,000 prize to the team that can bring the most tech-companies from Mexico to open offices at Geekdom in San Antonio.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Closed
prize:
$500,000

This challenge is closed

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Summary
Timeline
Updates14
Forum22
Teams139
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Summary

Overview

Geekdom a collaborative coworking space in San Antonio, TX is pleased to announce the Mx Challenge, a competition that will award $500,000 USD to the competitor who leads 10 qualified Mexican startups to open an office using Geekdom’s platform in San Antonio in 18 months.

Each startup that the competitor brings to San Antonio must meet the following requirements:

  • The startup team must have at least three team members working on the startup and living in San Antonio from the moment the startup is established at Geekdom.
  • Each team member at the startup must have legally appropriate business visas (TN, E2, L1 or HB1).
  • The startup must be focused in technology.
  • The startup must have a validated and working product, with annual revenue more than $60,000 USD, or $5,000 monthly, or having received an early stage investment larger than $20,000 USD.
  • The startup must establish a US business legal entity incorporation.
  • The startup must provide proof of residency for each team member in San Antonio.

Points to consider:

  • Competitors must assume all costs and activities related to leading startups to establish themselves in San Antonio and at Geekdom.
  • Minimum eligibility for the prize requires proof of leading at least 10 tech startups from Mexico to establish themselves in San Antonio and at Geekdom during the 18 months of the Mx Challenge. Competitors who cannot provide proof of meeting this minimum threshold will not be considered for the prize.
  • The Mexican tech startups:
    • must prove that they were not in San Antonio before the Mx Challenge
    • show proof of residence at San Antonio and establishment at Geekdom
  • Valid cases of Mexican tech startups include:
    • a new startup starting from scratch at Geekdom
    • a developed tech startup expanding and opening an US branch at Geekdom
    • an undeveloped startup coming to San Antonio for acceleration or funding at Geekdom.

 

Challenge Calendar:

Registration and Progress Report Submission Deadline      March 2016
Challenge Deadline   Sept 2016

 

Judging Criteria:

The winner of the challenge will be determined by the following criteria, in order:

  1. Number of Qualifying Startups, beyond the minimum of 10 required for the competition
  2. Number of Employees, beyond the minimum of 3 per startup required for the competition
  3. Annual Revenue, beyond the $60,000 annual revenue required for the competition

The competitor with the most number of qualifying startups will win the competition. A qualifying startup meets all of the requirements outlined in the challenge guidelines.

In the event of a tie:

  1. If two or more competitors have the same number of qualifying startups, the competitor with the most number of total employees, across all qualifying startups, will win.
  2. If two or more competitors have the same number of qualifying startups and the same number of total employees, the competitor with the highest total annual revenue, across all qualifying startups, will win.

 

Submission Requirements:

  • Team must demonstrate proof of LLC registration in the US to include any “company” as part of their portfolio in this Challenge.
  • Team must demonstrate proof of visa for all companies in their portfolio in this Challenge. All visas must allow company employees to work and earn income in the United States. Proof may include, but is not limited to:
    • Copy of visa application for each company included in Team portfolio
    • Postmark of visa application to appropriate agency for each company included in Team portfolio
    • Receipt of visa application from appropriate agency for each company included in Team portfolio
    • Copy of obtained visa and relevant terms for all companies in Team portfolio that have secured a visa
  • Funded companies must be submitted with the following:
    • All requirements for those companies with Business Plan only
    • Term sheet for each investor
    • Deposit slips for each investor
  • Companies generating $60,000 annual revenue or more must submit the following:
    • Financial statements demonstrating $60,000 or more in revenue
    • No more than 3 pages detailing business activities
    • Bios for employees
    • Additional potential funding/investment
    • Plan to set up operations in San Antonio

If a competitor needs assistance on understanding the rules or meeting another contestants they can always send an email to Jesus Salas at Mxchallenge@geekdom.com

 

Timeline
Updates14

Challenge Updates

Visa Options for Foreign Entrepreneurs

May 5, 2014, 12:45 p.m. PDT by Jesus Salas

This Friday at Geekdom, Jeff Thomas, a registrant for the San Antonio MXChallenge, is holding an event to discuss Visa options for foreign entrepreneurs. He summarizes the event as such:

"This presentation will give specific information on visas and strategies that foreign nationals can use to enter the United States and start a business. U.S. immigration law does not favor foreign entrepreneurs, but does offer visas to certain foreign workers who want to build businesses in the United States. This presentation will give specific information about visas foreign nationals can use to enter the United States and start a business (H-1B, TN, L, E, and B visas). We will also discuss lawful permanent residence and proposed bills in Congress that may make it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to establish businesses in the United States."

The event will take place in San Antonio at Weston Centre, located downtown at 112 E Pecan St. RSVP here.


Jacobo Gonzalez of IJALTI

May 2, 2014, 11:54 a.m. PDT by Jesus Salas

Oh Monday, the Director of IJALTI paid a visit to Geekdom. IJALTI is The Instituto Jalisciense de Tecnologías de la Información. It oversees a project led by MIT Labs that addresses the need to renew the historic downtown of Guadalajara into a center of technologic innovation. Jacobo came to Geekdom to tour the space and see how San Antonio is working to attract companies and startups.


MUSEIC

April 11, 2014, 1:32 p.m. PDT by Jesus Salas

On April 23rd - 25th, MUSEIC, The Mexico United States Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council, will be taking place in San Antonio. 300 people from the US and Mexican governments will be gathering and working on programs to promote our unique geographical situation and cross-border advantages that come with it. 

The San Antonio Mx Challenge will have a booth at this council to promote the mission of the challenge and to increase awareness of it. This is an awesome opportunity right in our own backyard!


6 Datos que te van a cambiar la percepción que tienes de San Antonio, Tx.

April 2, 2014, noon PDT by Jesus Salas
  1. San Antonio es la septima ciudad más grande en los Estados Unidos
  2. San Antonio cuenta con más de un millón de empleos altamente capacitados
  3. San Antonio es una ciudad juvenil con 150,000 estudiantes en 15 universidades locales
  4. San Antonio fue clasificada por Forbes como la No. 1 en Texas en su lista de Mejores Lugares para Negocios y Profesionales y como una de las ciudades con mayor crecimiento en Estados Unidos
  5. San Antonio ocupo el 3er lugar como area mas popular para la nueva tecnologia en Estados Unidos, segun Forbes en el 2013.
  6. San Antonio es la ciudad No. 2 en la nación en verificación y seguridad de información, después de Washington, D.C.

 

Por Jesus Salas

 


Forum22
Teams139
FAQ