SqP2012 Shuffles and Challenge - Entrepreneurs Carry On Against All Odds

“A workshop in the dark! Priceless. This is the spirit =)”

Nader Dagher, SqP2012 semi-finalist

It’s easy to become part of the cynical choir when living in Lebanon. With power cuts, political stagnation and chronic instability, the Lebanese can be forgiven for not expressing optimism and getting excited about living in the country.

But not at Seeqnce.

Having gathered over 400 entrepreneurs from 30 different countries, Seeqnce spent the months of June and July taking them through the various rounds of the 2012 Seeqnce Accelerator Program (SqP2012).

Applicants have been tested individually, have rotated around multiple teams to better interact with potential partners, and have received advisory from Seeqnce about business ideas, team dynamics, legal matters and investment fundamentals.

“@Seeqnce @mouch2000 all the legal crap we should know!! That was kind of fun thx”

Carl Halal, SqP2012 semi-finalist

After the Seeqnce Shuffles round ended, the 16 most promising semi-finalist teams formed, each having design, technology and business talent within it that’s fully committed to building the next big startup success story.

With the August 25 Finale event in sight, where 8 winning teams will be announced and will win over $75K in investment and acceleration services, the semi-finalists are busy getting ready. Indeed, they will undergo the Seeqnce Challenge, a combination of weeknight workshops and 48-hour week-end hackathon to build a prototype of their business idea.

The week-end hackathon is a 48-hour continuous event, the aim of which is to assess their ability to deliver – and pitch – a working prototype of their business idea in a very short amount of time.

This class of entrepreneurs is working in one of the world’s toughest Accelerator competitions and represents some truly amazing ideas. The winning teams will spend 6 months building innovative startups of global caliber, ranging from e-commerce to gaming to social, mobile and more.

For such driven individuals, things such as electricity shortages are merely obstacles to blast through.

“Every semi-finalist was vetted over weeks of testing. Now imagine SIX MONTHS surrounded by such smart people… That’s what an ecosystem is all about”

Fadi Bizri

Seeqnce Program Director