Filling our your PULSE@ MassChallenge application takes concentration, thought, and energy??with these tips, youll hopefully get a better idea of whats to come.
For its inaugural 2017 program, PULSE@ MassChallenge received over 430 applications worldwide from some revolutionary digital healthcare startups. Every application had a story behind it and each story was different in the way it was written and the experiences it exhibited.
One thing startups may have in common is what we call Application Anxiety. Application Anxiety is the point where you realize that the most time you have spent on the application is on questioning if youre ready to finally just click submit
You probably had one of those midnight calls with your co-founder overthinking a sentence, phrase or a quotation mark. There might have even been a point you questioned yourself Whats the chance well be chosen??
Realize the Wait is Real
After you submit the application you get nightmares of typos and missing punctuation. The anxiety continues and grows as you do the hardest thing, wait. It seems like a throwback to your college application process when you refreshed your email every hour of the day to check if the universe heard you. Dont worry, its normal. And just like the college application process, it is one of the many patience tests youll encounter as an entrepreneur.
Get the Feeling of Awesomeness
The day arrives (probably when you least expect it) and you finally receive an email??you made it to in-person matchmaking! Then its like a chain reaction of very excited faces as you share the news with your team and loved ones. Embracing the fact that you get to pitch in front of some of the best names in the industry (such as Vertex, AARP, Campbell Soup Company, and Shire) you decide to suit up and make it your best pitch ever!
Enter the Zone of Preparation
Schedules are cleared and full day team meetings make their way onto your calendar. There are meetings and practice elevator pitch sessions with people in your network and probably strangers during an UberPool ride. All coming down to that one day when you get to prove your credibility and perseverance as a digital healthcare entrepreneur.
Networking Game is on Point
There is a well known rule in business, it is not what you know, it is who you know. You are always on the lookout for a new opportunity and when it comes knocking on your door, put your best game on. During the Champion networking dinner, you give your quick pitch and begin to network with Champions and partners that could potentially become a huge asset to your company.
Events like these will help you as an entrepreneur to meet the Champions themselves and show your enthusiasm for the opportunity you have at hand. It also gives you a taste of the PULSE@ MassChallenge experience, which only makes you more nervous and excited.
Results Restlessness
After another anxious round of waiting decision day comes as the D-Day for you. These intense few weeks would have hopefully got you the result you were looking for. We bet that your reaction will be more like a long sigh of relief followed by high fives with the team and a night of ultimate beer pong. As the sun shines bright the next morning, youll wake up with the realization that you have gotten yourself into a five month-long digital health accelerator program.
Still on the fence? Weve got the answers you may have been asking yourself. Join us for an info session (either in person or virtually) on August 17th, 24th or 31st!
Interested in applying? Bring your digital health startup to the next level: masschallenge.org/apply
Early Bird Application Deadline: 9/15, 12pm ET
Regular Application Deadline: 10/10, 12pm ET