Building a startup is hard. It takes an insane amount of effort to build the first product, hire the first engineer and land the first customer.
Why Surge
Early design choices can make or break a company. There’s the additional challenge of when and how to raise the next round. The early-stage fundraising process can be draining for founders who often go through pre-seed, seed and multiple bridges before getting to Series A.
Surge, an initiative by Sequoia India, is designed to help you clear these hurdles. So you can focus on building your business.
Founders who join Surge get access to the kind of capital, community, company building support and cross-border experience they need to launch or accelerate their company.
Surge, which takes place twice a year, is open to companies who are based in, or building for, the India and Southeast Asian markets. Each Surge wave includes 10 to 20 companies and runs for sixteen weeks.
WHAT SURGE OFFERS
Capital
Companies selected to join will get a ‘Surge’ round up to $3 million at the start of the program; this way, you can make hiring decisions and work on your product right away. You’ll then have the opportunity to raise more capital from a curated panel of investors at the close of the program. See “Funding and Terms” for details.
Community
You’ll be able to learn, grow and share the journey with fellow founders from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. You will also work closely with coaches from Sequoia, mentors from the global founder community and subject experts to make tangible progress towards building your startup.
Read more about the Surge community here.
Company building support
Participants will go through a program designed to accelerate the growth of early-stage companies that draws on Sequoia’s tribal knowledge of company building. Founders will also participate in experience-sharing sessions and workshops with domain experts in technology, marketing, legal, recruiting etc.
Curriculum
You’ll get immersed in a company building curriculum that draws on decades of Sequoia’s tribal knowledge. The program covers every facet that goes into building an enduring company – everything from mission and monetisation to pricing and product-market fit. And you’ll be mentored by legendary founders and practitioners from the frontlines of innovation in Silicon Valley, China, Southeast Asia and India.
How it Works
Surge is a 16 week program held virtually on one day each week. The program covers the fundamentals of company building, ends with an investor week called UpSurge, and comes packaged with a team from Sequoia helping you design, configure and grow your startup as you learn. Click here for the detailed program overview.
Funding & Terms
- Surge will invest up to $3 million of seed capital in all participating companies at the start of the program in the form of equity.
- At the end of the program, Surge will organize an investor week, designed to help you raise more capital from a curated set of investors. Terms will be set by investors participating in the round. For more information, see “What happens during UpSurge” in FAQs.