Hey friends,

It’s been a while since my last email. I’m currently on parental leave with twins. (I went from a scrawny kid myself to a dad of 3 boys, can ya believe that?!!)

However, wanted to quickly send you a note about an exciting development.

TL;DR: I’m thrilled to share that we’re running another cohort for AI founders at Paddle and applications are open now.

Some of you who follow me on Twitter have witnessed what a blast the recent cohort has been. Although Slack is our main digital channel, I tried my best to “build that community in public” as much as I could via tweets and Linkedin posts.

Including that epic Demo Day we hosted in July at the end of our last cohort which had hundreds of people join and watched 10 incredible AI startups from the cohort pitch live to investors and press and win $20k cash prize. [Here’s a feature on Yahoo Finance about it!]

Now, we’re ready for another epic cohort for the 2nd half of 2024.

But wait, let me give you a bit of a no-background:

What’s AI Launchpad?

A world-class accelerator program (by Paddle) that’s hyper focussed on founders building in the AI space. You can apply whether or not if you are a customer of ours. Our goal is to empower ambitious founders globally to: Build. Innovate. Scale.

Overview:

→ 6 weeks cohort.

→ 75 AI founders.

→ Global Demo Day and $20,000 cash prize for a top startup

Wondering if it costs you anything? No. We don’t take any cash or equity from you for the program. The spots are limited so you have to apply to get in. Apply here.

Why should you care? What’s in it for you?

After 2 successful cohorts and nearly 200 startups, we’ve iterated the format to deliver EVEN MORE value to founders.

You’ll get:

• Expert mentorship:  Participants will have access to mentorship and live masterclasses from top software industry leaders, providing invaluable guidance and insights.  (Think legends like Christian Owens (founder of Paddle), Patrick Campbell (Profitwell), Alex Theuma (Saastock))

• Cash Prize:  The program will culminate with a cash prize of $20,000 for the best offering, as judged by a panel of experts, to help accelerate the development and market reach of the winning startup.

• Additional benefits from partners:  Participants can receive up to $25,000 in AWS credits and $350,000 in Google Cloud credits and access to dedicated AI training and resources.

Outcomes we helped created through the program:

We’re super proud of our AI founders who are paragons of ambition blended with humility and spirit of service to each other. Some of our (many) alumni wins include:

→ An AI startup that achieved 325% MRR growth

→ An AI startup that witnessed 82% improvement in web traffic

→ An open source AI startup that surpassed 10,000 GitHub stars

→ An AI startup that reached #2 spot on their debut Product Hunt launch

And many other tangible and intangible wins .. all in the accelerated timeline of 6 weeks and the Demo Day

Social proof:

Don’t take my word. Talk to any of these incredible and helpful alumni and you’ll learn about the value and design of the program

@arvidkahl @thisissukh_@zain_hoda @shashank_spc @cameronnapoli @shreya_gr

Here’s what Zain who won the $20k Demo Day prize said about the program:

"The Paddle AI Launchpad was instrumental in shaping Vanna's growth strategy. The Masterclasses in the program provided invaluable insights into critical areas like pricing strategy, marketing approaches, and defining our value metrics. Meanwhile, the community created a collaborative environment where we could exchange ideas and receive direct feedback on everything from pitch decks to pricing pages and marketing copy. This comprehensive support has been crucial in refining our business model and go-to-market strategy. I'm very grateful to Paddle for having us as part of this year's AI Launchpad and Demo Day, and extremely proud to have been awarded this year's prize."

And the indie hacker legend Arvid Kahl had to say:

"Come because of the tech, stay for the people. Paddle accomplished something magical with the AI Launchpad cohort: they assembled a group of founders who collaborated and inspired each other while building competing AI products. I learned so much about leadership, setting goals, and product experimentation — lessons that immediately impacted Podscan and its trajectory."
- Arvid Kahl, founder, Podscan 

Finally, to me the real magic has been witnessing the growth of this super supportive founder-centric environment .. which is something I wish I had when I was a founder.

I’m thrilled for this new cohort and I’ll be back from my parental leave to run it in October.

Applications for the AI Launchpad opened recently and will close on 22nd September 2024, with the program beginning in October.

Apply here ASAP: (to ensure your spot) http://paddle.com/ai-launchpad

Thank you for reading and let me know if I can help answer any questions!