We receive hundreds of applications every cycle. Once all applications have been submitted, our internal management team reviews every application carefully (using a defined framework we have created) and selects the best applicants to be called in for a 30-60 minute interview. We go deeper into learning about the founders – who they are, why are they building a company, how well do they know their market, and what problem do they want to solve.

In this stage, we bring down the 100+ founding teams to about 20. We then require each of the selected teams to attend a 5-day bootcamp. This bootcamp is designed as an intensive workshop for each team to work on developing and testing their idea further and for us to better understand their business in more detail. It also serves as a very important filter for identifying founders who we believe have what it takes to “make it in the real world.”

By the end of the 5-day bootcamp, each team presents in front of the selection committee who then select the final teams to be accepted into the cycle. The selection committee is a diverse group of partners, industry experts, entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors all from our close network who come out with the final “go/no go” decision on each team.

This is where the selection process ends and we start the on-boarding process which includes signing term papers, company registration, legal agreements, and lightweight due diligence. We help handle this entire process for each selected team, making sure that every document is standard and extremely entrepreneur friendly. After this point, you are ready to begin operating as a fully-fledged incorporated business.

This is where the cycle begins and each team works restlessly over the next 4 months developing their core business model, building a prototype, and acquiring customers. During the cycle, each team has full and unlimited access to our overarching network of mentors, investors, consultants, experts, as well as well as the privilege to use our office space in Bahrain, network of mentors, consultants, investors, business education workshops, training sessions, perks program and more.

Demo Day is an invite-only event held at the end of every cycle, and is generally the first opportunity for investors to meet the promising startups. After 4 long months of sweat, tears, pivoting and acceleration, the teams are ready to pitch in a room full of accredited VC’s, angels, investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, partners, and the media.

After Demo Day, only the best companies move on to receive follow-on funding. Flat6Labs Bahrain staff helps teams secure funding by providing them with further assistance with their financials and linking them to more investors. Although teams can no longer work from our office after Demo Day, every startup remains part of the Flat6Labs Bahrain network with continuous access to our mentor network, support, perks, workshops and more.