SaaS Spotlight: APJ
AWS SaaS Spotlight program is a 4 week program for early stage funded/unfunded startups across Asia-Pacific and Japan, to help accelerate their journey towards product-market-fit, avoiding pitfalls and following best practices. Startup founders get access to best-in-class business and technical knowledge and expertise from mentors, alongside being part of a like-minded community.
In partnership with
Benefits from Day One
*Startups must also qualify for the AWS Activate credit program.
Tailored mentorship
Learn from successful founders and top investors what works and what doesn’t work, as you traverse the 0-1 journey and seek the illusive product-market-fit, especially in the US market
Like-minded community
Join an exclusive virtual community to connect with and learn from fellow cohort members from across Asia-Pacific and Japan
Grow your business with AWS
Learn how to build, market and sell your offerings leveraging AWS Partner Network (APN) and AWS Marketplace
Credits to help you build and scale
Cohort participants may receive up to $25,000 in AWS Activate credits*
Exposure to Enterprises
Working backwards from needs of select Enterprises, AWS may connect you with relevant Enterprises keen to explore your solution
Technical deep-dives
Learn how to design a scalable, secure and resilient multi-tenant SaaS architecture, from best-in-class AWS engineers
Speakers
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Fast track your SaaS startup in 4 weeks
Accelerate your journey towards product-market-fit (PMF) - interact with successful entrepreneurs who have scaled their SaaS businesses from Pre-PMF to PMF and beyond, getting access to thought leadership around key aspects such as identifying Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), pricing strategies, cracking first few US customers, founder-led sales and beyond, role of technology, and more.
Application timeline
Application period:
Applications can be submitted via the Application Form link until midnight Indian Standard time (IST) on September 10, 2024
August 13 - September 10, 2024
Notification period:
Applicants will be notified via email of the status of their SaaS Spotlight Application on a rolling basis
September 4 - 13, 2024
Program Schedule
Virtual kick-off:
Virtual – What to expect in comings weeks and beyond
September 23 - 24, 2024
Virtual sessions:
Curated content delivered by top founders who have built and scaled multi-million-dollar revenue startups
September 23 – October 23, 2024
In-person local meetups/sessions:
In-person sessions and local networking events enabling meaningful learning and connections
September 23 – October 23, 2024
Frequently asked questions
The AWS SaaS Spotlight program is for early stage funded/unfunded startups across Asia-Pacific and Japan, to help accelerate their journey towards product-market-fit, avoiding pitfalls and following best practices. Get access to best-in-class knowledge and expertise around key aspects such as identifying Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), pricing strategies, cracking first few US customers, founder-led sales and beyond, role of technology, and more.
This program is designed for early stage startups headquartered in Australia, New Zealand, ASEAN countries (Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines), India, Korea and Japan. Startups should be trying to solve for product-market-fit, especially in the US market. Even growth stage startups who are expanding to the US market are welcome to join the program.
Interested startups should submit their application via the SaaS Spotlight APJ landing page during the application window, which is from 13 August to 10 September, 2024. All applicants will be notified of their status by 13 September. Applicants need to first register with make a ‘AWS Builder ID’ and then Apply to be part of the program.
The program is hybrid. Weeks 1-4 will include virtual learning sessions for the entire cohort. There will also be in-person optional events in key cities across the region for startups to attend. The sessions will also give ample opportunity to founders to interact with mentors and get answers to pressing questions/doubts.
Applications will be evaluated based on a number of factors including size and stage of the startup, traction, product and USP, amount of funding raised to date, and team composition.