1. ANTECEDENT

Parallel18 is a top-level, performance-driven international startup program with a social mission: offering entrepreneurs from all over the world access to high-quality business training, funding, and networks to help them scale globally while working to position Puerto Rico as a unique hub for innovative businesses and technology.

The program is part of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust, a private non-profit organization created with the goal of maximizing Puerto Rico’s participation and creation of jobs in the global knowledge economy by promoting investment and financing of science and technology research development. The organization manages and hosts over a dozen initiatives that range from grants and technical support to meetups and educational resources for researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, investors, and other groups.

Pre18 (hereinafter, also referred to as the “Program”), 0ur local pre-acceleration program focused on helping innovative, early-stage Puerto Rican startups that have global potential, to get to market. We are closing the funding and education gap that allows them to focus full-time on their new business and dream big.
‍

2. MAIN GOAL

The purpose of the Program is to help innovative, early-stage Puerto Rican startups that have global potential, to get to market by closing the funding and education gap that allows them to focus full-time on their new business and dream big. The final goal is for them to qualify to P18, our accelerator program, and grow in and beyond Puerto Rico. 

Specific Goals

• Play an active role and have a positive impact in the recovery and growth of Puerto Rico’s economy.
• Bridge the gap between funding and education to get these MVPs to market and then to the P18 acceleration experience.
• Enable as many Puerto Rican companies as possible to become P18 ready.
• Sustain the Program over a long period of time by remaining politically agnostic and showcasing the value that the Program brings to the island.
• Ensure buy-in from both the private sector and all areas of the government by showcasing success and furthering economic development.
• Encourage parallel18 corporate partners to engage in business development with startups to explore new opportunities for corporate innovation.
• Help fix some of the challenges that the Puerto Rican economy is currently faced with.
• Develop a creative and innovative vibe within the community that moves beyond technology and touches the arts, culture, food and wine, tourism and other interests.
• Further the growth of the local service economy.
• Position Puerto Rico on the map as an active member in the global startup ecosystem and as a center for innovation and entrepreneurship.

EXPECTED RESULTS

• Companies with high global potential developed and scaling from Puerto Rico.
• Partner directly with local organizations to help integrate the program and its participants into the local business and startup ecosystem.
• Increase the number of Puerto Rican companies that are thinking globally and scaling their businesses from Puerto Rico.
• Increase the number of Puerto Ricans going full time into entrepreneurship and launching startups with a global focus.
• Reduce the brain drain by presenting students and others with opportunities to develop their own business and/or intern and work for the new companies created through the program.
• Increase the repatriation efforts of the Puerto Rican diaspora by promoting opportunities for establishing their companies in Puerto Rico and/or employment with the new companies created through the program.
• Create positive global visibility by positioning Puerto Rico in the global media as a new innovation hub.
• Work towards inclusion in global innovation indexes.

4. PARTICIPANTS.

Startups that apply must be incorporated in Puerto Rico or the United States, when the Program commences. In the case that your company is not incorporated in any of these locations, the Program will support you in this process upon starting the Program. Only founders that own fifty percent (50%) or more of their startup may apply. The founder applying to the Program must be over eighteen (18) years of age, and the Program participants may not be more than three persons. Pre18 reserves the right to use its discretionary faculty to accept team members below the age of eighteen (18) as extraordinary situations may arise.

The following categories will be considered:

• Entity (only one)

The entity is the legal company duly specified in the application form behind the startup applying to the Program (hereinafter, also referred to as the “Project”). The entity needs to be incorporated in the United States or Puerto Rico as a Corp. or LLC company. In the case that the company does not have this legal structure, pre18 will assist you to create one during the beginning of the program.

• Team leader (only one)

The team leader, also known as the beneficiary, is a natural person, duly specified during the application form, that is an original founder of the startup and continues to be a C-level member directly involved in the company’s business strategy and decision making, who must act in name and representation of him or herself and of the executors as the person responsible before pre18. The person designated as the team leader must participate full-time in the program, during the entire period of the program, and be exclusively dedicated to the development of this project; likewise, the beneficiary will be the active and passive subject of all rights and obligations established in the Grant Agreement, including detailed reports on expenses and activities materialized by the beneficiary or third parties. The team leader must be a U.S. citizen and/or a legal resident of Puerto Rico.

• Team Member (max two)

Optionally, the participation of up to two natural persons who may form part of the founding team or are key members required to validate the company’s product and/or market, and who are duly specified during the application process, may be considered and are welcomed to join the program if they require to do so. Therefore if any additional team members will be joining, it is required to be in attendance for the entire Pre18 onboarding activities. If the team members that plan to participate in person in pre18 are not U.S. citizens, they must have the ability to apply for a visa to enter the U.S.

5. ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR FINANCING.

Those activities that enable the launch and scaling of companies with high global growth potential that use Puerto Rico as a platform to grow. Projects may not consist of consulting services, traditional export companies, or lifestyle businesses, as these are not considered to be highly scalable projects or with high growth potential.Therefore, projects must be at least: in a stage where there is a minimum viable product; or a functional prototype. Software companies must be ready to start selling at the beginning of the program, or if a hardware company, by the end of the program or earlier. Project must have one full time founder dedicated exclusively to the company that is able to execute if accepted to the Program. Finally, Project applying to the Program has been in operations for 3 years or less.

6. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.

The Program will include a variety of activities and/or events, which will be made available to participants of each project, and among which a distinction will be made between mandatory and optional activities.

Mandatory Activities.

During participation in the 3-month Program and during the term of execution of the project, the beneficiary must participate in the following mandatory activities:

a) Pre18 Onboarding: The Onboarding activities are mandatory for the team leader and all team members who will participate in the program at any time. The activities include:

1. Pre-program setting up company with local service providers as needed (local bank, company incorporation, legal, accounting, among others).
2. Pre-program required readings and preparation assignments
3. Program welcome orientation days
4. Peer presentation by the company to the incoming cohort
5. Finalizing the execution of the program Grant Agreement with in-person signing.
6. Initial assessment meeting: explanation of Program rules, establishment of clear milestones and KPIs of what the company aims to achieve for the next 1.5 months and 3 months that will be jointly tracked with Program, as well as projected use of funds provided by Program

b) Weekly follow up meeting: You will be required to meet with the Program staff to analyze weekly progress and strategic plans, in order to facilitate the accomplishments of the goals by providing access to the right resources.

c) Weekly submission feedback of mentor engagements: Beneficiary will be required to submit feedback after every mentor talk and after every meeting 1:1 with a mentor.

d) Midpoint evaluation: Beneficiary will meet with Program staff and provide a detailed update of their progress. Program  will use the information gathered from program staff and mentors to analyze in detail the progress of the company during the first 6 weeks of the Program. If the company does not meet Program standards for  progress compared with actual performance, the goals that they set at the beginning, or comply with required attendance, participation and engagement, the Program is entitled to put an early end to the project.

e) Parallel18 Eligibility Assessment: By the midpoint stage of the program you will be eligible to complete a P18 application through the YouNoodle platform, which will be used by the P18 team to assess the project’s readiness to be advanced to P18’s Final Selection for the cohort immediately following the pre18 program in which the project is participating.

g) Demo Day: Key public event to showcase accomplishments in the Program to local and foreign corporate partners, local investors as well as the local business community.

h) Exit Interview: Final meeting to close out the Program, discuss plans to continue growing and sustaining the company, and get feedback from the participants about the Program.

i) Other activities: within the pre18 Program that are designated as mandatory, (i.e., Mentor Talks, P18 Sessions, Pay It Forward activities and more) a circumstance that will be communicated in advance to the team leader.  

If the beneficiary does not participate in the activities and/ or events specified herein without previous authorization to be excused, the Program may evaluate putting an early end to the Project, depending on the reasons.

6.2 Optional Activities.

Optionally, the team leader or team member may participate in and/or carry out the following activities, unless these have been categorized as mandatory, as set out in the previous subsection:

1. Presentations, workshops, classes or other events organized by other Program participants.
2. Other activities related to the project and/or Program that were not described as mandatory.‍

7. CONTENTS OF THE PROJECT

7.1 The applications must contain at least the following:

1. Background documentation for each of the team members named in the project application, stating each person’s nationality, education, technical experience and work history. The achievements of each one of the participants must be evidenced.
2. Legal entity documentation: if you applied to the program with a company that was already created, you will be required to submit documentation in case you are selected.
3. The following identification documentation will be required for selected companies and members:

Puerto Rican participants: Official photocopy of national identification card, on both sides, and/or a simple photocopy of the page indicating the name, identification number and dates of granting and expiration of the ID. In both cases documents must be valid.

Foreign participants: Official photocopies of the page indicating the name, identification number and dates of granting and expiration of the passport

In the case where these documents listed above are in the process of validation, a copy of the document that proves this condition must be attached.

The program application will contain the following:

1. Dedication to the project from the participants.
2. Description of leadership history of who applies as a beneficiary.
3. The product and/or service to develop and/or commercialize.
4. Description of the competition and the project’s differentiation.
5. Stage or phase in which the project is at the moment of application.
6. Explain the reason why you think pre18 and being in Puerto Rico would help accomplish the milestones that you are aiming to achieve.
7. Short video explaining company, product phase, market readiness, team that will execute, and reasons for applying to pre18.

7.2. Additionally, the applications may contain the following:

1. Concerning the participants:

a. Motivation to develop the project.

b. Participation in organizations related to entrepreneurship and innovation.

c. Relationship with international networks to position Puerto Rico as an innovation hub.

d. Activities to promote interaction, networking and the transfer of knowledge skills and best practices to local entrepreneurs and their environment.

2. Concerning the project:

a. Commercialization and scalability strategy.

b. Entry and exit barriers.

c. Progress to date and plan during pre18, including utilization of initial grant disbursement.

d. Market challenge or opportunity addressed by the Project.

e. Target market and its size.

f. Market position.

g. Letters of recommendation (optional).

Incomplete applications will be deemed not submitted.

The Program duration is 12 weeks and will be understood to have begun on the date established by pre18 as orientation day. This date will be notified once the companies are selected.

9. THE FUNDS

The Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust will provide a grant, in other words, a transfer of money to the company's bank account for 20 thousand dollars (USD) delivered in various sets throughout the program, subject to the participant’s compliance with the terms and conditions set forth herein. All disbursed and used funds need to be properly declared by showing corporate bank statements, and in certain cases an invoice of the service or product acquired, or a contract/payroll stub in the case an individual hired or contracted, per the Program rules.

10. APPLICATION

10.1 Procedure

This program will be made available to interested parties in the form of application to a competition.

Communication about the opening of a call for applications will be conducted by means of a notice published in the program’s website and social media platforms, the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust’s website, and a public event open to the community.

10.2 Means of application.

Companies, along with the requested technical and economic documentation, may be entered solely through the electronic platform entry system available on the website www.parallel18.com or www.elboricuaselasinventa.com.

The accompanying documents must be text documents, spreadsheets or other files compatible with the system (such as doc, xls, jpg, pdf).

10.3 Limit of applications.

Each applicant, even if not designated as team lead, may only apply once with one project per application period. Therefore, every team member must be working in only one project per cohort. If a team member is part of various applications for different projects, Program may consider the Project and/or applicant invalid.

11. EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA.

There will be 3 Phases of the evaluation process:

• Screening Round
• Judging Round
• Interviews (if needed)
• Final Selection

11.1 Analysis of Pertinence or Relevance

The pre18 team will initially review all applications to determine if they meet the program’s basic criteria. Those that pass this Screening Round will advance to the Judging Round.

The Program will examine the extent of convergence of the project's objective with the guidelines and objectives of the Program, verifying the consideration of the level of readiness of the product or service, imminence of going to market, team dedication and fit, and the scalability of the project, among other factors. Likewise, compliance with the following requirements will be verified:

1. The team lead’s ability to dedicate full time to said project.
2. The team members’ ability or willingness of dedicating full time to said project.
3. That the project does not consist of a consulting firm, export and import company, lifestyle company, or is otherwise ineligible
4. Project applying to the Program has been in operations for 3 years or less.
5. The application contains the identification documentation for participants.
6. The team lead’s proof of US citizenship or  Puerto Rico residency.

As a result of this analysis, the parallel18 team will classify, on a justified basis, the relevance or irrelevance of the projects. If a declaration of "Not Relevant” is declared, the project will not continue in the evaluation process, with this decision communicated to the applicant within a period not exceeding 20 days, counted from the closing of the application period.

11.2 Judging Round:

The Program, with support from YouNoodle, will facilitate a panel of international experts, composed of P18 alumni and other parallel18 collaborators, to evaluate the applications, giving them a score of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the minimum score and 5 the maximum score) on the following evaluation criteria:

• Product or Service (25%)
• Market and Competitive Positioning (25%)
• Team Mix, Qualification & Experience (25%)
• Team Focus and Dedication (15%)
• Impact in Puerto Rico (10%)

11.3 Product or Service (25%)

A critical aspect of evaluating the project is how differentiated and innovative their product or service is. Given pre18is an earlier stage accelerator, the product requirements are that software companies need to have a minimum viable product (MVP) by the start of the program and hardware companies need to have a functional prototype by the end of the program or earlier.

• How creative, interesting and engaging do you find their pitch?
• Is the business opportunity unique and innovative? Is it tackling a real need?
• What’s new/revolutionary about what they are doing? How will they add value?
• What is their competitive advantage?
• Is the product and technology presented feasible?
• Is the product validated or able to be validated during the Program?

11.4 Market and Competitive Positioning (25%)

All submissions should target a global market and also be clearly differentiated from competitors. Projects may be rejected if they are only considering one sole market.

• Is this startup’s market share likely to be large? Can this venture achieve a leadership position in its market?
• Does the team have a realistic plan on who the first customer(s) will be?
• Does this team understand who the present and future competitors are?
• Has the team articulated a clear competitive advantage – exclusive intellectual property, first mover advantage, network effect, etc.?
• Would their customers choose to work with them rather than with their competitors?
• Is the market validated or able to be validated during the Program?

11.6 Team Mix, Qualification & Experience (25%)

The entrepreneurs and teams that we are seeking should be both accomplished and respected individuals along with having a strong and cohesive team and experience in the industry they are addressing.

• Do they have valuable and transferable skills? Notable life experiences? Impressive accomplishments?
• If there is a team, how coherent is the team? Do they demonstrate complementary skill sets and dedication to each other and the project?
• If there is not a team in place yet, does the team lead understand the roles and profiles he needs to incorporate into the team in order to execute successfully? How willing is the team lead to bring qualified team members during the Program to execute the project?
• Is this the right team for this project?
• Do the team lead and team members(if applicable) have the proper capabilities and skill sets to develop the project as proposed?

11.7 Team Focus and Dedication (15%)

The entrepreneurs and teams must be fully dedicated to their business and not using the pre18 program simply as an opportunity to receive funding. Given the early stage nature of the participating projects, it is acceptable if founders have been working part time on the project prior to the application, as long as at least one founder is able to commit to working full time on the startup during the pre-acceleration program.

• Do they demonstrate dedication, focus and resilience?
• Do they demonstrate a clear plan to continue growing and sustaining the project beyond the pre18 program period?
• Does the team lead demonstrate a willingness to continue being full time after the Program period?
• How willing are the team members, if they are already in place, to be full time during and after the Program period to continue growing and sustaining the company?

11.8 Impact in Puerto Rico (10%)

We want to make sure that this team is going to be an impactful member of the emerging startup community in Puerto Rico.

• Will this team take advantage of the opportunity of the Puerto Rican innovation and business ecosystem and the island’s location as a jumping off point to scale globally?
• Does this company represent the creation of a new industry or the strengthening/modernization of an existing industry that has strategic value for Puerto Rico and makes the island more competitive globally?
• Will this team be an active and valuable member of the Puerto Rican startup ecosystem, donating their skills and startup spirit productively?

11.9 Interview Round:

During the evaluation period, an in-person interview or additional information may be requested if needed to clarify questions from the evaluators, including potentially demonstrating updated progress for the service or product proposed by Project.

11.10 Final Selection: A local selection board composed of experienced members will make the decision to select up to 40 final companies for the Program.

12. DECISION

Once the evaluation is concluded, the program will have 3 business days to inform the applicants about the final decision and extend an offer to join the Program.

13. COMPANY ACCEPTANCE

Upon the company’s acceptance of the offer to join Program, which includes acknowledgement and full acceptance of Grant Agreement including Program terms and conditions, the process of Onboarding begins, which requires the execution of tasks by both the team leader of the company and by the Program.

14. DELIVERY OF GRANT

14.1 Mode of Delivery

After the execution of the contract between the U.S. entity and pre18, the total amount of the funds will be delivered in various sets throughout the program, the first set being at the beginning of the program for $10,000. The grant can only be deposited in a Puerto Rico based corporate bank account.

14.2 Conditions for delivery of the grant.

The conditions for Program to deliver the grant shall be as follows:

1. Delivery of the original documentation that declares the participants’ legal status as an individual and as a company.
2. Sign the pre18 Grant Agreement in a satisfactory manner.
3. Successfully comply with the required criteria for the midpoint evaluation.
4. Maintain good standing status throughout the program duration.

Pre18 reserves the right to verify that the technical and legal information declared is valid and, in the event that any serious unconformity is found, in addition to suspending the delivery of the grant or early termination of the project, it will, if applicable, prosecute civil complaints or report criminal activities to authorities against the possible configuration of any actionable actions under Puerto Rico and federal law.

14.3 Suspension of payments

Continuity in the delivery of funds shall be subject to the evaluation made by Program of the project’s progress and to budgetary availability of funds.

Pre18, at its sole discretion, may suspend delivery of funds and dismiss a company from the Program during the Onboarding period or at the beginning of the program if the startup makes significant changes in the project, business model and/or founding team from those stated in the application, specifically if it fundamentally changes the company’s ability to scale and/or use Puerto Rico as a platform to grow, so that it is no longer aligned with Program’s pre-acceleration experience.

Pre18 may suspend payments temporarily or permanently if it finds that the project is not being carried out in a satisfactory manner or that the beneficiary has failed to fulfill his or her obligations in whole or in part. In these cases, Program shall impose the measures it deems appropriate to correct the deficiencies detected, or to terminate the project early. If the project is terminated early, the recipient must repay the entire grant received as of the date in which pre18 informed the early termination of the project through a written notice.

Additionally, prior to finalizing the process of putting an early end to the project, pre18 may order the team to refrain from making further expenditures from the delivered grant. In this case, it may accept expenses associated with activities undertaken up to the date of communication of said order.

Pre18 shall provide due notice to the project once suspension of payments and of expenses has been chosen as the course of action.

14.4 Accounts and Expenses Eligible for Financing

Costs associated with development of the project may be included in the following accounts:

1. Human Resources: Includes the salaries or fees of technical and/or professional key personnel directly associated with project activities who are legally authorized to work in the United States of America, including the entrepreneurial salary that participants may receive in accordance with what is specified in the legislation in force.
2. Operating Expenses: Direct spending associated with project execution, such as: product development costs, market research and validation expenses, visits to potential clients and / or providers, activities relating to the promotion and publicizing of the product / service, internet services, and other directly relevant activities approved by Program.
3. Capital Expenses: Refers to the purchase of durable goods (property, plant and equipment assets) necessary for the implementation and achievement of the expected results of the project approved by Program.

Proposed expenses must be consulted and approved by Program for funds disbursement.

14.5 Expenses Not Eligible for Financing

With the funds provided by Pre18 for the project, the following items are not eligible for financing:

1. Salaries for personnel that are not legally authorized to work in the United States of America.
2. Investments in capital markets, such as buying shares, time deposits in domestic or foreign currency, mutual funds, debts (principal plus interest) or dividends.
3. Taxes recoverable by the beneficiary, taking into account its legal status and applicable tax rules.
4. Acquisition of properties not related to the execution of the Project.
5. Airfare for persons not directly involved in the Project.
6. Alcohol purchases.
7. Leisure activity expenses.
8. Any other expenses not directly related to the Project.

14.6 Account Reporting

For purposes of account reporting, a pecuniary or cash contribution will be defined as the expenditure of funds due to project execution. In other words, the use of pre-existing facilities, infrastructure, or human resources of the contributor do not correspond to this concept.

Expenditures charged to pre18’s grant must be reported based on actual costs, at the price actually paid, duly supported with reliable documents that verify the amount.

Notwithstanding the latter, pre18 will verify that the amount claimed as a contribution to the project is consistent with the objectives and activities reported.

Expenses incurred in the name of the beneficiary and executors (other participants) that are designated in the application will be accepted. Costs of a Limited Liability Company or a Corporation whose owner is the beneficiary, or of a company in which the beneficiary has a shareholding of at least 30% (thirty percent), will be accepted, as long as said company:

1. Is legally incorporated in Puerto Rico or in Delaware with authorization to do business in Puerto Rico, and
2. Does not present initiation of activities related to the project for a period exceeding 5 months prior to the date of application to the Program.

These circumstances will be verified by pre18, for which purpose the beneficiary must submit, within 10 days prior to the first expenditure expected to be paid by the company or partnership, the following documents:

1. Simple photocopy of the articles of incorporation and amendments thereto.
2. Certificate of good standing issued by the competent authority, which must be no more than 90 days old on the date of filing.

14.7 Prepaid Expenses

Expenses incurred in the execution of the project from the date of communication of the approval decision may be accepted, as applicable, at the risk of the beneficiary. Therefore, the lack of formalization of the Grant Agreement will not result in either compensation or reimbursement.

14.8 Monitoring and Reporting

Pre18 holds the authority to track the activities of the beneficiary, of the other participants and of third parties hired, without any prior notice. To this end, in the case of hiring activities with third parties, the power of monitoring and control shall be recorded in the contracts entered into by the beneficiary with such entities, with the beneficiary being responsible for breach of its obligations in the event of omission, and if difficulties arise from it for conducting the monitoring duties detailed above. Nevertheless, pre18 does not assume co-management or co-execution of the project, with project execution remaining the sole responsibility of the beneficiary.

The beneficiary must comply with the calendar of monitoring meetings provided by his or her startup executive, and with the delivery of reports in accordance with Program requirements. These reports shall contain at least the identification of the activities implemented and results obtained.

As per the Grant Agreement, the beneficiary is responsible for the delivery of a final use of funds and expenses report made within 2 weeks after the expiration date of the term for project execution. This term may be extended at the request of the beneficiary and subject to the approval of Program.

Notwithstanding the latter and in accordance with the nature of the project, the Grant Agreement may provide for the delivery of progress reports, the number and timing of which will be determined by pre18 taking into account the characteristics of the project, the activities of the latter, the results and Program’s own budget availability.

The number and timing of progress reports may be modified by pre18, upon a founded request by the beneficiary, or of its own accord, before the deadline has passed for said delivery.

Pre18 may request extraordinary progress reports for the periods determined in light of monitoring of project activities, with no amendment of the Grant Agreement being necessary in this case.

Pre18 shall approve or provide comments to the progress reports and extraordinary reports within a term of 14 days after material reception of these, or from the date of the on-site review, as applicable.

In response to a request by pre18 for documentation, modification or supplementation of reports, the Beneficiary must comply with such a request within the 3 days of the request.

Reports that do not contain all the information requested or do not attach all supporting records that are required for both technical and financial analysis, or that do not attach a legible copy of these, shall be construed as not filed. Pre18 shall notify the Beneficiary within a period of 20 days from receipt of the report, establishing a term not exceeding 5 days from receipt of the notification for the Beneficiary to complete the submission of the report.

15. EARLY TERMINATION

Without prejudice to the other grounds for early termination set forth in these requirements, pre18 may adopt such a decision in the following cases, applying the sanctions detailed below:

15.1 Early termination of the project for reasons not attributable to the beneficiary

Pre18 may impose an early end to the project on its own initiative or at the request of the team leader in the following situations:

• Failure to achieve critical results or continuity milestones established by pre18 and/or the beneficiary, for reasons not attributable to the lack of diligence of the beneficiary, duly qualified by pre18.
• Having become convinced that the project will not achieve the expected results, that it cannot be executed within reasonable parameters, for reasons not attributable to the lack of diligence of the beneficiary, duly qualified by pre18.
• Other causes not attributable to the team leader’s lack of diligence in carrying out the activities related to the project and/or to the team leader’s participation in the Program, duly qualified by pre18.

If requested by the beneficiary and accepted by pre18, it shall be understood that the project has been finished early, from the date of the request.

The beneficiary must deliver a final use of funds report, within a reasonable period to be set out in the notification of early termination, which shall not exceed 30 days from the complete processing of the same. The beneficiary shall return the balance from the grant that has not been justified as actual and eligible company expenses, and shall renounce all balances that have not been paid by Program.

15.2 Early termination of the project by deed or act attributable to the beneficiary

Pre18 may put an early end to the project if the beneficiary fails to comply through negligence or lacks due diligence of his or her obligations. The following situations may constitute breach of the contract:

• Denial or hindrance of project monitoring.
• Negligence in performing financial and technical control activities.
• Failure to notify pre18 in a timely manner about the impossibility of paying the contributions for which they and/ or the other participants are responsible.
• Finding out during the Onboarding period or at the beginning of the program that the company has made significant changes in the project, business model and/or founding team from those stated in the application that fundamentally change the company’s ability to succeed, scale and/or use Puerto Rico as a platform to grow, so that it is no longer aligned with Program’s pre-acceleration experience.
• Serious discrepancy between the declared technical and / or legal information and real information.
• Non-compliance with critical results or continuity milestones established in the project, for reasons attributable to the lack of diligence by the beneficiary, duly qualified by the pre18.
• Having become convinced that the project will not achieve the expected results, that it cannot be executed within reasonable parameters, or that the beneficiary will not be able to pay the contribution that is his or her responsibility, for reasons attributable to a lack of diligence by the beneficiary, duly qualified by pre18.
• In the reports of financial accountability:

• Duplication in the reporting of proof of expenditures.
• Simulation of acts or contracts.
• Valuation of costs above the market value.
• False or altered accounting documents (such as invoices, bills, credit or debit notes)

• Failure to maintain good standing status throughout the program duration.
• Other reasons attributable to the beneficiary's lack of diligence in carrying out their activities related to the project and/ or to the beneficiary’s participation in the Program, duly qualified by pre18.

In this case, the recipient must repay the entire grant received, expressed in the date for which pre18 informed the early termination of the project through a written notice. The refund will be made within 15 days of the notice of early termination to the beneficiary. Pre18 shall make effective the guarantee deposit constituted only if the beneficiary does not make restitution within the agreed-upon deadline.

16. WARRANTIES

The participants warrant and represent to pre18 as follows:

• The participants shall not violate any intellectual property rights, confidentiality, right of privacy or other right of any person or entity whomsoever.
• The participants represent that the information provided by them to pre18 during the application and contracting phases is accurate and complete. Each participant understands that in the event he or she has failed to disclose any relevant information which may have impacted pre18’s decision to select and award the grant to their project, or has provided false information, pre18 will be entitled to rescind the contract with immediate effect, in addition to any other remedies which pre18 and the Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust may have by contract or by law.
  
  

17. LEGAL STATUS

The participants shall be considered as having the legal status of an independent partner vis-à-vis pre18, and nothing contained in or relating to their grant shall be construed as establishing or creating an employer/employee relationship with pre18.

Pre18 shall not be responsible for any loss, accident, damage or injury suffered by the participants, arising during or as a result of the grant, including travel, whether sustained on pre18’s premises or not.

18. NO WAIVER

The waiver by either pre18 or any participant of any provision or breach of these terms and conditions and, if selected, contract shall not prevent subsequent enforcement of such provision or excuse further breaches.

19. LIABILITY

The participants hereby indemnify and hold pre18 harmless from and against the full amount of any and all claims and liabilities, including legal fees and costs, which are or may be made, filed or assessed against pre18 at any time and based on, or arising out of, breach by the participants of any of its representations or warranties under these terms and conditions and, if selected, contract, regardless of whether such representations and warranties are explicitly incorporated here in or are referred to in any attached Appendices.

20. ASSIGNMENT

The participants shall not assign, transfer, pledge or make any other disposition of the Contract or any part thereof, or any of their rights, claims or obligations under the Contract except with the prior written consent of pre18.

21. QUESTIONS OR CONSULTATIONS

Questions may be addressed in English or Spanish to the following e-mail address: cobi@parallel18.com.