Dashfire Launch – FAQs

What criteria is being used to determine the finalists?
Submissions will be reviewed by a group of judges composed of the Dashfire team and their affiliates. The criteria used to judge each submission will be based on the following:

• Feasibility:
  • How well-developed is the concept? Is it a fully functional product, a completely thought-through concept with wireframes, or is it just an idea?
  • What level of early traction has your product or idea received? If you are pre-revenue and pre-product, what offline validation tests have you performed to prove that there is a customer need for your idea?
  • Have you identified the key customer problems and outlined a product or service that can realistically be developed and tested?

• Team:
  • Is the team dedicated to working on the idea full time?
  • Does the team have domain expertise that is applicable to the idea or do they have experience building something in the past?

• Innovation:
  • How unique and/or creative is the idea?
  • How disruptive is the concept to current methods and business models?

• Customer Acquisition:
  • Have you identified a unique and compelling way to acquire your first 10,000 customers?

Does my app, product or service have to be built in order to be considered?
No, we only require that you have performed some form of offline validation that validates the need for your idea.

What development capabilities will the winner receive?
Access to FarShore’s integrated team of software architects, web developers, mobile developers, UI designers, and testers.

Who owns the intellectual property that is developed over the summer?
You do.

If I am a part-time student, can I still apply?
Yes, however, we require that at least one member of the founding team (who is also a student at Kellogg or Booth) is able to spend 10 weeks working full time on launching the company and does not have any other job commitments.

Does everyone on my team have to be currently enrolled at either University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business or the Kellogg School of Management?
No, we only require that one member of the founding team be currently enrolled in one of the programs and that member is willing to dedicate 10 weeks over the summer to work full time on launching their company.

Do I have to spend the summer working in Chicago?
Yes, we require that at least one member of the founding team be working full time on their project out of Chicago so they can leverage their access to the community and sponsors to launch their product.

Can I apply if our company or founders are not from the USA? Can you help with Visa/immigration issues?
Yes. Anyone from anywhere can apply, and we have partnered with non-US companies in the past. You do have to be legally in the U.S. during the program.

I’m a single founder. Can I get accepted into Dashfire Launch, or do you only look for teams?
We accept single founders, however, we look for great, balanced teams who have a full range of skills. We strongly advise you to seek co-founders and/or interns who balance your skillset and can extend your capacity.

If I apply, I am worried about my intellectual property protection, will Dashfire sign a NDA? We are not in the business of starting companies internally and we will not show your application to anyone outside of Dashfire. We see hundreds of business pitches and run across many similar ideas. We don’t enter into NDAs during the pitch phase as it precludes us from evaluating other businesses that are even remotely related.  Once the winner has been selected, our documentation will provide you all NDA related protection (confidentiality, IP, etc.).

Does Dashfire take an equity stake in the selected startup?
Similar to our standard model, Dashfire receives a single-digit equity stake that is founders in nature and earned over time. For this program, we are adding an additional layer of strategic partnerships through our sponsors.

Have more questions? Please email Kelsey@dashfire.com with any inquiries that you may have.