Keywords: incubations, knowledge sharing, marketing, startups

Main users: Resident companies or institutions

It is a 16 week long mentoring-capacity building programme comprising of 4 stages 1) Preparation Stage (4 weeks) Participant companies receive intensive private mentoring by a RMInnosphere mentor, in Ankara. This covers basics on their business plans, product(s), intended marketing strategy and revenue model, customer analysis and presentation skills. Each company receives over 40 hours of mentoring before they attain stage 2. 2) Initialization Stage- 1st US Trip (1 week) Participants travel to RMInnosphere headquarters in Colorado, US to get their first exposure to the US climate. They present their companies to local investors and sector representatives and they receive their first feedback. This is an essential component for Stage 3. 3) Intensive Care Stage (10 weeks) According to the feedback of Stage 2, companies work intensively to complete and in some cases change their business plans. These changes can vary from a minor revenue model change to a major and painful change such as a completely different clientele. Through this stage, RMI not only sends a second mentor to Ankara to help companies prepare for Stage 4, but also, continues to work as their overseas agent and provides them with markets analyses, sector specific information, a list of important decision, making people they should meet and starts preparing meeting schedules for each company. 4) Finals- 2nd US Trip (1 week) Participants travel to US for the second time, this time prepared to pitch professionally. They get into other administrational details, such as procedures regarding opening branches and hiring employees. Each company meets with at least 8-10 industry representatives in private sessions arranged for them. They also attend a multinational event (in 2015 this was Chicago TECHWEEK) to present and join with the rest of the US IT market representatives.

To improve the international marketing capacities of the companies, help them improve their plans, help them penetrate the US Market, introduce them to US Business Angels and investment society, align strengths according to the market needs, learn how to pivot market plans, get accustomed to local requirements, get a better global perspective for their products, and create a long term overseas vision. Most Turkish SMEs start their journey with a limited domestic vision, thanks to the quite sizeable domestic market. The way they grow in the next 3-5 years naturally follow this limited route. In the end, when ""growing internationally"" becomes an item on their strategic agenda, certain needs emerge. First and foremost, they realize that they need strategic local partners to carry them over to their local markets. Local accelerators/incubators are the best fit for this role. CAP is a joint collaboration of Bilkent Cyberpark (TURKEY) and RMInnosphere (Colorado,US) with this purpose. Throughout the duration of CAP (which is 16 weeks) , RMInnosphere provided the participants with extensive 1on1 mentoring in how to make their business plans complete how to perfectionize a ""pitch"", how to create a correct business value proposition analtyics of their financials and revenue models. the specific industry standards and practises for their individual products and how to get them (FDA approvals etc.) Later on, during the actual US visits, (twice 1 week long meetings) participants attended ""Pitch Academy"" met with local Business Angels, Investors received advanced training on IPR legislations Learned how to crank their numbers according to their improved business plans Met with sector specific, potential buyers (in total close to 30 meetings were arranged for them) Attended Chicago TECHWEEK where entire US IT sector meets (in fact, 3 companies were semifinalists to pitch)

The first ever ""truly personalised"" mentoring programme specified for IT companies where each company receives 1-on-1 mentoring and receive personalised assistance from the US partner ""rocky mountain innosphere"" in business development and market penetration. No SME in Turkey has ever received such a ""wholesome"" assistance package for entering the US Market. RMInnosphere, reserves its entire business assistance crew for CAP participants over a period of 4 months and practically acts as their business development agent in the U.S. Companies .

CAP covered 7 ICT companies in 2015. All 7 have never been exposed to the US market prior to the programme. All 7 had working prototypes, some had exported before. All 7 had sales pitching experience before. Yet, after CAP, everyone of these 7 companies indicate that they had never received such helpful mentoring before.

SMEs in the ICT sector that are at their growth stage

Bilkent CYBERPARK is the owner of the programme in partnership with RMInnosphere.