InternetCo Investments, the company that controls Brazilian e-commerce gate OneClick, has started an InternetCo Garage program to create venture capital for start-ups.
In just six months the Brazilian Internet investment pioneer has received almost 1,000 business plans from young .com and .com.br entrepreneurs for the selection process at InternetCo.
InternetCo partners were surprised by the turnout. The group had launched the Garage to speed up and extend the number of companies invested, opening
opportunities for partnerships with other national and international,
institutional and private investors.
To simplify the process, InternetCo created a test with an average of more than 40 candidates for each of the places
available, and selected the best businesses offered. Now those businesses
will be “parked” in the Garage, where they’ll have the opportunity of being
analyzed by other partner investors qualified by InternetCo, which is a
co-investor. Any investor interested in the system can enroll in the Garage.
Portuguese versions of the Garage and InternetCo’s selected business plans are
already available online, and the English version are expected to become available in December.
The Garage also relies on value-added partners, from software, computers and
legal support companies to auditing and accounting companies. The investors
pay a fee to be allowed in the restricted area, where the companies find the
business briefings. InternetCo supports the negotiations for the selected enterpreneurs.
InternetCo also plans to launch the service as an independent unit beginning
in January, together with the complete English version of the site. Without disclosing the name chosen for this new service, the company says
this service will create a central environment for entrepreneurs and
investors.