DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) have launched the SCF Startup Camp, a 5-day virtual and global bootcamp.

“We are excited to see the teams and innovations that come through our next bootcamp with the Stellar Development Foundation! We've seen that the Stellar ecosystem supports its companies like almost none other in the crypto space and we are glad to be partners and members of this vibrant community of innovators,” said Jake Kendall, Founder and Managing Director of DFS Lab

Building on the success of previous iterations, the bootcamp will now be held every quarter as part of the Stellar Community Fund, supporting up to 40 teams building on Stellar and Soroban, Stellar’s new native smart contracts platform.

Leveraging a version of the design sprint process developed by Google Ventures, the bootcamp provides an opportunity for developer teams and startups to quickly validate their product ideas and develop user-validated prototypes.

The first SCF Startup Camp will take place in Q2 2023 from April 17 to 21 and will accommodate participants from all over the world on the SCF Discord in three major time zones. During the bootcamp, mentors from both organizations and the larger Stellar community will offer exclusive guidance and advice to participating teams.

After the bootcamp, ~10 finalists will be chosen by a jury of members from DFS Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation to participate in the Investor Demo Day on April 26. Here, investors and representatives from VCs, accelerators, and incubators will attend the finalists’ pitches. The top 3 finalists selected by the jury will receive prizes totaling $30,000 worth of XLM*.

But the support doesn’t end there: all participants are encouraged to submit their project for SCF Awards to receive up to $150,000 worth of XLM* to support the development of their newly created MVP.

“The SCF Startup Camp provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to quickly validate — and begin to realize — their visions. Through this bootcamp, we hope to foster the development of innovative projects, build a strong Soroban ecosystem, and cultivate a vibrant community of entrepreneurs,” commented Justin Rice, VP of Ecosystem at the Stellar Development Foundation.