Applying to the Lightning Incubator
Applications to the incubation program are now live. Applicants can submit proposals on our website.
To aid candidates in the application process, we have curated a submission composition guide and provided helpful evaluation tips. The following section is for applicants, or project founders, who wish to join the Lightning Incubator. Please read through this information carefully before applying.
How to apply to the Lightning Incubator
Candidates must compose applications correctly to qualify for the Lightning Incubator. All mandatory fields are marked with an *; the remaining fields are optional. Applicants are encouraged to deliver a thorough yet concise project pitch. We are searching for imaginative founders with inventive, contrarian ideas and a strong vision. Essentially, we hope to see ideas that sound outlandish but are actually brilliant.
There are no right or wrong answers, so please be honest in your responses.
We are considering projects at every stage, so it doesn’t matter if you have a community and are close to launching or still in the idea stage.
The Lightning Incubator expects to review hundreds of submissions, so applicants should ensure their proposals stand out. Applicants should state a clear and concise purpose in the first sentence, using the simplest terms possible.
Evaluators first review the Project Description to judge and vet applications. It is not the most important metric, but it allows judges to streamline the review process.
The best responses are the most matter-of-fact. Do not saturate proposals with marketing jargon or colourful adjectives to make them sound exciting. To us, it’s just noise. An example of an undesirable response would be,
We are going to transform the relationship between individuals and the assets on the blockchain.
This description sounds impressive, but it does not provide any context about a specific project. It could be a description of any blockchain project. What do you plan to create? A decentralized exchange? NFT marketplace? A completely novel project?
There’s zero content and after reading this, the reader is no closer to understanding your project than before. A good answer would look like this,
A cross-chain decentralized exchange with data about assets on every chain, combined with a graphical UI for swapping assets on-chain and cross-chain.
With this response, judges are not yet convinced that it will be the next Binance, but they can engage with it. It causes them to contemplate what the idea could become.
Some founders may believe that providing matter-of-fact descriptions constrains the project’s perception. This is untrue; when applicants use colourful language, it distracts from the project’s purpose. It is better to be too factual in this portrayal than too evocative.
The advice we’d give to all applicants: help us out. Investors are optimistic in their nature. We want to believe you’re exceptional. Most people you meet in your life don’t.
Like all investors, we want to believe in your vision. Help us believe. If there’s something about you that’s unique, or some distinct insight you have into the project you plan to work on, make sure we see your ingenuity.
Lightning — Project Hunt
Our vision is to foster innovative projects on Binance Smart Chain. To aid with our incubation program, Lightning is hosting a Project Hunt competition. Winners of the competition shall be rewarded with a prize pool and acceptance into the Lightning Incubator.
To qualify for the Project Hunt competition, project proposals must fall under critical project categories, as curated by our team of industry veterans. These critical categories should assist in advancing BSC adoption. Applicants do not need to win this competition to be accepted into the incubation program. It is an additional incentive for revolutionary ideas that nurture BSC acceptance.
Founders should not change their proposals to appeal to the competition requirements. Lightning will incubate projects that fall outside these constraints, and we encourage all founders to apply using their original ideas.
We will reveal further details regarding the Lightning Project Hunt- including prize pools and applicable categories, in a future Medium Article. All applications that fit these requirements will automatically qualify for the Project Hunt competition, even if submitted before details are released.
