David Palacios, Co-founder of KartaSoft Shares His Launch Pad Accelerator Experience
The Story Of David Palacios
David had never joined an accelerator program before coming to Launch Pad as part of SydWest Accelerator Program’s 2021 cohort.
“So I came into it with an open mind and was not really expecting much,” said David. He was eager to learn, and eager to meet other founders as himself.
“The thing that surprised me the most about the program was just how friendly and open everyone was, from the other co-founders to the mentors. Everyone was just really welcoming and easy to have a conversation with.”
This dispelled one of the myths David heard before coming into the program: the ego that founders (supposedly) have. “They are all overachievers, and they’re not gonna be easy individuals to talk to, to engage with, or they are not really available”, he further elaborated. In his words, “that’s constantly a myth that tech entrepreneurs are fighting with, that they have a massive ego.”
However, the exact opposite is actually true for him. “Talking to other founders and being part of this program, I found out how humble and how giving the community is”, explained David. “Countless times, I’ve been able to talk to Jamie, Bec, or Jonathan (Launch Pad team members) really at any time. They made their time very available.”
His #SydWest2021 Learning Moment
From the very first day onboarding the program, David learned just how methodical and scientific the startup process is. “That was a massive learning lesson to me: how to use the business model canvas, design thinking. All these different tools to really start to bring structure and a very strong foundation for your startup.”
“I’ve really found the last 6 months such an amazing learning experience and such an amazing networking experience. I have met some amazing founders and mentors during the process.”
“Probably the one thing I would say is don’t doubt it, put in your application, and have a conversation with Bec (Rebecca, Manager of Launch Pad). Submit to be part of the program, and you definitely won’t regret it.”
KartaSoft is driving better customer experiences through powerful digital maps. We are democratising spatial technology to enable geographic information system (GIS) and digital teams to deliver impactful, customer focused experiences.