KiwiTech

Know what you are signing up for

KiwiTech is not a cohort accelerator with a batch to get into. It is a software development engagement under a tech-for-equity model, so the decision is less "will I be selected" and more "do I want to build my product this way". Weigh that you pay partly in cash and partly in a minority equity stake before you start the conversation.

How applications work

There is no application form or deadline. You reach out through the Request for Services or Contact Us form on the KiwiTech site, and the scope, cash-and-equity split and timeline are worked out directly with their team. Treat the first contact as the start of a commercial conversation, not a programme application.

What to have ready

• A clear description of the product you want built and the problem it solves
• Where your startup is today, so the build can be scoped
• Your view on taking on an equity partner for the development work

Beyond the build

If fundraising is your reason for engaging, ask about the pitch events, Demo Days and investor introductions KiwiTech runs, since those are the parts of the Startup Program aimed at helping teams raise.

KiwiTech, LLC is a custom software development company headquartered in New York, with an office in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and another in Vienna, Virginia. It builds software for startups and runs a Startup Program around that work, pairing the build with mentoring, pitch events and investor introductions. It began in 2009, and its founders had earlier built Aptara, a publishing services firm they scaled to more than 5,000 employees worldwide.

What they support

KiwiTech works with startups rather than running a cohort-based incubator or accelerator. Its model is "tech-for-equity": it provides custom software development for a mixture of cash and equity, which lowers the cash cost of building a product for an early-stage team. It is industry-agnostic, and its site describes working with startups across the globe, so founders based in India can engage through the same programme rather than a separate India-only track. KiwiTech states that it does not typically invest cash directly in startups; what it puts in is engineering work, in return for a minority stake.

The Startup Program

The Startup Program is the way founders engage KiwiTech. The core is software development for startups, charged as a mix of cash and equity instead of cash alone. Around that build, KiwiTech offers access to its mentors, partners and investors, pitch events and Demo Days, and introductions to investors for teams raising a round. It also describes go-to-market support, crowdfunding and marketing services alongside the software work. There is no cohort intake or application deadline; it is a services engagement, started by contacting KiwiTech through the Startup Program or Contact Us page.

Track record

KiwiTech describes an ecosystem built over its first decade that includes more than 300 mentors and thousands of investors it can introduce startups to, alongside a portfolio of startups it has worked with. Its own pages give different counts for how many startups it has supported, so the figure is best read as an order of magnitude rather than an exact number. KiwiTech also lists large enterprises among its software clients, including McKinsey, Accenture, P&G, the World Bank, Lockton, HomeVestors, Elsevier and Springer.

How to apply

There is no cohort to apply to and no deadline. A founder requests services through the form on the Startup Program page or the Contact Us page, and the engagement is scoped from there. General enquiries go to info@kiwitech.com.