Our Katapult Application: Last Year’s Example to Learn From
I’m Vlado, from Beyond42. Last year, we applied to Katapult and got in.
Our CEO led the charge, but I was helping drafting answers, review the deck, and sitting through the (sometimes terrifying) pitch sessions.
This isn't the way to get in as every team's journey is different. But since we know how valuable it is to hear from people who've actually been through it and how hard it is to find real examples, I decided to share our experience. Take what resonates, adapt what makes sense for your situation, and definitely make it your own.
Katapult changed the trajectory of our year, so if this helps you put your best foot forward, it’s worth it.
📂 Below is how you can request access to our full application deck and pitch recordings so you can see exactly what we submitted.
A Quick Intro
A few months before Katapult opened applications last season, we had a conversation no team really wanted to have.
We had 25–30 paying clients and solid early traction, €500K revenue (half of it recurring), CLTV to CAC ratio 5.64, CAC payback period ≈7.5 months, and NRR off the charts (mainly because we had undersold at first 🫢), but we knew it wasn’t enough to get us where we wanted to be.
And the trajectory was obvious: Not bad enough to pivot or shut down.
Not good enough to change our lives.
We could see ourselves drifting here forever and making baby steps while the market moved on without us.
So we made a choice: either we raise and build the machine we need, or we keep chasing our tail until we run out of steam.
When Katapult announced applications, we didn’t think “oh, cool, an accelerator.” We thought: “this is one of the steps in our fundraising and scaling strategy.”
(Plot twist: we eventually closed our round in Sarajevo thanks to Azra Sarić but that’s a whole other story.)
Take Our Receipts
We’ve put our actual application form, pitch decks, and pitch recordings in one folder.
If you’re applying this year, send me an email vlado(at)beyond42.com or request to share access.
Here’s what’s inside:
Original application answers
Evaluation committee pitch deck
Residency Week pitch (same as the one that got us in)
Demo Day pitch deck & video recording
Use it as a benchmark, inspiration, or a starting point to shape your own application.
Here’s what worked for us:
In our interpretation, Katapult is looking for companies that can scale, raise, and return multiples to investors. That means they want you to already be fundable and they’re here to accelerate momentum, not create it from scratch.
We’ve seen pre-revenue, early-stage teams get in, so don’t self-disqualify too early. Just know what they are looking for, show proof of demand and speak their language.
1. Know if you’re the right fit
If you already have customers and revenue, you’re ahead. If you’re earlier, apply to the ideation stream and make sure your application clearly states that’s the track you’re going for.
2. Write to their 5 criteria from the Review Guidelines
We mapped every single answer to one of these: Team, Product, Business Model, Market, Capital Raising readiness. If it didn’t connect, we cut it.
3. Do your homework
Mentors and evaluators are public. Look them up. Understand what they’ve built, backed, or care about. We had insider help from Vukasin Bozovic @ Getafeel and Vlad Bozovic of @ Zenhire.
4. Clear admin before creativity
Legal docs, compliance, requirements, get them done early so you’re not burning brainpower on them the night before.
5. Lead with proof, not potential
Use Customer names, revenue, pilots, user surveys, usage stats, case studies. Market size is fine but traction is better.
6. Show up (literally)
We went to every info session. The people running them have seen every type of founder and mistake. They’ll give you insights you didn’t know to ask for.
7. Get feedback from people who already won
Not your co-founder. Not your friends. People who’ve been through the process. We sent our drafts to founders and advisors who knew Katapult.
8. Write it like an investor pitch
This is not a school essay. It’s a VC pitch wearing an application costume. We included investor names, points discussed, and timelines.
If You’re Applying This Season
Dino and I are happy to help.
📅 [Book 30 min with Vlado → link]
We charge in chocolates, payable only if you get in and land that match €300K.
How we are doing post Katapult, that's another Waymo ride :)
