I recently joined a program called Nvidia Inception and successfully entered after going through several processes. There are several benefits we can get if we participate in this program, you can see here, includes AWS credits.

Today, I will tell you:

• How I obtained $10,000
• Tips and tricks to avoid rejection
• Other useful information for Startup Founders or individuals looking to scale but needing capital for infrastructure

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1. AWS Active Program

initially, I didn't know about this program directly. Instead, I found it through the AWS Active Credits page

There are two programs:

• AWS Active Founders ($1k)
• AWS Active Portfolio (up to $100k).

Of course, getting the Active Founder credits ($1k) is much easier and faster, as we only need to create an AWS account and enter information about the product we want to create. However, this time I will discuss how to get up to $100k 👑 through the AWS Active Portfolio program.

To get it, we need to be on the following list of featured AWS active providers: Active Provider list

Yes, those are the rules. The way to enter is either as an individual or as a team/company by registering or even being directly invited. Then we will automatically be able to apply for AWS credits of up to $100k.

But, don't worry, I've done some research on this and found that the most suitable program for us solo founders or small startup teams is the Nvidia Inception program that I mentioned at the beginning. So, how did I manage to register? Let's discuss it further :D.

I want to give a little disclaimer before continuing: please only apply to join if you have a serious project. Even if there's no profit/revenue yet, we need to thoroughly prepare several things related to the product we're creating, such as a brief description of the project, its field, and target market. If we're not serious, it might be better to just apply for the AWS Active Founder program, before our application gets rejected.

2. Nvidia Inception Program Application

2.1 Filling in the application form

It all started on May 13, 2024, when I applied for this program. I didn't have high hopes because I had applied for similar programs several times before and was mostly rejected.

For the application process, it's actually similar to applying for AWS Active Founder ($1k). We're asked to fill in personal data, project/company profile such as problems & solutions that we are going to solve with our product, our competitors, some personal information related to work experience (I don't know why), and also the Nvidia technologies that will be used in the project.

2.2 Receiving the response + follow up detailed information

Long story short, I received an email from the Nvidia Inception team 14 days later and was asked to answer a few questions. I'll go ahead and include an image with my answers filled in, which you can use as a reference :D

And finally, after 1 month, I received this email 🎉🎉🎉

3. Applying for AWS Active Portfolio

After receiving the response from Nvidia, I started to apply for the AWS Active Portfolio program. But, before I do that, we need to request a benefits letter to Nvidia Inception via their websites. I did that and received a response within a few days.

After that, I immediately submitted it to the AWS console that was already connected to the active AWS account. I made the submission and entered the org id that had been provided via email. But before that, pay attention to the following (very important):

• In the valuation field, don't choose "No Valuation" (I tried it because I thought my product wasn't profitable yet, but the application was rejected, perhaps because it wasn't considered serious. Fortunately, I could reapply).
• Make sure the email used for the NVIDIA Inception application is the same as the email used for the AWS active account and AWS console.
• Don't spread secrets like the org-id, sell accounts, or do other irresponsible things.

You might ask, why shouldn't we choose "no valuation"? What I know is that Valuation != Profit. Even if our product doesn't have a profit yet, our assets like our product should still have value, right? For the rest, we just need to wait, and if the application is accepted, we will receive an email like this.

4. Redeem Aws Credits

Then congratulations: you will get $10k for free on your AWS console.

Activate credits are applied incrementally up to the Activate credit maximum of $100,000 (note: credits do not stack). Your credits must increase over time until you reach the $100,000 lifetime maximum. Therefore, you cannot apply for a package that is smaller than or equal to a previously activated package.

Not only that, you can also get the AWS Exclusive Offer such as free credits from Vercel, Datadog, and many other free and discounted items because you've become an AWS active member.

Perhaps that's all I can convey. If you have any questions about anything, you can contact me directly via Twitter: @fahreziadhaa