# Participating in the SP Incubator program
This document describes the typical process an Incubator participant would experience throughout the program. It is recommended that you go through the SP incubator program page first to get yourself familiar with what you can expect from the program. In general, when in doubt please feel free to reach out to us on Slack (opens new window) where you will have the best chance to get your question answered and leave a record for others to reference.
# Application
Submit your application through here (opens new window) and wait for either emails from venus@ipfsforce.com or members of Venus core team to contact you on Slack for admission.
# Test your setup
It is highly recommended that you test your setups (opens new window) on Calibration using the free Venus chain service (opens new window) by Venus team before deploying your mainnet setup. You can get access credentials of the chain service through @Venus-Ops (opens new window) on Slack.
Make sure that you are able to seal storage power and submit windowPost correctly on Calibration or you may incur financial losses on mainnet if your storage system is not properly administrated. Again, you can always reach out on Slack (opens new window) for technical support.
Also before you procure hardware and collateral for mainnet storage providing operations, it is recommended that you consult either Venus core team or a Venus Master on Slack (opens new window) for how you can optimize your setup to achieve best results.
# Incubate and earn rewards
Get access credentials for Incubator chain service from either @Venus-Ops (opens new window) or a Venus Master and deploy your mainnet setup and start your storage providing operation! Note that it is recommended to use venus-cluster (opens new window) for storage power services as we are planning to gradually phase out venus-sealer. You can claim rewards that are additional to block rewards from the Incubator program according to rules defined.
# Exit
If you feel at any point you would like to exit the program or the year-long program come to an end, please refer to this document (opens new window) for exiting and share your questions on Slack (opens new window) if any comes up.