Channel NewsAsia brings hit docu-reality series, Start-UP, back for a third season. A new line-up of start-up entrepreneurs from the region will battle it out, and selected contestants will each receive up to S$500,000 in seed funding. The finalists will also get a chance to be seen and heard by world renowned venture capital investors from Silicon Valley and beyond when the Kauffman Fellows Summit Southeast Asia convenes in Singapore in January 2016.
The intense six-part Start-UP series premieres early next year. The programme promises to keep viewers on the edge of their seats as they follow closely the entrepreneurs’ arduous journeys of procuring the all-important seed funding they need to take their companies further. Cameras will train on eight finalists as they undergo four challenges to hone their pitching prowess and tighten their business plans. These include a skills test to devise a digital strategy, being evaluated on leadership, and the ultimate test of their ability to sell to industry veterans. The all-new season of Start-UP takes on a refreshed and dynamic format, and culminates in participants pitching for seed funding to top venture capitalists. (See Annex 1 for an infographic on the Start-UP contest process).
Topping their experience, the channel will specially arrange for these contestants to pitch and network with members of the Kauffman Fellows Society. They are part of a contingent of 150 worldwide venture industry Kauffman Fellows holding their annual Summit meeting in Singapore for the first time.
The exhilarating journeys of these eight Start-UP finalists will be televised, and the programme kicks off with their introduction.
Start-UP Entry Call
Channel NewsAsia opens its public call-for-entry today through a multi-pronged effort on television, print and digital platforms. More than 50 contestants will be shortlisted for entrepreneurship boot camps held for the first time, in three cities – Jakarta, Yangon and Singapore. Organised with partner, Lithan, the boot camps will be held in November.
Mr Yong Chung Jin, Vice-President of MediaCorp’s Brand & Partnership for News and Premier, says, “We have expanded the pool of participants in this new season of Start-UP, and we expect much more dynamic and robust ideas. We are giving an additional stimulus for the contestants this time round by arranging for them to meet up with global investors who are gathering at the Kauffman Fellows Summit in Singapore. With a good mix of innovative ideas and business models, the Start-UP programme allows Channel NewsAsia to provide just the platform to showcase some of the most outstanding business minds, and hopefully encourage more to take that entrepreneur step and journey.”
Start-UP Judging Panel
The jury panel consists of returning Judge Mr Leslie Loh, Managing Director of Red Dot Ventures, and two new judges – Mr Jeffrey Paine, Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures, and Mr Hsu Kuan Hua, Principal of GREE Ventures Asia (See Annex 2 for profiles). The Judges will determine which of the eight finalists will be offered up to S$500,000 in seed funding each.
In the rapidly evolving and competitive climate of the world of start-ups, find out what it takes to become the next business success story on the brand-new season of Channel NewsAsia Start-UP.
