Event Coverage
To get updates of the latest events for each upcoming week, check here.
At SXSW 2013, there were three Asian countries with their own pavilions.
Some thoughts about the pavilions at SXSW
1. When exhibiting in the USA and the primary language for your country is not English (like Japan and Korea), it really helps that a member of your team has studied, lived or worked in the USA. The most engaging booths from Korea and Japan had representatives who had spent significant time living in the USA; these representatives excelled in communicating with the attendees.
2. Having said that, do not hire local folks just for the event to pitch your company. While talking to exhibitors, it was immediately obvious to me which booths had just hired folks for SXSW. Usually, these representatives of the company had no passion and knowledge when talking about the company and the company’s product.
3. It was easy to know which booths were part of the Korean and Japan contingent; for Singapore not so much. Maybe there really is such a thing as Cultural Technology. Read more
Vietnam Startup Retrospective, an event on 26th Jan which celebrated the achievements of the startup community, picked Appota as the startup of the year. It was also an opportunity to reflect on upcoming trends in 2013.
The main event organizer was Topica Founder Institute and partners include Keewi, Viet Youth Entrepreneurs, Startup Weekend, and Barcamp Saigon. Read more
The author, Lachimi Tiwari, is an organizer of the Singapore Women Startup Weekend.
Photo: The Athena Network Singapore
Singapore Women Startup Weekend ended last Sunday evening after 54 hours of pitching, forming, and evolving. “Guys also Welcome Lah” was its tagline and the format was no different from previous Startup Weekend events held in Singapore, except with a twist: the number of male participants were controlled, resulting in over 60% female participants.
Started on Friday evening, it was an intense few days for participants. Everyone juggled their aspirations and personal lives around the event, just like they would as an entrepreneur.
Some had to rush back after a meeting at work on Saturday. There was also an amazing mum who kept rushing back and forth despite having a sick baby and a 6 month pregnant lady who stayed all weekend (hats off to you!). Read more
Companies that join the Singapore delegation for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from 8-11 January 2013 in Las Vegas can get their participation costs subsidized.
The delegation will be led by tech startup incubator Get2Volume and the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA). Subsidies will be administered by the SSIA from LEAD, a government program to increase the competitiveness of Singapore companies.
CES is a well-established technology trade show which sees involvement from major tech brands. The delegation will get opportunities to demo their products, participate in press and investor roundtables, meet with industry leaders, and engage potential customers.
While the final subsidy amount will depend on the number of participants accepted, Get2Volume CEO Mike Holt tells us that the plan is to cover 50% of airfare, hotel and venue space. The shared space to be used by the Singapore delegation will be near to Logitech, Intel, and Seagate.
If you’re interested to apply, contact Lai Wah Yi of SSIA at wahyilai[at]gmail.com.
At last Thursday’s Creative Mixer, the fourth in what has been an outstanding series of events for creatives, entrepreneurs and hackers, seven speakers shared about their work and its relevancy to the future. Themes that emerged include how we might be underestimating or overestimating the impact of current and changing technologies on our reality and that of others.
Nikki Shaw, a senior water engineer from Arup, shared with us how sanitation is one of the biggest issues we have to face in the future. A simple flush and all our shit disappears — that’s something we take for granted. The ubiquitous flush toilet that most of us in the developed and developing world are so complacent about is an old technology and an inefficient one that results in water wastage and damage to the environment.
Not only that, there is an estimated 2.5 billion people in the world who do not have the ‘proper’ sanitation most of us in Singapore take for granted. This is an important issue because safe and sustainable sanitation is paramount to our well being and survival. Read more
Singapore’s longest running start-up challenge, Start-Up@Singapore, held its official launch at the Hon Sui Sen Auditorium on 19th October 2012, thus declaring the 14th edition of the competition open.
Supported by the presence of some of Singapore’s most promising entrepreneurs, the event commenced with Guest of Honour, NUS Provost Professor Tan, and the Start-Up@Singapore Steering Committee members watering the Tree of Dreams, a tree representing the aspirations of all entrepreneurs, which would later be planted at the NUS Business School.
This was followed by a panel discussion on starting-up. The panel comprised Darius Cheung of BillPin, Min Xuan Lee of Playmoolah, Jack Sim of World Toilet Organization, and Adrin Loi of Ya Kun Kaya Toast. Read more
Award-winning mixologist and co-founder of Maison Ikkoku, Ethan created “The Jewel Of Pangaea” which listed on The Asia’s Most Expensive Cocktails and selling on the menu for S$32k a glass in Pangaea Singapore
5 quick questions with Ethan.
1. What was your journey like to become a Mixologist?
It was tough initially, and is hard for people to accept a bar which only does hand-crafted cocktails. After spending 3 yrs of developing cocktails culture in Singapore, nowadays pub crawlers are more knowledgeable about cocktails. People are asking “can you make me a good Smoked Negroni?” or “Give me a Vesper level 4!”. Singapore has carved for itself a remarkable cocktail scene in Asia now, and is booming.
2. Why did you decide this was the craft you wanted to master?
To me, making delicious drinks is like cooking with heart-when you’re passionate about it, you will deliver the best. My motivation: for no one to leave their drinks unfinished when they leave Maison Ikkoku Bar. This constantly reminds me that I must keep improving and making tastier drinks.
3. What difficulties have you faced in pursuing the mastery of your craft?
Transforming the most disgusting awful ingredients to tasty!
4. How necessary was becoming a businessman to pursue your passion for mixology as a craft?
Well, first you need the passion for the craft and to master the skills, then you need good business to maintain your passion.
5. Share one thought on creativity in your craft that others often overlook.
My thought? Break the traditional classic and create new flavour, the classic of tomorrow.
Learn more about Ethan at the next Creative Mixer.
Creative Mixer brings together creatives, hackers, entrepreneurs into a single space to redefine creativity.
The aim of the event is to encourage collaboration between entrepreneurs, developers and creatives in design, photography, film, architecture, animation/illustration and writing. The event will be attended by at least 100 opinion leaders and professionals in these industries aged 25-40.
Register here.
Registration includes food & a bottle of beer.
Companies thinking of entering the US market for a long time but afraid of taking such a risk may find iSTART@SV Programme a timely fit.
Organized by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), iSTART@Silicon Valley (SV) Programme is an initiative targeted at providing guidance and assistance to Singapore-based start-ups wishing to venture into the US market, specifically Silicon Valley. Start-ups will gain access to valuable resources such as consultations, incubators, and accelerators that have established a firm presence in US’s entrepreneurial scene. A customised schedule tailored for start-ups comes equipped with educational tools such as workshops and events to guide start-ups in understanding market dynamics, and devise business strategies catered to the US market. Start-ups can also expect to have networking opportunities with potential US-based customers, investors and partners. Read more
Ben Huh shares his story at Singapore's first FailCon. Photo: Terence Lee
Ben Huh is responsible for much of the world’s lulz. As the founder of The Cheezburger Network, he is on a mission to make the world happy for five minutes a day. He also has a serious side: Through his new venture Circa, which just launched an app today, he wants to change the world of journalism.
But before he started a profitable business that posts cat photos online, Ben had gone through a dark phase in his life. When he failed at his first startup in 2001 and fell USD40,000 into debt, he became depressed.
“I couldn’t leave my house, I couldn’t leave my bedroom. I just couldn’t face the world,” he said at the keynote speech of the first-ever FailCon in Singapore. The burden of losing hundreds of thousands in investor’s money was too much for him to take. Read more
The winners. Photo: Hack2Hatch
Eight startups in the Philippines will receive PHP100,000 (USD2,414) in seed money after winning the inaugural Hack2Hatch, a weekend entrepreneurship camp in Cebu that culminated in a pitch competition. The event was held on 5-7 October.
Hack2Hatch was organized by PhilDev, a non-profit to that promotes tech innovation in the Philippines, and DevCon, a non-profit that promotes Pinoy IT talent. The 8 startups were whittled down from 22 finalists.
The event is part of the Silicon Valley Comes to the Philippines series, which ends on 8 October with PhilDev’s Harnessing Filipino Innovation and Entrepreneurship forum in Makati City. Read more
Filed under Events, Funding, Innovation & Technology, News, TechnologyTags: bolooka, DevCon, familyko, h1red, Hack2Hatch, mrttrackr, orchestrack, pancake servers, phildev, Philippines, pinoy auto trader, Silicon Valley Comes to the Philippines, staffwisely
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