Female entrepreneurs are rare. According to the New York Times, only eight percent of American venture-backed tech startups in 2010 were founded by women. The most common explanation given is that women are generally unwilling to bet all that she has on something that contains high risk, knowing at the back of her mind that she has other traditional heavyweight roles to fulfill such as raising families.
But more often than not, what (both) women (and men) need is support and encouragement.
Read more
Stayovers are a great way of getting to know a person, since homes and their artifacts tell stories about the owners. Airbnb has made an industry out of this by popularizing peer-to-peer short term rentals. And they’re succeeding.
Putting a fascinating twist on online rental marketplaces is StartupStay.com, an invite-only website that lets entrepreneurs connect with one another and stay in each other’s homes for a few days. Unlike Airbnb though, no monetary transactions are involved.
Entrepreneurs are motivated by a multiplicity of things, and Startup Stay meets a number of them.
Since accommodation is free, users enjoy cost savings when they travel to another country. Members can pick who they want to network with since both the guest and host must mutually agree to the stayover. Read more
Participants split into groups to brainstorm their "Next Big Thing" Idea.
On the evening of 27th January 2012, Start-up@Singapore (S@S), Singapore’s largest business plan competition, launched Ideas Meet Skills for the first time.
As a meeting point for individuals with either business ideas or technical expertise, Ideas Meet Skills played matchmaker to about 100 budding entrepreneurs from Singapore as well as countries like the United States and Dubai. Participants, aged 17 and above, also underwent an idea generation workshop by Ground-up Initiative (GUI), a non-governmental organisation based in Singapore.
Many people dream of working for themselves but lack the technical skills to do so.That is not to say that a person with an idea doesn’t have any skills. But with technology changing at such a fast rate, even entrepreneurs with technical knowledge may find their expertise lacking as the demand for specialisation increases. Read more
With China and India hogging the limelight when it comes to entrepreneurship, it’s easy to forget that something is brewing in Southeast Asia.
Quietly but steadily, geek culture within the region is maturing, creating a suitable environment to nurture the next generation of technology entrepreneurs. A key indicator of this trend is the rise of permanent spaces which provide a comfortable environment for entrepreneurs and geeks to experiment and develop their ideas.
The first of these spaces to emerge is Hackerspace.sg, which was set up as an entirely community funded and supported initiative in 2009.
Photo: Guests interacting with Sheel (center-left) and Abhijeet (center-right) from Bessemer Venture Partners. Read more
Filed under Featured, Funding, Innovation & Technology, Networks & Networking, Special Commentary, Technology, Venture Capital & Private Equity, WebTags: Abhijeet Muzumdar, Bessemer, Bessemer Venture Partners, bvp, Chillin' With, Sheel Tyle
A quick glance. The event will happen from 29th February to 2nd March 2012.
Get 5% off your DEMO Asia tickets with the code SGE68S
Violet Lim and Jamie Lee are in the business of connecting aspiring lovebirds. While matchmaking has existed for decades, the couple modernized the trade for the Internet era. After starting Lunch Actually in 2004 and Eteract in 2007, they founded eSynchrony, a website which matches singles through an algorithm that looks at 15 areas of compatibility.
Their success was why we brought them to our monthly Chillin’ With event on August 15, where we connect about 20 or so people who love starting businesses. The venue was Martell’s The Ultimate Startup Space at Boon Tat Street.
Photo: Jamie Lee and Violet Lim (center) with guests. Read more
Filed under Featured, Networks & Networking, Services, ToolkitTags: Chillin' With, Eteract, Female Entrepreneur, Lunch Actually, Matchmaking, online dating, The Ultimate StartUp Space, Violet Lim, women entrepreneurs
The Athena Network, a UK networking organization for businesswomen, will be launched in Singapore this September (see press release). Besides arranging meetup sessions, the organization also holds interactive workshops and training courses for aspiring and current women entrepreneurs. Read more
If you have attempted to go global but found yourself fumbling around, this iStart project by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) might interest you. iStart is multi-pronged approach designed to help entrepreneurs and developers build talent and go global with their companies. Through some of the initiatives under iStart, startups can be connected to potential customers, partners and investors. You will also be able to participate in pitching events and have consultation sessions with industry practitioners. Read more
If you’re interested in going on the Geeks On A Plane East Asia Tour, you’ll be happy to know that Microsoft BizSpark members have a 30% discount. However, to be a Microsoft BizSpark member, you’ll have to be sponsored by one of their Network Partners (like SGE). Read more
If you’ve been thinking of exploring the startup scene in Japan and China, check out Geeks On A Plane, a 10-day orientation tour of the Internet, Mobile and Gaming sectors in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai. Organized by Web2Asia, The Founders Fund and Dave McClure, Geeks On A Plane will feature a crowd made up of international investors and technopreneurs. Read more
Share this: