We’re still not getting a ton of sleep these days, but what keeps me going is that I know that we’re building something that provides real value to the community — both our blog and our Startup Asia event planned for February are receiving good feedback according to many the people who I have met up with recently.
I said it before but I will say it again: This event is built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. And we’re going all out to make sure that Startup Asia Singapore is laser-focused on entrepreneurship and is relevant to the founders, who are like us, struggling and scrapping for all the resources that they can find.
Some of the aspects fellow entrepreneurs seem to like about the event are:
- No pay to pitch bullshit
- US$10,000 as prize money is very attractive
- Affordable booth prices (well, we will just provide a tall table and chair with power plugs, along with table stand banners. But isn’t that all you need as a startup!?)
- Super focused on entrepreneurial content
- No company sales pitch bullshit since our main conference talks are all moderated
Of course, there is other feedback which I thought was helpful for us to work on. For example, most entrepreneurs that I spoke with want access to investors at our event. That’s possible but usually investors are selective about the startups they want to meet. So there must be at least a first contact point to establish a meeting with them. At our event, there are basically three ways in which you can do so:
- Get a booth, display, and network
- Join Startup Arena, pitch, impress, and network
- Get a VIP pass and network your way
The above are the best ways because you get to shake the hands of the investors and talk to them face to face. But what if you don’t get to meet the investor you have in mind?
We thought that might be a problem. So we’re going to do an extra service by compiling all startups who’re attending Startup Asia into a list and send them to the investors who are also attending the event.
In that way, investors who are interested to find out more about your startup can arrange a meeting with you at the event itself. Not only does it make it more convenient for the investors, it also increases your chance of meeting ones who are interested in your startup.
We will announce more prominent investors who will be attending Startup Asia very soon. Meanwhile, you can try to spot the ones who are already listed here.