Founded by Saumil Nanavati and Bernard Leong, Chalkboard was in my opinion one of the more promising startups in Singapore. But news about them closing shop hit me hard yesterday. The Chalkboard founders held a party to mark their closing, and it was fun hanging out with friends. But I have to admit that I was shocked to learn the news in this manner — through a pizza party.
Saumil and Bernard are my friends who also taught me how to be a better entrepreneur. They are a few of the key people who I can trust to give me honest feedback from time to time about our own progress. It’s sad to see Chalkboard closing doors.
CEO and co-founder, Saumil Nanavati told me that sales were actually growing and there were VC options on the table. But the founders’ goals are ambitious. They wanted to be the best location-based ad network in the region. Like what the Samwer brothers would say “either be number one or let’s not bother at all.” So even with the resources and offers available, they still chose to fold because they believe it can’t help them reach their goals. Like any entrepreneurs, Saumil insisted that Chalkboard is disruptive and thought that the market isn’t ready for it. It is more suited for the U.S market where Saumil actually spent 300 days a year to build its base there. Unfortunately, things didn’t go well.
I believe the best is yet to come for them. This experience, as I see, is just a learning phase. It’s painful but perhaps a necessary medicine to become even better entrepreneurs. There is no shame in closing down and I believe Saumil and Bernard will one day connect the dots and point to this Chalkboard experience as one that contributes greatly to their future success. After all, the journey of an entrepreneur isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Chin up, guys.
Well reported, Willis! And yes, chin up guys!
Sad to see this. But hey, shit happens. if you can’t embrace failure, go find another industry (per-empting the inevitable trolls…). Can’t wait for the teams next startup.
It’s take a courage to call it off, totally respect!
These guys are just getting started – Bernie and Saumil are arguably some of the sharpest folks on the Singapore tech scene….lots of successes await them. Chalkboard was just a stepping stone for better things to come. As Willis says, “chin up, guys!”
Part of the process was to learn to grow a large pair of Kahunas! Hopefully we are getting there
Doing a startup is hard! Most businesses fail and there is nothing wrong with this. Keep going boys.
What’s next?
I think creativity and innovations are lacking in the app. It is a good reflection on the developer community here.
It’s sad. At the same time I salute them. Wish them success for their next venture. I hope they will share their valuable experience with other entrepreneurs.
”CEO and co-founder, Saumil Nanavati told me that sales were actually growing and there were VC options on the table. But the founders’ goals are ambitious. They wanted to be the best location-based ad network in the region. ”
– If you dont have VC backing, how you can achieve this in an ambitious way?
“Saumil insisted that Chalkboard is disruptive and thought that the market isn’t ready for it. ”
– can you count how many iphone, Android out there?
What money can solve,it is not a problem and US and Spore have the infrastructure to support. Will the result be different if use own money to run the business?
Salute to the both of you! Can’t wait to see what’s next
It would be great if you do a blog post once with your 10 mistakes you did during this amazing trip. Good luck with your next plans