Startup Weekend Singapore 2017: Entrepreneurial stories, winning teams

I had the amazing opportunity to help out at Startup Weekend Singapore 2017 at Google’s spanking new headquarters, watching passionate teams hack out their next company in 54 hours.

The teams were not alone. They got to mingle and learn from amazing speakers, mentors, and judges who are known for their achievements and contributions to the startup world. These leaders had one thing in common: the passion for sharing and nurturing a community of entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

“People [say] that there is no entrepreneurship in Singapore, no one is risk-taking, no young people want to be entrepreneurs. I am really glad to see that after all this time, detractors [have] been proven completely wrong, and there is this huge amount of energy and creativity and in no way [is there] a fear of taking risks.” — Jacqueline Poh, chief executive at GovTech

Here are some highlights of the weekend:

1. 500 Startups, NSI Ventures, and SoGal Ventures 

Hian from NSI Ventures shared with me why he took time out to mentor participating teams. He said, “Singapore is, in some ways, very KPI-driven. But some things like this (the Startup Weekend) are hard to measure using classical performance indicators. You just have to have faith that if you contribute your time to this, something magical will come out of it and that is why I am here. It is time worth spending.”

The ideas generated, the lessons that you have learned, the friendships created, the teams that you forged have gone on in previous competitions to build companies that are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Singapore. – Vishal Harnal, 500 Startups

Pocket Sun from SoGal mentioned that she wanted to share the importance of taking action, that there is no need to be 100 percent ready to start something. Looking back at her journey before starting SoGal Ventures, she leveraged the human resources and the capital that were available in her school to get people to attend women-focused events that she organized.

Pocket shared that entrepreneurship is all about learning how to swim and seeing the journey, along with the setbacks, as an opportunity to grow. Be comfortable with taking risks, be constructive when facing adversities, and move on to achieve greater success.

If you are thinking whether to start today or tomorrow, you should have started yesterday. – Pocket Sun, SoGal Ventures

2. Forbes-recognized entrepreneurs

Behind every successful startup lies a humble story. Growing up in a family who was struggling to make ends meet, Mohamed is one of Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 successful entrepreneurs. When sharing about what contributed to his success, he mentioned that the motivation and ability to plan ahead was an important attribute of his success today.

The idea behind Onelyst was born from participating in NTU Ideasinc just a few years back. With the mindset to realize the idea, he was able to plan ahead and establish a strategic trajectory. This allowed him and his team to stay focused on growing Onelyst and hit those milestones down the road.

Rachel, who is also a 30 Under 30 successful entrepreneur, shared a personal and an emotional factor that allowed her to become who she is today. She stressed about self-awareness—knowing your DNA, who you are, and who you’re not—and embracing it, going full in on your strengths. By being self-aware, one can build a dream team where members complement each other and achieve success together.

As a global facilitator for over 71 (and counting) Startup Weekends around the world, Damien Gromier of France Digitale has mentored countless participating teams and helped establish their businesses.

What makes an entrepreneur successful? Damien mentioned that the key differentiating factor that he looks out for is an entrepreneur’s conviction. When pitching a new idea, an entrepreneur is essentially trying to sell a product or service that do not currently exist. Other than getting the total addressable market, pain points, and solutions right, you can only get others to believe in your idea when you truly believe in what you do.

3. The winning teams

GitHip, which aims to be a collaboration and version control tool for product designers (or simply, a GitHub just for designers) was the winner of Startup Weekend Singapore 2017. It recognizes the pain of maintaining design consistency across teams of designers that often design in a silo rather than on a single shared file. Hence, with GitHip, designers can work more collaboratively and have better version control.

The second place was awarded to Blinked, a device that helps patients who have progressive neurological diseases. It allows them to use specific appliances, depending on their personal lifestyle, and communicate with their caregivers. By measuring muscular movements like blinking, it can be more accurate than existing technologies that use facial recognition.

The third place went to Weaver, a personal dating butler that aims to create happier relationships through curated packages with just a touch of a button. The team is truly passionate about helping couples maintain their happy marriages and help lower divorce rates in Singapore.

Lastly, the creative award went to Woodlands Whisky, Singapore’s first infused whisky. The judges got to have a taste of the whisky which was blended in 54 hours during the Startup Weekend. The creative startup seeks to be the go-to whisky of all millennials in Asia by focusing on creating a light and delicate recipe with exotic touches of pandan and orchid.

The judges made a bet among themselves on where the winners will be next year. So, cheers to all the participating teams! It was an amazing weekend.

Don’t look back when you start up. – Mohamed Abbas, Onelyst