The Impact Startup Challenge (ISC) in Singapore came full circle on 3 August 2019. Students spent nine weeks in a valiant effort to execute their ideas using the lean startup methodology taught by SUSS Head of Entrepreneurship, Ellen Goel.
A total of five pitching teams battled it out in the presence of a live audience and four judges - Teck Moh Phey, AngelCentral; Bharath Haridas, Plug&Play; James Ang, Crayon Software and BANSEA; and Michael Headrick, Huge.
Ang Yi Xuan Veronica, Vishal Nishad and Eugene Tan from team Aerify emerged as winners with their idea to provide online users the power to eliminate and moderate malicious comments on social media.
Ang Yi Xuan Veronica a part-time Bachelor of Science in Marketing student shared: "This programme is very different out of all the rest of the modules in school. It gives you a first-hand experience of how it is like to build your startup, from reaching out to strangers to validate your problem, to going up on stage to pitch your idea to potential investors. It was not an easy nine weeks, but would do it again as I have learnt so much from this experience."
SUSS partnered with Social Collider to acquaint students with a community where concepts of social entrepreneurship were shared. ISC participants also had a chance to meet and speak with their fellow seniors, Kenneth Yap of HeyCoins and Amanda Ho of CombineSell, at one of Asia's largest tech conference, Innovfest Unbound.
If you have an idea or would like to explore different startup communities in ASEAN/China, look out for our next round of ISCs in the July 2020 semester.
"It is a must-have module in your student academic profile if you are serious about validating your business ideas."
— Azan Bin Mohamad Yusuf, Bachelor of Science in Marketing (Part-time)
"As a business student, we are taught to maintain or organise a specialised area of business. In other words, we were never taught how to make money or solve a problem. However, entrepreneurship teaches and allow us to experience the real deal instead of just theories and case studies."
— Ho Yuan Yi, Bachelor of Science in Finance (Full-time)