Channel News Asia’s reality show Start-UP is announced to be back on TV for a second season in which contestants will be seen competing for more than SGD 2 million in seed funding. This brand new season is to be premiered on 2nd of February featuring a crowdfunding element for finalists to raise money for their start-ups.
One of the judges and a serial entrepreneur Mr. Leslie Loh said, “I am thrilled to be back for the second season of Start-UP, with its new line-up of diverse and international con- testants. As a venture capitalist, I am always on the lookout for new businesses to mentor and fund, and the contestants look set to prove themselves as the next big start-up.”
Initial 20 contestants are selected to be on the show and will then be narrowed down to a total of 8 finalists. Eight start-ups un- dergoing challenges and business plans will be aired in seven parts and contestants will be mentored by leading companies in re- spective field. A crowdfunding organization Crowdonomic will be in charge to guide the finalists in raising funds from the public and rewarding the supporters.
CEO of Crowdonomic, Mr. Leo Shimada, said, “We’re thrilled to be partnering Start- UP to bring this form of capitalization to life through Southeast Asia’s first crowdfunding and television collaboration. Crowdonomic aims to make crowdfunding more main- stream by providing the public with more insights into the intricacies and mechanism. This is now rapidly becoming a vital source of funding for the region’s brightest start-ups.”
The startup Bootcamp organized by Lithan University College was held in Yangon in August of 2014 which aimed to provide Myanmar entrepreneurs in training and as- sistance in investments. One of the partici- pants at the bootcamp, Code2Lab which is a restaurant management system based on Android was awarded SGD 2,000 and giv- en an opportunity to appear on upcoming Start-UP season 2.
Finalists’ process and marketing efforts will be closely examined by judges and the judg- es will decide which finalists to be awarded a total of SGD 2 million as the prize money.
