JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP
The Startup-O Evolution
Idea Sex
After experiencing the pains of the startup ecosystem for both startups and investors, Anuj and Nitin brainstormed around the vision to create a platform that not only help startups expedite their chances to access capital and global networks, but also provides investors with a data-driven and transparent approach to early
Partners Inc.
Mar 2016, the company was incorporated and on July 7 2016, a partnership between Anuj Jain and Nitin Nath was incorporated with the belief that every authentic entrepreneur who dares to do what he dreams deserves a fair chance to succeed.
School of Hard Knocks
Building a team, a tech platform, getting investors, and partners on board were no easy task. At the time of conception, there were hiccups at various fronts.
Tickering in the Lab
The website was built in September 2016 and ready to launch. Selected early beta users could register on the platform to test it and participate in trial runs.
Almost a Co-Founder
Support from IP Bridge, a Japanese fund aimed at global innovation and IP-related investments, was inked with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
A multi-family office named Javelin came onboard
Javelin Wealth Management fund also came onboard to launch the Javelin Startup-O Victory Fund SPC, a Singapore managed fund, to invest in the winners to Startup-O’s quarterly Fasttrack competitions.
Stumbling into Happiness
Startup-O Fasttrack Program Season 1 began on 7 November. The first video call between a Startup-O expert, and a promising startup, from two geographical locations occured. And the rest is history.
Unofficial Office – The Book Cafe
Till December, The Book Cafe was our unofficial office for 6 months, where all the action took place. On 26 December, the team developed diagnostic frameworks based on early user feedback to complement the first season launch. December also marked the launch of Javelin Startup-O Victory fund.
Delivering Happiness
After 10 weeks, the first cohort’s results were released and the winners, including Whizpace, impress.ai, Serv, and Hackertrail were chosen.
Season 2 Begins
After the first season went well, we began with the second season of Startup-O Fasttrack Program.
Seen Hubspotting
Hubspot, a software platform that helps to generate leads, close deals and manage pipelines, was the first brand partner supporting Startup-O’s vision. Season 2 of Startup-O Fasttrack Program was also launched in February 2017. We also organised a Hubspot event for the first cohort.
The Village that Raised a Child
A privately held event took place at Tanglin Club for investors, experts, portfolio companies and country partners who came from across APAC region.
Network of Networks
More partners, including IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP), Headstart, and Amazon Web Services, joined Startup-O platform. Second season improvements were also made on the tech platform, such as real-time notifications, to boost the interactions between experts and startups.
Beginning a Journey with A*Star
In May, Startup-O co-organised a deep-tech dialogue event with A*Star ETPL, targeting scientists who were trying to commercialise their ideas.
Launch of Season 3
This day marked the launch of Startup-O Fasttrack Season 3.
The New Startup Builder
Startup-O and the first 4 startups that were part of the Javelin Startup-O Victory Portfolio were featured in Tech In Asia, e27, Tech Portal and other media sites.
New Venture Builder Announces Its First 4 Startup Seed Investments
Several media outlets such as The Straits Times, Yahoo and SGSME, covered our investment in the first cohort companies as well as Startup-O’s venture builder platform.
Season 4 Begins
On 14 August, Startup-O Fasttrack Season 4 began.
Launch of Startup-O community on Facebook
Startup-O is an ‘entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs’ platform with a strong focus on building a community of authentic founders, seasoned experts, collaborative partners, and progressive investors.
Advanced AI – Negobot Launch
On 16 August, Startup-O launched Negobot at a “real-time venture” creation event in partnership with A*Star ETPL. August also marked the commencement of Startup-O Fasttrack Program Season 4.
The New Funding Platform for S.E.A Startups
On 8 September, INC ASEAN covered Startup-O platform’s innovative data-driven and transparent approach for early stage investing.
The A Team
Startup-O has an entrepreneurial, passionate and diverse team of 12 members, with complementary skills. The team comprises of techies, community managers, marketers, investment professionals and entrepreneurs-in-residence, all driven together by the vision to enable entrepreneurs.
Hunt for Top Fifty
Startup-O leading ‘Smart Fifty’ initiative in ASEAN as an IIM-C Calcutta IP partner in collaboration with Govt. Of India – Dept. Of Science and Technology.
Partnership with Founder Institute, Palo Alto
Startup-O signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with Founder Institute, the world’s premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program. The focus is on Indonesia and Philippines markets.
New Product Launch
Startup-O completed its first year. To celebrate this, we have launched a new product, First Stop. First Stop is targeted at local PMETs and anyone who is looking to take their ideas to start up.
Taizo-san visits Startup-O for a discussion on future of work and education
Sharing the larger vision of Startup-O with the serial entrepreneurs and Masa-san’s younger brother Taizo-san at our office.
Startup-O meet with experts, partners and founders
Kicked off the new year with an august gathering of various community members.
Signing the MOU with IIM Calcutta in the presence of High Commissioner of a India Jawed Ashraf and Amitabh Kant
Cementing the partnership with IIM-Calcutta for cross border collaboration.
