Stax Lab closes fourth week of GSL start-up incubator
Thursday, 18 July 2013 00:00
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Stax Lab recently closed the fourth week of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Global Start-up Labs (GSL) start-up incubator, held this year at the University of Moratuwa.
The GSL participants consist of five teams of UoM students who, over the course of seven weeks, will each build a mobile or web-based start-up from the ground up. In the first half of the intensive GSL program, student entrepreneurs identified key problems and business opportunities to serve society, created targeted customer surveys, and outlined their business models. They are now deep into coding version 1.0 of their products, to be released at GSL’s Launch Day finale on 1 August.
The teams’ ideas are well formulated, but fundamental questions remain: How will they monetise their services to create sustainable revenue models? Are their products in sufficient demand to merit investment and carry their companies to expansion? How will the start-ups market themselves and articulate the value of their services to the public? GSL participants have, for the past two years, looked to Stax Lab to help think through such strategic questions.
Pioneered by Arj Wignaraja and Ruwindhu Peiris, two outstanding start-up mentors and supporters of GSL since its inception, Stax Lab brings together GSL start-up teams with a panel of judges – including experienced business consultants from the Stax consulting company, potential investors, and leaders from Sri Lanka’s IT industry – in an interactive pitching and critique session.
At Stax Lab, GSL entrepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch to real investors, faced tough questions, and learned first-hand the information needed to effectively pitch a start-up idea. Questions ranged from start-ups’ projected cost of marketing to capitalise on a first-mover advantage, to the cultural aspects of consumer interaction with their services.
The 14-strong panel of experienced judges included, SLASSCOM Executive Director Imran Furkan, Blue Ocean Ventures Managing Director Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Calamander Capital Director Mafaz Ishaq, Google Country Consultant Rohan Jayaweera, Virtusa VP and General Manager Madu Ratnayake, John Keells Executive VP and CIO Ramesh Shanmuganathan, HSBC Electronic Data Processing Managing Director Decca F.C. Fan, Navantis CEO Indika Raigama, LR Global Lanka Private Equity Fund Managing Partner Chanaka Wickramasuriya, Open University senior lecturer and researcher Dr. Ajith Madurapperuma, University of Moratuwa professor, leading researcher, and one of the pioneers in bringing GSL to Sri Lanka Dileeka Dias, and of course the Stax Inc. team: Director Ruwindhu Peiris, Senior Adviser and former Managing Director Arj Wignaraja and Engagement Manager Lasith Lansakara.
Under to-the-minute timing and coordination by Stax analyst Shenali de Silva, each start-up team presented their idea, followed by 10 minutes of intense drilling and feedback by the judging panel. The panel of judges then rated each team on several aspects of their businesses, including their problem significance, understanding of customers and competitors, and how successfully they have planned to reach their target market. Following key advice and critical feedback offered by the judging panel, teams are now working to finalise their product development, filling any identified gaps in their marketing plans and long-term financial projections, and reaching out to obtain their first customers.
Thanks to the incredible support and timely feedback from the Stax team and judging panel, the expectation is to see five market-ready products backed by solid business plans coming out of GSL this year, ready to publicly launch by GSL’s finale event, Launch Day on 1 August.
