CIMA Launch Pad: Profiles of last year’s start-up contestants
View(s):Preparations are underway to hold CIMA Launch Pad 2017 which promises bigger and better opportunities for top Sri Lanka’s start-up community. Registrations to take part in the contest have already begun, according to the organisers.
While two weeks ago, the Business Times carried profiles of champions and runners-up of last year’s competition, given today (based on a media release issued by the organisers) is a profile of the other companies who made it to the penultimate round and how far they have progressed a year later:
Grease Monkey
Grease Monkey is Sri Lanka’s biggest online platform for automotive products and services, complemented with an island-wide delivery system. Presenting themselves as the “one-stop solution” for all your car’s needs, they’ve also launched a video series on how to maintain your car.
They say Launch Pad proved an excellent platform to polish their knowledge on modeling the finances for their business. Further the resource personnel who added tech-savvy insight to their business model, was of pivotal use to the team.
According to them, they were able to interact with established heavyweights in the start-up ecosphere who came to impart their knowledge, such as the CEO of Takas.lk, Lahiru Pathmalal, with whom they’re still in touch.
IQ Labs
IQ Labs is an online learning platform which bridges the gap between schools and universities. It helps school students to contact undergraduate “tutors”
or access online learning media created by said undergraduates.
While the project was presented as a profit-seeking business, the founders admitted that their focus was more on the cause and less on the potential monetary benefits. For this reason IQ Labs is now run as a non-profit online society which provides the same services for a small subscription.
They view CIMA Launch Pad as a brilliant platform to express your idea and receive feedback and advice from some of the leading industry experts in the country.
EmpSense
EmpSense is an innovative solution to the constant problem of high employee turnover. It is a Business Intelligence tool which analyses employee behaviour and predicts turnover, with 95 per cent accuracy, as proven by tests that were run over a 6-month period. The team aims to target the booming apparel and IT industries in Sri Lanka.
The EmpSense team cited CIMA Launch Pad as a “huge platform” where they learnt the ins and outs of starting up and managing a business.
Vyral
Vyral aims to be the social network for locations. Vyral is a mobile app that shows you what’s currently happening around you and lets you share with the local community.
Currently the team is closing up on the public launch of the product.
They’re running a private beta version which is tested amongst invite-only people to get feedback and fine-tune it prior to the launch. The product has amassed positive feedback thus far, according to the team.
From an organisational aspect, it was quite flawless and it proved to be very fruitful, said a representative from the team. The most noteworthy point they mentioned was the amount of connections they made. They were able to network with the CIMA fraternity as well as the panelists afterwards. “As a networking opportunity, it was a great experience,” a team member added.
“Immediately after commencing Launch Pad, the benefits you receive are imminent. Isn’t as lengthy as other start-up incubator programmes, but in the short time-span in which it’s structured, you get a lot of benefits promptly. There was a lot to gain from the mentorship session as well.”
Rush
When Rush joined the CIMA Launch Pad last year they impressed everyone by having the audacity to style themselves the “Uber of logistics”. Rush is a system that caters to the delivery needs of ecommerce websites, retailers restaurants and SMEs.
Of course that was where they stood a year ago. Now the team has expanded their horizons and planned on including short term warehousing services as well.
They see CIMA Launch Pad as a place to network, learn and bounce ideas off others with the same entrepreneurial spirit. They said that the events they valued most from Launch Pad were the business management and valuation seminars held which made them realise that business skills too would play an important role in deciding whether or not they would succeed.
eMarket
Team MHAT joined us last year with the intriguing idea of merging social media with shopping. Basically with eMarket you can now shop online, with an e-friend. Sounds strange? Not if you’re a woman desperately needing an objective opinion on a gorgeous red dress that could look terrible with your skin tone, being inappropriate for that event and may not be a good place to wear red because your ex might be there…… Yeah eMarket sounds good to me!
MHAT credits CIMA Launch Pad for helping them take eMarket from a vague idea to viable business model within the span of a few months.