Startups gain a full day of information to help them secure funding in Cradle Buzz 2018. The one-day conference follows the 15th Years Anniversary Celebration where Acting Group CEO, Razif Abdul Aziz reveal key highlights from Impact Studies of the Cradle Investment Programme (CIP). According to Razif, the study shows that in the last 8 years, startups have contributed RM3.4 billion to the GDP. It has also created 80 600 jobs as well as secured RM1.3 billion in private and foreign funds.
In his opening speech, Datuk Dr. Aminuddin Hassim, Director of National Strategic Unit, Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF) says, “MOF wants to create a new culture, Governments must be entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurs and the government must work together to be able to use the knowledge to create more opportunity.”
He adds that all entrepreneurs play a critical role in the economy. They need to tackle the main barriers. They also need to be prepared for the future especially with digitization happening fast.
The conference also saw sharing sessions from various speakers from the startup community on how startups can secure a funding. Key speakers included Azran Osman Rani, CEO and Founder of Naluri, Leow Wee Jonn, CEO of Photobook Worlwide, Ganesh Kumar Bangah, Chairman of Pikom and other prominent individuals.
Chief Evangelist of Proficeo, Dr. V.Sivapalan says, “Entrepreneurs should only raise funds once they know they are ready. The business model must be validated. People always raise funds for the wrong reason. Validating a business is key to securing funding.”
He also advises entrepreneurs to a do a little background check on their investors and not to be picky about it. “If they offer, just take it,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Azran says that when it comes to funding, entrepreneurs need to keep trying their best even though they do not succeed in the first few rounds of pitching. He says, “You need a structured process to understand everything. Figure out the structure of your business first.”
Venture Partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures, Reez Nordin says although Investors prefer Fintech because of their high valuation, it does not mean other entrepreneurs cant secure funding. He believes that a validated and a company with a good valuation will be able to secure funding.
To this, Ganesh Kumar says, “Look at compatibles when valuating your company. Check out the market for similar businesses and look at their growth. Some startups prefer to go to auditors and get them to evaluate but this does not work.”
More than a 100 startups took part in the conference.
