Youth Pitching Contest - late post!

This is a late, late post but I have to say the Youth Pitching Event at the University of Sydney was a knockout affair!  Eric Chau from the University of NSW won the first prize, a trip to Silicon Valley to attend the gala TIECON conference with 3,500 other attendees.  He came back glowing, his 'life changed' - he said.

Check out the details on the TiE site, where you can also see his pitch on a YouTube clip.

We are now looking for angel investors to help Eric patent his eyedropper design and license it to manufacturers.  Any comers?

TiE Women's Pitching Event a great success!

The TiE Sydney Pitching Contest for Women Entrepreneurs on 2 March was an outstanding success.  With 12 contestants, the range and quality of ideas and initiatives was exceptional.  Panel judge Jennifer Zanich, serial entrepreneur and currently CEO of Xumii Services, commented that she had not seen this level of quality pitches, even in her second home of Silicon Valley.  The buzz was palpable as each contestant, constrained to just 3 minutes, pitched to an imaginary group of angel investors for money and partnership.

As MC for the evening, my brief to the contestants was that the key objective of the pitch was not to get a cheque (even the most naive angel would not do this!) but to get a meeting.  Then there was a chance of securing a cheque!  The panel judges agreed they would give all the contestants a meeting opportunity, so they all came out ahead.

 The winner was a late entry, Lucy Symons from Barefoot Power, who won a trip to India courtesy of TiE sponsor ACR Travels, see here.  While the winners were chuffed, all contestants had positive feedback about their own learning experience.

Which, after all, was the primary goal of the event.  Six contestants had also signed up for a TiE Sydney mentoring workshop to refine their pitches on Sunday 27 Feb.  Alongwith fellow Board member Angelica Jacob and Charter Member Nitin Singhi, I ran this 3-hour workshop given my responsibility for TiE's Mentoring Program.

And what a delight it was!  Young Jenny Lui, a second-year engineering student at UTS, stood out in her passion and obvious delight in pitching her wind turbine solution for city buildings to leverage wind energy for their own lighting.  With participants in a wide range of age, experience and product-market propositions, everyone learnt as much from each other as from the counsel of the facilitators.

Now we are planning the Youth Pitching Contest in May, billed as a 'Clash of the Titans' between University of Sydney and the University of NSW.  Should be just as much fun!

A great event and experience for all at TiE and the participants.  Why not join our next event, a workshop on Networking on 6 April at the Sydney Hilton?

Exciting lineup of events for entrepreneurs at TiE Sydney 2011!

On the new Board of TiE Sydney, the local chapter of the world's largest entrepreneur support network (www.tie.org), we have put together a string of 10 events for 2011 that should be of interest not only to entrepreneurs but movers and shakers within large organisations.

Selecting the broad theme of  "Innovation" for 2011, we have three key events put together:

• "Growth through Innovation" Workshop for Small and Medium Enterprises on 4 May;
• "Leadership through Innovation" Workshop for Corporates/Larger organisations on 3 August;
• TiECON 2011 - the flagship event on 5 October.

For the full schedule of events, click here.  You can also check out and sign up for the free newsletter here.

This year we also have a focus on Women Entrepreneurs and are looking to partner other associations to offer free mentoring, joint events and for TiE Members, a chance to win a trip to India with a Pitching Contest on 2 March.

Why not join the 2011 Kick-off event at the swish new Sydney Hilton on 2 February - free for members, just $20 for non-members.  With canapes and drinks courtesy of TiE, the business case is compelling!

And if you thought networking was not your strength, why not attend our Workshop on Networking on 6 April to build these essential skills?!

Check out www.sydneytie.info for more information or www.sydney.tie.org to find out more about TiE Sydney and the global TiE network across 56 Chapters in 13 countries!

Best with your startup or growth plans in 2011!

2011 Board for TiE Sydney

Sydney has had an active Chapter of the TiE Global Entrepreneurs network since 2000.  The power of TiE is in its network - 13,000 members, including 2,500 seasoned entrepreneurs. There are currently 56 TiE Chapters spread across 13 countries around the world.

The new Board of the Sydney Chapter was elected this month.

Pathy Pathmanaban	President
Vik Bansal	Director- Sponsorship
Manishi Dave	Treasurer
Angelica Jacob	Director- Events/PR and Marketing
Suresh Kumar	Director- Membership including CMs
Dilip Rao	Director- Mentoring and Alliances

If you are a seasoned entrepreneur who wants to make a contribution to the community, an entrepreneur looking for support and a helpful network or even an aspiring wannabe entrepreneur, do join us!

Best to all for 2011!

Meet Rama Bijapurkar on 2 Oct in Sydney

For anyone interested, I am hosting a small get together with Rama Bijapurkar at Paymate's offices in Sydney (Level 25, 31 Market Street) in Sydney on 2 Oct from 5-6:30pm. Pls RSVP so we know numbers: dilip@paymate.com.

Should be insightful for anyone interested in the huge Indian consumer market!

See post below for details on Rama.

Winning in Indian Consumer Markets

For Australian companies and entrepreneurs interested in venturing into the vast but tough Indian consumer market, there is a great opportunity coming up - to meet one of India's leading consumer marketing thought leaders.

Rama Bijapurkar serves on the Boards of Infosys, CRISIL, Axis Bank, Godrej Consumer Products, Give Foundation and Mahindra Holidays & Resorts. An alumna of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Rama is a Visiting Faculty and on the IIMA Board of Governors.

I have to admit some bias, since Rama was a year my senior at IIMA, but with her career spanning leadership positions with McKinsey, AC Nielsen and Hindustan Lever, her credentials are impeccable. See: http://www.bijapurkar.com/.

Rama's visit to Sydney will be hosted by the Australian School of Business and the Australia India Business Council, with a talk on October 1, 2009, details as below.

Also participating will be Mr Amit Dasgupta, Consul General of India and Dr Julien Cayla, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Australian School of Business.


"Winning in the Indian Market" : Rama Bijapurkar

6 pm Oct 1, 2009 (Drinks from 7-8 pm)

John B Reid Theater, AGSM Building, Gate 11 Botany Street

University of NSW, Kensington 2052


For registration contact: Ehsan Ahmed, e.ahmed@unsw.edu.au.


I would commend this event to all entrepreneurs and corporates interested in India.

TiE Sydney Biz Plan Contest Winner

Last night was the final of the TiE Sydney Business Planning Contest and I was invited to join the panel of judges. The event was held at the MLC Centre, at the facilities provided by the NSW Department of State & Regional Development, a great supporter of TiE.

Well-attended by TiE members and guests, the evening was challenging for the contestants and stimulating for all. Five finalists had been selected the previous month, via an exciting Pitching Contest (five minutes to sell your dream!) that saw 18 contestants go for broke.

The finalists were:

Ahimsa Systems: This startup's vision is to empower individuals to improve their quality of life by managing their health in a secure and supportive environment. Founder Dr Uma Srinivasan presented the benefits of their RedMynt Personal Health Record to the ecosystem and the push by the Australian Federal Government to support private sector providers of such services.

IPScape: An established company with real clients and real revenue (always a plus!), this company is leading the Saas (software as a service) push into Call/Contact Centres that are burdened by high capital costs yet have an inflexible platform that cannot be rapidly scaled for bursts of demand. Founder Simon Burke pitched their 'cloud' technology and plan for expansion in both Australia and new markets in Asia including India.

Requisite Technologies: A startup aiming to transform the driver training industry with a comprehensive, online Driver Training Dashboard, this company is trialling their solution in Australia and wants to expand into the United Kingdom as well. Co-founder Pratyush Chalasani presented their plans to make life easier and more productive for driving instructors while improving learning outcomes for their clients.

Marziplanner: Already established as the #2 Wedding Planner product worldwide, this little company is already cash positive with a DIY software product used by brides to plan their elaborate nuptial events. Founder Ilka Brookes now wants to take the product into the enormous Indian market, where wedding extravaganzas with 3,000 guests are not uncommon!

Each contestant presented their plan and was quizzed by the panel as well as the audience. When the panel retired to come to a decision the audience also voted on their popular choice. As it happened, the same company was picked by the judges as well as the audience:

Marziplanner!

Ilka Brookes won the day with her knockout presentation, her understanding of the customers' pain (Bridezillas' notwithstanding) and passion for building a business with very little money or resources. We felt she had a good opportunity in India but would benefit from a local business partner and some mentoring from TiE - India can be a tough market for outsiders.

Ilka wins a free ticket to New Delhi, courtesy of TiE and member Arnold D'Souza (http://www.acrtravel.com.au/), and will attend TiECON New Delhi on 18-19 September 2009. This will be a great opportunity for Ilka to make connections and perhaps find an investor for her Indian adventure.

TiE Sydney is the local chapter of the global TiE organisation - the world's largest not-for-profit entrepreneur network. We run monthly events that attract entrepreneurs, wannabes and anyone interested in making the world a better place!