Via Zoom

IS3251: Principles of Technology

Entrepreneurship
Semester I 2021-2022
Week 1: 2-4 pm Wednesday 11 Aug 2020

School of Computing
National University of Singapore

Lecturer: Professor Francis Yeoh (disyeohf@nus.edu.sg)

Icube Building #03-15
21 Heng Mui Keng Terrace
Singapore 119613

Class Rep: Volunteer sought

"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of
his opportunities and an optimist is one who
…."

~ Harry Truman
"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of
his opportunities and an optimist is one who
makes opportunities of his difficulties."

~ Harry Truman
Question
Is pain good?

Is BIG pain better?

YES for the entrepreneur, because BIG pain

offers BIG opportunities!
 IS3251: Principles of Technology
Entrepreneurship

The course introduces students to the concepts and principles

of technology entrepreneurship. Students will learn about the
current developments in entrepreneurship, worldwide and in
Singapore and be taught to use a variety of tools, techniques
and frameworks for the development and analysis of
entrepreneurial businesses. For effective learning to take
place, students are expected to participate actively in class
assignments and discussion.
 Course Objectives

Upon satisfactorily completing the course, you would:

• be familiar with innovation and entrepreneurship concepts and
principles
• understand the entrepreneurial eco-system and the life cycle of
an entrepreneurial venture
• be able to use tools, techniques and frameworks to analyse
businesses in general and entrepreneurial ventures in particular
• have the experience of working in a team to develop the core
components for an entrepreneurial venture ie. market
segmentation, value proposition, competitive analysis and
business strategy
• learn how to present a business proposition effectively
 Why Entrepreneurship?

“To date, NUS has incubated about

25% of all the startups in Singapore.”

We see entrepreneurship as a key pillar at

NUS. We were fascinated by the start-ups
in Silicon Valley, and the resilient, never-
say-die spirit of the innovators there. We
felt that this innovative spirit and thriving
ecosystem would be exciting for NUS and
Singapore, and that we needed to develop
this critical mass of Singaporeans with an
Prof Tan Eng Chye
entrepreneurial mindset.
NUS President
Media Interview on 29 Nov 2018
 Why Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurs play an important

role – not just because they're
doing business for themselves
and doing well, and creating jobs
and prosperity, but also because
they are resourceful and
optimistic, they give our society
the confidence that anything is
possible.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
National Day Rally Speech 21 Aug 2016
 SoC Entrepreneurship

Mission
• To educate and equip SoC students with the
entrepreneurial skills needed to work in a tech startup
• To encourage and guide them in the first steps of their
entrepreneurial journey and help connect them to the local
startup eco-system
https://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/entrepreneurship/

Educate. Equip. Encourage. Guide.

SoC Entrepreneurship Programmes

1. Entrepreneurship courses
2. Awards & grants
3. Startup incubation & mentorship
4. Marketing, events & relationships

These are the 4 key programmes we currently have to

drive the entrepreneurship effort at SoC
 SoC Entrepreneurship Committee

Teo Hock Hai Lai Kok Fung Zhao Shengdong James Pang

Ng Teck Khim Francis Yeoh Wong Weng Fai Pete Kellock

Diverse Companies set up by staff, students
& alumni of SoC

June 2019
 Prof Francis YEOH
• Professorial Fellow, Chair for Innovation &
Entrepreneurship, School of Computing
• Executive Director, Mediapreneur Incubator (2014-
2019)

Previously
• CEO National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime Minister’s Office
• CEO, Green Dot Internet Services
• Assistant Chief Executive, NSTB (now A*STAR)
• Deputy CEO, Kent Ridge Digital Labs (KRDL, now i2R)
• Director, Information Technology Institute (ITI)

B Sc & PhD, Electrical Eng (Loughborough University UK)

MS, Management of Technology (MIT)
 Please introduce yourself

• My name
• Course and year of study
• Why do I want to take this class?
• What is one word you would use to describe an
entrepreneur?
• Am I an entrepreneur?
What is one word you would use
to describe an entrepreneur?

Send your answers to pollev.com/fyeoh

 Gallup studied > 1,000 entrepreneurs to determine
10 qualities of highly successful entrepreneurs

1 Business Focus: base decisions on the potential to turn a profit.

2 Confidence: know themselves well and can read others.
3 Creative Thinker: know how to turn an existing product or idea into
something even better.
4 Delegator: don’t try to do it all.
5 Determination: battle their way through difficult obstacles.
6 Independence: will do whatever it takes to succeed in the business.
7 Knowledge-Seeker: constantly hunt down information that will help
them keep the business growing.
8 Promoter: do the best job as spokesperson for the business.
9 Relationship-Builder: have high social intelligence and an ability to
build relationships that aid their firm’s growth.
10 Risk-Taker: have good instincts when it comes to managing high-risk
(Forbes.com 31 May 2014)
 The downside?

• Uncertainty of income - The entrepreneur is the last one to

be paid
• Risk of losing entire investment
• Long irregular hours and very hard work
• Low (no) quality of life until the business gets established
• High levels of stress
• Complete responsibility
• Discouragement & loneliness

Fear is a constant companion (Nesheim)

Only the paranoid survive (Andy Grove)
There’s a mental health crisis in
entrepreneurship
Marcel Muenster, Founder and Director, The Gritti Fund
Paul Hokemeyer, Clinical and Consulting Psychotherapist
22 Mar 2019

Study on prevalence of mental health conditions among

entrepreneurs by Michael A. Freeman, MD, UC San Francisco 2015
found that:
Founders are:
• 2X more likely to suffer from depression
• 6X more likely to suffer from ADHD
• 3X more likely to suffer from substance abuse
• 10X more likely to suffer from bi-polar disorder
• 2X more likely to have psychiatric hospitalization
• 2X more likely to have suicidal thoughts
 Are you an Entrepreneur?
1 Are you 4 How comfortable are you with
q Married uncertainty?
q Single q Very comfortable
q Widowed q Somewhat comfortable
q Divorced q Not comfortable
5 On willingness to take risk, are
2 Are you you
q Male q A high risk taker
q Female q A moderate risk taker
q One who avoids risk
3 Why do you want to start a 6 To become successful as an
business? entrepreneur, what will you
q To make a lot of money need?
q To be independent q Money
q To give myself a job q Luck
q To gain power q Hard work
q To become famous q A good idea
Should You Be An
Entrepreneur? Take This Test
Daniel Isenberg,
Professor of Management Practice, Babson College
FEBRUARY 12, 2010

Some of your friends are doing it. People who do it are in the front pages and
web almost every day. Even President Obama is talking about it. So should
you do it? Should you join the millions of people every year who take the
plunge and start their first ventures? I’ve learned in my own years as an
entrepreneur — and now an entrepreneurship professor — that there is a gut
level “fit” for people who are potential entrepreneurs. There are strong
internal drivers that compel people to create their own business. I’ve
developed a 2-minute Isenberg Entrepreneur Test, below, to help you find
out. Just answer yes or no. Be honest with yourself — remember from my
last post: the worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
https://hbr.org/2010/02/should-you-be-an-entrepreneur
 Typecasting the Entrepreneur

• Small Business Entrepreneurs

• Hard-Working and Adaptable
• Scalable Startup Entrepreneurs
• Born to Grow
• Large Company Entrepreneurs Silicon Valley
• Innovate or Evaporate veteran Steve
Blank
• Non-profit Entrepreneurs
• Driven to Make a Difference
What can you expect from this course?

• Plenty of interaction
• Much critical thinking
• Loads of fun!

There is always something to learn!

How much you get out of this course depends on how much
you put your heart and mind into it
 Tech Startup Life Cycle
Magnitude

Time
 IS3251 Course Outline
Week Course Content
1 Introduction, course objectives, expectations
2 Understanding innovation and startup ventures
3-5 Lean startup, business model canvas
6-11 Business positioning & pitching
Sources of innovation
Business strategies and frameworks
Drivers in startup funding
Business plans, startup finance
Venture capital and term sheets
Sharing by guest entrepreneurs & investors
12 Class presentation of startup proposals
13 Closing discussion & evaluation
 Course Grading

Contribution to Class 20% Indiv

Assignment 1 10% Indiv

Assignment 2 15% Indiv

Assignment 3 15% Team

Business idea submission 20% Team

Business idea pitching 20% Team

45% Individual, 55% Team

Scenes from past years…
Elevator
Pitching…… 12 Apr 2018
IS3251 Business Plan Pitching 7 Apr 2017
 Invited Guests to Class (2020)

Jiho Lim
Co-founder &
Goh Wei Wen 13 Mar Manik Arora
CEO, Mobbin
Co-founder, Chairman &
20 Mar CEO, Rise Group
Kiasu foodies
Former MD, IDG
India
Ben Reinhardt
Entrepreneur-in-
residence
Entrepreneur First 27 Mar
21 Feb
 Entrepreneurship Resources

• Sites: Kauffman Foundation, Techcrunch, Stanford Technology

Ventures Programme
• Blogs: Steve Blank, Brad Feld, Fred Wilson, Paul Graham, Andrew
Chen
• Podcasts: Y Combinator, a16z Podcast, DFJ Entrepreneurial Thought
Leaders
 Should you take this course?

Yes, if you are

• An optimist
• Contemplating starting up or joining a high tech startup
company in the near future
• Prepared to be actively engaged in class, not as an observer
• More concerned about learning than grades

No, if you satisfy none of the above

Course feedback from last year
 Course Admin

• Lectures 2-4 pm on Wednesdays

• Tutorial session 4-5 pm – for questions & clarifications
• Office hours Fri & Wed mornings: Icube #03-15 (if permitted)
or Zoom (Please email for appointment)
• Please participate in the LumiNUS forum which will augment
class learning
• Send Poll Everywhere input to pollev.com/fyeoh
• Assignments to be submitted via LumiNUS (Please use Microsoft
Word)
• Class attendance is mandatory (please email me if you cannot
attend)
• Be considerate to your classmates – be punctual for class
 Zoom Etiquette

• Turn video on during class and mute audio

• Click ‘raise hand’ if you have a question or
comment during lecture that requires an
immediate response
• Otherwise type your question in the chat which I
can address later or type ‘+1’ if you’d like to
speak later
• You can also respond to questions asked in class
by unmuting and speaking or typing on chat
 Project Teams
• Entrepreneurship is a team activity
• You will work in teams for this course
• We will decide number and size of teams once enrolment
settles, likely 4-5 a team
• Teams are to start working together like co-founders of a
startup
• Each Team to:
– Appoint a rep who will be the interface for the team
– Take a group picture with names of team members
– Send the information to the class rep
 Team 3

Marcus Damien

Yogusvi
Zi Hui

• Yeo Chong Ern, Marcus • Tan Jia Le Damien

• Yogusvi Tewari • Ng Zi Hui
Source: Forbes
As at 4 Aug 2021

Apple $2.44T (427%)

Alphabet $1.82T (343%)

Microsoft $2.16T (485%)

Amazon $1.7T (469%)

ExxonMobil $246.4b (-31%)

Facebook $990.3b (278%)

NASDAQ Composite Index History
Tesla overtakes Toyota to become
world's most valuable carmaker
1 Jul 2020

Tesla has become the world's most

valuable carmaker, overtaking Japan's
Toyota, after its stock hit a record high.
Shares in the electric carmaker touched
$1,134 on Wednesday morning before
falling back, leaving it with a market value
Tesla's founder Elon Musk of $209.47b.

That is roughly $4bn more than Toyota's current stock market value.
However, Toyota sold around 30 times more cars last year and its revenues were more
than 10 times higher.
Shares in Tesla have surged since the start of 2020 as investors have begun to feel more
confident about the future of electric vehicles.
 24 Jul 2020

SEA was valued at S$75.1b, compared to DBS’ $53.5b on 22 Jul 2020

On 9 Aug 2021, its market cap was US$159b, a 18.6x rise since IPO on
NYSE in Oct 2017
Marc Andreessen 20 Aug 2011

Why Software Is Eating the World

More and more major businesses and industries are being run on
software and delivered as online services — from movies to
agriculture to national defense. Many of the winners are Silicon
Valley-style entrepreneurial technology companies that are
invading and overturning established industry structures. Over the
next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by
software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing
the disruption in more cases than not.
A New Era For Entrepreneurs And Startups Has
Begun
Martin Zwilling 12/25/2013 @ 2:36PM |94,597 views

Since the recent recession, and at least partially sparked by it, I’m seeing a real
resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit, and more startup activity than ever before. I
believe the days of the “job work” mentality are thankfully waning, with more people
looking to get satisfaction by making the world a better place, rather than just
tolerating brain-numbing work to fund enjoyment elsewhere.

According to the Kaufman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity (KIEA), the

entrepreneurial rate in the U.S. is already well above the dot.com bubble of 15 years
ago…..
 A New Era For Entrepreneurs And
Startups Has Begun
1. Valuations of successful startups have hit an all-time high.
2. Initial Public Offerings (IPO) are back as an exit strategy.
3. Funding for early-stage startups is more available than ever.
4. Cost of entry for a startup is at an all-time low.
5. Startup incubators and accelerators are popping up everywhere.
6. The world is a now single market, both homogeneous and
heterogeneous.
7. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.
8. Large corporations have lost their ability to innovate.
9. Women are a growing force as entrepreneurs.
10. Baby Boomers are joining the fun in record numbers.
Martin Zwilling, Forbes 25 Dec 2013
 9 Jan 2018

Venture Capital Investing Hits Highest Since

Dot-Com Boom

U.S. venture firms deployed $84 billion in more than 8,000 companies last year.
Companies opting to stay private longer means that startups are continuing to seek
more money from their venture capital backers, often asking for larger deal sizes as
their firms grow.
Sharp rise in corporate venture activity

NVCA Pitchbook 2018

Grab launches venture arm to
'transform South-east Asia'
6 Jun 2018
[SINGAPORE] In a bid to seek out South-
east Asia's next tech "unicorn", Grab on
Tuesday launched Grab Ventures, joining the
ranks of Google, Rakuten and other major
tech companies that have carved out their
own venture or innovation arms.

Grab chief Anthony Tan unveiled the company's initiative to develop innovations in-
house, pursue strategic partnerships and groom South-east Asia's next generation of
startups valued at US$1 billion or more.
Speaking at the Innovfest unbound tech conference, he said that Grab wants to create
100 million micro-entrepreneurs in the region as it celebrates its sixth birthday.
"We can transform South-east Asia together. Let's show the world that startups from
South-east Asia can solve real world problems like poverty and hunger."
How Softbank’s Vision Fund Is Disrupting
the Venture Capital Business
24 Nov 2018

• The Vision Fund is composed of a

unique hybrid structure of equity and
debt
• A routine $100m raise in the Silicon
Valley is now turning out into a $200m
fundraise
• With the Vision Fund, SoftBank has
enabled companies to dream BIG as a
resource is not a constraint

In late 2016, the VC and PE industry was shocked by SoftBank’s

announcement of its $100b Vision Fund. The idea behind the fund was to
invest in late-stage technology companies. Riding on its impressive 44%
Internal Rate of Return over its 18 years of existence, SoftBank was able to
close $93b in commitments within just seven months.
Unicorns: private companies with valuations > US$1b
Global Crowdfunding Market
Source: ‘Both sides of the table’ - Mark Suster
The Sharing Economy:
The End of Employment and
the Rise of Crowd-Based
Capitalism
- by Arun Sundararajan, May 13,
2016
Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups

Pew Research Centre 2019 (US Data)

The world is a now single market, both homogeneous and
heterogeneous…

Founded in 2009 in San Francisco, Uber now operates in 65 countries

with 15 million trips daily (2018)
 4 Nov 2018

• Doing what we have

always done
• Architectural
innovation
• Organizational changes
are hard

Most leaders and managers now understand the need for innovation. What is
difficult is implementing the right structures and processes for innovation to
succeed on an ongoing basis. This is the greatest challenge of 21st century
management.
 A New Era For Entrepreneurs And
Startups Has Begun
1. Valuations of successful startups have hit an all-time high.
2. Initial Public Offerings (IPO) are back as an exit strategy.
3. Funding for early-stage startups is more available than ever.
4. Cost of entry for a startup is at an all-time low.
5. Startup incubators and accelerators are popping up everywhere.
6. The world is a now single market, both homogeneous and
heterogeneous.
7. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.
8. Large corporations have lost their ability to innovate.
9. Women are a growing force as entrepreneurs.
10. Baby Boomers are joining the fun in record numbers.
Martin Zwilling, Forbes 25 Dec 2013
Startups have never had it so good
Get ready for a long list of superlatives when it comes to
Q2 2021 VC activity
Jul 9 2021

The venture capital market is

racing ahead, foot on the gas,
middle finger out the window, hair
on fire. That’s our read of the Q2
2021 data released thus far
concerning how much money
venture capitalists deployed
around the world during the
From left, Breathonix's Dr Jia Zhunan and Mr Du
second three months of the year. Fang with NUS deputy president Prof Freddy Boey.

The second quarter of 2021 was the biggest quarter for venture capital activity
ever, measured by dollars invested. The wave of funding led to a quarterly
record of new unicorns — startups that reach the $1 billion valuation threshold
— born in the United States, Asia, Europe and Canada, according to CB
Insights data reviewed by The Exchange.
 What are the startup trends in
Singapore and South-East Asia?
• Total capital invested per annum increased 50X, from $130m in 2010 to
$7.7b in 2020.
• 15 mega-deals (>$100M) in 2020
• Later stage capital (Post-Series C) experienced the steepest jump of 100x
• Early stage and seed rounds have multiplied 30x.
Source: Golden Gate Ventures 2021
Singapore Venture Investment – Seed to Series A
Technology
Singapore's Bet on Tech Startups Gains
Ground with 150 VC Funds
By Yoolim Lee 28 April 2019

Singapore’s effort to create an ecosystem to

support startups is gaining ground, with the
city-state now home to more than 150 venture
capital funds.
L’Oreal SA, Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp.
are among more than 100 entities running
incubator and accelerator programs, according
to Enterprise Singapore, the government
agency spearheading enterprise development.

Venture funding has increased to $10.5 billion in 2018 from $800 million in 2012,
according to data from PitchBook.
The number of tech startups has grown to 4,000 in 2017, with 22,000 employees.
There were 2,800 tech startups in 2003.
Singapore is positioning itself as a gateway for startups to develop, test-bed solutions and
expand into the region to spur growth and create jobs.
Singapore’s Wavemaker Closes
Venture Fund at $111 Million 15 Jul 2020
• The venture capital firm was initially targeting $100 million
• New funding emerges just as cash-burning startups lose favor

Wavemaker Partners LLC, an early-stage

venture capital firm, has closed its third
investment fund for Southeast Asia at $111m
The firm exceeded its initial target of $100
million, drawing new investor Concentric
Equity Partners along with existing backers
including Temasek Holdings Pte, Pavilion
Capital, International Finance Corp. and Vulcan
Paul Santos, Managing Partner Capital.
Wavemaker Partners
Wavemaker, one of the early Singapore-based venture firms focused on business-to-
business startups, has invested in more than 130 companies since 2012. About 100 are
enterprise-related ventures, while the rest are working on scientific discoveries and
engineering advancements. So far, Wavemaker has had 11 exits.
Insignia Ventures closes
second fund at US$200m
Claudia Chong 17 Oct 2019

SINGAPORE-BASED Insignia Ventures

Partners has hit an oversubscribed final
close for its second fund at US$200
million. Limited partners include premier
institutional investors such as sovereign
wealth funds, university endowments,
foundations and renowned family offices
from Asia, Europe and North America,
said Insignia. Zilingo founders Ankiti Bose &
Dhruv Kapoor

The group closed its first fund last year at US$120 million, marking the largest maiden
vehicle by a South-east Asian venture capital firm at the time.
Insignia recently won the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association's "VC
Deal of the Year" for its investment into Indonesian fintech firm Payfazz. It bagged the
award for two years running, following its win with automotive marketplace Carro in
2018.
Facebook co-founder's B Capital
closes second fund at US$820m 30 Jun 2020

B CAPITAL Group has closed its US$820

million second fund to invest in growth-
stage startups, bringing the firm's total
assets under management to US$1.44
billion.
The firm, founded by Facebook co-founder
Eduardo Saverin and former Bain
executive Raj Ganguly, has a portfolio of
nearly 30 companies in Asia, Europe and B Capital co-founders Eduardo Saverin, Raj
Ganguly & Howard Morgan
the US.
Its South-east Asia startups include insurtech firm CXA Group, logistics provider
Ninja Van and Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan.
B Capital typically invests between US$10 million and US$60 million in companies
at the Series B, C and D stages.
 Golden Gate Ventures closes new $100M
fund for Southeast Asia
Sep 14, 2018 by Jon Russell

Singapore’s Golden Gate

Ventures has announced the close of
its newest (and third) fund for
Southeast Asia at a total of $100
million.
Seven-year-old Golden Gate said its
LPs include existing backers
Singapore sovereign fund Temasek,
Korea’s Hanwha, Naver — the
owner of messaging app Line — and
EE Capital.
Investors backing the firm for the first time through this fund include Mistletoe — the
fund from Taizo Son, brother of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son — Mitsui Fudosan,
IDO Investments, CTBC Group, Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC), and Ion
Pacific. Golden Gate was founded by former Silicon Valley-based trio Vinnie Lauria,
Jeffrey Paine and Paul Bragiel. It has investments across five markets in Southeast Asia
— with a particular focus on Indonesia and Singapore.
 Jungle Ventures hits $175M first close
on its third fund for Southeast Asia
John Russell 30 Apr 2019

Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem is set

to get a massive injection of funds
after Jungle Ventures reached a first
close of $175 million for its newest
fund, TechCrunch has come to learn.
Executives at the Singapore-based firm
anticipate that the new fund, which is
Jungle’s third to date, will reach a final
close of $220 million over the coming
few months, a source with knowledge of
the fund and its plans told TechCrunch. Jungle Ventures founding partners
If it were to reach that figure, the fund (left to right): Anurag Srivastava and
would become the largest for startup Amit Anand
investments in Southeast Asia.
Funding and strong regulatory support
from government have fanned the
startup movement….
THE STRAITS TIMES 12 Dec 2020

(to establish new I&E platforms,

strengthen enterprise innovation
& develop entrepreneurial talent)
THE STRAITS TIMES 13 Apr 2019
THE STRAITS
TIMES
14 Oct 2019

• Invested $40m
in 70 startups
• These went on
to raise $450m
in further
funding
…. and private money is flowing into
startups
 27 Jul 2017

Singapore defense firm ST Engineering launches

US$150M venture arm
It also launched a new incubator space called Innosparks

ST Engineering, a defence and

engineering firm, announced
yesterday it has launched a US$150
million venture capital arm to “scout
for and invest in promising
technology start-ups” in sectors that
fit the company’s profile.
As a defence firm, this includes robotics, autonomous technology, data analytics and cybersecurity.
The venture arm, named ST Engineering Ventures Pte. Ltd., will set up scouting offices in
Singapore, Israel and the US, but will look for companies from anywhere in Asia, North America
and the Middle East.
Furthermore, the company is opening an incubator called the Innosparks — which it calls an Open
Lab in part because of the access it provides access to advanced equipment and an engineering
team.
THE STRAITS TIMES 5 Jun 2019
An active investment environment
(fund-raising, exits) keeps the
momentum going…
THE STRAITS TIMES
Singapore-based video streaming startup Viki to be
acquired by Japan's Rakuten for S$255m
Straits Times, Sep 02, 2013
Singapore-based video streaming platform
Viki is set to be purchased by a Japanese
internet giant in what is believed to be the
biggest acquitision of a local start-up in recent
history.
Viki's chief executive and co-founder, Razmig
Hovaghimian, confirmed the acquisition by
Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce giant, although he
declined to give a price for the purchase. Sources
Singapore-based video streaming platform
with knowledge of the situation said the deal is
Viki is set to be purchased by a Japanese
internet giant in what is believed to be the worth US$200 million (S$255 million), US tech
biggest acquisition of a local start-up in website AllThingsD reported.
recent history. -- SCREEN GRAB: Rakuten is best known for its Kobo e-book service
VIKI.COM/TV which it acquired last year.
 Zendesk Buys Live Chat Provider Zopim
for up to $29.8M as it Files for $150M IPO
Ingrid Lunden Apr 10, 2014

Zendesk, the cloud-based helpdesk

startup, has hit the ground running
with not one but two pieces of
significant news today. It’s made its
first acquisition — Zopim, a
Singapore-based startup whose
flagship product is live chat software
that is used by some 120,000
websites in 140 countries.
And it has filed for its IPO, which will see Zendesk list on the New York Stock
Exchange to trade under the ticker “ZEN.” The S-1 filing notes that Zendesk plans to
raise $150 million.
Zendesk doesn’t disclose the financial details of the Zopim acquisition in its press
release, but it does in its SEC filing. According to the S-1, the Zopim deal is worth up
to $29.8 million.
18 Mar 2021
Temasek leads ShopBack's
12 Mar 2020
extended US$75m funding round
SINGAPORE state investment firm Temasek
has invested in cashback startup ShopBack,
alongside some existing investors who did
follow-on investments in the Singapore-based
firm. The total deal value amounts to about
US$30 million.
The startup said Temasek led its extended
US$75 million round, with participation
from existing investors including Rakuten,
EDBI, EV Growth, Cornerstone Ventures and
33 Capital.
ShopBack announced in April last year that it raised US$45 million in an equity
funding round, co-led by new investors Rakuten Capital and EV Growth, with
participation from EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development
Board.
The latest capital injection brings ShopBack's total funding since its founding in 2014
to US$113 million. The company is also backed by SoftBank Ventures Asia and
counts Singapore-based Qualgro and Quest Ventures among its earlier investors.
 E-commerce startup Zilingo raises
$226M to digitize Asia’s fashion supply
John Russell 12 Feb 2019
chain
If you’re looking for the next unicorn in
Southeast Asia, Zilingo might just be it. The
3.5-year-old e-commerce company
announced today that it has raised a Series D
round worth $226m to go after the
opportunity to digitize Asia’s fashion supply
chain.
This new round takes Zilingo to $308 million from investors since its 2015 launch. The
Series D is provided by existing investors Sequoia India, Singapore sovereign fund
Temasek, Germany’s Burda and Sofina, a European backer of Flipkart -owned fashion
site Myntra. Joining the party for the first time is new investor EDBI, the corporate
investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board.
Zilingo isn’t commenting on a valuation for the round, but a source with knowledge of
the deal told TechCrunch that it is ‘a rounding error’ away from $1 billion. Raising
more than $300 million makes Zilingo one of Southeast Asia’s highest-capitalized
startups, but its meteoric growth in the last year has come from expansion from
consumer e-commerce into business-to-business services.
THE STRAITS TIMES 6 May 2020
5 Aug 2021
Singapore’s PropertyGuru To List Via
$1.8 Billion Deal With SPAC Backed By
Billionaires Richard Li, Peter Thiel 24 Jul 2021

PropertyGuru agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed

Bridgetown 2 Holdings—a blank-check company
controlled by billionaires Richard Li and Peter Thiel—as
the Singapore-based online real estate marketplace seeks
to tap booming property demand across Southeast Asia.
The combined entity will be valued at $1.78 billion and
listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the companies
said in a joint statement. PropertyGuru will raise gross
Phari Krishnan CEO
proceeds of $431 million from the transaction, of which PropertyGuru
$299 million will be contributed by Bridgetown 2.

Founded in 2007, PropertyGuru hosts 2.8 million real estate listings on its
digital platform and serves 37 million buyers and 49,000 active property agents
across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
 29 Jun 2021

Singapore's Carousell exploring US listing via $2

billion SPAC dea
SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Home-
grown online classifieds marketplace operator
Carousell is considering a United States listing via
a merger with a blank-cheque company.
The start-up is working with an adviser on the
potential transaction that could value the company
at as much as US$1.5b (S$2b). A listing through
a special purpose acquisition company (Spac)
could take place as soon as the end of this year,
the sources said.
The platform Carousell was founded in 2012 and now counts Telenor Group, Rakuten
Ventures, Naver, and Sequoia Capital India among its backers.
The marketplace has since expanded to eight markets across South-east Asia, Taiwan
and Hong Kong, allowing users to buy and sell a diverse range of products including
cars, lifestyle products, gadgets, fashion accessories and even cleaning services.
 14 Apr 2021

Singapore’s Grab to List in U.S. in $40 Billion

SPAC Deal
• SoftBank-backed Grab strikes pact with Gerstner’s Altimeter
• Southeast Asia ride-hailing giant set to trade on Nasdaq
Grab Holdings Inc., Southeast Asia’s
most valuable startup, is going public in
the U.S. through the largest-ever merger
with a blank-check company.
The Singapore-based startup is set to
have a market value of about $39.6b
after the combination with Altimeter
Growth Corp.
Grab is raising more than $4 billion from investors including BlackRock
Inc., Fidelity International and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. as part of the
biggest U.S. equity offering by a Southeast Asian company.
 19 Aug 2019
THE STRAITS TIMES
HR start-up StaffAny founded by NUS grads raises
$1m in seed funding
SINGAPORE - Home-grown human resource
(HR) start-up StaffAny has raised a $1 million
seed round led by technology investment
company FreakOut Holdings and angel investors.
The angel investors include Mr Kenji Niwa, an
experienced HR tech entrepreneur; and Zopim co-
founders Lim Qing Ru, Kwok Yang Bin and
Royston Tay.
StaffAny was co-founded in early 2018 by four friends - alumni of the National
University of Singapore (NUS) Overseas Colleges (NOC) Programme - Janson Seah,
Jeremy Hon, Lee Kai Yi and Eugene Ng.
It is a workforce management application that connects HR and operations to better
manage hourly workers, which are typically found in the labour-starved food and
beverage (F&B) and retail sectors.
StaffAny helps some 70 businesses manage more than 2,000 employees based in 130
outlets.
Image Search AI Startup ViSenze
raises US$20 million Series C
20 FEB 2019
funding round
ViSenze, a Singapore-based
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
startup that focuses on
ecommerce and online
advertising has secured a
US$20 million Series C
funding round co-led by Gobi
Partners and Sonae IM.

The round, which brought the startup’s total funding to US$34.5 million, was also
participated by existing investors Rakuten, WI Harper, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH)
Ventures, Enspire Capital, Raffles Venture Partners, and UOB Venture Management.
Meanwhile, new backers of the startup include Tembusu ICT Fund, 31Ventures Global
Innovation Fund, and Jonathan Coon’s Impossible Ventures.
Founded in 2012 by Olivia Tan, ViSenze originally started as part of NExT, a research
center jointly established by the National University of Singapore and Tsinghua
University of China.
THE STRAITS TIMES
Singapore start-up PatSnap turns unicorn with
backing from SoftBank, Tencent 17 Mar 2021

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) -
Singapore-founded PatSnap reached a
valuation topping US$1 billion
(S$1.35b) in a fresh funding round, with
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tencent
Investment among those backing the
provider of patent analytics.

CPE Industrial Fund and existing investors Sequoia China, Shunwei Capital and Vertex
Ventures joined the US$300 million Series E round, the software company said in a
statement. PatSnap will use the funds for product development and expanding its sales
presence.
Founded in 2007, PatSnap - short for patents in a snap - provides data and analytics on
intellectual property to more than 10,000 customers including Spotify Technology and
Xiaomi Corp. It employs more than 700 people in Singapore, London and Toronto.
Startup support services provide
valuable mentorship and guidance,
minimising ‘bad’ failures…
Startup Accelerators & Incubators in
Singapore
 EF raises $115M new fund, aiming to
create another 300-plus startups in the
next three years
Steve O’Hear 20 Feb 2019

Entrepreneur First (EF), the

London-headquartered “talent
investor” that recruits and backs
individuals pre-team and pre-idea
to enable them to found startups,
has raised a new fund of its own to
continue scaling globally.
This new fund — which EF says is one the largest pre-seed funds ever raised — will
enable the talent investor to back more than 2,200 individuals who join its various
programs over the next three years. EF currently operates in Bangalore, Berlin, Hong
Kong, London, Singapore and Paris.
This will translate to the creation of around 300-plus venture-backed companies, three
times the number of startups it has helped create since EF was founded by McKinsey
colleagues Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck all the way back in 2011.
Seed-stage accelerator Techstars raises
US$42M funding; plans Southeast Asia
expansion
The funding will accelerate its growth
to help more entrepreneurs succeed
through its accelerator programmes,
startup ecosystem activations, and
corporate innovation
30 Jul 2019

Techstars, a global seed-stage startup accelerator, announced today it has

secured US$42 million in an investment round led by SVB Financial Group,
the holding company of Silicon Valley Bank. Existing investors including US-
based VC firm Foundry Group also participated.
Techstars runs two accelerators in Singapore annually — one with Rakuten and
the other with Eastern Pacific Shipping. It is now planning to expand its
presence in the region.
Antler raises US$50M from investors
including Facebook co-founder to expand
into new locations 6 Jan 2020

Antler already runs programmes in eight global locations and will soon launch
in Jakarta and other locations globally in 2020

Antler, a global startup generator and early-stage

Magnus Grimeland, CEO and
Founder of Antler
venture capital firm, today announced that it has
raised additional US$50 million for its funds in
Amsterdam, London, New York, Stockholm,
Oslo, Sydney, Nairobi and Singapore.
Amongst the new investors are Facebook Co-
founder Eduardo Saverin and Elaine Saverin,
investor and philanthropist Christen Sveeas
(through Kistefos), Canica International, and
Japanese financial services company Credit
Saison, amongst other independent investors,
entrepreneurs and finance industry leaders.
Grab unveils pioneer batch of
startups in accelerator programme
23 Nov 2018

SEEN a new widget appear recently on your

Grab app, offering home-cleaning services
after all the December partying is done?
That service is powered by Helpling, one of
five startups picked to be in the pioneer batch
of Grab's accelerator programme called
Velocity.
Grab on Thursday unveiled the five startups, which were chosen from more than 500
applications. Chris Yeo, head of the innovation arm Grab Ventures, said half the
applications were from Singapore and Indonesia, 30 per cent from the rest of South-
east Asia, and the remainder, from the rest of the world.
Besides Helpling, the online home-services platform, the other Singapore startup is
Tueetor, an educational platform connecting learners and trainers across 500 subjects.
The startups from Indonesia are BookMyShow, an online-ticketing service for
cinemas, events and karaoke; Sejasa, a marketplace for home improvement and
maintenance; and Minutes, a barber- and salon-booking service.
 Universities are active in promoting
entrepreneurship

NUS Startup Runway

Entrepreneurship Programmes
Startup internship in
entrepreneurial hotspots
round the world

§ NOC alumni are 10 times more likely to have started a business within a year of
graduation, compared with other NUS graduates.
§ 1 in 3 students had set up their businesses after 1 year of NOC internship
Hangout for Entrepreneurs at Icube Building

11,000 sq ft hangar facility housing > 50 startups

 The Block 71 Eco-system

Singapore (2011) San Francisco (2015)

Jakarta (2017) Suzhou (2017)

 NUS Entrepreneurship Trainee

• Part of NUS Resilience and

Growth Initiative
• Teams of 3-4 recent NUS
graduates can apply with a
startup idea
• At least 1 team member
must be an NOC alumnus
• If selected, each person
receives a traineeship
allowance of $2500 pm for
up to 1 year
• NUS will take <10% equity
stake if a startup is
incorporated
NUS Alumni Companies
What about the risk-averse culture in
Singapore?
6 Sep 2019
Straits Times
13 Jul 2021
THE STRAITS TIMES 18 Dec 2019
Rachel Lim quit her university studies in her final year to devote
herself to her fashion startup Love, Bonito, which raised US$13m
and now has 21 stores in Singapore
 18 Aug 2016

Three Entrepreneurs Trade Top U.S. Universities For

Singapore's Startup Scene
By Casey Hynes

Two years ago, three Singaporean

entrepreneurs made a decision that
many parents would describe as their
worst nightmares. Mere months after
enrolling at some of the most
prestigious universities in the world,
Oswald Yeo, Qin En Looi and Ying
Glints' founders (left to right) COO Qin En Looi,
Cong Seah dropped out of college.
CEO Oswald Yeo, and CTO Ying Cong Seah
The then-21 year olds moved home to focus on Glints, the startup they founded while
serving in Singapore’s military.
They started with a t-shirt business that Yeo described as “our first failed company.”
Then they launched Glints, an online platform that helps recent college graduates and
early-career professionals find jobs and internships.
 6 Apr 2021

Recruitment firm Glints raises US$22.5m led by

Tokyo-listed Persol Holdings
GLINTS, a talent-recruitment and career-
development platform based in
Singapore, has raised US$22.5m in a
Series C round led by Tokyo-listed
human resources group Persol Holdings.
Existing investors that participated in the
round include Monk's Hill Ventures, Fresco
Capital, Mindworks Ventures, Wavemaker
Partners, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal
and Xiaoyin Zhang, the ex-Goldman Sachs Oswald Yeo, co-founder and CEO of
partner who helped bring Tencent, Baidu and talent recruitment platform Glints.
Alibaba public.
Clients that have used it include Gojek, Tokopedia, FWD Insurance, Starbucks and
Mediacorp. On average, clients make successful hires in 28 days, compared to
industry standards of 40 to 50 days, and at recruitment costs 40 to 100 per cent
cheaper, Glints said.
How Singapore Nurtured Foreign
Trio Who Became Billionaires
10 Aug 2020

David Chen left his native

China as a teenager to
attend school in
Singapore. Little did he
know that his adopted city
would help him reach the
ranks of the ultra-rich. Sea’s co-founders Forrest Li, David Chen & Gang Ye

The co-founder of Sea Ltd. is now worth $1.3 billion, joining fellow co-
founders Forrest Li and Gang Ye among Singapore’s wealthiest
individuals. Their company has thrived during the pandemic thanks to
the popularity of battle royale mobile game Free Fire and e-commerce
platform Shopee.

S'pore tech company Sea donates $50 million to
NUS for computing research and education
(From left) Sea founder and group CEO Forrest Li,
Education Minister Lawrence Wong and NUS
president Tan Eng Chye at the signing ceremony
on March 29, 2021.
29 Mar 2021
SINGAPORE - Home-grown tech
company Sea, which owns e-
commerce platform Shopee and game
developer Garena, has donated $50
million to the National University of
Singapore (NUS) for research and
education in the field of computing.
This is the largest corporate gift the
university has received to date.
The funds will go to NUS' School of
Computing, which has about 4,200
undergraduates, and 1,020 PhD and
master's students.

A new Singaporean hero must be the entrepreneur:
Ong Ye Kung
Education Minister (Higher Education
and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said Singapore
society has to redefine success
26 Apr 2017
Society's notion of success needs to
evolve to encompass self- starters
who may fail in their endeavours but
have the courage to try and try again.
Mr Ong, Education Minister, told an
awards ceremony: "A new type of
Singaporean hero must be the
entrepreneur - someone who has a
dream or passion, who took risks to
do something about it, suffered
setbacks and failures but picked
himself up again.”
 Readings
• A new era for entrepreneurs and startups has begun
– Martin Zwilling, Forbes, 25 Dec 2013
• Typecasting the Entrepreneur
– Steve Blank, Kauffman Thoughtbook 2011
• Why software is eating the world
– Marc Andreessen Wall Street Journal 20 Aug 2011
• Helping start-ups and entrepreneurs, the ‘new heroes’
of Singapore, succeed
– Francis Yeoh, Channel NewsAsia 1 Oct 2017
 Optional Readings

• Should you be an entrepreneur?

– Daniel Isenberg, HBR Feb 2010
• Innovation is a Weed
– Bob Metcalffe, Technology Review Nov 1999
• Start-Ups Braced for the Worst. The Worst Never Came.
– New York Times 10 Aug 2020
• Singapore's tech start-ups raised $5.3b in first half of 2021,
up from $3.4b in 2020
– Straits Times 4 Aug 2021
• South-East Asia Startup Ecosystem 2.0
– Golden Gate Ventures 2021
 Reference

• Innovation and Entrepreneurship

• Peter Drucker (1985)
• The Innovators
• Walter Isaacson (2014)
• Machine Platform Crowd
• Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson (2017)
• How the Internet Happened: From Netscape to the
iPhone
• Brian McCullough (2018)
Feedback from IS3251 class in Aug
2020
 Course Feedback (Lectures)
Topic V Poor Poor OK Good V Good
Introduction: Startup trends & eco-system world-
2 8 7
wide and in Singapore; Software is eating the world
What are entrepreneurial ventures? Discussion on
1 8 8
examples in Singapore: QB House, F&B outlets etc
Business Model Canvas and examples – Amazon,
3 3 11
facebook etc.
Lean Startup concepts – search vs execute, customer
2 7 8
development, MVP, pivot
Positioning - market definition & value proposition
(Garage Technologies), competitive analysis & 1 5 11
positioning
Value Proposition Canvas, customer archetype, jobs
1 5 11
to be done (Christensen)
Types of market (existing, re-segmented, clone,
2 6 9
new); Blue ocean, crossing the chasm, Lean Canvas
Perfecting your pitching (Garage), Airbnb pitch deck,
2 4 11
Sequoia template
Startup finance - P&L, Cash flow 2 7 8
Venture Capital, term sheets, accelerators (recording) 2 8 7

17 responses received out of an enrolment of 25 (68% participation rate)

 Course Feedback (Guests & Assignments)
V Poor Poor OK Good V Good
Guest session: Auston Quek & Zames Chua, Waffle
1 2 14
Technologies
Guest session: Joshua Wong, Jason Tang,
3 14
Hypotenuse
Guest Session: Manik Arora, Chairman Rise Group
2 4 11
and founding CEO, IDG India
Assignment 1: Business Model Canvas & SWOT
2 5 10
Analysis of local enterprise
Assignment 2: Market Definition & Value
Proposition (Garage Technology's framework), 3 4 10
competitive analysis for a local enterprise
Assignment 3: Team business proposal and
2 5 10
preliminary presentations
Team Project: Developing plans for a startup
1 6 10
venture
Elevator pitch 6 11
Investment pitching 1 5 11
 Course Feedback (Material & Discussion)

V Poor Poor OK Good V Good

Class material - Lecture slides 2 2 7 6
Videos: Hoffman, Osterwalder, Ries, 1 9 7
Blank, Kawasaki, startup pitches

Class discussion & Q&A 2 6 5 4

LumiNUS discussion 1 2 5 2 5

Overall Assessment of the Course 1 8 8

 What do you enjoy most about the course?

• I enjoyed the lessons planned out by Prof Yeoh! It has ignited my entrepreneurship
spirit since young!
• Learning new concepts and working on creating an idea together
• The lectures fostered open discussions and always encouraged us as students to
participate and give our opinions. Being a module where right and wrong can be
hard to deduce, Prof Francis has done a superb job in grooming us into potential
entrepreneurs or leaders. Ultimately, I enjoyed every lecture, albeit wordy, due to
the knowledge that was imparted to us. Although I may not see myself becoming an
entrep in the years to come, likely due to me wanting to build on myself first … I
certainly gained a valuable insight on the world of entrepreneurship. Moreover, on
the world of becoming astute students who can articulate our ideas and opinions.
Matriculating into university right after national service is no easy feat. I've face
troubles acclimating with the education culture at NUS. However through the
breakout rooms, discussions, assignments which inculcated deeper thinking, as well
as numerous guest speakers, I was able to acclimate easily into the university
culture, more so for IS3251. Ultimately, I would like to thank prof for all the
lessons, I understand Zoom can be difficult, but he always goes out of his way to
ensure we get the maximum of his teachings.
 What do you enjoy most about the course?
• I think the assessment components really helped me apply the concepts
learned in class. The guest speaker sessions were also very eye-opening,
especially the one by Manik, as we managed to hear from an investor's
perspective.
• There are many real world examples cited in the lectures which shows how
the theory works in practice.
• I really enjoyed the guest talks
• The sharing session from 3 guests that each brings a unique perspective.
• I enjoy learning from real world examples here, also learnt more about how
to achieve market fit etc, but i think main benefit is being inspired from our
speakers.
• The assignments - elevator pitch, the review sessions
• Firstly, will be understanding how a start-up will develop, the introduction
of the various type of funding, ensuring that you have a clear pain that you
want to solve till the reason on why startups fail. Secondly, will be the
process of developing the idea with the team and eventually seeing it come
together as a whole.
 What do you enjoy most about the course?
• I like how the module encompasses everything on how to start a business,
in fact it's a crash course on everything that we have know to become an
entrepreur
• I have learnt a lot of useful knowledge about entrepreneurship which
include the technologies, techniques and frameworks. It is very interesting
to be able to brainstorm a new business idea and work on it.
• Experiential learning of the project and CA based assessment methods,
helps us understand the concepts better when we run through all the lecture
content again as our turn to do it.
• The Pitching for Assignment 3 and Project, was really insightful and
interesting! It really gave me a holistic view of what a startup pitch will be
like, with different teams' way of presenting.
• I enjoy that the concepts were broadly covered, going into sufficient depths
for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn more about the start-up ecosystem. I
really enjoyed that this module was specifically focused on Tech in
entrepreneurship. I think Prof Yeoh is highly qualified and has a great
network to come in as guests during the lectures.
 What do you dislike about the course?

• Lectures are usually quite dry, although there might be speakers that
come towards the end of the class. Perhaps interval speakers might be
useful to keep the engagement going.
• Some lectures got a bit too dry and was hard to keep focus on
understanding content in the middle.
• Nil.
• The materials could be a little less wordy.
• There are many ambiguous terms used in the lecture notes and
assignments which I had to interpret and am uncertain if I was answering
the assignments properly.
• The lectures might sometimes get a bit too dry.
• Quite taxing to keep meeting each other but necessary to make sure we
did our best
 What do you dislike about the course?

• I think presentation structure is a little poor as there is a huge weightage

(50%) on how other people judge you, it becomes very competitive and
biased because its ranking based. Also huge opportunity for other groups
to liase and boost each other's ranking. I think the 50% could be revised.
There is also no structure for asking questions during the presentation,
could tell that some questions were scripted and that prevented others
from asking harder questions.
• The slides might be a little long-winded and unable to capture the key
information. Might need to update the slides a little.
• Sometimes the lectures may get too dry or tedious because the slides are
too informative or wordy.
• Although coverage is great, some materials shared are old so I'm not sure
if they are relevant in today's world as investor mindsets may be
different. Perhaps Prof could clarify which specific parts of a the old
materials are still relevant.
 What do you dislike about the course?

• I think this course would be a lot more fruitful if lessons are held
physically. Especially the part about forming a team, since it is difficult
to get a sense of who you would work well with without the nonverbal
cues.
• The competitive people are annoying especially who kept interrupting
when the lecturer was talking just to get class participation. And during
the presentation of investment, it is very rude to bombard the presenters
without giving them a chance to answer. The lecturer should have given
penalty points to the people who tries to be aggressive just to get more
class participation score, or at least given them a warning. I believe in
working world, at least they have manners.
• nil
 Would you consider becoming an
entrepreneur in the future?
• Probably yes if I have a great business idea. I'm willing to take the risk and
start my own business because I think this would be able to gain valuable
experience regardless of the outcome.
• I may consider after stabilising my finances in the future. I prioritise
providing for myself and my family and am not willing to risk starting a
business if it affects my family.
• yes, i enjoy the challenge and i want to be able to come up with practical and
useful solutions to solve real problems and make a difference
• Yes, as I would like to start a venture on my own and following my passion
after being exposed more to the corporate world and finding the perfect team.
• Yes I would, but not very soon. This is because I need more experience,
knowledge and connections to understand the outside working world, better
under the problem needs and what people actually wants and most of all,
what kind of solution investors are willing to invest in. Although I am
worried about the work life balance as an entrepreneur, I would lean towards
being an social entrepreneur.
 Would you consider becoming an
entrepreneur in the future?
• Maybe. Funds and sustainable idea
• Yes. I've always wanted to start up something of my own. I believe this
module sparks a new perspective and inspiration in me to start something one
day.
• It's something I might consider. However, given that I'm quite a risk-averse
person, I might not be able to give up a full-time job to pursue it (at least at
the beginning).
• Yes. I feel that being an entrepreneur gives me the opportunity to grow.
However, i doubt I'll be an entrep in the years to come, as I would like to
build my knowledge and understanding of IT and IS Leadership before taking
on a leader position.
• Definitely! Currently, I have to work in startups to understand startup
ecosystems. Thank you Prof Yeoh for the headstart on how startups feel like.
• Yes. I enjoy solving problems and taking ownership of a product
development. I think overall it seems to be an interesting and fulfilling
journey.
 Would you consider becoming an
entrepreneur in the future?
• Yes, but not in the IT industry. Perhaps I am not exposed enough to the
industry of IT and I might possibly change my mind after entering the
working force. At the current state, I have my own small business developing
my passion and I must say that passion is what really drives to a successful
business.
• Yes. I have plans on becoming an entrepreneur, it is something that I am
already interested in before taking the course.
• Yes and no. I used to be one and it failed. I am currently doing a podcast with
my friends and while we are not earning money right now, we are looking at
monetization soon
• I would consider it, but it is not very likely. I am not one to take the big risks
of big success or failure, and the amount of time and energy commitment is
too great for me to process at the moment. But if I or a friend's idea is
genuinely good enough to be worth that risk one day, I would definitely
rethink if I could give it a go. 15 Responses (67% Yes)
Yes: 10 No: 1 Maybe: 4
 Any other feedback? How have online
classes affected your learning experience?
• I understand the difficulty of having the classes over zoom, however,
maybe you can consider having in between discussion sessions with the
teams, thinking on certain topics and thereafter sharing with the class. This
might potentially keep the engagement going and the lesson will not be
that dry.
• Maybe more interactive sessions during the lecture, clearer framework.
• Prof should include in activities like practising negotiations too, since as a
startup, there is very little things to start with in the first place.
• -not really
• Moving from Zoom back to physical lessons, it may take awhile before
students get used to a lesson based setting. I think this is something to take
into consideration.
• I think it would be good to have a break around the 1-hour mark because it
was a little hard to keep my focus for two hours straight.
 Any other feedback? How have online
classes affected your learning experience?
• I think lessons and assignments are well suited for COVID, and pace of
course is good as well!
• NIL
• See you again prof! I hope to visit you again during my entrepreneurship
journey.
• The readings are useful and very beneficial. Not sure if it is feasible to
have more guest speakers, but I think that is very useful.
• During the investment pitch it would be nice to have Prof and external
guests come in to ask questions so we experience the types of questions
that experienced judges ask.
 Summary of Feedback
Positives
• Learning about startups
• Guest entrepreneur sessions
• Pitching sessions
Negatives
• Lectures too long, dry
• Slides too wordy
• Too much weight on presentation
Suggestions
• More interactive sessions
• External guest during pitches
• Include negotiation

Thank you – your feedback will shape how I will improve in teaching
subsequent classes
 Consideration of Feedback

• Value proposition of course

– Equipping with knowledge of principles of tech entrepreneurship
– Understand the entrepreneurship process and environment
– Learning to develop, analyse and pitch a business idea
• Differentiation from other courses
• Trade-offs involved:
– Interesting topics vs necessary topics
– Lectures vs discussions vs self-discovery
– Theory vs learning from real-life practitioners

Intent was to cover key concepts and give a lot of information

(lectures notes/readings) that can be reference material for
the future