The startup culture in Sri Lanka is buzzing. Over the past decade, we’ve seen platforms of all nature kick off in hopes of pushing the startup ecosystem forward. From Spiralation to Yarl Geek Challenge, the modern startup environment is a busy one. JUMPSTART is one such platform that’s in the mix of many initiatives. Organised by the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School, it’s one that aims to enable financing to startups via a contest. Recently, the 3rd edition of the competition came to a close. Here’s a rundown of what happened.
JUMPSTART 2019
JUMPSTART has three categories, idea wizards, early-stage startups, and growth-stage startups. Contestants at the idea or early-stage phase underwent a competition followed by a business case study. The winner was awarded prizes worth over LKR 200,000. The growth stage startup, on the other hand, pitched their startups to a panel of judges in hopes of investment.
The program also included a host of workshops that were conducted throughout the competition. Conducted by experienced entrepreneurs and professionals, the workshops aimed to show the contestants, the different aspects of running a startup. The topics of these workshops ranged from finance and bookkeeping, marketing your brand to understanding your supply chain.
From 40 to 5
Among a list of 40 teams, 5 were shortlisted to the final stage. Two additional teams were given the golden buzzer and made it straight to the shark tank round. In case you’re wondering, the shark tank round is where the growth stage startups pitched to a panel of investors.
The overall finale compromised of two segments. The first is the finals of Pitch it! Win it! This is where contestants at the idea and early stages of their business had to tackle a business case scenario. The teams that address these business cases and pitch the best solution win the grand prize. The second segment of the finale is, of course, the shark tank round.
So who won? Team Volunteer Nation emerged victorious winning the grand prize worth LKR 200,000. Cuckoo Eats came in 2nd place earning a prize worth LKR 100,000. Meanwhile, the remaining finalists walked away with LKR 50,000 worth prizes each. With that ended things for JUMPSTART 2019. Until next time.
