Have you ever had a business idea that could change the world? Ever had a dream plan which you couldn’t yet execute due to shortage of capital, lack of expertise, or fear of being under the spotlight? Have you been looking for an opportunity to gear your journey? Then, Jumpstart is the platform for you!
JUMPSTART, the signature Professional Development project of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School, was initiated with the aim of creating opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka to Jumpstart their business journey, as well as students of Achievers Lanka Business School to have their first taste of the business world. Since its inception in the year 2017, Jumpstart has come about in many exiting twists, opening numerous opportunities for its participants, leading to impactful changes in their professional lives.
Here’s all you need to know about Jumpstart 2020!
Taking the theme ‘INITIATE. ELEVATE. TRIUMPH’, Jumpstart 2020 would be staged under the following three categories.
- Pitch it, Win it
- Shark Tank
- Board Room Challenge
*Due to the prevailing situation in the country, Jumpstart 2020 will be conducted completely online via the platform ‘Zoom’, up until the finales of each category. In the case of team participation, participants may join from one location or separate locations.
The decision of holding the finales physically would be made closer to the date, based on the health care regulations of the country. If the situations do not permit, the finales would be conducted virtually, similar to the previous rounds.
GAME PLAN
Pitch it, win it!
A platform for idea wizards and early stage startups to pitch their business idea before a panel of judges, and win valuable prices to Jumpstart their business journey. Participants of this category may be individuals or teams having an early stage business startup, or merely a business idea in mind.
As the first step of this category, a workshop‘Pitch perfect’ open to the public would be conducted on the 7th of November 2020. It will focus on how to pitch a business idea soundly, and prepare a business plan. All participants of ‘Pitch it, win it’ are expected to participate for this workshop, which would guide them towards performing effectively in the preliminary round.
Following this, the participants will pitch their business at the ‘Pitch it, win it – Preliminary round’ which will be held on the 22nd of November 2020. This would comprise of a presentation followed by a Q&A session with the judges. Participants will be questioned on the application, feasibility, and the return on investment of their business idea. The teams with the four most outstanding business ideas, will be qualified for the finals.
As part of the ‘Pitch it, win it!’ category, a series of workshops open to the public will be conducted from the 23rd to the 29th of November 2020. They would be conducted by the judges and industry experts, and will mainly address the topics,
- Finance and book keeping
- Marketing and sales
- Fundraising
- Legal Aspects and Business registration
This will be a valuable opportunity for the finalists to enhance their knowledge and skills prior to facing the finals, and all finalists are recommended to participate for the workshop series.
In addition, upon getting select for the finals, all finalists would be assigned a mentor who would guide them towards preparing for the finals. .
The selected finalists will compete in the ‘Pitch it, win it! – Finale’, which will be held on the 6th of December 2020. They would be given an unseen business scenario prepared by the judges, customized to their business and industry. Each team would be given one hour to build strategies and present a solution which would reflect their skills in quick thinking and decision making.
The winners of ‘Pitch it, win it’, will be decided based on a final score comprised with 50% brought forward from the preliminary round, and the other 50% from the points gained through the grand finale.
The first three places of the ‘Pitch it, win it!’ round, will receive valuable prices to escalate their Business. The winners of this category will be awarded prices worth LKR 100,000, which will include all or some of the following.
- Cash Prices
- Co-working space
- IT solutions
- HR solutions
- Portfolio solutions
- Web hosting
- Mentor-ship
The participants of the ‘Pitch it, win it’ category have the opportunity to compete for an additional prize by submitting a thorough Business Plan about their start up. The required structure of the business plan will be sent to all participants of ‘Pitch it, win it’, upon registration, and submissions will be taken in until the 21st of November 2020. Competing for this award will be optional, and the points earned from it will not affect the ‘Pitch it, win it’ scores of the participants.
Registrations for ‘Pitch it,win it’ will be open until the 20th of November 2020.
Shark Tank
This will be a straight Finale, conducted in the form of a networking event, where the stage is open for growth stage startups to connect with potential investors from numerous fields of Business, who may be interested in offering them investments for a return of equity in their Businesses.. Participants of the category maybe individuals or teams, owning a business in the growth stage.
There will be a selection in order to take part for this category, and upon registration the participants will be asked to submit and overview of their start-up on the following points,
- Existing revenue generation
- Scalability
- Profitability/impact
- Business Model
- Traction
The qualified would pitch their business to the investors, following some rounds of discussions. The businesses will be evaluated on grounds such as feasibility, growth and return on investment, and the participants stand a chance to receive investments for their Businesses. The participants may also gain expert advice for their business, and create long lasting contacts with investors. The Shark Tank round will be held on the 6th of December 2020.
Registrations for ‘Shark tank’ will be open until the 2nd of December 2020.
Board Room Challenge
An opportunity exclusively for the CIMA and ACCA students of Achievers Lanka Business School, to explore the Business world as well as gain experience to face their case study examinations at the higher stages of their courses.
The students would be divided into groups, and each group would be given a company to review. The students are expected to do a research on important aspects of the company, such as operations and finance, and present it before a panel of judges, along with a detailed report. The winners of this category will be presented with Certificates. The Board Room Challenge will be held on the 22nd of November 2020.
OUR SUCCESS STORIES
Jumpstart 2017
Jumpstart 2017 was staged under two categories; the Cooperate Awards and Enterprise Awards. The Corporate Awards category took a similar approach as the ‘Pitch it, win it’ category in 2020, rewarding many valuable prices for the top three talented entrepreneurs. The first place walked home with,
- Prize of LKR 100,000/=
- Working space at Business Hubs Sri Lanka.
- ICT solution (app or website), entrepreneurship mentoring and a collection of tech-tools from Revolution Portfolio.
- Y club membership and networking opportunities from Youth Business Sri Lanka.
The Enterprise Awards category focused on the CIMA foundation level students of Achievers Lanka Business School, and took a similar approach as the Board Room Challenge in 2020. Mainly serving as an eye opener for the students who were just stepping into the Business world, the competition awarded certificates for participation as well as the first 3 places.
Jumpstart 2018
Jumpstart was back in 2018, to seek the next best start-up in town! It followed a similar approach as the ‘Pitch it, win it’ round this year. This year, Jumpstart brought in many more exciting prices to the table, for the winners to escalate their Business Journey. The first place was awarded,
- Rs.100,000/- Cash prize
- 1-month free Co working at any co working space through Million spaces
- 6 months free Co working at Business hubs
- ICT solution (app or website), entrepreneurship mentoring and a collection of tech-tools from Revolution Portfolio.
- Membership to the Y- club – Premier entrepreneur gathering & mentoring network for the finalists.
- Providing a linkage to Social Media platforms and Marketing opportunities for the winners of JumpStart. (Based on the product feasibility and scale up opportunity)
- Networking opportunities with investors for the winners of Jumpstart
Jumpstart 2019
Jumpstart expanded its limits in the year 2019, catering for Business ideators, early stage start-ups as well as Businesses in the growth stage. The business ideators and early stage startups competed in the ‘Pitch it, win it!’, similar to that of 2020. The first four places received many valuable prices with the winners being awarded,
- A professional website developed worth over LKR 100 000 from Dawn Developments, which includes 8 Dynamic Pages, .com Domain, 5 Email accounts along with 5 hosting space, Server Security, Website Backup and maintenance for 2 years and Technical Support of any sort (IT related).
- Discounts up to 75% on Dynamic Website for any number of pages, Static website over 10 pages, Any Domain, Additional Emails (after 5 free emails), Mobile Application, POS System, ERP Systems, Chat Bot, Dashboard with data analytics, HR System, Help Desk System and Consultation start up support for the website from Dawn Developments.
- Co-working space of 6 months from Collaborate Co-working
- 30 hours of Mentorship from StartupX Foundry
- An article in the ‘Chokolaate’ Magazine
The Shark Tank round focused on Business in the growth stage, and took the same approach as it will this year. It opened the floor for the competitors to connect with reputed investors in the country in various fields.
After the completion of three successful editions, JumpStart has proven time and time again that it is the ideal platform to Jumpstart your business journey. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity and the rewards in store, to make your business dream a success.
Initiate your idea, Elevate your journey and Triumph in the field of Business, with Jumpstart 2020!
Rtr. Kalani Siriwardena
Editor