“Collaboration not competition” at MBJ Launchpad startup event

The MBJ Launchpad £200K competition video is now live, check it out, with me in mentor and judge role. (More notes to follow..)

Plus check out the live blog from the night on 22 October at Google Campus!

http://twitter.com/AvennuTeam/status/657244318802034688/photo/1

Hector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

And the winners are MoonROK!

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Its now between MoonROK and SocialBelly!

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Runner Ups: (no particular order)
i2i
beepbeep
Avennu

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

1 Winner and 4 in Second Place.

Took them a bit longer due to a tough choice.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

15 mins break before final announcements.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Topics touched by questions: next steps, dating apps, conversion rates, sustainability of business model, favourite foods.

Smashingly handled to be honest.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Yet another strong pitch. Now onto questions before the panel go off and make a decision on who wins the £100k development plan from MBJ.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Food is just the beginning, aiming to actually disrupt how people socialise.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

A 2am meeting that’s already generating revenue by bringing people together over meals with strangers.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Final pitch by: Social Belly

BRINGING YOU A SENSE OF BELONGINGNESS

Help to make moving to a new city easier.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Questions posed on: venue incentives, vetting, competition and automation.

All answered easily and with confidence.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Well presented, with a strong understanding of their market. Currently NY-only but with big plans. Now onto some questions from the panel.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Already funded current version through Kickstarter.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

9/10 creative spaces in NY do NOT offer online bookings. 60% of the time, event spaces are vacant.
$127m is lost potential revenue in NY alone!

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Up next: Avennu

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Some gruelling questions from the panel about marketing, automated cars, and competition.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

A well structured and well thought through pitch. Now onto Q&As.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Aim to create efficient cities and connect people through technology.
Combination of: parking logistics, connecting drivers in big cities and a mobile parking app.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

70% of world population with live in a city by 2050.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Up now: BeepBeep

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Quick 15 min break before the next 3 pitches.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Interesting to hear how the K-pop fans buy CD’s as collectibles as oppose to utilities.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Very strong pitch with steady and impressive numbers, as well as a big plan for what’s next.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

K-Pop generated $5.3bn export revenue in 2014, via 21 million fans worldwide.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Lots of head’s bouncing to K-Pop samples!

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Up next MoonROK

Aiming to be the world’s premier source of English K-Pop news and entertainment.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

i2i network fielding the judges/mentors questions well.
Questions about regulation, community and alternative revenue channels.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

UK Crowdfunding in last 6 months: More than £80,000,000 invested through more than 100k transactions

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

First up to pitch: i2i network

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

They are:

Michael Smith – Head of Marketing at IBM
Stuart Hall – Former head of SEO @ eBay – MBJ Advisory board
Sargar Sarkar – Former head of corporate communications @ Morgan Stanley – MBJ Señor Advisor / Private Marekting consultant
Cathy Han – Corporate lawyer @ DAC Beachcroft – head of DAC startup lab team
Heather Darnell – Director of Ask-The-Boss financial advice

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Short and sweet keynote done. Now the mentors/judges are just introducing themselves.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

How Meta!

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO
Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

As I said, teams are ready!

Mentors/judges are here now too and the audience is starting to fill up.

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

Teams are ready. People are starting to arrive. So much energy already!

Hector KolonasHector KolonasA MONTH AGO

A lot of excitement as the teams get ready to pitch tonight. There will be a short break in the begging of the Live Blog, as I’m proudly delivering giving the keynote. But I’ll be right here updating you all each and every pitch, right until a winner is announced this evening.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.