ClearDekho @Mox Demo Day #5 | Get a perfect fit of eyewear from ClearDekho with just a few clicks !

On August, 21th 2018, STARTBOARD participated in Mox Demo Day, where 6 startup teams full of brilliant ideas pitch their products to senior investors.

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Founded by SOS Venture and Gmobi, Mox made its debut in December, 2015. As its name discloses, Mox is also known as Mobile Only Accelerator, making 24/7 dedication to nurture global startup teams in such fields as application, mobile services and online platform. Mox provide startups with top-notch mentors and resources with an eye to refining startup teams’ business models and eventually nailing it at emerging markets.’

Starting up is about creating a whole new business model that is innovative enough to disrupt the ecosystem; not about maximizing your income by adhering to old patterns.

Mox provides startup teams with opportunities to pitch themselves in front of the general public, government agencies and investors with laser-like perception.At Mox Demo Day, STARTBOARD also met up with six startups with promising future, seeking further possibilities of cooperation with big corporation and investors. The first startup team we desire to highlight is ClearDekho from India.

ClearDhkho is the first of such online prescription glasses business in India!Harnessing their keen observation well, ClearDhkho realizes that in India, more than  250 million people dwelling in remote areas and little towns get daily struggles to “see clearly.” On top of hectic traffic and the long distance they need to travel through, some prices of eyewear products exceed the reasonable price they set.

ClearDhkho also regards itself as Warby Parker for the India mass market, allowing target audience to purchase glasses with simply a few clicks at 7 US dollars. Aside from perks of saving your time and money, the good news is that ships and returns are all for free! Setting their sights on achieving 75% of the Indian population, ClearDhkho continues to expand the business, opening six to seven stores in India on a monthly basis!

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STARTBOARD with Singh Shivi, the co-founder from ClearDekho

50 Startup and Venture Capital terms you should know

By  from TechRepublic

  1. Acquisition: When one company buys controlling stake in another company. Can be friendly (agreed upon) or hostile (no agreement).
  2. Agile: A philosophy of software development that promotes incremental development and emphasizes adaptability and collaboration.
  3. Angel investor: Individual who provides a small amount of capital to a startup for a stake in the company. Typically precedes a Seed Round and usually happens when the startup is in its infancy.
  4. B2B: Business to business. This describes a business that is targeting another business with its product or services. B2B technology is also sometimes referred to as enterprise technology. This is different from B2C which stands for business to consumer, and involves selling products or services directly to individual customers.
  5. Benchmark: The process by which a startup company measures their current success. An investor measures a company’s growth by determining whether or not they have met certain benchmarks. For example, company A has met the benchmark of having X amount of recurring revenue after 2 years in the market.
  6. Board of directors: A group of influential individuals, elected by stockholders, chosen to oversee the affairs of a company. A board typically includes investors and mentors. Not all startups have a board, but investors typically require a board seat in exchange for an investment in a company.
  7. Bootstrapped: A company is bootstrapped when it is funded by an entrepreneur’s personal resources or the company’s own revenue. Evolved from the phrase “pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps.”
  8. Bridge loan: Also known as a swing loan. Short-term loan to bridge the gap between major financing.
  9. Buyout: A common exit strategy. The purchase of a company’s shares that gives the purchaser controlling interest in the company.
  10. Capital: Monetary assets currently available for use. Entrepreneurs raise capital to start a company and continue raising capital to grow the company.
  11. Capital under management: The amount of capital, or financial assets, that a venture capital firm is currently managing and investing.
  12. Capped notes: Refers to a “cap” placed on investor notes in a round of financing. Entrepreneurs and investors agree to place a cap on the valuation of the company where notes turn to equity. This means investors will own a certain percentage of a company relative to that cap when the company raises another round of funding. Uncapped rounds are generally more favorable to an entrepreneur/startup.
  13. Convertible debt: This is when a company borrows money with the intent that the debt accrued will later be converted to equity in the company at a later valuation. This allows companies to delay valuation while raising funding in it’s early stages. This is typically done in the early stages of a company’s life, when a valuation is more difficult to complete and investing carries higher risk.
  14. Debt financing: This is when a company raises money by selling bond, bills, or notes to an investor with the promise that the debt will be repaid with interest. It is typically performed by late-stage companies.
  15. Disruption: Also known as disruptive innovation. An innovation or technology is disruptive when it “disrupts” an existing market by doing things such as: challenging the prices in the market, displacing an old technology, or changing the market audience.
  16. Due diligence: An analysis an investor makes of all the facts and figures of a potential investment. Can include an investigation of financial records and a measure of potential ROI.
  17. Enterprise: The term enterprise typically refers to a company or business (i.e. an enterprise tech startup is a company that is building technology for businesses).
  18. Entrepreneur: An individual who starts a business venture, assuming all potential risk and reward for his or herself.
  19. Entrepreneur in residence (EIR): A seasoned entrepreneur who is employed by a Venture Capital Firm to help the firm vet potential investments and mentor the firm’s portfolio companies.
  20. Equity financing: The act of raising capital by selling off shares of a company. An IPO is technically a form of equity financing.
  21. Exit: This is how startup founders get rich. It’s the method by which an investor and/or entrepreneur intends to “exit” their investment in a company. Commons options are an IPO or buyout from another company. Entrepreneurs and VCs often develop an “exit strategy” while the company is still growing.
  22. Fund of funds: A mutual fund that invests in other mutual funds.
  23. Ground floor: A reference to the beginning of a venture, or the earliest point of a startup. Generally considered an advantage to invest at this level.
  24. Incubator: An organization that helps develop early stage companies, usually in exchange for equity in the company. Companies in incubators get help for things like building their management teams, strategizing their growth, etc.
  25. IPO: Initial public offering. The first time shares of stock in a company are offered on a securities exchange or to the general public. At this point, a private company turns into a public company (and is no longer a startup).
  26. Lead investor: A venture capital firm or individual investor that organizes a specific round of funding for a company. The lead investor usually invests the most capital in that round. Also known as “leading the round.”
  27. Leveraged buyout: When a company is purchased with a strategic combination of equity and borrowed money. The target company’s assets or revenue is used as “leverage” to pay back the borrowed capital.
  28. Liquidation: The process of dissolving a company by selling off all of its assets (making them liquid).
  29. Mezzanine financing: A form of hybrid capital typically used to fund adolescent and mature cash flow positive companies. It is a form of debt financing, but it also includes embedded equity instruments or options. Companies at this level, which are no longer considered startups but have yet to go public, are typically referred to as “mezzanine level” companies.
  30. NDA: Non-disclosure agreement. An agreement between two parties to protect sensitive or confidential information, such as trade secrets, from being shared with outside parties.
  31. Pivot: The act of a startup quickly changing direction with its business strategy. For example, an enterprise server startup pivoting to become an enterprise cloud company.
  32. Portfolio company: A company that a specific Venture Capital firm has invested in is considered a “portfolio company” of that firm.
  33. Preferred stock: A stock that carries a fixed dividend that is to be paid out before dividends carried by common stock.
  34. Proof of concept
  35. A demonstration of the feasibility of a concept or idea that a startup is based on. Many VCs require proof of concept if you wish to pitch to them.
  36. Pro rata rights: Also known as supra pro rata rights. Pro rata is from the Latin ‘in proportion.’ A VC with supra pro rata rights gives him or her the option of increasing his or her ownership of a company in subsequent rounds of funding.
  37. Recapitalization: A corporate reorganization of a company’s capital structure, changing the mix of equity and debt. A company will usually recapitalize to prepare for an exit, lower taxes, or defend against a takeover.
  38. ROI: This is the much-talked-about “return on investment.” It’s the money an investor gets back as a percentage of the money he or she has invested in a venture. For example, if a VC invests $2 million for a 20 percent share in a company and that company is bought out for $40 million, the VC’s return is $8 million.
  39. Round: Startups raise capital from VC firms in individual rounds, depending on the stage of the company. The first round is usually a Seed round followed by Series A, B, and C rounds if necessary. In rare cases rounds can go as far as Series F, as was the case with Box.net.
  40. SaaS: Software as a service. A software product that is hosted remotely, usually over the internet (a.k.a. “in the cloud”).
  41. Seed: The seed round is the first official round of financing for a startup. At this point a company is usually raising funds for proof of concept and/or to build out a prototype and is referred to as a “seed stage” company.
  42. Secondary public offering: When a company offers up new stock for sale to the public after an IPO. Often occurs when founders step down or desire to move into a lesser role within the company.
  43. Sector: The market that a startup companies product or service fits into. Examples include: consumer technology, cleantech, biotech, and enterprise technology. Venture Capitalists tend to have experience investing in specific related sectors and thus tend not to invest outside of their area of expertise.
  44. Series: Refers to the specific round of financing a company is raising. For example, company X is raising their Series A round.
  45. Stage: The stage of development a startup company is in. There is no explicit rule for what defines each stage of a company, but startups tend to be categorized as seed stage, early stage, mid-stage, and late stage. Most VCs firms only invest in companies in one or two stages. Some firms, however, manage multiple funds geared toward different stage companies.
  46. Startup: A startup company is a company in the early stages of operations. Startups are usually seeking to solve a problem of fill a need, but there is no hard-and-fast rule for what makes a startup. A company is considered a startup until they stop referring to themselves as a startup.
  47. Term sheet: A non-binding agreement that outlines the major aspects of an investment to be made in a company. A term sheet sets the groundwork for building out detailed legal documents.
  48. Valuation: The process by which a company’s worth or value is determined. An analyst will look at capital structure, management team, and revenue or potential revenue, among other things.
  49. Venture capital: Money provided by venture capital firms to small, high-risk, startup companies with major growth potential. Venture capitalist: An individual investor, working for a venture capital firm, that chooses to invest in specific companies. Venture capitalists typically have a focused market or sector that they know well and invest in.
  50. Vesting: When an employee of a company gains rights to stock options and contributions provided by the employer. The rights typically gain value (vest) over time until they reach their full value after a pre-determined amount of time. For example, if an employee was offered 200 stock unites over 10 years, 20 units would vest each year. This gives employees an incentive to perform well and  stay with the company for a longer period of time.

STARTBOARD In NTU Garage Annual Meeting

On 7th June, STARTBOARD attended NTU Garage Annual Meeting.

NTU Garage, which has been started in 2013,  is a accelator program to nurture young entrepreneurs with hope of providing students and faculty with a friendly space to realize their innovative ideas. Start-ups that qualify for programs at the garage would enjoy various kinds of training and assistance for six months, with the overlapping period between applications and the program’s course designed to promote exchanges between the last group of participants and newcomers.

Participants receive legal and accounting consulting about setting up firms, as well as learn from experienced instructors. Participants also receive opportunities to demonstrate their products. As the young entrepreneurs might not have the money to set up an office, they can go to the NTU Garage to work .

STARTBOARD felt very honor to meet up with Minister Liang-Gee Chen, Ministry of technology and George Huang, Chairman of Acer.

We are looking forward to having more support and chances in the future, in order to provide our ASEAN-INDIA the best sources nurturing their innovative ideas.

Research Stash applying for TiTAN Soft-landing Program in Taiwan

Research Stash went to TXA accelarator today June 2nd for the interview of Taiwan Innovation and Technology Arena’s Soft Landing project. The winner can have 1 month of support high-potential technology startups and emerging companies to successfully enter the Asia market and scale their business globally and access to outstanding mentors, free office, valuable connections and the knowledge and expertise required to scale quickly.

Congrats Research Stash and finger crossed for another victory to Mahantesh.

A Day in COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2017

Started from 1981, COMPUTEX TAIPEI has been the world’s leading B2B ICT/IoT (Internet of Things) trade show and developing into a global startup platform. COMPUTEX 2017 positions itself as Building Global Technology Ecosystems, focusing on 5 main themes: AI & Robotics, IoT Applications, Innovations & Startups, Business Solutions, and Gaming & VR, with 4 featured exhibiting areas: SmarTEX, InnoVEX, and iStyle, and gaming & VR.

STARTBOARD visited COMPUTEX and had some discussions with the exhibitors from different fields in order to learn more about the demanding and to broaden our horizons about the future trend in IT, especially in Taiwan. Trying newest technology and equipments, discussing with the top experienced managers in field is the gift we got from COMPUTEX. Also this time, we had a conversation with Taiwan Association for Virtual and Augmented Reality (TAVAR), and their Secretary General, Cori Shieh had introduced to us the latest trend in VR industry, such a lovely experience.

WISTRON ITS IS STARTBOARD’S FUTURE GOAL

Starting a productive week after the Dragon Boat Festival, STARTBOARD visited WISTRON ITS Taiwan.

The meeting was approximately 3 hours which contains the presentations sections and Q&A part.

We were so proud of Research Stash, H2U, Think Tank, Dong Yo, and Aimazing for such a great performance. Little by little, they noted all the advices from the mentors and improved the business plans. Although, there were still a lot of things need to be done, we believe hard work paid off.

Wistron Information Technology & Services (Wistron ITS), ranked as one of the largest language services providers (LSPs) in the translation and interpreting industry. Wistron ITS was named as the 26th largest globalization vendor in all of Asia.

“Being ranked as one of the leading brands in language services is a recognition to Wistron ITS globalization team.” said Wistron ITS CEO, Dr. Ching Hsiao. “We have achieved a distinguished performance and success with some of the most reputable companies globally in the IT industry.” he further added, “Asia has a promising globalization service market. Customers seeking globalization and localization services can count on our comprehensive staged services – from software design, development and translation, to post-production activities such as testing and desktop publishing.”

2017 G.G.C. Enterprise Interview

Last week, on May 13th, STARTBOARD and GGC successfully hosted 2017 G.G.C Enterprise Interview. This event is not only a chance for International Students to listen and learn from the guests’ stories but also a chance to introduce themselves and to drop the CV for job seeking.

In this event, we were so proud of our batch 1 Team Aimazing for their first product demonstration in Taipei, Taiwan. They have showed to all the guests that hard work paid off and nothing could stop us to achieve the dreams.

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STARTBOARD WITH BATCH 1TEAM AIMAZING
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Team STARTBOARD

Also, during this event, the team has officially presented each member. Our team has a diversity of background and nationalities which strengthen our motto:” Together For Better”. Each member brings to STARTBOARD their own story while they decided to work in STARTBOARD, which we hope can motivate the young to get out of the comfort zone and contribute more to the communities.

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STARTBOARD with mentors and partners from:  Louis Group, KPMG Taiwan, TRONXIN Accelerator, Taiwan Start-Up Hub, Committee of Communications, Industry Development Ministry of Economic Affairs,
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Interaction session between guests and students

We would like to send our many thanks to all the professors, CEO, GM and others honor guests for bring to the event their experiences, their observation and advices, also their own inspiring stories. Without you, the event might have not be that successful. We are deeply obliged for all the support.

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Honor Guests Group Pictures

“Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another.”
– Kenny Ausubel

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Eugene Chien, Chairman, Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy

Event MOX x Innoventure

SUCCESS” does not lie in “RESULTS” but in “EFFORTS”. Being the “BEST” is not so important, “DOING” the best is all that matters.

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What a night it was when Team STARTBOARD attended the event MOX x Innoventure Friday Happy Hour with Geoffrey Handley on Friday, April 28th . Tremendously inspirational to hear all the international entrepreneurs talk about their journey, the ups and downs they faced and what kept them motivated to achieve success.

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STARTBOARD visions constant motivation and plans on hosting such inspirational events in the future with the support of our TEAM and BATCH MEMBERS and help network more and more ASEAN-Indian Students who seek opportunities in Taiwan as well as for Taiwan Companies who are interested in recruiting ASEAN-Indian Talents or invest in ASEAN-Indian Market. Nothing can keep us from success if we keep working hard until we reach our goals and beyond.

” I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true–hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.”
–Ray Bradbury”

One of our Batch 1 entrepreneurial teams Aimazing presented a demo.

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One of our Batch 1 entrepreneurial teams Aimazing (represented by CTO Yi Kai Kong) presented a demo to Professor Chen, Chairman of 全球品牌管理協會 (Global Brands Management Association). Aimazing is a Fintech company founded by Singaporean and Malaysians studying their Bachelors in Taiwan. They have decided to return to Taiwan to start their business due to the friendly entrepreneurial environment and resources. Their outstanding product has already brought about collaboration with Singtel.