MoneyTree YES2 Challenge

It has been a fruitful day today. Thanks a lot to UV for the invitation to attend MoneyTree YES2 Challenge.

Am very impressed by those 18, 19, 20 or 21 years old students, who stand on stage, and be able to really share on business plan. While some might face stage fright, some might face a little hiccup here and there, yet all of them are winners. All of them are able to take up the challenge, and qualified into the Judging stage, where 12 teams presented, with top 6 teams moving forward into the final stage.

Congratulations to the following teams for making it to the final stage:

Greenergy - Recycling Rewards

Crimson Concepts - Cup Advertising

Dreamzland - Online Tuition

Syco - Student Youth Community

Voila! - Online Food Ordering and Delivery

W.R.I.S.T. - Wrist tag identification

Good job to the other 6 teams which were unfortunately have to go through another path:

Fitlife - Wellness for Elderly

SolveIT - Online Point of Sales System

Shining Dawn - Educational Referral & Community

RichyRich - Cashflow Software

MallEzy - Mall Stores' Directory

Vaunt Investments - Investment Advices

Of those groups, I am particularly impressed by Voila! , Greenergy and Crimson Concepts. Am just amazed by the depth of the analysis that they have gone through, the detailed preparation and also the passion and the way they present it. Wish I could do even a little bit of that, when I was younger. In fact, even if I am taking part in this today, I might not even come close to what they have performed. Congrats!

To SolveIT and Shining Dawn, thanks for the opportunities for me to bounce a little idea with you all. Good to see you all grow and learn from this process. The outcomes must have been tough for you all to take it, but good to see that you all take it positively, and will bounce back! Don't give up.

As what Michael Reyes highlighted to the teams, some of you are now turning right and some of you are now turning left, but both are still possible paths towards success, just that the way is different.

To the teams, some areas of improvement that I would like to share:-

a) Be a Big Fish in a Small Pond, rather than be a Small Fish in a Big Pond. Focus on what you are trying to do.

b) Try to solve pain faced by those in the target group. If you are in the target group, would you use your product and if you are charging, would you pay for it.

c) Take care of Cash Flow. You can't afford to run out of money.

d) Ensure that your payback period is realistic. Most businesses may take more than 1 year to break even.

Congrats to MoneyTree - Michael Reyes, UV and Brandon for making it happen! It has been an exciting month for those participants, and I am sure it is lifetime memory for them.

To all the teams who would be pitching to investors, good luck! Treat it as a real business and not just as a competition!

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