Last call for Make The Pitch, Season 3

• TS Wong hopes to attract wider variety of business plans
• RM1 mil investment in exchange for 30% equity awaits winning startup

FOR all those who only spring to action at the last minute for their concert booking or contest entry submissions, this announcement is just what you have been waiting for.
 
MyEG Services Bhd, which has been sponsoring the Make The Pitch reality show for the past two seasons, has extended its deadline to July 31, which means you have three days left to submit your entry.
 
Now in its third year, Make The Pitch offers the winning startup RM1 million (US$312,000) in exchange for a 30% stake in the company.
 
The first two seasons saw siblings Fadzli Shah Anuar (older brother) and Fadzarudin Shah Anuar (known as Fadza) win the reality competition in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
 
In this case, taking part in the second year has proven to be a boon for Fadza as MyEG raised its investment amount from the RM500,000 it offered to his older brother Fadzli in 2011 to a cool RM1 million to him last year.
 
The million-ringgit question any aspiring entrant is probably asking is, “Do the brothers have a sister? Is she taking part?”
 
Digital News Asia does not have the answers but we think every startup that takes part will surely learn some valuable lessons from the top-notch judges for Season 3 – T.S. Wong (pic), founder of MyEG; Roshan Thiran, founder of Leaderonomics and director of operations for The Star Media Group; and Nazrin Hassan, chief executive officer of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd.
 
And those who do not win may still end up attracting the interest of an investor. Explaining this, Wong uses the ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’analogy.
 
“We judges may not like a specific business plan but it is due to our individual preference, bias or interest.  That same plan, however, may be very beautiful in the eyes of the right partner,” he says.
 
So even if the judges don’t choose to invest in a startup, Wong urges those who get picked to be on Season 3 to view this is an opportunity to pitch their business plan to Malaysia, “and hopefully you can find the right partner.”
 
He also promises that there will be significant changes to the show in its format and judging, “So don't miss it!”
 
While the initial deadline was June 30, it was extended by one month to allow opportunity for a greater variety of business plans to be pitched and, according to Wong, “to allow readers of this publication to participate.”
 
The founder of MyEG was however, uncompromising in his response when DNA pointed out that the nature of the reality show was unfair to non-Klang Valley based teams that have to be in Kuala Lumpur for the duration of the competition. “Life is never fair, so get used to it,” he says.
 
Despite the tough talk, Wong is well regarded as an angel investor and in a past interview with DNA, described himself as an angel with a “light touch.” There is a video to the article too.

 
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