11 Finalists to battle it out at Alpha Startups Digital Accelerator (ASDA) 2021
By Digital News Asia May 21, 2021
- 10 + 1 finalist earn their way to compete in ASDA 2021 Demo Day
- Alphas Startups launched in 2014, digital version started last year
Proving that even a pandemic cannot keep a good startup down, the 2021 cohort of 1337 Ventures’s Alpha Startups™ Digital Accelerator (ASDA) 2021, witnessed 105 startups participating. ASDA is an annual program 1337 Ventures has been running since 2014 to help founders go from idea-to-product and accelerate their startup journey with pre-seed funding for the winning teams.
Startups who join this intense 5-weeks program will understand more about their customers, product and market which then helps them achieve product-market-fit in a shorter duration. Mentors are also assigned to each team to guide them on their business models and to help strengthen their pitch decks.
Despite facing the pandemic induced restrictions, the startups successfully made their time commitment weekly to join classes, events and work remotely on their projects with the assistance of experienced mentors. The commitment showed please Bikesh Lakhmichand, cofounder and CEO of 1337 Ventures.
“I was very impressed how, in a short span of 5-weeks, participants really aced their 3-min pitches. It was a tough decision for us in picking the final 10.” The quality of the startups impressed the judges to such an extent that they made the decision to shortlist one additional team instead of 10 teams to compete in the Final Demo Day, that will be held tomorrow, Saturday.
The ASDA 2021 Demo Day is open to the public via Zoom from 2pm to 5pm on 22nd May (Saturday) with interested parties able to register here
The panel of judges are:
- Bikesh Lakhmichand, Founding Partner, 1337 Ventures
- Yvonne Yong Chuan Yin, Head of Malaysia Digital Hubs and Corporate Innovation, MDEC
- Ikhwan Nazri, CEO & Head of Creative, Amanz Media
- Syed Haizam Jamalullail, Managing Director at Tuas Capital Partners
The following are the Top 11 Finalist Teams (in no particular order), from various verticals. The two winning teams will receive pre-seed funding of RM50,000 each and US$86,000 in digital credits from AWS, FreshWorks, Airtable & WOBB.
Top 11 ASDA Finalist Teams
Jenni is the ultimate SEO content editor that saves you hours of content ideation and writing time. Do more with fewer writers, and rank higher with lower costs. Use AI-assisted content writing to supercharge your SEO.
Cult Creative is developing an all-in-one professional networking and resource app for ambitious creative individuals to easily connect, upskill and find work opportunities, to make themselves future-proof.
Ejenkita is a community-driven marketplace where retail businesses can connect and transact with social resellers on a single platform.
GoGerak is an interactive, immersive & fun fitness console & mobile games for the fitness enthusiast to help them feel motivated, stay healthy and keep yourself fit.
Hawkr is developing a micro cloud kitchen to help home cooks of different levels of expertise and backgrounds to achieve specific goals within the F&B industry through tailored solutions.
Arus Oil (MyProtech Sdn Bhd) is a used cooking oil recycling platform that offers the best purchasing rates and timely collection services for used cooking oil from individuals, households or restaurants via our logistic team.
OtoFacts.com provides solutions to empower consumers to make better-informed decisions when purchasing a used vehicle.
SparkFit provides a personal training marketplace for people who want to get fit so they can easily find personal trainers & engage with them
Supageneous.Asia is providing a convenient and reliable home based DNA testing and personalized solution to your wellness needs for all health enthusiast who wants understand the best way for them to achieve their wellness goal
TrinityEco Pte Ltd is developing a green financing platform for investors, businesses, asset managers, and facilities managers to make ESG reporting and financing easier, affordable, and data-centric using digitalization and automation.
Usku is developing a SaaS delivery marketplace platform for home businesses to support their venture in reaching out to our community of drivers and customers by providing our expertise within the logistic, business management and operational industry.
Alpha Startups™ Digital Accelerator (ASDA) is organized by 1337 Ventures & powered by Leet Academy, its education arm. Main partners include MDEC & Amanz Media. Supporting partners iTrain Asia, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Airtable.
