6 startups chosen to spearhead growth as TENxCLUB fellows

• An invitation-only and by-qualification, club offers network, entrepreneurial support
• Ultimately will help increase the social capital and brand presence of entrepreneurs

THE Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM) announced the winners of the TENxCLUB – an initiative by GEM designed to recognise six high-performing Malaysian startups that hit at least US$249,000 (RM1 million) in revenue at the end of their first year since inception.

An invitation-only and by-qualification, TENxCLUB is an exclusive club that offers valuable network and entrepreneurial support on an international scale. Designed with the success of the entrepreneurs in mind, this exclusive club aims to offer scalable startups access to tremendous resources and support network to become viable and to grow quickly.

“This year’s winners reflect the outstanding and innovative abilities of the Malaysian businesses and entrepreneurs. Through the exclusive TENxCLUB, the winners will have an opportunity to connect with investors, strategic partners and more importantly, gain entry to create a stronger base of customers regionally and internationally,” said patron and founder of GEM, Mohd Irwan Serigar, who is also the Secretary-General of Treasury at the Ministry of Finance, Malaysia.

Winners of the TENxCLUB will receive comprehensive mentoring support from experienced industry players, including a GEM-Pikom partnership which aims to increase investment opportunities of up to RM100 million through its Venture Investment Chapter.

Additionally, they will also be sponsored to attend exclusive networking events, which gives them an opportunity to connect with key industry experts and learn innovative strategies and best practices to help them grow their businesses.

Ultimately, TENxCLUB will help increase the social capital and brand presence of entrepreneurs – giving them a clear edge over other industry players.  

To ensure that the entrepreneurs selected meet the requirements and standard of the TENxCLUB; submissions are verified by a panel of judges including Irwan Serigar, president of GEM, Dash Dhakshinamoorthy, deputy president of GEM, Deborah Melissa Bottreau, Zubir Ansori Yahaya CEO of Malaysia Debt Ventures (MDV), Jamaludin Bujang CEO of Mavcap, Johan Ishak CEO of Media Prima TV Networks, Yvonne Chia chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, Sean Seah, Pikom Treasurer and CEO of Bimbit.com, and Kashminder Singh, cofounder of PitchIN.

“Prior to extending an invitation to join the TENxCLUB, we requested private incubators, accelerators, investors, venture caps, banks, equity funds, universities, communities and relevant public agencies to nominate potential entrepreneurs. From 102 nominees, we then shortlisted entrepreneurs that meet our criteria to submit their applications.

“Submission of proof that are required from them include audited accounts, management accounts, growth projections and valuation from investments – that were all further audited by Ernst and Young. Sixteen finalists were then called for a final interview with the panel of judges before officially being selected as one of the TENxCLUB fellows,” explained Dash.

This year, winners of the TENxCLUB include an e-commerce startup, Avana, an app-based exchange that facilitates the sharing of products and services among SMEs, Qu Exchange, a mobile game development company, Gameka, eco-friendly coating developer, IGL Coatings, travel online platform, Tripcarte Asia, and an online gold platform, Hello Gold.

For more information on TENxCLUB, visit http://www.globalentrepreneurshipmovement.org/