It took Tor Ivar Vage just three weeks to decide that Singapore would be the next frontier for his successful startup InfoGym. This is the finale of his three-part series describing how TINC Asia, a program run by JFDI and Innovation Norway, opened up a new future for him.
Farewell dinner at Brewerkz, Riverside
TINC Asia 2015 is over. Although it’s good to be home, I’ll miss Singapore – the great environment at JFDI, other businesses we visited, hot lunch everyday, and of course, the wonderful folks we’ve met! The last three weeks will always mean a lot to me, and for InfoGym.
Golden Gate Ventures
On Monday we went to Golden Gate Ventures, a company that invests in early-stage companies throughout Southeast Asia. Since 2011, they have invested in 25 companies in 7 different countries in the region.
The two weeks of the program involved more collaborative work. After all that training and follow-up, we were ready to try it on our own. For my part, it meant many meetings, both with potential customers and investors. The response was very good and we ended up with both sales and offers of investments.
Pitch Graduation Day
As grand finale to TINC Asia, we scheduled a Pitch Graduation on Friday. All companies were to present to four investors. Each presentation lasted for 3-5 minutes, followed by 5-minutes of questioning from the panel. Now that we have to present to investors, we had to redo our presentation’s content and delivery.
And with that the program was over, and a 14-hour flight to Norway accounted for the trip. Together with our luggage, we are brought home valuable knowledge of the Asian market, a large network and many new friends. In just three weeks, I have learned so much about myself, my product, and the Asian market. InfoGym will never be the same after TINC Asia, in a positive sense. Thanks to Innovation Norway for a wonderful initiative! This program has really made a difference.
For Adrian Tan and the team at JFDI:
Before we went to Singapore we were told that JFDI.Asia is the best at what they do. That’s a pretty strong statement!
After spending three weeks with you, we can clearly see why they would say something like that. Your team is absolutely fantastic! I think I speak for all the teams when I say that this experience has been so valuable for us. You have taught us more these last three weeks than any business school could ever do.
Lastly, I have to send a special thanks to Adrian. I know that you don’t like it when I call you a superhero, but you are pretty frogging close! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping us with whatever we needed. Thank you for everything. We had a blast! JFDI, thank you so much for having us!
This post appeared first on InfoGym-Blogg. Part 1 of Tor’s story is here. If you’d like to know what happens in the middle of the program, here’s Part 2.
TINC Asia is a 3-week technology incubator program in Singapore organized by Innovation Norway and JFDI.Asia. The program aims to give Norwegian companies greater insight and knowledge of the Asian business culture, preferences and expectations, to enable faster growth in the region, with less risk.