News

JFDI Bootcamp Alumnus TradeGecko launches its service to the public this month. It’s a huge step for the team that came from New Zealand to build a cloud-based inventory and sales management SaaS application for small to medium-sized enterprises. Co-counder Carl Thompson shares the journey. See the Young Woman Baking Pies. See the Young Woman…

In the Nature of Technology W. Brian Arthur defines technology as the harnessing of natural phenomena to useful ends. The better understanding of those phenomena is called science. But, as Davidow points out, technology alone is not enough. You have to productize technology: wrap it in a casing, slap a user interface on the front,…

For the first time ever, the city of Perth, Western Australia mustered a mighty 100 geeks, designers and entrepreneurs for a Startup Weekend. The energy was great and, minutes before the judging began, I picked up a couple of views on the weekend from some of the key people who made it happen, writes Hugh…

Fetch Plus Inc Pte. Ltd. announced today that it has closed a S$720,000 seed funding round. The investment was led by private investors Lawrence Seah and Yeo Choon Leong and was oversubscribed by 20%. Fetch Plus is the first of eleven recent graduates from the JFDI-Innov8 2012 Bootcamp accelerator program to announce follow-on funding since…

Ten years ago, former actor Peter Browne moved from Sydney to Singapore. His work took him from the stage, the world’s oldest medium, to working with companies at the cutting edge of mobile applications and social media. One thing hasn’t changed: the need to tell a clear story with confidence. Peter’s mentoring gave the JFDI-Innov8…

What a strange day. The beginning of something new for our start-ups and the end of the first JFDI–Innov8 bootcamp. We have a hunch there will be many more but, in the meantime, here are some quotes from people who were there: @gherry: The best time of my life @trafflers: The perfect environment for developing…

What a difference a week makes! Just 7 days ago, 11 start-up teams were waiting nervously backstage to pitch at our Demo Day. Now, every one is talking with investors and over half have offers on the table already. Of course it’s far too early to assess the full impact of the program. But with…

Over 100 investors ranging from business angels to venture capital funds showed up to watch our 11 start-ups pitch this morning. By this afternoon, several investors including SingTel Innov8 were in discussion to provide funding and we expect more announcements, like those made by Kark Mobile Education and ShopSpot before demo day, shortly. Investors attending…

You are invited to take part in the JFDI.Asia’s Bookkeeping for Start-ups in Singapore. Understand the principles of do-it-yourself bookkeeping and refresh your knowledge of incorporating a Singapore Private Limited Company. This event will explore the role of bookkeepers, accountants, auditors and company secretaries, and important dates to mark in your calendar. Budget for accounting…

JFDI–Innov8 startup business ShopSpot Pte Ltd announced today that a group of angels and business entrepreneurs in Thailand led by Kris Nalamlieng has agreed to invest an undisclosed sum to fund development of ShopSpot’s mobile peer-to-peer commerce platform. In its own words, ShopSpot “makes selling stuff as easy as sending a tweet”. ShopSpot launched its…