Techstars Startup Weekend - Digital Penang

A 54-hour programme designed to help tech entrepreneurs to turn your ideas into a venture that solved real-world problems.

Over the course of the weekend, participants will find their co-founders, develop a business plan, build a prototype and pitch their venture ideas to a panel of judges. Team will received mentoring from experienced people and successful startup founders. You will learn valuable skills and gain the knowledge and resources to launch your startup at the end of the 54 hours.

AI-based SAAS

Sustainability

Creative Tech

Who Should Attend

Aspiring tech entrepreneurs looking for co-founders to launch their venture into the market

Young professionals who are looking to validate their tech venture ideas and develop a more wholesome go-to-market plans

Early-stage startups who has been in operation for less than 1 year looking to improve their venture model and searching for partners.

Non-techie example people with sales, marketing and other skills who liked to be part of a tech startups.

When and Where

Registration: 20 Jan – 25 Feb
Program Date: 1 – 3 Mar 2024
Location: Digital Penang

Launch Your Startup in 54 Hours

1. Carousell’s Startup Weekend Experience

The really memorable part of Startup Weekend was that we almost didn’t get in. Twice. There were 80 submissions, of which 40 would be selected to give a one minute pitch. We were actually idea number 41 or 42. But thankfully a couple teams pulled out, so we snuck in to be the last to pitch. After the pitching we fell just short again, we were idea number 22. But thankfully a few teams had consolidated. So we were the last team to be selected to actually build the product.

We demonstrated the prototype and won the competition, but in the grand scheme of things, the winning was secondary for us. What really inspired us to take the plunge and bring Carousell to life were the hundreds of people who told us they liked the idea through our Facebook, Twitter and our Launchrock landing page. Some even tweeted us to ask if they could download the app right away! It was intense and crazy, and we loved it. It showed how much the concept and the product resonated with so many people. That was the validation we needed to really take the plunge and launch Carousell after Startup Weekend.

2. Carousell’s Startup Weekend Advice

I tend to have three quick tips for any young, up-and-coming entrepreneur. It is counter-intuitive – the key is to start small, make tons of mistakes to learn and bring in people better than you.

Start Small. Start with a hypothesis. Starting small allows you to invest time to make customers super happy. This generates word-of-mouth and allows you to figure out what works so you can scale it and automate with technology.

Make tons of mistakes to learn. Even till today, we make tons of mistakes. As we scale our organisation, we continue to learn what works and what does not work and we have to adapt and correct. This is especially in the tech world where new technologies emerge. We do not know what we do not know, and you have to keep experimenting.

Bring in people better than you. As we scaled, we hired and brought in expertise that we did not have to continuously raise the bar and improve the organisation.