As any entrepreneur would put it, the road to a successful, sustainable entrepreneurship is inevitably challenging. That said, with a mix of perseverance, dedication and hardwork, it is certainly viable. To that end, any budding entrepreneur must rise above these challenges with passion and determination.
Marveled by and impressed with the strides these young entrepreneurs have shown, we have collated tips from these young achievers. Their unique products and services, aspirations and their ultimate business visions aim to harness change by looking beyond the present and striking a goal directed towards long term results such as creating job opportunities, building a robust economy, and forming a sustainable enterprise.
Smart Innovation
4Loop came up with the unique idea of modifying conventional 2D laser printer to fabricate 3D parts for the purpose of presentation and functional testing. Asked about the benefits of their innovation, 4Loop said, “SMEs would usually go to manufacturers to have a model produced. With our modified 3D laser printer, small and medium enterprises can already fabricate quality 3D parts very much the same as what you get from an engineering firm.” 4Loop’s idea is smart indeed, hoping to create significant change and help out smaller businesses.
Another great invention is the use of small-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for advanced urban operations. Airlens Systems came up with a UAV model that is smaller and safer to fly as compared to existing UAVs. This technology will be a noteworthy advancement in urban operations such as traffic reporting or area monitoring. Their greatest influences? None other than the Wright Brothers who developed the first airplane.
In the healthcare industry, the C.A.R.E. Team crafted an intelligent walking frame designed to assist the elderly. Their interest in innovating assistive equipment for Singapore’s ageing population has gained the team recognition and awards prior to joining ideas.inc Business Challenge 2011, and still hopes to share the benefits of using the Intelligent Walking Frame to more clinics and hospitals.
Rider 360, a comprehensive and customized safety concept for bicycles, features Daytime Running Lights (DRLs), tail lights, direction indicators, hazard warning and wireless alarm system. Bicycles are exceptionally prominent and widely used in most Asian countries and having Rider 360 is an added safety gear. Course through highways safely with your ride and Rider 360.
Going Green & Eco-friendly
With all the advanced technologies people are using and new inventions being discovered every day, do you think you can work backwards? Bamboobee does. Innovative and revolutionary, Bamboobee created an organic bicycle out of bamboo. As you are reading this article, there is a team of cyclists on their bamboo bicycle travelling from Kazakhstan to China. For the unitiated, that happens to be the old Silk Route. Bamboobee hopes to influence more people to use bicycles made out of bamboo to further reduce costs and environmental risks.
“Every step counts!” exclaimed EcoEnviro when asked to describe their enterprise. And as we spoke about the details of their project, we discovered the capability to harness green energy through PowerTile. EcoEnviro’s long term objective is to provide affordable and efficient energy harvesting system using PowerTile. “We aspire to become entrepreneurs who create impact by taking into consideration third world nations who have limited access to electricity,” added EcoEnviro. Imagine how your walk to the MRT can power up homes!
Qloov, starts a green movement by creating an online platform where designers can share their t-shirt designs made out of recycled materials. They believe that we can create a positive change among people, encouraging everyone to live a sustainable life by means of recycling used bottles.
On Social Enterprise
How much time do teens expend on online games? According to Social Chameleon – A LOT. And with that in mind, they created a free online game (via Facebook) that promotes volunteerism and donation giving among game enthusiasts. It is one smart platform to engage as much people as possible to raise funds and garner workforce though advertising. It’s simple – play, donate or volunteer and earn virtual rewards!
Share, connect and be in the loop with HippoCampus, the next big thing in the social networking field. Hippocampus provides an enjoyable and informative online resource for students. Students gain access to what’s new and trending in and around the campus by using innovative features such as conferencing, document collaboration and video sharing.
Most great ideas remain unborn due to lack of capital fund which comes number one on the list of entrepreneurs’ challenges. Milaap Social Ventures tries to solve that dilemma with crowdsourcing, the process in which individuals who find a certain business viable contribute a certain amount of money as support. This support comes in the form of micro loans. Upon completion of the loan period, those who have lent their money get it back and may either keep or give to another borrower who’s hoping to start a business. It’s a way of helping people support their start-up business and at the same time, creating positive impact through business and employment generation.
Get Closer to Success
While indulging ourselves into the world of these young entrepreneurs creating ideas and empowering change, we asked them about their formula to success. Little Voice Games, the creator of the educational online game Mongster Colony, believes that perseverance is the key to success. “Perseverance, lots of it, and a healthy disregard for the impossible,” said Jamon, one of the team members.
SafeMarine, the team who created automated robots for commercial diving ship repair and maintenance, admits to have gone through a journey filled with challenges. “There’s too much failure. Without them, one would not learn. The main focus is on conditioning the mind to motivate yourself when the going gets tough.”
The ideas.inc Experience
TechArmory, the brain behind high-end, gaming oriented personal computers using mineral oil cooling system, shared with us their experience joining the ideas.inc Business Challenge 2011. “At this point, we are finally seeing our ideas taking shape, not just words and diagrams on paper. To achieve our goals, we need to constantly work on new ideas and designs.”
Qloov shared about how their business perspective have changed since they joined ideas.inc. They said, “The most important thing we have learnt is that starting a business is easy, sustaining it is another thing and we are lucky to have milestones and people who love and support our ideas.”
