[ 11-12 November 2000 ] CommercetNet Singapore launches Bootcamp for eBusiness Startups at Orchid Country Club

CommerceNet Bootcamp for eBusiness Start-ups

CommerceNet Singapore’s Bootcamp for eBusiness start-ups from November 11 to 12, 2000 was the first such event in Singapore. Some 50 participants comprising of start-ups, incubators and VCs and industry players attended the two-day workshops at the Singapore Orchid Country Club.

The event started off with the keynote address by Mr Saw Ken Wye, the MD of Microsoft. He explained the importance of laying the necessary and right infrastructure for an eBusiness start-ups. The next speaker, Mr Yuen Ka Wei discussed the essential aspects that start-ups need to consider when building up a trust framework for their businesses.

The third speaker from the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) gave an enlightening account of how the various Government schemes which are in place to assist the start-ups to finance the development phase of their businesses. Mr Lee Soo Chye from Lee Boon Leong & Co. explained the key legal considerations that are critical to start-ups to get in and be protected in the Internet and ICT industries. – the Electronic Transactions Act and the Intellectual Property Rights issues. Having started an eBusiness, the importance of making the business secured and trusted – a truly relevant subject and this was well discussed by Mr James Kang from TrustMarque Singapore. To complement the Government financial and technical assistance offered by NSTB, Mr Peter Jarnes of Plan-B Technologies Pte Ltd talked about the private sector’s various schemes to incubate start-ups with potentials and forge synergetic alliances. The last speaker of the day was Dr Lee Gilbert from Nanyang Business School who enthusiastically revealed the key elements needed to enhance the success rate of an eBusiness – the business model, strategic value propositions, revenue and profit perspectives, corporate structure, among others.

The second day workshop was more interactive and interesting as speakers managed to get the participants involved in their presentation. Dr Lee Gilbert started off the morning by organising an “elevator pitch” competition whereby participants were grouped into teams and each team was given 5 minutes to present a brilliant 100-words “elevator pitch”. The best team won a prize from CommerceNet Singapore. After the excitement, Mr Robin Seow from Hewlett-Packard provided some insight into ways to choose the right partners and develop eBusiness. Then it was down to the nitty-gritty of it all – developing a really good Business Plan by Mr Andrew Loh. He eloquently revealed to the audience the keys to an excellent business plan. He pointed out the importance of exhibiting what an eBusiness knows about his own business and common errors likely made when writing a Business Plan. The following speaker, Mr JS Wong from Cybersource was equally enthusiastic when presenting “How to Build A Solid Business Model”. He explained many perspectives from a strategic point of view, trends, business processes as well as current models employed by successful Internet companies. Before the lunch break, Mr Vincent Wong and Mr Dirk Libaers from S.AI.L Port Asia Pte Ltd described the relevant ingredients for a meaningful partnership between incubator and start-ups.

The Bootcamp presentations came to close on Sunday afternoon with a panel discussion on e-payment, e-learning, e-tail and e-logistics. The discussants consisted of Mr Wong Jeh Shyan, CEO of CommerceNet Singapore, Dr Jackson Yip, Director of IOEC Pte Ltd, Mr Freeman Tan, CEO of Tidal Laboratory and Mr Neil Pentland of Golden-Orb Technologies. There were some challenging and useful interchange of eBuisness ideas and concepts. Some important suggestions and agenda were set for the next Bootcamp. The much-awaited moment came when the main sponsor of the Bootcamp, Microsoft made the lucky draw. And the luck winner went to Calvin Tan of Microart Production – an S$13,00 worth of Microsoft Bizconnect e-pak.

The feedback from CommerceNet Singapore inaugural Bootcamp was encouraging and supportive as most participants found it educational and relaxed. CommerceNet Singapore will make the Bootcamp a twice-yearly event to help disseminate the e-commerce education and update the tools and skills required for start-ups to grow, survive and succeed in this ever-changing Internet business world.