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About JUMPSTARTER IdeaPOP!

JUMPSTARTER IdeaPOP! is a pitching competition for all university students in Hong Kong. We aim to nurture a pool of business elites with an entrepreneurial mindset. Participants will undergo pitch training to learn the best practices for jump-starting a business plan, network with industry leaders, and interact with other young entrepreneurs. It is a one-month programme organized by Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, together with Citigroup, Hong Kong Federation of Business Students (HKFBS) and Mettā.

Startup pitch for all university students in Hong Kong
CityU  •  CUHK  •  EdUHK  •  HKBU  •  HKSYU  •  HKU  •  HKUST  •  Lingnan  •  OUHK  •  PolyU
01
A Boost!
Meet Your Mentors

Grab this exceptional networking opportunity to pair up with experienced mentors who will help you look through the market and find potential gaps in your business plan.

02
A Lift!
2-week Bootcamp

Powered by Mettā. The top 20 teams from the IdeaPOP! will receive an intensive entrepreneurship crash course that will help translate their innovative business ideas into reality.

03
A Jumpstart!
Pitching Opportunities

Outstanding students will be invited to pitch their business ideas during different occasions, including the JUMPSTARTER held in January 2019. JUMPSTARTER is a great chance to catch the attention of potential investors and leaders in the startup community.





PROGRAM
BENEFITS
If you are selected as one of the top 100 teams, you will receive a complimentary student pass and priority access to startup mentoring. The top 40 teams will receive an offer to join a pitch-coaching session before Pitch Day in early January.

Benefits for
Top 100 Teams
  • Complimentary Student Pass:

    • Access all content and networking opportunities, plus a discounted code to share with your contacts

  • Priority Access to Startup Mentoring
Additional
benefits for
Top 40 Teams
  • Pitch Coaching Session
  • Entry to Pitch Day

If you are selected as one of the top 20 teams from Pitch Day, you will be entitled to join a two-week startup bootcamp powered by Mettā, where we use a learning-by-doing approach to build skills to drive innovation within your startups. It is also designed to help founders acquire knowledge and fundamental frameworks in entrepreneurship, while advancing their personal and professional growth.

Additional
benefits for
Top 20 Teams

JUMPSTARTER Bootcamp

This is a great opportunity to learn about different tools and frameworks that can be applied to your business ideas. Only those from the top 20 teams selected at JUMPSTARTER IdeaPOP! are eligible.

Startup
Crash Course
Corporate
Innovation
Industry
Knowledge
Multi-Corporate
Engagements
Pitch
Coaching

The top 20 teams will be whittled down to four finalists that will get on the main stage for their FINAL pitch and vie to be the winning team!

Prize For
the Winning Team
  • Sponsorship to attend "the 1st Jack Ma African Netpreneur Prize" in Africa
  • Alibaba internship opportunities for six months
  • Mentor hours with senior management of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund
  • Mettā Connect membership
  • Cash reward of HKD 10,000
Prize For
Top 4 Teams
  • Cash reward of HKD 5,000 offered by Citi Group
JUMPSTARTER Launchpad is designed for growing companies at all stages from four major industries
focus on
4 industry cohorts
SMART
CITY
  • Design
  • Automotive
  • Sharing Economy
  • Building Management
  • Energy & Energy Management
  • Lifestyle
  • Green & Environmental
  • Mobility
  • Construction
  • Transportation
  • Real Estate
  • Smart Buildings
  • Social Impact
and more
RETAIL
  • Online Commerce
  • O2O
  • Fashion
  • Logistics
  • Retail Tech
  • Customer Experience
  • Travel & Tourism
  • Entertainment
  • Food & Beverage
  • Health & Wellness
  • Music
  • Content
  • Food Tech
  • Sensors
  • Gaming & eSports
  • Trading
and more
ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY
  • Big Data & Analytics
  • AR/VR
  • Blockchain
  • Robotics & Drones
  • Manufacturing
  • Education Tech
  • IoT & Sensors
  • Recruitment
  • Photography & Cinematic
  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Social Networks
  • SaaS
  • Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
  • Enterprise Tech
  • Life Sciences
  • Sensors & Wearables
  • Legal & Regulations
and more
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
  • Capital Market & Investment
  • Finance Technology
  • Finance Exchanges
  • Insurance
  • Insurtech
  • Personal Finance
  • Payment
  • Digital Banking
  • Finance Regulations & Compliance
  • Lending & Underwriting
  • Cryptocurrency
and more
RULES & REQUIREMENTS
TIMELINE
01
Nov 19, 2018
Application deadline
02
Dec 10, 2018
Announcement of the Top 100 teams, including the Top 40 teams for Pitch Day
03
Dec 14, 2018
Announcement of the Top 40 teams
04
Dec 27-28, 2018
Pitch-coaching session for the Top 40 teams
05
Early Jan, 2019
JUMPSTARTER IdeaPOP! Pitch Day
  • Top 20 teams to be selected for final pitch
06
Jan 7-18, 2019
2-week boot camp for Top 20 teams
07
Jan 23, 2019
JUMPSTARTER - Day 1
  • Final pitch (Round 1) – Top 20 teams
  • Startup mentoring
  • Master classes / workshops
08
Jan 24, 2019
JUMPSTARTER - Day 2
  • Announcement of Top 4 finalists
  • Final pitch (round 2) – Top 4 finalists
  • Startup mentoring
  • Master classes / workshops

JUMPSTARTER IdeaPOP! is open to all university students in Hong Kong. If you fulfil the following requirements, you are eligible to apply:

  • Students from 10 universities across Hong Kong
  • Ranging from tertiary student to PhD
  • Interested in entrepreneurship, technology or innovation
  • Have two to three students on a team
  • Corporate Innovation and Disruption to Industry (25%)
    1. How disruptive is the product or service to existing industries
    2. What are the values the product or service will bring to potential corporate partners / clients
    3. Opportunity for the startup to leverage corporates to grow
  • Market Potential, Business Model and MVP (25%)
    1. What is the market size and potential; assess competitive landscape and regulatory framework
    2. How will the product or service generate revenue
    3. Any minimum viable product to test product-market fit
    4. How do you exploit Hong Kong for expanding the business to Asia
  • Innovation and Defensibility (25%)
    1. How unique and innovative is the product / service / application / adoption
    2. Defensibility. How difficult is it for competitors to replicate the product or service
  • Team Background and Relevant Strength (25%)
    1. Team has the capabilities, expertise to execute the business plan
    2. Team’s understanding of the market
    3. Team’s ambition, drive, passion, vision and culture

Student startups will be selected and ranked in four cohorts by a panel of judges, including industry experts, investors and startup experts, who represent local and global startup communities. Based on the scorecard, we will rank the top 100 student startups.

Online Application & Scoring by Judging Panel

  • Submit the online application online with a powerpoint deck up to 10 slides in PDF format.
  • The selection of the top 100 student startups is based on your submission material, which will be assessed by our judging panel. Please ensure that you have completely filled out the information according to our requirements.
  • Only the top 40 teams (10 teams per cohort) will be qualified to participate in Pitching Coaching Session and Pitch Day.

Pitch Day in early January

  • Pick your language
    • Present your ideas on stage in English, Cantonese or Mandarin
    • Present your pitch deck in English, Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese
  • Pitch Timer
    • Our pitch timer will begin once you start your pitch on stage.
  • 10 minutes of pitch time is given to each team:
    • 6 minutes for the actual pitch
    • 4 minutes for judges Q&A session
  • The top 20 teams will be selected and entitled to participate in a two-week startup bootcamp before Final Pitch.

Final Pitch on January 23-24

  • The top 20 teams to pitch at the 1st Round Pitch.
  • 10 minutes of pitch time is given to each team:
    • 6 minutes for the actual pitch
    • 4 minutes for judges Q&A session
  • Only the top 4 finalists will get on the main keynote stage for a second-round pitch to compete for the winning spot.