MoneyTree, together with its corporate partners, organized the Young Entrepreneur Start-up (YES) Challenge “Red Carpet” Party last Friday, 20th November 2009 at Eastin Hotel PJ. A total of 230 people comprising members of the YES Advisory Panel, Partners, sponsors, members of the Media and youths from 12 different Universities and Colleges attended the Party.
The 5 YES Challenge Finalist teams were given celebrity treatment when they arrived in their respective limousines and were greeted by more than 200 guests during the Party.
The “YES Red Carpet” Party was a night of recognition for the 5 YES finalist teams for their commendable efforts, commitment, dedication and success in starting their own businesses during YES Season 1. The highlight of the party was the announcement of the YES Challenge GRAND PRIZE winner for Season 1. The team that walked away with RM 20,000 in cash and prizes was a team known as TryThisOut!; a youth media, publicity and information company that utilizes the “tryvertising” methodology along with contemporary marketing tools to obtain market intelligence and create a holistic marketing solution that forms lasting impressions of their clients’ brand and products among youths.
“The process of deciding the Grand Prize winner was an extremely tough one as all the YES teams were competing neck to neck with each other in terms of their business growth and expansion. However, one of our main criteria for selecting the Grand Prize winner was the implementation of their business ideas. In this aspect, TryThisOut! led the pack as they have not only secured business deals / projects, they have also successfully implemented their projects and started generating revenue for their company”, said Mr Michael Reyes, CEO of MoneyTree Asia Pacific Ltd.
The “YES Red Carpet” Party also marks the launch of YES Season 2, which would be expanded to a larger scale, involving more than 14 Universities and Colleges.
Co-founder of TryThisOut!, Mr Johnson Khoo, 19, said, “We are so happy to have been given the opportunity to participate in YES. We have never dreamed of starting a company of our own at this age but the YES Challenge made it all possible for us.” Mr Chia Sheng Yeong, 19, also Co-founder of TryThisOut! added, “This has really been an adventure of a lifetime for us. It seems surreal that we now actually own a business even though we’re still studying in University.”
Over the past 5 months, a total of 24 teams submitted their business ideas and 15 teams were shortlisted by the panel of judges which comprised of representatives from the academia, private equity and government agencies. Further short listing reduced the number of teams to 7, who went on to present and defend their ideas in front of the judges. The Top 5 teams selected for the finals then went on to solicit funding of up to RM 25,000 from private investors to start their businesses.
The 5 finalist teams that successfully acquired the RM 25,000 from private investors are Entrée, TryThisOut!, Buttered Toastz, Fitness in Training and Student Media.
The YES challenge is a business challenge organized by MoneyTree to help Young, Vibrant Entrepreneur Aspirants launch their business ideas into the market and ultimately turn those ideas into profitable ventures. The challenge not only allows young Entrepreneurs / aspiring Entrepreneurs to learn skills that would sharpen their Entrepreneurial mindsets, but to also provide them with the opportunity to experience the practical applications of the Entrepreneurial skills they acquired through the MoneyTree Entrepreneur Fast Track program. Ultimately, YES teams who have proven their worth would be channelled to government pre-seed grants for full commercialization of their ideas.
The YES Challenge is supported by Maybank, Malaysia’s Premier bank, CPA Australia and RICOH.
For further information regarding the YES Challenge, please contact uV at uvwong@moneytree.my or call him at 012 293 5116.