Seven start-ups have been selected to pitch live at the WIT Bootcampon October 21 for the chance to be crowned Start-Up of the Year 2013.
The seven semi-finalists – Grata, Voyagin, BeMyGuest, Ikut Ikut, Trip38, Travelatus and CherryPickedTravel– were shortlisted by our judges from a record 20 entries received for this year’s start-up competition, now in its fourth year.
As I wrote in this article for e27, it’s been encouraging to see the growth in interest in travel by both entrepreneurs and investors. When we first started our Pitch, it was difficult to convince entrepreneurs to one, even think of travel and two, to share their ideas in a public forum but in the last 24 months, we’ve seen a pick-up in momentum in interest, ideas and deals.
What is exciting is to see the confluence between the growth of travel and the evolution of digital in Asia and I believe the intersection of the two will open up new pathways and opportunities to the smart, bold and innovative.
While last year saw an abundance of social-based models, this year’s list is a mix of curated models, activities plays and mobile-only propositions, reflecting how travel is changing and where entrepreneurs see an opportunity to insert themselves into the travel value chain.
Our semi-finalists come from Australia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, India and Europe. Three finalists will be picked to go on to the Grand Finals on October 23 at the WIT Conference and the winner will be announced at the closing of the event.
It’s been encouraging to note the progress of those start-ups that have made their debut at WIT over the years – among them, Singapore-based Flocations and Travelogy and last year’s Start-Up winner Trippiece, Japan. Each have received funding – but that’s only the beginning of the journey as we well know. The hard work lies ahead in building up sustainable businesses.
Asia’s vacation rental site, Travelmob, recently sold 61% of its stake to HomeAway, just after a year of start-up – vacations rental is a huge market and we’ve hardly scratched the surface here – and Jungle Ventures which were the early investors in Travelmob made the right bet on a good idea and a solid team.
Investors will make a strong showing at the WIT Bootcamp which will feature a panel of experts ranging from 8capita, GREE Ventures, Jungle Ventures and Venture Republic who will talk about their interests in travel and the start-up trends they’re seeing in the region.
The Bootcamp will also feature the WIT Developer & Designer Challenge, the first such initiative to encourage developers and designers to try solve travel’s problems as defined by the four Challenges put up by our sponsors. The deadline for entries has been extended to October 14 to allow teams to finish off their submissions. Interesting submissions have been received as of today and our judges will also be selecting the solutions to be presented that day. Student teams are also involved in the Challenge.
In its fifth year, the WIT Bootcamp has become the must-attend event for travel entrepreneurs, investors and innovators as it gathers speakers from around the world to talk about what’s new in travel technology – from experts in augmented reality to specialists in tours and activities, a hot space right now in online travel.
See programme here and book your seat here
Last year’s Bootcamp, see you soon
