Brandix-led Disrupt taps three start-ups for funding
View(s):Three start-up firms have received pledges for “financial support, mentoring, workspace and potential client matching” from Apparel industry start-up incubator Disrupt Unlimited, which is funded by Brandix, according to a statement by the apparel maker.
Additionally, the start-ups were also identified as “Generation Epsilon”, which is “redesigning the sample approval process in bra production to give customers a better fit and accelerate time to market”; “Enhanzer Innovation”, which is “creating a platform to integrate with customer order systems and streamline the product development process”; and “DoInnov”, which is “developing a virtual order reference system to maximise accuracy and efficiency in the manufacturing process”.
Further, again according to the statement, the “three start-ups will go through a four-month process with Disrupt Unlimited, encompassing the development of their conceptual ideas progressively into value propositions, prototypes, minimum viable products and commercially viable products, alongside the development of business models, marketing and financial plans, testing of the products and pitching the start-ups to venture capitalists.
During this period, their progress will be monitored and supported with funding by Disrupt Unlimited as part of its role as a seed accelerator”.
Meanwhile, Disrupt reiterated that its “identified roles are collaboration with industry partners, securing the support of private partners, mentors, and advisors, development of idea/entrepreneur pipelines, building a network of investors in Sri Lanka and overseas, investing in start-ups, running seed accelerator programmes and supporting start-ups through commercialisation.
Disrupt Unlimited plans to conduct four Disrupt-a-thon challenges per year and to draw on existing founder pipelines including universities, the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission, MIT Global Start-up Labs programme, and Sri Lankans living overseas. Additionally, Disrupt Unlimited will help build this pipeline by running ‘founder dating’ events and collaborating with academic institutions to implement entrepreneurship programmes. Selected entrepreneurs must have an idea for a disruptive, scalable innovation, as well as a team with the right skill-set to develop and commercialise it”.
Commenting on this programme, Brandix Director Udena Wickremesooriya said; “We can provide you with technical knowledge, domain knowledge, mentoring and finance, but the drive to succeed must come from you. Some of the challenges are big stuff that can make a substantial difference to the way things are done not only on a local scale but on the international scale as well”. (JH)