Flat6Labs launches their first cycle in Abu Dhabi
Flat6Labs Abu
Dhabi welcomed its first ever cycle of
entrepreneurs at its boot camp last week to help entrepreneurs from
the UAE and abroad evolve their ideas and eventually scale to
regional and global markets.
The week started with team building
exercises that included kayaking and board games, all to help them
develop their value proposition. They also conducted a venture
assessment, which they will re-evaluate each week for
product-market fit.
Mentorship match up was also
critical in the first week so as to focus not just on the chemistry
between mentor and entrepreneur, but on the customer data driven
process – thinking about selling and getting traction in the
market, rather than just pitching to investors. “At the end of the
day, we at Flat6Labs are ultimately building a community to improve
the chance of a startup’s success in real time,” said Nina Curley,
managing director.
Based at twofour54, Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi boasts a large
office space with abundant natural light. This newly opened branch
of the Cairo
founded accelerator is continuing its work by providing
startups with seed funding, office space, strategic business
training workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and access to a network
of investors. The boot camp was created with Scott Gilespie of
T2VC and Warren Haber
of Exoventure.
“A founder-friendly and
customer-driven culture is something I have worked to cultivate
since day one,” Curley said.
Jibin Jose and Abimanyu Nair, cofounders of Flip
Technologies.
One of the promising startups in the first cycle is
Flip Technologies, something that could be described as “Fit-Bit
for skateboards.” The hardware device fits under the skateboard and
tracks rider fitness and activity performed, and includes a mobile
dashboard.
Over the past year, the
cofounders, Jibin Jose and Abimanyu Nair, have complemented
each other with backgrounds in hardware and software technology.
Due to its diverse community they see the UAE as their test market,
and one day would like to break into the US market.
While at Flat6Labs they’ll be
testing their hypotheses, gaining feedback to better their product,
and finding sponsors in the region to host events, providing them
with more exposure. “The Flat6Labs mentor line-up and customized
road map has been the best part of boot camp for us. The experience
is key,” Jose said.
As fresh graduates, unlike many of
their friends who have taken jobs in government and the private
sector, Jose and Nair have opted for the riskier route of building
their product, moving to the UAE and focusing on their start up.
The founders admitted that they have had to push through moments of
self-doubt, but they absolutely love what they are doing, and what
they do now could not give them the same satisfaction if they had
taken a job straight out of college like many of their
friends.
Valerie Konde, founder of Pavilion 33.
Another startup is Pavilion 33,
founded by Valerie Konde, an INSEAD graduate who left her job at
Google to build her art ecommerce site focused on emerging
economies. Tied to 15 art galleries across the MENA region Pavilion
33 hosts over 400 art pieces on its site and will be having its
soft launch next week.
The idea behind the site is to give
everyone access to affordable art – it even offers a trial period
of three months before purchasing. The art ecommerce site will be
providing art lovers from around the world with pieces from the
Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Konde plans to launch the full
platform in May which will include information and videos on things
to know before purchasing art, and other educational content for
the buyer.
Pavilion 33 will partner with art
galleries rather than individual artists. Galleries will be the
curators, Konde noted, while the website offers marketing and
exposure for the galleries and artists, while providing another
avenue to push inventory.
Konde explained that though she has
only been in the boot camp for just three days, the people she has
met there challenge her, and will enable her to grow her startup
faster. Her goal is to expand to other emerging economies in South
Asia and Latin America.
Entrepreneurs were also pushed to
practice their pitches.
Haitham Al-Khatib, cofounder of Sakkini.
A particularly strong pitch came
from Sakkini, an early-stage venture operating in the real estate
space in the UAE. Unlike many of its competitors, it employs unique
geospatial technology which allows the user to have a more
comprehensive and interactive experience navigating property
listings, including an ability to view nearby properties and
amenities. The founders, Faisal Al Husseini and Haitham Al-Khatib
just found out during bootcamp that they have been chosen as
finalists for the prestigious MIT Enterprise Forum. They will be
traveling to Kuwait in mid-April on an all-expenses-paid trip to
train in business skills, pitch in front of an eclectic group of
panelists, and will compete for a grand prize of $50,000. Instabug,
a platform for mobile developers was a former first place winner
and a Flat6Labs alumnus.
Program participants can look
forward to weekly training and coaching sessions. Entrepreneurs
will be encouraged to get close to the customer, gather data, and
reiterate – build, measure, and learn. The daily process will
include hands on workshops on financing options, sales and
marketing, a lean canvas model, product-market fit, social media,
value proposition, investment, and how to engage with the
customer.
Then, each Wednesday, members of the
community will be invited for dinners where entrepreneurs will
pitch their business idea. Stay tuned for more innovative ideas
coming your way.
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