In the past two weeks, our teams were scheduled to do our field work to better refine our business ideas.
The VB18 teams had arranged for consultations with SJ Lim at BWG Consulting.
BWG Consulting offers a 360-degree holistic integrated business advisory solution to businesses and business leaders looking to expand their businesses and make a difference within their organisations, for their people and for the community.
These sessions were tough and grinding yet fruitful.
Our fellow VB18 member, Hansen from OMG Coating, will share with us his thoughts and reflections uncovered from the fieldwork done and check-ins with BWG Consulting.
Moving concept into actual production stage now!
Asking tough (Beautiful) questions are always a good way to probe into what the potential business should head towards! SJ and Linda managed to ask beautiful questions that we were unable to answer that made us question ourselves of the things we should dig deeper/research/understand better.
Most importantly, understanding our audience/clients and how to communicate/connect with them effectively might be overlooked; something as simple as building and construction audience may not at be as tech-savvy and emails, though used, might not be as well-received. — Hansen
Impromptu Trial Spray:
After lunch we had an impromptu trial spray and headed down to Tampines!Not gonna lie, it could have been a better session. Whatever could go wrong, DID go wrong. A classic example of Murphy’s law.
Without going into details, the main takeaway to this was, even for a small trial, careful and detailed planning/agenda should be done before actually putting it to action or both time and money — the most important resources of a start-up — would be wasted. — Hansen
After identifying the startup’s dilemma, my team and I — along with BWG Consulting — have decided that we would work around the restraints we have.
The 3 main restraints we set for ourselves:
1. Focus on what we have; raw product and budget we have
2. Cutting our losses; even if it seems like a good business idea but it’s not taking off
3. Follow the money; getting revenue — even profits — and throw out the hypotheticals.As the net would be cast as wide as possible, we had to set projected internal milestones to set the motion forward. For example, we will be talking to as many people in the industry to talk about their pain points and acquire certifications, accordingly, AND PIVOT.
Other than the fruitful consultations, there was also a reshuffling of teams amongst the VB18.
Since there was a reshuffling of teams, I have now pivoted on to a different project from AI tech to a beauty/therapeutics startup. While the products of these two startups are world’s apart, the knowledge I have gained so far is definitely transferable to my new project in terms of preliminary research and business planning.
I have great confidence that my new teammate/business partner and I can build something great together. Most importantly, I have also acknowledged that our startup comes with its own set of risks. Nevertheless, even if our venture doesn’t make it as far as we expect, I’d know that we gave it our very best efforts in our attempt. — Gabriel
Ending off with a photo after a workout with our fellow VB18 mates after our meeting. We will get through this together! :)
