I attended the FACE Open Pitch event on the 23rd of Feb. 9 startup founders took the stage to share their pitches with the audience. The event provided a safe space for founders to talk about their startups, get constructive feedback, take on questions, and hone their pitching skills. Getting to network and exchanging notes with fellow entrepreneurs is a tremendous value-add!
Huge props to Poe and her team at FACE for consistently putting such great events together. A special mention to Nils, the host and MC for the evening. His incredible energy beautifully contrasted the old-school charm of the venue, the Prince Theatre Heritage Stay.
TaraGo
The first pitch was by Van from TaraGo, a rural travel platform that opens a whole new aspect to sustainable traveling tailored to the preferences of Gen Z travelers. They’re not just an Airbnb for rural travel, they work closely with rural communities, empowering them to host tourists and deliver memorable experiences. They are currently working on launching their pilot backpacking trip across multiple Southeast Asian countries.
World KYC
The second pitch was by World KYC. They provide a decentralized digital ID for online and offline authentication. The Web3-based platform allows businesses and individuals to authenticate themselves with or without name identification. Their tagline ‘Anonymity with Accountability’ perfectly summarizes their goal to enable KYC compliance without having to worry about breach of privacy or GDPR non-compliance.
Radical Wellness Club
The third pitch was by Lokesh from Radical Wellness Club. He follows what he calls a holistic wellness approach focused on helping people find meaning and purpose. He encourages an inward-looking mindset, helping individuals identify important questions to ask themselves. With the trials and tribulations that come along with being a founder, getting help finding the bigger picture could make an incredible difference.
Cleartoo
The fourth pitch was by Cleartoo. As a second-hand fashion marketplace, they are solving 2 key problems: 1- people feeling that they have nothing to wear, and 2- the sustainability crisis of clothes going unused or even ending up in landfills. They have a rapidly growing user-base that is driven in part by their influencer-centric marketing activation. With fast-fashion dominating our purchase habits, an app like Cleartoo is a welcome addition to the scene.
Flip It
The fifth pitch was by FlipIt. The’ve built a browser extension that allows you to access the ‘back of the internet’. What it essentially does is allow users to share reviews and feedback for any web-page they encounter online and make these reviews visible to other FlipIt users. This gives a neutral, transparent platform for users to exchange feedback about any site. The intuitive action of ‘flipping’ over any webpage to give or see reviews is a big UI win in my opinion.
Blau Adler
The sixth pitch was by Blau Adler (or Blue Eagles). Their team of business experts, teachers, and sports economists coach early-stage entrepreneurs. Their goal is to help founders unlock their individual and business potential. Currently, all their material including their podcast, is in German. I look forward to what they come up with for English-speaking audiences.
Ardaria
The seventh pitch was by Ardaria, which is a sandbox game based built on Unreal Engine 5. With web3 and AI features baked in, they’re looking to emulate the success of the legendary Minecraft with more future-forward gamers. They’re betting on the creator economy and modding community to propel the growth of the game.
Lizzie Perfumery
The eighth pitch was by Lizzie Perfumery. It’s a home-made boutique perfume brand available for both B2B and B2C purchase. Lizzie even handed out some free samples, and I have to admit, the fragrance is awesome! It was great to see a passion-driven product business on stage among a slew of tech and service businesses.
Cryfi
The ninth and final pitch of the day was by Cryifi, which is a marketplace for signal providers to monetize their crypto market knowledge. Their platform verifies the signal provider’s success, adding a crucial layer of transparency for traders looking to emulate their trades. A bulk of the information exchange takes place through their Telegram bot, making it easily accessible.
The 9 founders I saw on stage all came from varying backgrounds and are working on solving a diverse set of consumer problems. Events like these play an important role in catalyzing the growth of the Thai startup ecosystem.