Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd kick-started its first Digi Incub8 ideation workshop in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah last weekend, which saw 40 entrepreneurs learning the basics of ideating as the first step to entrepreneurial success.
The three-day ideation workshop saw participants between the ages of 17 and 62 years-old moving through five different sessions over the weekend, where they learned the meaning of becoming an entrepreneur and cultivating the entrepreneur’s mindset, the stark reality of learning to fail, bounce back and try again, building solid ideas, and identifying business opportunities and generating a business model suited to the idea. They also had the opportunity to learn and get inspired from real-life startup experiences shared by local entrepreneurs.
Digi’s Chief Digital Officer, Praveen Rajan said, “Embarking on an entrepreneurial pursuit begins with having an idea, and Malaysia is not short of talented and creative individuals with great ideas, but all too often, the challenge is taking these ideas further and turning them into possible viable businesses. This weekend’s workshop was tailored to help fellow Malaysians kick-start their entrepreneurial journey by addressing the challenges of building a business from an idea upfront; from creating an idea that meets a need, identifying opportunities in the market, and then building a suitable business model around it. We aim to help them take steps forward to start up, and fuel further involvement in our local startup community with this effort.”
Geraldine Yong, 24, a recent graduate shared, “The workshop mentors have helped me identify the viability and sustainability of my ideas for a business. They were very candid and honest in challenging my thoughts, providing constructive feedback on building the potential of my ideas and those which they feel I should not built on. Through this process, I have managed to ideate new opportunities for business that I will continue to work on by applying the knowledge I have gained over the weekend.”
“My mind has always been churning out ideas that I imagined to be perfect solutions to everyday problems that people face, but I was never able to get them off the ground due to various factors. Through this workshop, I learned the differences between an idea and an opportunity, and how to turn the former into the latter. More importantly, I now understand that success and failure actually depends on an entrepreneur’s mindset,” said Yeng Kian Han, age 33, who is a caricature artist.
Digi Incub8 is a partnership with 1337 Ventures and its Alpha Startups programme, a household name within the community for scaling companies from ideas into successful business ventures. More information on the Digi website.
