Mora Ventures 2.0 - The Journey To The Finale

The First Startup Pitching Challenge of University of Moratuwa which was held few months back has already started its second season. But this time, it seems to be more than a pitching challenge for the competitors. 

First Leg: Mini Pitches

Amidst all the chit chats on Mora Ventures 2.0, we Mora Mag also decided to head on to their mini pitching sessions at the university premises. We were amazed to see how the teams were fearlessly presenting their startups in front of well experienced and renowned panels of judges. These mini pitches were held throughout a week, offering 30 teams to rehearse their pitches and get a glimpse to other entrepreneurs’ and investors opinions before the finale.

55 startups which have passed the idea stage and have already initiated their ideas got registered for Mora Ventures 2.0 in search of investors, learning and experience. The diversity of the startups we saw in the mini pitches was quite mind blowing. From adventure camps to hand crafts to tech websites, all of them were much focused to become the best venture emerged from the University of Moratuwa so far. 

Whom they pitched in front of?

The panels of judges that these teams had to pitch were not any easy. Mr. Sarith Fernando from Slingshot at Hemas, Pubudu Liyanage, Director of HR at IFS, Ms. Anuradha Herath, Mangala Karunarathne, Founder Calcey, Chalinda Abeykoon, Founder crowdisland.lk, Anisha Yasaratna, Founder thepapare.com and aniwa.lk, Dimuth Cooray, General Manager Data at Dialog Axiata, Aloka Gunasekara of StartupXFoundry were some of the panelists we met. They were quite passionate in adding their point of views and offering support and mentoring for the teams.

Further, the teams were advised on the revenue models, scalability, marketing and promoting, unique value proposition development of their startups and also soft skills to be sharpened up.

Rest of the journey...

Fifteen startups have already been selected from the mini pitches and performance growth they displayed according to the committee. Following that, these budding entrepreneurs are currently being mentored by seven experienced entrepreneurs directly. Not only that, but the teams are expected to receive training on presentation and public speaking skills form University’s Gavel Club which would undoubtedly help them more to bag the right investors during their journey.

What to expect in the finale?

Final eight teams who are still to be selected from the 15 teams will pitch at the finale on 29th August 2017 at University premises. Along with that, be ready to support your favorite team on Face book under Most Popular Startup Award which is to be start very soon. Apart from that, the committee has already launched the sub competition of most attractive business idea pitch video to all of you out there who show interest in this field. Well, even we Mora Mag might compete in this with you!

Mora Ventures

Organized by the Entrepreneurship Society of University of Moratuwa, Mora Ventures is expected to repeat every quarter of the year. Currently holding its second season, Mora Ventures 3.0 is not far from its way. It is aimed on building strong entrepreneurs who will start to do wonders within next 10 years in Sri Lanka while acting as a startup catalyst and an accelerator itself. Winners of every season get a chance to pitch their startups in front of world class panel of Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists at the yearend ‘Grand Pitch’ event. This journey would not stop until Sri Lanka’s first ever unicorn (over USD 1 Billion worth Startup) gets founded by the year 2027.

Tune in to our Fb page (https://www.facebook.com/moramagcom/) to find out more details on the finale of Mora Ventures 2.0 where you can witness winners of all the three competitions and live comments by the judges. Also contact Mora Ventures Committee on +94715173708 for more information. Till then, work hard to be the next change you want to see in the world, which could ultimately be your own start up!

Event Covered by Indeewari Chandrasekara for Mora Mag

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