Jumpstart was launched as a signature project of the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School under the Professional Development avenue, for students to get corporate exposure and jumpstart their professional careers. Over time, it modified into a platform that gives aspiring entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka the opportunity to kickstart their entrepreneurial journeys. Since its inception in 2017, Jumpstart has undergone multiple exhilarating changes that have opened up countless opportunities for its participants and substantially enhanced their professional lives.

This year’s theme for Jumpstart is ‘Empower, Embolden, Emblaze’, which perfectly sums up our aim to empower aspiring entrepreneurs to step up to the challenge, embolden them with all the tools and skills necessary to take their first steps and help emblaze their entrepreneurial journey.

Jumpstart 2022 began in November with a virtual introduction session that was held to make potential participants aware of why they should participate in Jumpstart this year. The event is happening in three phases, namely,

1. Pitch It! Win It!
2. Boardroom Challenge
3. Shark Tank

The 3 phases of Jumpstart 2022

1. Pitch It! Win It!

This is a platform where entrepreneurs and idea wizards receive the opportunity to present their business ideas to a panel of judges and compete for huge prizes to jumpstart their venture.

      a. Workshop Series

All teams and individuals who registered for Pitch It! Win It! were required to attend a number of workshops tailored to improve their performance in the preliminary round. These workshops which were also open to the general public aimed to inform participants about several important aspects that should be taken into account when developing their business ideas and ultimately experiencing success. These webinars were undoubtedly crucial in helping the participants get ready and equipped since they provided them with a general understanding of entrepreneurship, starting with the fundamentals, and helped them prepare the best possible pitch for Pitch It! Win It!.

The series consisted of workshops on the topics of Problem Identification, Business Model Canvas, Finance and Bookkeeping, Intellectual Property Rights & Data Protection for Startups, Digital Marketing, and Pitch Perfect.

b. Preliminary Round

The Preliminary Round of Pitch It! Win It! took place on the 22nd of February from 9 am onwards at the premises of the Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC) located at Trace Expert City. During this round, all registered teams and individuals pitched their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges. The choice of using Sinhala, Tamil, or English for their pitch was provided to the participants. The pitches were followed by a Q & A session with the judges, where the contestants were quizzed on topics including the application, viability, return on investment, etc. of their business ideas. After much deliberation, the judges decided that The Empress Kingdom, Pluton Productions, Journe, and Rayora will move on to the Finale.

All finalist teams and individuals chosen for the Finale have been assigned mentors who are experts in their respective fields to aid them in getting ready for the final pitch. Show and Tell Presentations and The Biz Show act as Mentor Partners for Jumpstart 2022.

Our other sponsors and partners include Sri Lanka Technological Campus as Bronze Sponsor, IEEE Innovation Nation Sri Lanka and TRACE – Sri Lanka as Ecosystem Partners, Niftron as Blockchain Partner, E Law Chambers as Legal Consultations Partner, and ChoKoLAATe as Digital Media Partner.

         c. Grand Finale

The Pitch It! Win It! Grand Finale is slated to take place on the 11th of March 2023. During the Finale, the finalists chosen from the Preliminary Round will be given assignments to evaluate their capabilities in various areas, including strategic thinking and decision-making.

The judges will be choosing the top three Pitch It! Win It! Teams, who will each receive prizes that will help them grow their business idea into a business venture.

2. Boardroom Challenge

This phase of Jumpstart 2022 is exclusively for the students of Achievers Lanka Business School, where they can prop their ideas and learn through trial by analysing companies. The students will be divided into teams and instructed to run a case study on the standards provided. Ultimately, they will dispense the information they gathered by presentations to a panel of judges on preset criteria.

3. Shark Tank

The Shark Tank phase is for people or groups who run growth-stage startups.

After enrollment into the competition, contestants will be asked to present an overview of their startup based on criteria such as existing revenue generation, scalability, profitability/impact, business model, and traction as part of the selection process.

The chosen individuals or teams will get the chance to pitch their business to a panel of judges, and a chosen number of businesses will get the opportunity to receive prizes that will help the progression of their startup.

Registrations for Shark Tank will be opening soon, and further information regarding this phase will be shared on our social media channels.

If you are someone that wishes to become a successful entrepreneur with a business idea that could change the course of history but feels you don’t have the necessary skills and knowledge for it, or perhaps an entrepreneur with a startup, Jumpstart 2022 is not an opportunity you want to miss.

Stay connected with the social media pages of Jumpstart by the Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School for more information!

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jumpstart_achievers/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Jumpstart.Achievers

Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/company/jumpstart-by-rotaract-club-of-achievers-lanka-business-school