Source: DealStreetAsia
by Shiwen Yap,
May 23, 2016
Visual of INSEADERS VC. May 2016.
Launched by co-founders Rani Saad and Micheal Collins, according to its website, the story of their new venture saw it being conceptualised in a Lebanese restaurant in Singapore called Beyrouth. During a meeting, they realised that INSEAD’s entrepreneurial community required physical, financial and community support to grow their ventures. This resulted in the launch of INSEADERS to address this particular pain point.
Venture-backed startup ventures with robust business concepts and products have a high failure rate, but this can be ameliorated through the provision of mentorship, connection and opportunity, as well as a platform for facilitating entrepreneurial education, a transfer of knowledge from the two co-founders, who are experienced entrepreneurs, as well as fostering an environment for aspiring entrepreneurs to network and engaged in venture creation.
Housed in Singapore’s Block 71 startup hub, it is located just across the street from INSEAD’s Asia campus. INSEADERS stated: “Our goal is to establish entrepreneurship as the preferred career exit path for INSEAD students.”
Offering working space, networking with INSEAD faculty and alumni advisors, collaboration with corporates, as well as access to seed and venture capital, Singapore will serve as the starting location, with plans to establish incubators in the European and Middle Eastern campuses of INSEAD. These are located in Fontainebleau, France, and in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
INSEAD students and alumni will be able to work from any of these locations, as well as tap on the existing entrepreneurship programmes that INSEAD already organises.
It will also enable them to tap corporate partnerships which INSEADERS is seeking to build up through its platform. This comes at a time as corporates globally are grappling with growth opportunities and a need for entrepreneurial leadership, particularly across the vast Indo-Pacific markets. Concurrently, the proliferation of startups has seen more students with a background in startup ventures entering business schools.
The launch comes at an opportune time, as venture capital (VC) funding has declined in recent months. Entrepreneurs originating from such platforms will be able to leverage both the INSEAD brand, as well as the social and capital networks linked to INSEAD, through such a platform.
