FIRST CROWDPITCH VIETNAM 2019: TRAVEL STARTUPS ARISE, WHILE ENVIRONMENTAL ONE DRAW MORE ATTENTION

I reposted the content of some events that my company ran in order to spread the message further.  In the 1st CrowdPitch Vietnam 2019, 5 Vietnamese startups had presented their ideas, learned from expert mentors in the ecosystem and gained exposure, as well as built and engaged with the community.

Mr. Thang Huynh – CEO & Co-Founder Innovation Lab

Most-voted: Saving environment solution

Vietnam is one of the worst polluters of ocean plastic waste in Asia and the globe, with 13 million tonnes of waste released to the ocean every year. Fortunately, Vietnamese starts to get aware of this massive pollution and therefore, green initiatives emerge. Obviously, eco-minded entrepreneurs in Vietnam are not out of the picture.

Ms. Linh Le – Founder & CEO AYACUP

Startup AYA – REUSABLE CUP with the plastic waste solution was the most-voted idea in 1st CrowdPitch Vietnam 2019. AYA REUSABLE CUPS creates convenience idea for users which enable them to use and return the cup rather than throwing single-use plastic cup.  More specifically, with AYA you can request an eco-friendly cup at any participating coffee shop or smoothie bar with your ID code. With the so-called “Life Time Membership Pass”, you also can drop the AYACUP at any participating locations. AYA has achieved 85 vendors, 135 locations and 5,495 plastic cups saved.

Linh Le, Founder of AYA Reusable cups shared that she was very surprised and happy when people were very interested in her project and concerned about the environment. It is a good sign that more people want to change their habits to protect the environment.

According to the report 2018 by UN Environment, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute around the world; up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once – and then thrown away.

Mr. Tuan Tran – Founder Airiot VietNam

With the same mission to save the environment; startup Airiot VietNam provides solutions to save energy for Airbnb hosts by a self-designed device. With IOT device working based on Bluetooth low energy 4.0, Airiot helps Airbnb hosts to turn off the air-conditioner automatically when people are not in the accommodation.

Travel tech – Top trendy startups in Vietnam

According to a report recently released by Topica Founder Institute (TFI), eight major travel tech deals worth $64 million were signed last year. The travel tech market is full of potential as increasing numbers of Vietnamese seek to travel and enjoy life.

The trend was well demonstrated in May section of CrowdPitch Vietnam as 3 out of 5 start-up ideas is technology-based travel startups including LandedVibe, Gody.vn and CheepCheep.

Mr. Le Duy Hoang – Founder LandedVibe

Becoming the winner chosen by judges, LandedVibe offers a platform for diversified offline skill-sharing and entertainment activities. They build a network where anyone can turn shareable values of their profession, skill or hobby into payable activities for locals, expats and travelers alike to book, via a sharing-economy platform.

Explained about the decision, Mr. Bobby Liu – CrowdPitch Vietnam judge and Co-director of Topica Founder Institute said: “LandedVibe will change the way of travel a lot. It is about the experience, about travelers getting and sharing their own experience. It could be popular with young travelers. Because of that, LandedVibe has development potential and will attract investors.”

Mr. Pham Viet Anh – CEO & Founder CheepCheep

Ms. Ngoc Anh – Founder Gody.vn

Other startups are CheepCheep, an online platform to book attraction tickets through a hundred places in Vietnam, and Gody.vn, a social travel platform to personalize trips based on AI’s recommendations.

2019 CrowdPitch Vietnam is an initiative for startups to raise their brand awareness, identify their market, attract potential investors and engage actively with future customers.

5 startups chosen to pitch each month will receive 1.000USD AWS credits, technical support, and free online training besides the voting cash by audiences’ entrance tickets.

Mr. Bobby Liu emphasized the prominence of CrowdPitch to startups in the ecosystem because of its benefit and recalled himself as a winner of this kind of crowdpitch five years ago.

From the participant’s perspective, Founder of AYA, Linh Le claimed that pitching in CrowdPitch was a valuable opportunity for early-stage startups to validate their idea and cheer them up. “It is also a good place for them to interact with other startups and investors,” Linh said and personally, CrowdPitch made her more confident, gave her great feedback from other entrepreneurs, and connected her with the community.

The 2nd CrowdPitch Vietnam 2019 is going to present on June, 26th 2019.

The CrowdPitch Vietnam is powered by Innovation Lab.