InnoVEX ONLINE 2022 Facilitated 20 Global Matchmaking Sessions
2022-10-06
The InnoVEX Matchmaking session has been one of the main events of InnoVEX since it started in 2016. With the goal of connecting startups with new investment and partnership opportunities; the event has seen constant participation by startups, VCs, CVCs, corporations, and more.
Held on September 20, 2022; the InnoVEX 2022 matchmaking session was held for an entire day and was joined by 15 startups & 4 VCs. The topics of their discussions included possibilities of investment by the VCs, business partnerships, professional network expansion, channels for manufacturing, and more.
4 VC firms participated in the event, including WK Innovation, Orion Ventures, Plug and Play APAC (Singapore, Taiwan), and Taipei Executive Group. The startups that joined the matchmaking session were: Bitfy, Popit, Offsetted, PupilMesh, VOLTREZ, NAOR, Digibionic, DROXO TECH, GMF, Hibbs Medical, iCan InnoTech, JCdrawn, Linggle, MTAMTech, and Turing Certs. The startups represented 6 countries & regions: Brazil, Finland, Germany, India, Israel, and Taiwan.
The VCs' are active in the following industries: Networking, Climate Tech, Energy, Decarbonisation, Sustainability, Semiconductor, medical instruments, Medical Biotechnology, and Agricultural biotechnology. While the startups focus on the following fields: 5G, AI, Blockchain, Healthcare, IoT, GreenTech, FinTech, and SportsTech.
In total, the InnoVEX ONLINE 2022 facilitated 20 matchmaking sessions between startups and VCs behind closed doors to maintain professional privacy between the two parties. The matchmaking session was conducted online for the convenience of the participating startups and VCs with the goal to help expand their business networks and reach.
The matchmaking session was a success as it opened opportunities for startups in their future endeavors as well as providing them with important insights for their success that will be discussed here. Further correspondence between the VCs & startups are scheduled in the near future. Particularly, the startups in green energy, healthcare & biotech, drones/ UAV, blockchain, and VR/AR/XR impressed the VCs they matched with and more detailed meetings are expected. While some startups could not participate due to prior engagements, some of the VCs offered to hold a private meeting with the startups directly; showing great interest in their solutions and potential. In total, 70% of the meetings had potential for future engagements with the VCs; including direct investment, private network expansion, coaching, or further discussions.
Matchmaking Sessions Brought Unexpected Lessons
The main purpose of meetings between startups and VCs is often to discuss avenues for future cooperation; but they can also serve as quick and intense coaching sessions. As VCs would look at the startups' as well as their products or solutions through an outsider's perspective, VCs will be able to provide new insights that might not even be considered by the startups.
Regardless of industry, the market and landscape often change rapidly without warning and both startups and VCs might each have partial perspectives that do not tell the whole story. While startups are expected to have domain knowledge and expertise in their respective fields, it is not uncommon for startups to have inaccurate expectations of the market. On the other hand, VCs' familiarity with the market and their expertise might provide ideas on how the startups can improve themselves or their products/ solutions.
Startups are Businesses
While startups are often built by passionate founders, it is important to remember that at the end of the day, startups are businesses and their main raison d'être remain the same: to be profitable. Founders might have to make certain drastic changes to turn their startup from a mostly passion project into a profitable business or to improve its profitability. Changes in aspects such as business models, revenue source, target markets, etc. are among the most common and might have to be done urgently to prevent unnecessary failures.
In addition, different markets will have different perspectives; especially in terms of pricing. While an item might be considered fairly priced in a certain market, it might be out of reach for another market. It is also important to remember that if the need exists, innovation is only one of the possible solutions to fulfill that need.
Final Thoughts
Matchmaking sessions between startups and VCs are often the first step or one of the many steps to finding the right partner and the right type of partnership. While some startups might be strong in one aspect, they might need improvements in others which can be a challenge. However, a startup is a business and being profitable will have to be one of their focuses in addition to solving real problems in the world.
Participating in matchmaking events is an opportunity for startups to build up their network. A strong network can be a competitive advantage for startups as they will have more resources to leverage as well as more perspective on not only their business; but also, their market and future directions.
The participating startups are exhibitors of InnoVEX ONLINE 2022. If you wish to know more about them, please visit our InnoVEX ONLINE page.
Look Forward to InnoVEX 2023
To connect global startups with potential investors, partners, buyers, and other resources from around the world, InnoVEX 2023 will be also be held in a hybrid online/onsite format. The physical event, InnoVEX 2023 will be held from May 30 to June 2, 2023. Please follow the official InnoVEX Social Media channels for more updates on InnoVEX 2023 and InnoVEX ONLINE 2023:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/computexinnovex
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InnoVEX3
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovextaipei/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/InnoVEX_taipei/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovex_taipei/
【Media Contact】
Taipei Computer Association Tel: +886-2-25774249 Fax: +886-2-25785392
David Liu ＃360 Email: david_liu@mail.tca.org.tw
Sharlene Hung ＃324 Email: sharlene@mail.tca.org.tw
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