Has Innovation Funding Come of Age?

Daily Paradox readers are familiar with my definition of creativity.

“Creativity is the ability to perceive relationships”

A sparkling example of this is the new joint venture between Javelin Wealth Management and Startup-O, a Singapore based online platform that helps expediate success for tech startups in Asia. The needs are clear: (1) A source of funds & solver networks for innovators & entrepreneurs (2) A source of innovative investments properly curated, monitored and developed for investors. Solution: Join the hands of both sets of experts across the divide and work together.

As the collaborators Javelin Wealth Management & Startup-O say –

“Startups are not getting funded & Investors are missing opportunities”

They are right. The system has pitted ideas against investment instead of getting them working together. The time and effort – and adversarial relationships caused by such an arrangement – have generally worked against the interests of the startups. They haven’t worked much in any but the shortest-term interests of investors either.

There are, of course, many more people than the two companies involved and this is where the arrangement looks especially appealing. Working with the two partners are IP Bridge of Japan, the Founder Institute of the Philippines, the Headstart Network, the INCO Facility, BEAM, Prof Parimal Merchant of the SP Jain School of Global Management, HubSpot, Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation, Tim Kobe, the designer behind the original Apple Store concept, WhatIf business modelling and SPRING Singapore & ETPL A*STAR, as well as other service organisations to cater for the joint venture’s needs.

That’s quite an orchestra and good orchestras require Top Conductors and First-Class Leaders. With Steve Davies, the founder and CEO of Javelin and Anuj Jain, the co-founder and CEO of Startup-O respectively filling the roles the stage looks set for some sweet music.

Terrific Mentors International doesn’t give financial advice or promote financial institutions and the success of the new venture has yet to be proved. But the contributors to it are already successful and the concept seems to us to be just right for the burgeoning world of innovation. Leave challenging relationships to marketing the innovations.

I particularly like the approach of Javelin and Startup-O that prompted them to create such an impressive list of collaborators. They rightly regard a new product or service as a child.

“It takes a whole village to raise a child”, they say.

I agree.