Obtaining investment can be the hardest part about starting your business. Startups in their seed and early stages struggle to receive funding because it is a risky business for investors. Especially when you are still a student, don’t have a track record and want to start your first company, it can seem impossible.
To tackle this challenge, one of Asia’s top ten female founders, Ee Ling Lim, will share her expertise on how early stage investment works and how much impact young founders can make. Ee Ling is 500Startups’ Country Lead in Singapore. 500Startups is the #1 most active global venture capital seed fund headquartered in Silicon Valley. As if that was not enough, she has brought her passion to life by founding Smarter Me. A startup that empowers students to work on their ideas and found their own startups.
“I may not have changed the world, but if I can inspire kids to, then we’re halfway there.” - Ee Ling
500 Startups
Country Head
Ee Ling leads 500 Startups' Innovation & Partnerships team in Singapore. In her role, she works with various ecosystem stakeholders to accelerate their innovation journey. Ee Ling is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Smarter Me, an education platform which equips children with the skillset, mindset and heartset to define their own success and happiness in the future.
Ee Ling leads 500 Startups' Innovation & Partnerships team in Singapore. In her role, she works with various ecosystem stakeholders to accelerate their innovation journey.
Ee Ling is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Smarter Me, an education platform which equips children with the skillset, mindset and heartset to define their own success and happiness in the future. Based on a unique framework that combines digital skills (coding, robotics) with 21st century skills (entrepreneurship, design thinking), Smarter Me aims to empower kids and teens not only with the tools of today and the future, but with a deeper sense of self-understanding that will help them overcome any changes in the future.
Prior to starting up Smarter Me, Ee Ling spent almost a decade as an Investment Banker, executing billion-dollar transactions in M&A, equity and debt capital markets. She also specialized in Consumer, Retail and Technology.
Ee Ling has been featured in and spoken on The Straits Times, Money FM, 938 Now, The Asian Entrepreneur, Tech Sauce, Tech Collective, Lian He Zao Bao etc. and was also invited to speak at and conduct workshops for Horasis Asia, e27, IMDA, DBS Imaginarium, and Standard Chartered Bank.
Top 10 Female Founders by Asia Tech Podcast's The Pitchdeck Asia Power Rankings
UIBE
Student
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UIBE
Student
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Jorge is a Startup Grind University Director at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, where he studies a master’s in International Trade. He is also involved as a core member of the event management team in Startup Grind Beijing. Jorge’s international experience is based on 6 years as a student in Unites States, 4 in China and the rest in his home country, Mexico.
He is a team-oriented person. Through his experience as captain of the Mexican water polo team he developed essential skills like leadership and teamwork that he now applies in other fields.
Jorge is passionate about entrepreneurship, by being actively involved in the community he seeks to help create a more inclusive startup ecosystem in Beijing.
Jacqueline is Director of University of International Business and Economics in Beijing as well as an active member of StartupGrind Beijing. Originally from Germany, she has been brought up in multiple countries and currently studies her Bachelor in International Management in Beijing, China.
Jacqueline is passionate about meeting people from different cultures and speaks five languages including Chinese. She is driven by entrepreneurship and her goal is to connect and inspire students to the entrepreneurial business world. Next to studying and volunteering at StartupGrind, she works in an Israeli startup in location intelligence and teaches languages. Sports have always played an important role in her life and she regards being a team player as one of the most important aspects of any community.
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