In the span of the past 4 months, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) had launched 6 alternative funding initiatives for companies seeking financial relief during the MCO.
Their sixth and latest one is called Founders Grindstone. It’s positioned to elevate the proficiency of startup founders to navigate the complexities of fundraising and fulfil demands by potential investors.
As neither the press release nor the webpage on Malaysia Digital Hub was able to fully answer our questions about Founders Grindstone, we brought them to MDEC’s funding team instead.
Here’s everything that we managed to learn and confirm so far about the initiative.
1. What’s The Main Objective Of Founders Grindstone?
MDEC’s funding team told us that the main objective of Founders Grindstone is not to obtain funds, but to enhance founders’ capabilities, skills and knowledge in the areas of fundraising (including legal obligations and corporate structure).
In turn, this will hopefully increase their chances of fundraising, whether through subsequent engagements post-Founders Grindstone workshops or independently.
2. How Long Will This Initiative Last?
Founders Grindstone is a 6-month programme that consists of 3 batches of intensive workshops, with 2 workshops being held per batch.
3. What Workshops Are There?
The workshops will be conducted by global partners from venture capital firms, equity crowdfunding operators, startup-centric media and the legal practice.
The first batch of workshops will be conducted virtually by MDEC and Draper Startup House Ventures (DSH) on July 15, 2020 where participants will be guided on creating effective pitch decks and persuasive storytelling.
Once that’s over, startups can submit their pitch decks on DSH’s platform and 20 chosen ones will be invited to pitch in the coming weeks.
The top 10 startups will be initiated to the Draper Ventures Network and get access to 23 global funds.
The timeline for DSH’s workshop is as follows:
- Registration Deadline: July 12, 2020
- Workshop Deadline: July 15, 2020
- Pitch Deck Submission Deadline: July 12-24, 2020
Another workshop will be held on July 29, 2020 by Izwan & Partners to provide knowledge on the legalities involved in the funding process.
The type of knowledge shared will include the statutory requirements of fundraising, insights on venture capital financing and exposure to terms sheets, investment instruments, cap tables, valuation, and other compliance matters.
- Registration Deadline: July 24, 2020
- Workshop Deadline: July 29, 2020
You can register for this first batch of workshops here.
4. Do These Workshops Cost Anything?
According to MDEC’s funding team, there is no monetary cost for the Founders Grindstone workshops that startup founders will have to bear.
“However, depending on any subsequent engagements with partners post-Founders Grindstone workshops, there might be costs involved depending on our partners’ requirements,” they added.
5. Who Will These Workshops Be Open To?
All tech startups (whether B2B, B2C, or B2B2C) at any funding stage (from bootstrap and pre-series all the way up to Series D and above) are welcome to join.
Do note though that if a startup is looking to have subsequent special engagements with the workshop partners (if any), their eligibility to do so might depend on certain requirements set by that specific partner on a case by case basis.
6. How Can I Stay Up To Date With These Workshops?
Startups can stay up to date with everything about Founders Grindstone on either Malaysia Digital Hub’s (MDH) website, or the MDH Facebook group.
- You can read more about what we’ve written on MDEC here.
Featured Image Credit: MDEC
