Venture Builder Programme

To support you on your journey as a budding entrepreneur, the programme equips you with numerous entrepreneurship methodologies, frameworks and practices that will take you and your start-up to the next level.

You will be involved from customer interviews to product development and design. You are required to be heavily involved with developing a deep understanding and appreciation of customer problems and pain points, followed by the building of bootstrapped prototypes of the product/service.

The grit, determination and vision you bring to the table will be what is necessary to turn something from a mere idea into reality. You are expected to be highly resourceful to overcome challenges and seek guidance and help from the resources made available to you from and beyond this programme in order to ensure sustained progress and growth of both the product/service and the company.

Our Course Brochure

An experienced Programme Lead, along with in-residence serial entrepreneurs, will guide and support participants in successfully launching their companies. Participants will also benefit from:

Sponsored & Equity-Free	Mentor	Post-Programme Funding
The VB programme is entirely equity-free and a kickstart funding of S$4,500 is provided by donors to support the impact venture of each participant, upon completion of the deliverables	Each participant will be paired with an experienced mentor who will provide mentorship and guidance, helping you progress from idea stage to initial launch.	Access up to S$25,000 equity-free funding. All participants are fast-tracked for the Ngee Ann Kongsi-SUSS Social Impact Grant or LCG NPO Kickstart Fund.
Co-working space	Social Impact focused	Fulfil E-WA
VB participants have access to the co-working space in the Venture Builder room at SUSS for the duration of the programme.	At SUSS, we guide our startups towards both profitability and purpose. Our goal is to support the development of impactful ventures that achieve a double bottom line.	If you are a full-time student at SUSS, you can fulfil your entrepreneurial work attachment requirement with us.*

*Please ensure that you have completed WA004 and other requirements stated on your Kinobi platform before applying.

Right Founder

Grit: The ability to persevere through the challenges and setbacks typical of the startup journey.
Passion: The founder has a strong passion for their idea.
Coachability: The founder is open to accepting and implementing constructive feedback, which helps to improve and refine their business.

Right Idea

Market Potential: Clearly defined customer and problem statement, demonstrating evident desirability.
Social Impact: Well-defined social impact that is integral to the business model.
Founder-Opportunity Fit: The founder is capable of executing effectively, drawing on their networks and experience, among other strengths.

There will be workshops throughout the programme, focusing on guiding businesses from inception to initial growth. Workshops are scheduled on Monday, Thursday, and Friday every week, subject to changes based on availability.

Week 1: Orientation
Week 2: Frameworks for Innovation
Week 3: Learn to build a MVP
Week 4: Being Customer-Centric
Week 5: Building a Startup identity
Week 6: Telling a story

Week 7: Go-to-Market
Week 8: The Art of Closing
Week 9: Pitching 101
Week 10: Final Sprint
Week 11: Final Sprint
Week 12: Demo Week

Application Requirements	Please ensure you have your pitch deck (if available) and resume ready before submitting your application.
Selection	SUSS will select each applicant based on: Entrepreneurial potential – experience, passion, skillsets, etc Potential and feasibility of the business idea Highly resourceful with good networks Intellectually nimble and an eye for collaborative possibilities Able to tackle challenging situations with finesse and determination Experience as an entrepreneur or in a startup will be an added advantage Passionate to build and grow a business of their own Able to contribute a business idea in any of the following domains: Early Childhood, Gerontology / Elderlies, Psychology / Mental Health, Education Technology, Fintech / Blockchain, E-commerce / Marketing, Social Services, SME Digital Transformation; will be an added advantage
Interviews with shortlisted applicants	Only shortlisted applicants will be notified and invited to participate in an online interview. Online interviews will be conducted in 2 batches: First Batch: For applicants who applied by 1 December 2024, interviews will be scheduled from 9-13 December 2024. Second Batch: For applicants who applied by 5 January 2024, interviews will be scheduled from 6-12 January 2025.
Duration & Period of	10 Feb 2025 to 05 May 2025
Application Date	Now to 5 January 2025

Click here to apply now

The Ngee Ann Kongsi is a non-profit Teochew philanthropic organisation focused on educational, cultural and charitable activities in Singapore, while placing a deep emphasis on preserving the Teochew heritage. The organisation is an active advocate in education that funds scholarships for high-performing students and study awards to disadvantaged students.

In 2022, SUSS received a donation of SGD10 million from The Ngee Ann Kongsi to launch The Ngee Ann Kongsi Social Impact Hub, which seeks to strengthen social service delivery through programmes delivered by private or public agencies.

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The Mrs Lee Choon Guan Enterprising Spirit Fund supports programmes which prioritize seniors, enabling them to remain active and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

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