Pitch perfect

AMBITION can look very different from one person to the next - particularly among startup founders. But when on a stage competing for the "Top Startup" award and prize money, founders can be equally - and frighteningly - passionate, only some more eloquent than the rest.

I had the chance to see that upfront on Wednesday, when I was one of the judges at the 2018 Unilever Foundry Startup Battle. Held at innovfest unbound (an annual tech conference in Singapore), it was a startup pitch competition that showcased data and artificial intelligence (AI) startups with solutions for the marketing, advertising, e-commerce and retail vertical.

Nerves and humour showed on stage, as eight startups pitched to five judges in front of an audience of founders, investors, technologists and corporate executives. Each startup had only 3 minutes to plug their business - while standing next to a huge, unforgiving countdown timer - after which the judges would ask them questions.