Maybank MoneyTree YES Challenge - BreakThrough! Session

March 15, 2010 - PRLog -- Petaling Jaya – MoneyTree organized the Maybank MoneyTree Young Entrepreneur Startup (YES) 2 BreakThrough! Session last Saturday (March 13th) at the Cybertorium, Menara The Star. The BreakThrough! Session saw 31 youth teams battling it out against each other in an intense battle for a chance to move on to the next stage of YES 2.

The YES teams were given 2 minutes to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges consisting Industry experts and Captains of Industry. Each team would then have to defend their business ideas against the scrutiny of the judges during the Q & A session. Only 10 teams will move on to the main Judging session which will take place next Saturday (27th March 2010)

Cradle Fund CEO, Encik Nazrin Hassan, who was one of the judges stated, “Watching these aspiring youth Entrepreneurs pitch their innovative ideas to us confirmed my belief that our nation does not lack talent. I think what we need are platforms for these youths to showcase their talents and I think the YES Challenge provides such a platform to enable us to identify and nurture talent.”

Among some of the judges that attended the YES 2 BreakThrough! Session are, Mr Roslan Zakaria (Director of Technopreneur Development, MDeC), Dr. Sivapalan (Special Advisor to Technopreneur Association Malaysia), Mr Gerald Fernandez (Senior Manager, CPA) and Ms Christy Lee (Investment Manager of MAVCAP).

UiTM student, Zharif Sarif stated, “The YES challenge is not just a Business Challenge. YES gave me an opportunity to pursue Entrepreneurship as a career pathway and has opened up my mind to the possibilities that I can create for myself if I work hard on it. The guidance that I’ve received from the mentors has allowed me to grow to who I am today. This is truly an enriching experience!”

The YES 2 BreakThrough! Session had participants from Uniten, University Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Monash University, Sunway University College, Taylor’s University College, Nottingham University, University Malaya, UTAR, KBU and Multimedia University.

The venue for the BreakThrough! Session was sponsored by The STAR, and the event was supported by Leaderonomics.

For more information, or to witness the top 10 teams continue to battle it out at the main Judging session next Saturday (27th March), please contact uV at uvwong@moneytree.my

# # #

The Maybank MoneyTree YES challenge is a business challenge organized by MoneyTree to help Young, Vibrant Entrepreneur Aspirants launch their business ideas into the market and ultimately turn those ideas into profitable ventures. The challenge not only allows young Entrepreneurs / aspiring Entrepreneurs to learn skills that would sharpen their Entrepreneurial mindsets, but to also provide them with the opportunity to experience the practical applications of the Entrepreneurial skills they acquired through the MoneyTree Entrepreneur Fast Track program. Ultimately, YES teams who have proven their worth would be channelled to government pre-seed grants for full commercialization of their ideas.