NTUitive, the innovation and enterprise company of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has launched a new programme called VB18 to help graduates and working professionals explore options in the entrepreneurial space.
The programme will allow Singaporeans to build a business alongside serial entrepreneurs and get paid while doing it.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about disruptive change in many areas, including the job market. In Singapore, job prospects across all sectors have been hit hard. As a result, the conventional job hunting process by fresh graduates is being thrown into disarray, leading them to explore alternative options instead,” the company said in a statement.
VB18 provides a 12-month venture building programme which will be funded by the SGUnited Traineeships Programme, for which 18 fresh graduates will be selected as venture builders.
They will undergo NTUitive’s experiential entrepreneurship education programme and work with and learn from seasoned entrepreneurs to build disruptive, tech-enabled and regionally-focused companies.
NTUitive will be owning a minority stake in the companies. As the programme progresses, it may also inject funds and earn more shares according to the valuation.
Individuals will also learn how to raise funding, leadership, business operations and growth hacking. They will also receive training and advice from experts, along with funding support.
Besides, selected participants, known as “venture builders”, will also receive a monthly stipend of US$1,800 per month.
The criteria
VB18 participants with NTUitive Chairman, Interim CEO, Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, and Mentors
According to NTUitive Interim CEO Dr Alex Lin, applicants need to depict three qualities to be selected for VB18 which are crucial for success. They are entrepreneurial inclination, resiliency, and tenacity.
“You need to have a certain inclination to be entrepreneurially successful, this is based on the 10-year research that we have done,” he told e27.
“We have worked with the NTU Business School, Psychology and Mathematics Departments to redesign a psychological profile that studies a person’s inclination. That is our number one deciding criteria before we invite them,” he explained.
Although there are no grade requirements, the psychological profiling quiz with 150 questions is mandatory for applicants. Knowledge of a particular subject and experience are bonuses.
He also pointed out that the programme is not looking for “technical entrepreneurs”, as the founders in the programme will be provided with an extensive set of resources such as a commercialisation team and an entire software team that will help them build the product.
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Image Credit: NTUitive
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