This is Part 1 of the “GOAT” series, written by Darren Camas, our CEO
As you may already know, BitNexo was selected as one of 10 teams to the prestigious Chinaccelerator, a VC backed Accelerator program which is part of SOS Ventures. Our CEO, and Business Developer arrived in Shanghai on March 5th, with the program finishing in June. We’re fortunate to join a world class program offering a great network of Mentors, Investors, and of course grateful for the seed capital.
What is G.O.A.T.? Basically put roughly 30 entrepreneurs (including Constance and I) on a train and ship them around China for a week (March 12–19) to pitch, network, and hear some amazing stories of both failure and success. I’m writing this at 1:53 am after a week filled with trains, boutique hotels, countless pitches (actually 7), listening to great speakers, meeting mentors, visiting digital empires, and some great food.
8X8 Beijing
After an overnight train to Beijing, we checked into the Orange Hotel, got acquainted with the city, and then zipped over to 8X8, an event where 8 notable entrepreneurs shared their stories in 8 minutes. Chinaccelerator teams pitched in between the keynote speakers, and naturally BitNexo. So how did my first public BitNexo pitch go? Despite completely blanking in the middle, it was fairly fluid. Self assessment: C+. Always room for improvement!
My favorite presenter of the evening was Siok Siok Tan, who spoke of startup as a story. Each story begins with “Once upon a time,” has protagonists, antagonists, plot twists, character development and much more. Your startup should be a story that takes something personal and may end with you as the hero. The event also featured craft beer from Jing-A Brewery.
