An Australian School of Business student has received first prize in a competition which aims to hone entrepreneurial capabilities. Kevin Truong, from the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has won first prize at The Indus Entrepreneurs 2011 Sydney Open Pitching Contest (TiECON).
Kevin Truong’s winning pitch was for the website Locongo.com, an online venture that provides travellers with local perspectives and experiences when visiting a foreign city. The judges said that he had spotted a significant and easily understandable problem.
“Locongo.com is a great way for travellers to gain authentic experiences and is going to solve the problem of what to do when you arrive in a new city and how to truly engage with the local culture,” says Truong.
The contestants pitched their ideas to an expert panel of judges for a chance to win funding for their projects. Kevin will go on and pitch his business idea to the Sydney Angels, a not-for profit organisation that aims to connect entrepreneurs with investors.
Second prize consisted of two hours of mentoring by Bill Bartee of Southern Venture Partners and was awarded to University of New South Wales students, Zhiyi Tan and Eric Hercog for their student textbook rental and sales service website Teebi.com.