Mentor/Judging Panel
Nio Liyanage: Nio has deep experience in Venture Capital and Strategy Consulting. He personally holds equity in 20+ ventures, has advised 300+ startups, built 15+ accelerator programs, founded 4 companies, sits on several boards, and operates a VC fund. Nio is a Partner of 1MX (an AI-focused early-stage VC based in Singapore) and Co-founder at Launchr (a business-building platform empowering entrepreneurs & investors). Nio specialises in growing companies through capital, strategy, growth, financial aspects and more.
Tasveer Faheem: Tasveer is Founder/CEO of InsureCow, which has been backed by investors such as Accelerating Asia, BYLC Ventures, and Huawei. He is a serial entrepreneur with over 21 years of experience. He has the ability to transform ideas into long-term sustainable business operations through strategic planning and operational transformation. He is skilled at building green field operations from ground zero, devising innovative & effective business models, and creating multi-million-dollar revenue streams.
Usman Arshad Khan: Usman is the Chief Growth Officer of Checkmate Consultancy. He builds marketing functions that drive revenue. He is a growth-focused marketer with over 20 years across D2C, FMCG, tech, and startups. He has led campaigns for Coca-Cola, Huawei, LG & more. From digital strategy and CRM to activations and influencer marketing, he helps brands to scale smarter, tell better stories, and drive results. He has built identities from scratch, developed messaging frameworks for enterprise, government, and startups, and led campaigns that reached millions.
Ayami Wanasinghe (Moderator): Ayami is Regional Director of South Asia, Founder Institute. She is an Included VC Fellow and an Advisor for Loyal VC. She helps founders turn their startup concepts into scalable, profitable, and investable companies. She has over 20 years of experience in information technology, entrepreneurship, startup ecosystem development, venture capital, and social impact. She is an advocate of integrating sustainability, transparency, and diversity into startups, emerging technologies, and venture capital to create impactful economic transformation.
What You'll Learn
- What investors look for in an early-stage pitch (team, traction, TAM, timing)
- How to structure clear problem–solution–value propositions
Who Should Attend
Founders and idea-stage entrepreneurs seeking expert feedback on their pitch
- Early-stage teams preparing for accelerators, angels, or pre-seed rounds
- Aspiring founders who want to learn investor expectations and pitch structure
- Anyone interested in observing live pitch critiques and best practices
About Founder Institute
The
Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100+ countries, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.