Addressing the Gaps for “Crossing the Chasm”

Pakistan’s nascent ventures eco-system faces several challenges gleaned through years of working with innovators, founders, startups, and ventures. These include, among others: 

• Ideas not “good” or innovative enough,
• No working prototype (or too much technical risk)
• No proof of concept (or too much commercial risk)
• Lack of a commercial entity or team

In order for the venture eco-system to succeed, each of these gaps need to be filled and challenges addressed. 

Economists (and Entrepreneurs) often talk about crossing the chasm – a so called valley of death – that separates launching of a product or service and its widespread adoption by a large enough number of customers to validate it.

However, in Pakistan, as in other “low trust” societies, there is an even bigger chasm that every first-time entrepreneur must face even before s/he launches a product or service for adoption.

S/he must face a “credibility test” which can only be aced if s/he is able to validate the idea through proof of commercial concept and establish personal credibility to convince an investor to bet on it.

INNOVentures is a Venture Acceleration Platform that seeks to address these challenges and push an idea through the Ideas to Value Continuum through a structured process of curricular and hands-on learning, mentoring, and doing.

The 5-Month Accelerator Programme bridges key deficiencies to enable early stage investing through the validation of both the idea and the entrepreneur by:

– addressing weaknesses in prototyping and productisation and proof of commercial concept and go-to-market strategy through a rigorous and structured programme;

– validating and testing the character and grit of the idea champion/founder to ensure they are battle-ready before they pitch to the investors.

INNOVentures Global especially focuses on Professionals and University Faculty through an intensely hands-on, structured, and mentor-led process that reduces techno-market risk, establishes founders’ credibility, and  increases the probability of long term commercial success.