Future Founders Competition

Future Founders Competition

Do you have what it takes to be a future founder?

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This competition will push your limits as you discover what you’re truly capable of.

First launched in 2019, Future Founders Competition is RMIT Activator Vietnam's highlight of entrepreneurial activities across Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh campuses. Every year, we provide a real world challenge statement and you provide solutions. The most promising of the pitches win exciting prizes and the chance to take the idea further.

This competition is different from the rest, as we aim to deliver a meaningful and engaging competition experience. Leading up to the final pitching stage, you will be guided by expert coaches and facilitators who will provide you with the tools and frameworks to create a strong, viable and competitive idea. Also, this is a great chance to meet, networking and collaborate with like-minded peers. 

Who should join Future Founders?

This program is perfect for anyone who is still figuring out who they are as a founder and want to learn more about entrepreneurship. You will be guided using frameworks that dive deep into the problem/solution space where your ideas come alive.

Successful applicants will also have

  • A team that is driven and purposeful – at least one team member must be able to attend all sessions over the program duration. If you are a solo founder, that's okay too.
  • An idea you're passionate about, or a problem you're passionate to solve.
  • A curious mindset and a willingness to ask questions, take on feedback, share learnings and support your fellow founders.

2022 challenge statement

'Globally, travellers are personalizing their trips through destination adventures. Tourism spending is shifting away from accommodation to activities'. - McKinsey & Company

In 2019 tourism accounted for 12 per cent of Vietnam's GDP. During the pandemic, domestic travel has kept the Vietnamese travel sector afloat as international tourism resumes. Additionally, tourism can create beneficial effects on the culture and environment by contributing to protection and conservation. However, it puts enormous stress on local land use, increased pollution, natural habitat loss, and more pressure on endangered species.

Inspect and identify gaps in the current state of Vietnam's tourism industry - How might we reimagine not only the tourism industry but also the ones that will be directly and indirectly impacted so that it maximises positive impacts and seeks to take care of the environment, society, and economy?

Program Structure

Week 1: Welcome & Self-assessment

Why are you here? Get to know yourself, your purpose and your cohort.

Week 2: Exploring & Mapping the Problem

Dive deep into the problem space and understand how your user interacts with it.

Week 3: Intro to Lean Business

Set a strategy that focuses on the founder team, skills and mindset necessary to deliver impact.

Week 4: Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Identify your target customer segment and the solution that adequately addresses the problem.

Week 5: Pitching & Storytelling

Communicate in a lean, clear and impactful manner.

Week 6: Showcase

Show us what you've got and get a chance to win exciting prizes.

Time Commitments

Workshop sessions: 4

Get the framework you need to know your next steps. Each session is 1.5 - 3 hours long.

1-on-1 mentoring

Share your achievements, obstacles and confusions all in one. Get feedback from the mentors who are industry experts, founders and profound RMIT SBM lecturers.

Activator community

Join a global network that connects you to opportunity and our digital community. Learn about events, careers and competitions first!

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Future Founders Competition 2021

2021’s challenge statement:

For years, Western observers have talked about Asia's massive future potential. But the future arrived even faster than expected. The question is no longer how quickly Asia will rise; it is how Asia will lead.

- McKinsey and Company

Apply for the Future Founders Competition

Fill out the form to enter the Future Founders Competition and go on an unforgettable journey that will push your limits as an entrepreneur.

2022 Program Timeline

  • 1 July - Application open 
  • 15 July - Application close 
  • 19 July - Program launch 
  • 31 July - Submission for quarter final selection 
  • 11 August -  Submission for semi final selection
  • 19 August - Final pitch event 

Past Challenge Statements

Curious about Entrepreneurship?

Introducing: Future Founders Competition. Over 5 weeks, you’ll have access to mentors, Skill Up Workshops and online tools to help take your idea to the next level.

Want to bring your ideas to life?

Future Founders Competition is back – and expanding to Hanoi Campus! This is the time to focus on developing your entrepreneurial mindset and use it to turn your idea into a reality, explore possibilities and connect with like-minded student innovators. 

For years, Western observers have talked about Asia’s massive future potential. But the future arrived even faster than expected. The question is no longer how quickly Asia will rise; it is how Asia will lead.

– McKinsey & Company

 

Asia is on track to top 50 percent of global GDP by 2040 and drive 40 percent of the world’s consumption, representing a real shift in the world’s centre of gravity.

As all the countries progress rapidly, Vietnam is also committed to contribute to the global partnership of Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. Some of the 17 goals for peace and prosperity speak to poverty, gender equality, clean energy, quality education, and many more.

As Vietnam’s next generation of entrepreneurs, how might we bring forward innovative solutions for the country that contributes to Asia’s development?

FAQ

No! This program is all about finding the founder in you – which can happen without a business idea to start with. On our early sessions, we’ll dive deep into the problem space and figure out a problem worth solving and what does that look like. However, the program also works if you have an existing idea or just a few ideas you want to explore further.

The competition will run in line with the current COVID-19 restrictions. At the time of writing, restrictions have been lifted and face-to-face sessions are allowed. Your course coordinator will confirm this with you prior to you starting.

While we understand that everyone has their own preferences and/or have prior engagements scheduled pre-program, the intensive nature of the Future Founders Competition program requires at least one person from your team to attend each session.

RMIT Activator does not take any stake in your IP and we wish to not be involved in any IP ownership-related issues. The knowledge we share on this program is the University’s way of supporting the wider community with no strings attached. However, if you are a staff member and/or looking to translate your research, we strongly encourage you to contact IP & Commercialisation to settle things early.

No, this competition is strictly for RMIT current students.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.