After another full-on day for our remaining finalists, our final five can be revealed.
A huge congratulation goes to:
Cemal Ezel (UK) – Change Please
Eric Sicart (Spain) – Braibook
Jalila Essaidi (the Netherlands) – Mestic
Diana Yousef (USA) – Change: Water Labs
Lim Yuet Kim (Malaysia) – The Picha Project
Each of them will be pitching at The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam in front of an audience of 3,000 tech addicts, investors, and entrepreneurs from around the world to win a share of the remaining $800,000 in funding.
Semi Final Day
Our top nine finalists, woke up to an overcast Amsterdam, but that didn’t cloud their spirits as they got to the Semi Final venue bright and early.
The day was spent practicing, fine tuning presentations and, of course, pitching to the judges in turn. The break out room was filled with support and positive energy from each of the finalists, none of them letting their nerves get the better of them.
In the afternoon after much deliberation from the judges, the finalists gathered to find out the results. The reactions of those who didn’t make the final five were hugely supportive and encouraging of their friends despite their own disappointment which is a true testament to the spirit of the Chivas Venture competition.
After a quick photoshoot, the final five were whisked away to the Gashouder stage at the TNW festival where they’d be appearing the following evening at the Final. The scale of the venue was brought home to each of them, as they gazed on in wonderment.
Each had the chance to run through their pitches on stage with their presentations on the big screen to get a feel for the Final event. Hopefully feeling confident, they made their way to the Chivas Venture welcome reception.
As the sun set on the night of the Semi Finals, all the finalists reunited ahead of the big day and celebrated with some Chivas cocktails.
