Day 6: The GEW : 22/11

After Penang, I flew into KL and went straight to the Red House - behind Pelita in Jalan Ampang, near KLCC.

This was where the Young Guns were putting up their show.

I actually met Izham and Shafiq earlier in the year in Bandung - at the Creative Entrepreneurs Forum organized by the British Council.

They are the creative entrepreneurs - designing t-shirts as a passion but working somewhere else. Two timing !

Why not bring them into GEW and showcase their talent and if some funders get interested at least they can go into this business full time.

With this idea in mind, I invited the boys to become a GEW partner - which they did with enthusiasm.

We at WG sponsored the event and they did put up a great show despite the heavy downpour.

Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah was there to give his moral support. The Deputy Minister arrived at 5pm and stayed almost till 8pm.

Some of the events Pop Collective are:

1. Buy my thoughts

This is the highlight of the event, an informal pitching session where participants were selling their ideas to potential investors that would be present for this activity. A participant is given 10 minutes to present their ideas to the investors on that day. The session is made informal to give a friendlier laid back environment.

Only problem was there were very few potential investors and the boys were a little dissapointed.

2. Something to talk about

It is an inspirational talk session featuring young entrepreneurs and personas from various backgrounds of the creative disciplines. Music performers, retail merchandiser, designers and those who had been through the rise and fall of business were invited to share their experiences and insights to the public.

3. Creative exhibitions

Exhibitions or promotional booths from local rising entrepreneurs consisting of entrepreneurs from music, fashion and arts genres.

4. Indie fashion showcase (outdoor)

All kind of designer from street wear to avant garde designers showcased their masterpieces with models doing the runway along with runway background tracks played by DJs.

There were other events going on too..

I think the guests were walking in and out and the boys may have had about 100 participants despite the heavy downpour.

I would personally like to see how Pop Collective can play a more prominent role in GEW 2009.

Anyway, it was a long day - was up since 4am. We left as soon as the Deputy Minister left at 8pm.

I crashed once I got home !