NILA RAVICHANDRAN

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, co-founder of Dawn Cups

It can be difficult for women in Singapore to find environmentally sustainable alternatives to menstrual pads. That was our motivation to start a menstrual cup business. Our menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicone. With proper care, they can last for up to 10 years, making them eco-friendlier than single-use pads or tampons.

Through Dawn Cups, we hope to empower women to learn more about their own bodies, help them make their periods more tolerable, and develop a supportive community where we can tackle the stigma surrounding periods together.

PRANAV GOVINDARAJ

Computer Science, co-founder of CyberLife AI

Our app helps hospitals increase productivity. Through chatbots and other assessment tools that patients use at home, doctors can ascertain if a patient needs a follow-up appointment without having to meet the patient in person. We are successfully piloting our app at Singapore’s National University Hospital and another hospital has expressed interest in our product. Hopefully, by 2024, we can get more hospitals in Singapore on board and also receive funding to further develop our app.

A big thank you to… NTUitive’s Venture Building Programme for granting us $1,000 and for directing us to the right people to talk to. - Pranav Govindaraj

REUBEN NGIAU

Business, co-founder of Pawfoo

My start-up turns surplus food such as unsold fruit or meat into tasty pet treats. We hope to establish Pawfoo in consumer’s minds as a sustainable pet snack company and are working on growing our customer base by collaborating with brands that share our sustainability mindset. We also plan to set up booths at various fairs around Singapore.

A big thank you to… the NTU CoLab4Good fund, which provided our company with financial support for two years. The $10,000 helped us purchase equipment to further improve our production of nutritious pet treats, such as parfaits for dogs. - Rueben Ngiau

MATTHIAS NGEO

Computer Science, co-founder of Forus Labs

If you need a secretary but can’t afford one, why not use an app? We realised the potential of productivity apps to help people improve their lives and decided to create a whole suite of them under Forus Labs.

Our first app, TimeBloc, a scheduling app, achieved over 50,000 active monthly users in under a year. We sold it soon after that and are now working on Essential, a bundle of productivity and wellness apps that can help people to slow down and focus, create good daily habits and improve their mental wellbeing through journaling. Our hope is that Essential will surpass the record set by TimeBloc within the next three years.

CRYSTAL SIM

Accountancy and Business, co-founder of Jynsei

It all began when my co-founders and I experimented with building our own customised mechanical keyboards. Word got out and we discovered that there was a growing demand for such services. That’s what inspired us to begin our start-up offering customised electronic products to university students. We aspire to have our own manufacturing process for customised electronic goods in two years’ time. It’s crucial that we have good control over the level of customisation we can provide.

A big thank you to… all my peers who have tirelessly supported me from the start. My professors also provided great advice on marketing and entrepreneurship. NTU has opened many doors for us to receive start-up grants, such as those from NTUitive. - Crystal Sim

PHILEON GOH

Renaissance Engineering Programme, co-founder of OraHub

Our goal is to help people take better care of their oral health, which is often overlooked. My co-founder and I developed an app powered by artificial intelligence that can identify potential oral health issues, such as plaque or tooth decay.

We recently launched a line of electric toothbrushes and floss picks. With our app and oral care products, we hope to better educate university students on the importance of oral health. Further investments to improve our app and new oral care products are also in the pipeline.

A big thank you to… NTU’s Lean LaunchPad programme for kickstarting our entrepreneurship journey, as well as mentors from NTUitive, the university’s innovation and enterprise company, for their support and advice. We also received financial help from Garage@EEE and NTUitive’s Multi-Disciplinary Team Project fund. - Phileon Goh