On the morning of December 14, started in São Paulo (SP) the Workshop III of the Academic Working Capital program – a Instituto TIM initiative that supports undergraduate students who want to turn their final projects into a business. For three days, members of the groups participating in 2015 attend lectures, make exercises and dynamics and prepare presentations for the AWC Investments Fair, on December 17. The AWC Workshop III will be held from December 14 to 16 at the auditorium and rooms of the Mechanical and Naval Engineering building of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (Poli-USP).
The workshop began with discussions about types of investments and guidelines to improve the pitch (3-5 minutes presentation that seek to attract the interest of investors). The program was opened by Diogo Dutra, AWC content coordinator, who showed the work plan and the workshop schedule. Soon after, Diogo explained what groups can do to get investments. The professor of Poli-USP and academic coordinator of AWC, Marcos Barretto, spoke about the options of traditional and government investment lines, such as PIPE and Finep.
After the speeches by Diogo and Marcos, the mechatronic engineer and founder of the companies Tegris and FieldLink.me, Rafael Gonçalves, talked to the students about the type and size of business they are establishing. He showed alternative investment options, such as crowdfunding and venture capital, and commented that each type of project should look for a specific model of investment to reach full capacity.
During the afternoon, students were visited by Adriano Albertin, representative of the Sebrae School of Business, who gave a pitch workshop. Adriano carried out dynamics with the students and invited them to unleash their creativity and quick thinking in the face of sudden changes. Later in the day, a representative of each group had three minutes to make a pitch about their project. An examining board comprised of AWC monitors gave feedback on the presentations.
The feedbacks received in these workshop days will be incorporated into projects and will guide the groups participation at the AWC Investment Fair, which will take place on December 17 from 9am to 10pm at the Technological Park of the State of São Paulo. The event, which will bring together entrepreneurs and investors, will be open to the public and free of charge.
