Tell Me Your Startup Idea, and I’ll Help You Validate It
Iterative’s most in-demand startup validation event is coming to BLOCK71 x NUS
Got a startup idea? Let’s make sure people actually want it before you waste time building it.
Join us for a fun, practical, and zero-fluff event led by Hsu Ken Ooi, Managing Partner at Iterative and former YC founder. With nearly 20 years of startup experience, Hsu Ken will show you how to test startup ideas in under 4 weeks, for less than $100, and without writing code.
We’ve hosted this event 4 times before—hundreds of founders have joined. Now, we're excited to bring it to BLOCK71 x NUS.
What You Can Expect
✨ Validation in Action – Watch Hsu Ken break down startup ideas live and explain exactly how he’d validate them.
📚 Learn Validation Methods – Discover techniques like fake door tests, LinkedIn outreach strategies, and more. Learn how to run fast, scrappy validation experiments.
⚠️ Avoid Common Mistakes – Understand the biggest mistakes founders make when validating their ideas and how to avoid them.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday 28 May 2025
Time: 6:00-9:00 PM SGT
Location: BLOCK71 Singapore
Food: Pizza and beverages will be provided
Agenda
6:00-6:10pm SGT – Arrival & Registration
6:10-6:15pm – Welcome & Introductions
6:15-6:30pm – Why Validation Matters
6:30-8:00pm – Live Startup Idea Validation + Q&A
Selected participants will be invited to share their startup idea (1-min pitch).
Hsu Ken will break down how he’d validate each one, step by step.
Audience Q&A after each pitch.
8:00-9:00pm – Open Networking
9:00pm – Event Ends
Format
You can sign up as a Participant or Observer.
🎤 Participants
Want feedback on your idea? Sign up as a participant for a chance to pitch live.
How it works:
Define Your Idea: Use our Define Your Startup Idea Worksheet to shape your startup idea.
Register: Include your startup idea when you sign up.
Selection: We’ll pick a few ideas to be shared live. If selected, you’ll join Hsu Ken on stage and pitch your idea in 1 minute.
Feedback: Hsu Ken will ask a few clarifying questions, then share how he’d validate your idea quickly and cheaply.
Be clear, be prepared, and be concise.
We've hosted this event 4x times now, and have had hundreds of founders sign up. Time permitting, we'll get to as many folks as we can.
👀 Observers
Prefer to watch and learn? That’s totally fine too. You’ll still walk away with practical insights to apply to your own ideas.
Sign Up
This is an in-person events and spots are limited. Sign up now!
Speaker
Hsu Ken Ooi is a Managing Partner at Iterative. He was previously the Chief Product Officer of Workmate, an on-demand blue-collar staffing platform in Southeast Asia. In 2014, he was VP of Product at Weave (YCS14). In 2009, he started Decide.com an early machine-learning company that predicted the future price of consumer goods. It was acquired by eBay in 2013.
About Iterative
Iterative is a YC-style accelerator focused exclusively on Southeast Asia. Iterative invests up to US500K in a batch of startups twice a year. The investment includes 3-months of targeted growth and fundraising support, which culminates in a Demo Day to a network of 400+ investors. Learn more here.
About Startup Academy
Iterative was founded in 2020 for founders, by founders. Our mission is to increase the GDP of Southeast Asia through entrepreneurship. To make this happen, we need to (1) make entrepreneurship more accessible to more people and (2) give founders the tools and support to be successful.
As part of this mission, Startup Academy hosts free events, programs and courses on everything you need to know to be a successful founder.
About BLOCK71 Singapore
BLOCK71 is a global network of innovation hubs and startup communities, backed by National University of Singapore (NUS Enterprise). Across 11 cities in 6 countries—Singapore, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Saigon, Nagoya, Tokyo, Suzhou, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Silicon Valley—BLOCK71 supports entrepreneurs with the space, resources, and connections they need to succeed. Learn more at block71.co.