The soul of many modern startups is its advisors. In addition to regularly adding fancy names to your team page, they can also support your business through their contacts and network, assist you in resolving problems, contribute their ideas, and open doors with partners and investors. Startup consultants can open doors and solve your most challenging problems. Advisors have probably experienced everything and know what is needed for your business to grow.
Finding an advisor who is exceptionally skilled in a specific field is sometimes the initial impulse for start-up founders. Having someone with more passion and expertise to direct the growth of the business is excellent. There are many start-up advisors available in Cambodia, but Chea Sunsatya is a well-known advisor among them.
Chea Sunsatya is a business development specialist and economist who works with startups in Cambodia. He has broad experience in venture building, partners relationships, agreement structuring, fund/budget execution and monitoring, as well as capacity upgrading and venture building programs design and execution to support MSMEs/Startups.
He has extensive knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystem development, venture capital, economics, political economy, social protection and social security, multi-sectoral and industrial linkage. He has designed a government initiative known as the Entrepreneurship Development Fund, a government trust fund under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. At present he works as Entrepreneurship Development Manager at Khmer Enterprise, a unit under the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
In a recent panel discussion on the startup investment gap in Cambodia at the Cambodia Tech Expo’s Startup Stage, Satya has explained some of the crucial challenges faced by startups in Cambodia and how Khmer Enterprise is working with them to overcome those challenges. This was moderated by Mr. Bun Tharum, Co-Founder, Kiripost Media. The entire discussion was condensed here,
“We help businesses at every level, from conception to growth. Therefore, in order to realistically respond to the issue, We would divide the entrepreneur or startup into three groups that reflect our support. Building a team, concentrating on their goals and missions, as well as exploring the business model, are the major concerns for the ideation stage. Therefore, it is possible that they lack both the time required and the appropriate regulations for investment needs. This first group is severely underserved.
The investment process was not well understood by most people. We offer incubator programs for businesses at the startup stage which is the second group. There are some mentors in the masterclass. We actually integrate certain basic knowledge, such as funding, the source of investment, and the needs of the investor, and we provide them with instructions on how to build their business models and presentations. After that, we present them in a showcase or closed-door pitch. Therefore, they have actual experience dealing with judges and investors. For the second group, they have a rudimentary understanding of how investments work and what investors seek in startups.
The startup becomes an entrepreneur during the growth stage and begins to get some traction. Despite having sales, they most likely do not yet make a profit. The market needs money to grow, hence capital is needed. The investor’s diligence is expected from them, thus they are expected to be aware of specific standards and procedures.
That is why Khmer Enterprise offers acceleration programs or investment preparedness. So that they understand the procedure and what they need to do to get ready to secure or raise the investments. Comparing this set group to the prior two, the gap still exists but has narrowed.”
Satya has also expressed Khmer Enterprise’s vision to create more entrepreneurs, and make the government’s supporting program accessible across the countries.
Startup consultants typically have a good understanding of the kind of people and technical abilities that businesses require. You can successfully develop any kind of project with the help of an advisor who can assist you in building a solid team. You could get pricing strategy, accounting, and legal assistance from an expert. If you need any advice for your startup, or startup programs get in touch with Chea Sunsatya at Khmer Enterprise.
