Building Founders
for Deep Tech Success
Ignite is Elev8’s venture building programme designed from ground up to serve Deep Tech founders in their earliest days — even before incorporation.
In 4 evenings over 4 weeks, founders arrive not to build businesses, but to build themselves.
Zero fees. Zero equity. 100% commitment.
Deep Tech for Founders
Ignite is Elev8’s venture building programme designed from ground up to serve Deep Tech founders in their earliest days — even before incorporation.
In 4 evenings over 4 weeks, founders arrive not to build businesses, but to build themselves.
ZERO FEES. ZERO EQUITY. 100% COMMITMENT.
Deep Tech
for Founders
Ignite is Elev8’s venture building programme designed from ground up to serve Deep Tech founders in their earliest days — even before incorporation.
In 4 evenings over 4 weeks, founders arrive not to
build businesses, but to build themselves.
ZERO FEES. ZERO EQUITY. 100% COMMITMENT.
How we help founders
Build yourself first
As first money investors, we invest at the earliest stage. We understand what it takes for scientist-entrepreneurs to be successful, and focus on building founders before building businesses.
Humanistic development
Through radical self-awareness and honest reflection, we help you navigate the profound personal transformation required to become a founder. The hardest person to lead is yourself.
Path to investment
Upon incorporation, we are able and keen to invest as first check investors. We’re as ambitious for your business as you are, and can continue to support you with follow-on capital.
How we help founders
Build yourself first
As first money investors, we invest at the earliest stage. We understand what it takes for scientist-entrepreneurs to be successful, and focus on building founders before building businesses.
Humanistic development
Through radical self-awareness and honest reflection, we help you navigate the profound personal transformation required to become a founder. The hardest person to lead is yourself.
Path to investment
Upon incorporation, we are able and keen to invest as first check investors. We’re as ambitious for your business as you are, and can continue to support you with follow-on capital.
We have invested in
Rules Bio
We have invested in
Rules Bio
What founders say
What founders say
About
Elev8 is Singapore’s premier early-stage deep tech VC fund, and Ignite is how we work with founders before they’re ready for traditional investment.
The connection is intentional – instead of just writing checks to already-formed companies, Elev8 invests in the relationship first through Ignite’s founder development programme. If there’s strong alignment after the 4 sessions, Elev8 can then become your first institutional investor upon incorporation.
Our Team
Remi Choong
Programme Director
Remi is a Partner of Elev8.vc, Singapore’s premier early-stage deep tech VC fund. He founded three companies before kickstarting his venture capital career at a sovereign VC fund. As one of the most experienced deep-tech investors in the region, Remi has personally closed deep-tech deals across technology verticals such as quantum computing, air mobility, space-tech, biotech, and autonomous vehicles. A number of these companies have made successful exits through the years.
Shaw Jia Hong
Programme Manager
Shaw Jia Hong is the Programme Manager of Elev8 Ignite, where he designs and leads a founder-first approach to venture building. With a deep belief that building startups begins with building people, Jia Hong created Ignite to serve deep tech founders at their earliest and most vulnerable stage — before incorporation, before business models, before pitches.
His work centers on introspection, authenticity, and humanistic development. Through carefully crafted workshops and frameworks like the Founder-Product-Team-Market Fit, he helps researchers and engineers navigate the profound personal transformation required to become founders. Jia Hong believes the hardest person to lead is yourself, and that honest self-awareness is the foundation of sustainable venture creation.
Jia Hong comes from a background of product management at Blackrock, and investments at a VC Fund. He founded Turn Off Turn On Ventures in 2021, building a personal global portfolio of DeepTech climate solutions, including battery materials and carbon capture. He has experience coaching and training early stage founders, having delivered workshops, bootcamps and lectures in over 8 countries. He is also the founder of Founder Daycare, a Pay-It-Forward community programme prioritising founder’s mental health.
Our Team
Remi Choong
Programme Director
Remi is a Partner of Elev8.vc, Singapore’s premier early-stage deep tech VC fund. He founded three companies before kickstarting his venture capital career at a sovereign VC fund. As one of the most experienced deep-tech investors in the region, Remi has personally closed deep-tech deals across technology verticals such as quantum computing, air mobility, space-tech, biotech, and autonomous vehicles. A number of these companies have made successful exits through the years.
Shaw Jia Hong
Programme Manager
Shaw Jia Hong is the Programme Manager of Elev8 Ignite, where he designs and leads a founder-first approach to venture building. With a deep belief that building startups begins with building people, Jia Hong created Ignite to serve deep tech founders at their earliest and most vulnerable stage — before incorporation, before business models, before pitches.
His work centers on introspection, authenticity, and humanistic development. Through carefully crafted workshops and frameworks like the Founder-Product-Team-Market Fit, he helps researchers and engineers navigate the profound personal transformation required to become founders. Jia Hong believes the hardest person to lead is yourself, and that honest self-awareness is the foundation of sustainable venture creation.
Jia Hong comes from a background of product management at Blackrock, and investments at a VC Fund. He founded Turn Off Turn On Ventures in 2021, building a personal global portfolio of DeepTech climate solutions, including battery materials and carbon capture. He has experience coaching and training early stage founders, having delivered workshops, bootcamps and lectures in over 8 countries. He is also the founder of Founder Daycare, a Pay-It-Forward community programme prioritising founder’s mental health.
Ignite Fellows
Elev8.vc is supported by our broad network of specialists in their fields. Participants of the Ignite Programme and our Ignite Portfolio founders get access to deep expertise and experience of a specially assembled team of industry superstars, known as our Ignite Fellows:
Charlene Teo
Mindset and Executive Coach
Darren Tan
Battery industry specialist and founder of Unigrid Battery
Gabriel Lim
YC graduate and exited SaaS founder, Founder of Blue Whale Energy
Ignite Fellows
Elev8.vc is supported by our broad network of specialists in their fields. Participants of the Ignite Programme and our Ignite Portfolio founders get access to deep expertise and experience of a specially assembled team of industry superstars, known as our Ignite Fellows:
Charlene Teo
Mindset and Executive Coach
Darren Tan
Battery industry specialist and founder of Unigrid Battery
Gabriel Lim
YC graduate and exited SaaS founder, Founder of Blue Whale Energy
Ignite Fellows
Elev8.vc is supported by our broad network of specialists in their fields. Participants of the Ignite Programme and our Ignite Portfolio founders get access to deep expertise and experience of a specially assembled team of industry superstars, known as our Ignite Fellows:
Charlene Teo
Mindset and Executive Coach
Darren Tan
Battery industry specialist and founder of Unigrid Battery
Gabriel Lim
YC graduate and exited SaaS founder, Founder of Blue Whale Energy
Programme
Zero programme fees. Zero equity dilution.
We ask only for 100% commitment to your personal growth.
Zero programme fees. Zero equity dilution. We ask only for 100% commitment to your personal growth.
Programme
Zero programme fees. Zero equity dilution. We ask only for 100% commitment to your personal growth.
Over 4 sessions across 4 weeks,
We build you as founders,
So you can be the founders
who build ventures.
Over 4 sessions across 4 weeks,
We build you as founders, So you can be the founders who build ventures
Over 4 sessions
across 4 weeks,
We build you as founders, So you can be the founders who build ventures
We are ready when you are.
Upon incorporation, we are able and keen to invest as first check investors.
Are you ready to join the Ignite Portfolio?
We are ready when you are.
Upon incorporation, we are able and keen to invest as first check investors.
Are you ready to join
the Ignite Portfolio?
Session 1
Inner Foundations
Who am I as a founder?
The journey begins with radical self-awareness. Before you can lead a company, you must learn to lead yourself. In this opening session, we explore your origin story, confront the gap between who you are today and who you want to become as a founder. This isn’t about pitching or business models — it’s about honest self-discovery.
Key focus:
Personal identity, imposter syndrome, founder mindset, psychological safety
Session 2
Starting Line
Where do we begin?
No founder builds alone. This session examines the critical early relationships that will define your venture — co-founders, early team members, and the unspoken expectations between you. We dive deep into team dynamics before legal structures, exploring how to build a foundation of trust and clarity.
Session 3
Who Cares
Why should anyone care?
Brilliant technology means nothing if you can’t make people care. This session transforms lab talk into a compelling narrative. You’ll learn to connect your human story to your technology, articulate problems that resonate emotionally, and build a tribe of believers around your vision.
This isn’t about pitching investors — it’s about learning to move people with authenticity and conviction.
Key focus:
Narrative crafting, storytelling, emotional resonance, building believers
Session 4
Elevate
The final session brings everything together. Having explored who you are, who you’re building with, and why anyone should care, we now look at the path forward. This session bridges personal growth with practical reality — what does investment actually mean, what are the milestones ahead, and how do you maintain your authentic self while navigating the startup ecosystem?
Key focus:
Investment readiness, milestone mapping, maintaining identity, avoiding founder traps, next steps with Elev8.vc
Session 1
Inner Foundations
Who am I as a founder?
The journey begins with radical self-awareness. Before you can lead a company, you must learn to lead yourself. In this opening session, we explore your origin story, confront the gap between who you are today and who you want to become as a founder. This isn’t about pitching or business models — it’s about honest self-discovery.
Key focus:
Personal identity, imposter syndrome, founder mindset, psychological safety
Session 2
Starting Line
Where do we begin?
No founder builds alone. This session examines the critical early relationships that will define your venture — co-founders, early team members, and the unspoken expectations between you. We dive deep into team dynamics before legal structures, exploring how to build a foundation of trust and clarity.
Session 3
Who Cares
Why should anyone care?
Brilliant technology means nothing if you can’t make people care. This session transforms lab talk into a compelling narrative. You’ll learn to connect your human story to your technology, articulate problems that resonate emotionally, and build a tribe of believers around your vision.
This isn’t about pitching investors — it’s about learning to move people with authenticity and conviction.
Key focus:
Narrative crafting, storytelling, emotional resonance, building believers
Session 4
Elevate
The final session brings everything together. Having explored who you are, who you’re building with, and why anyone should care, we now look at the path forward. This session bridges personal growth with practical reality — what does investment actually mean, what are the milestones ahead, and how do you maintain your authentic self while navigating the startup ecosystem?
Key focus:
Investment readiness, milestone mapping, maintaining identity, avoiding founder traps, next steps with Elev8.vc
Our portfolio
About
Founded by Raymond Tham, who brings 20 years of cell-based research experience, Mycrocell develops a proprietary mycelium fermentation platform that creates functional ingredients for the cosmetics industry. Their mycelium ferment filtrate (MFF) offers sustainable, high-efficacy ‘clean’ and ‘green’ skincare ingredients derived from mushroom mycelium that enhance product efficacy by up to 50-300% compared to traditional botanical extracts.
Why we joined Elev8 Ignite
As a lean deep-tech team focused on R&D and product development, Elev8 Ignite provided exactly what we needed: strategic clarity on where to focus, funding to accelerate regulatory approvals, and hands-on support that brought credibility to critical client meetings. Jia Hong’s guidance helped us prioritize skincare while supporting our long-term vision, and his personal involvement in a key client lab visit was instrumental in advancing what will become our entry into Europe’s premium skincare market.
— Raymond Tham, Founder
About
Rules Bio delivers a breakthrough biophysical stimulation technology called “Morph” that accelerates single-cell organism growth by up to 300%. Their proprietary service applies a one-time biophysical stimulus to seed strains before bioreactor production, dramatically improving yield without requiring any changes to existing infrastructure.
Founded by Aaron Chua after his experience in alternative protein development, Rules Bio identified an upstream opportunity in biomanufacturing productivity. The Morph process helps biomanufacturers across multiple industries — from alcohol and probiotics to biofuels and pharmaceuticals — achieve better margins and maximize yield from expensive bioreactor infrastructure.
Why we joined Elev8 Ignite
[(To be provided by Aaron Chua) ]As a lean deep-tech team focused on R&D and product development, Elev8 Ignite provided exactly what we needed: strategic clarity on where to focus, funding to accelerate regulatory approvals, and hands-on support that brought credibility to critical client meetings. Jia Hong’s guidance helped us prioritize skincare while supporting our long-term vision, and his personal involvement in a key client lab visit was instrumental in advancing what will become our entry into Europe’s premium skincare market.
— Aaron Chua, Founder
About
2Strands Biosciences is developing ultra-sensitive, cost-effective liquid biopsy tests for early cancer recurrence detection. Their proprietary allele enrichment technology detects circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) at 0.001% variant allele frequency — 10x more sensitive than standard methods — at approximately $500 per test, a fraction of competitors’ $3,000+ costs.
Founded by Dr. Debleena Ray, a molecular biologist with extensive expertise in RNA processing and cancer biology, 2Strands addresses a critical gap in cancer care: current monitoring is either too expensive or not sensitive enough to detect early-stage recurrence. Their breakthrough enables earlier detection (5-7 months advantage), more frequent monitoring, and broader patient access to precision oncology.
Why we joined Elev8 Ignite
Elev8 Ignite provided pre-seed funding at exactly the right moment for us. They bring the right expectations, the right support, and the right attitude towards true pre-seed investing — founder-aligned, thoughtful, and supportive of early-stage innovation.
— Debleena Ray, Founder
Programme Testimonials
“
The Elev8 Ignite Programme was one of the most thoughtfully designed founder experiences I have participated in. It combined deep self-reflection with practical insights on team dynamics, leadership, and early-stage strategy.
Each session built naturally on the previous one, helping us understand ourselves as founders and co-founders, communicate our mission more effectively, and chart a realistic path forward. The programme made me more self-aware, focused, and intentional in how I lead and make decisions.
Special thanks to Jia Hong and Charlene for their time, dedication, and generosity in running this at no cost to us, and even providing snacks and soft drinks. Their energy and care made every session engaging and enjoyable. Even after a long day at work, the time flew by and we left with valuable insights about ourselves and our journeys.
The mix of expert facilitation, peer interaction, and real-world sharing from experienced founders such as Darren Tan made it especially valuable for those building in deep tech, where conviction and adaptability are key. I would strongly recommend Elev8 Ignite to any aspiring founder who wants to grow not only their venture but also themselves as a leader.
Ezequiel Santillan
Founder of LoopForBio
“
During my time in the programme, I had the privilege of learning under Jia Hong and Charlene’s guidance. They created a safe and supportive environment where we felt comfortable sharing personal experiences with a group of strangers. As daunting as that might sound, they ensured we always felt at ease and encouraged us to open up at our own pace.
By giving everyone the space to share their thoughts, they fostered a sense of mutual learning that made the experience especially valuable — particularly since we all came from different walks of life.
They also invited an experienced founder to share his journey, which was incredibly insightful.
The programme helped me gain clarity on my motivations, overcome insecurities, and set clearer objectives. When I joined, I had no expectations — but by the end, I came away with a much clearer sense of who I want to be as a founder and what that truly means.
I highly recommend this programme to anyone aspiring to become an entrepreneur — even if you think you already have it all figured out.
Beatriz Ferraz
Founder of a semiconductor materials startup (in stealth)
“
The Ignite Program is an absolute treat for aspiring founders. It’s refreshingly different, no classroom lectures or outdated slide decks, just real, unfiltered insights from people who’ve actually been through the grind. In Singapore, it’s rare to find this kind of accelerator support. Most other programs still rely on old-school, theory-based lessons that don’t quite match the pace of today’s startup world. The Ignite team, on the other hand, are both passionate and practical. They genuinely care about helping founders find clarity, build momentum, and set themselves up for the best possible start.
Darren Tan
Founder of Unigrid Battery and Ignite Fellow
“
Every incubator/accelerator should incorporate elements of the Ignite programme in their respective programmes. It is as valuable to founders as learning about go-to-market or business models. Importantly, it surfaces strengths and weaknesses in a founder that they must face eventually in the course of business. Highly recommend to any/all interested in doing any sort of startup.
Hamza Kamaruddin
Founder of a green hydrogen start up (In stealth)
Working
with Jia Hong
Before leading pre-seed investments at Elev8.vc and running the Ignite Programme, Jia Hong was already deeply dedicated to support founders. From building his own angel investment portfolio, to cycling across Europe delivering workshops to founders, and more recently coaching founders through Founder Daycare.
Upon joining the Ignite Programme or Portfolio, Jia Hong will be your go to person as you progress on your journey. Hear what others have to say!
Working
with Jia Hong
Before leading pre-seed investments at Elev8.vc and running the Ignite Programme, Jia Hong was already deeply dedicated to support founders. From building his own angel investment portfolio, to cycling across Europe delivering workshops to founders, and more recently coaching founders through Founder Daycare.
Upon joining the Ignite Programme or Portfolio, Jia Hong will be your go to person as you progress on your journey. Hear what others have to say!
Working with Jia Hong
Before leading pre-seed investments at Elev8.vc and running the Ignite Programme, Jia Hong was already deeply dedicated to support founders. From building his own angel investment portfolio, to cycling across Europe delivering workshops to founders, and more recently coaching founders through Founder Daycare.
Upon joining the Ignite Programme or Portfolio, Jia Hong will be your go to person as you progress on your journey. Hear what others have to say!