Piktochart's off to Silicon Valley

By Karamjit Singh June 26, 2012

Co-founder going with 90% excitement, 10% nervousness
Finding good co-founders critical in getting the right start-up culture going

PIKTOCHART wants to make simplifying information its mission. Co-founder Goh Ai Ching states on her site that their intention is to create something fun to read, painless to create, and worthy to share.

“Infographics might just be over-heated hype,” she concedes, “but the ability to help companies and individuals painlessly generate fun material to reach out to their audience was something we thought had a huge amount of potential.”

Others seemed to have thought so too. As the grand winner of the start-up competition that began last October during the Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia (SVC2M) conference, Goh has the opportunity to turbocharge Piktochart’s potential during the one-month stint it begins next week in the Valley as part of an accelerator program by YouNoodle.

SVC2M was organized by StartupMalaysia.org with YouNoodle as its partner.

Goh’s trip is sponsored by Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) and StartupMalaysia.org. GIST is an initiative funded by the US State Department.

Ever the enterprising entrepreneur, Goh has managed to find a way to get her co-founder to come over to the United States with her for the one month. Why is this important? Co-founder Andrea Zaggia is also her husband.

When Digital News Asia asked if it was going to be tough being away for a month, Goh was happy to share that they are not going to be apart.

“I found cheap flights for him (always ask the uncle with a lot of air miles) and accommodation is covered. He will be going to co-working spaces and we are organizing meet-ups with fellow developers so that he keeps his time occupied while I attend [the YouNoodle program].”

They are going with mixed feelings, “It is 90% excitement and looking forward to the experience. We have done our very best, scheduling as many meetings with developers in Google, etc., and with customers who have been emailing us a lot.

“The remaining 10% is a feeling of nervousness because our new version is not up yet and we wanted to showcase that in the Valley as it's a cooler version of Piktochart.”

Whatever the experiences in the Silicon Valley, and it includes taking in the sights of the city during the weekends, it is safe to say that Goh and hubby Zaggia will be changed individuals on their return from the mecca of start-ups. To be sure, the relationships they form there would be helpful to other start-ups here wishing to make relevant connections in the Valley too.

Next: Q&A with Goh Ai Ching (picture courtesy of StartupMalaysia.org)

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