SCGC delves into the success tips of Castomize Technologies – the winner of SCG BBC @ Sasin 2023, Global Competition

To succeed in the world of startups, honesty, both to oneself and customers, and openness to all feedback are key, and a startup that does not a good look at whether its business has a good market fit or chooses to listen to positive comments is doomed to fail. Let’s hear the perspective of Abel Teo, CEO & Co-Founder, and Jervis Lu Shi Tian, Lead Product Designer of Castomize Technologies from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, inventors of eco-friendly 4D-printed casts and the winning team of the world-class startup business contest SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin 2023, hosted by SCG Chemicals Public Company Limited and Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn University.

Innovation … born out of care

“Because one of our original co-founders broke their arm on a mountain camping trip, we decided to invent a better alternative to the traditional cast, combining the knowledge of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, to create a credible product that will set a new standard of fracture treatment. That is the origin of Castomize Technologies, which strives to utilize 4D printing and design to make healthcare more accessible and efficient.”

Transforming fracture treatment with a easy-to-wear, waterproof, itch-free 4D-printed cast

“The traditional plaster of Paris or fiberglass cast is very uncomfortable; it is sweaty, itchy, and not waterproof. Also, it requires 30 minutes to an hour to apply, and additional hours to also harden and cure the cast. So, we have developed our very own cast, made of our proprietary brand of plastics, which is under IP. It provides the same rigidity for 1/10 of the materials and requires only three minutes to apply. It's also waterproof and not itchy, and it allows doctors to monitor the healing process with greater ease.”

Green casts: Reusable, remoldable, and upcyclable into disaster first-aid kits

“Our project contributes to sustainability both in terms of the environment as well as healthcare accessibility. Right now, our standard of medical casts requires the use of many disposable tools, such as bandages, stockinette, and the cast itself, which will all be thrown away when the patient is done with the cast, or when the state of the wound changes and another cast has to be applied. However, as Castomize uses 4D printers, we require only the cast itself. It can also be removed along the patient’s healing journey as when the patient heals, the wound can have swelling or de-swelling. Because the cast can easily be remolded, the patient can wear the exact same cast until they are fully healed.

“In addition, at the end of the patient's healing journey, these casts can be salvaged and upcycled into first aid kits. We are planning to deploy these in places that lack sufficient healthcare infrastructure and face a lot of natural disasters. Right now, around 56% of the injuries occurring during a natural disaster are linked to fractures. So, we are hoping that by deploying these, we will be able to save more lives and improve the standard of living for fracture victims in disaster scenarios.”

3 keys to success for a world-class startup

• • Accountability: “Throughout the whole challenge, we were faced with many issues, many ups and downs, like everything else in the world. So, as much as we must take ownership of good things in life, we must also take ownership and accountability for bad things that happen to us.”
    
  • Open-mindedness: “The judges gave us a lot of feedback. The competitors also helped us and gave us feedback as well. It's how we take all these things and make it good.”
    
  • Tenacity: “After all the bad thing that happened, what do we do to bounce back? How do we keep fighting and have the grit to keep on going to where we want to go in the future?”

Honesty and openness to feedback: Key characteristics any startup entrepreneurs should have

“For Castomize Technologies, startups have to be honest with themselves. They have to take a good look at their business idea and see whether they have a good product-market fit. They also need to go and talk to as many of their intended customers as possible and be honest when the customers are not really accepting of the business idea. They can't make excuses and think, "it's only this customer that thinks this way." In addition, they can’t only focus on the good feedback because that will set them up for disappointment later down the road.”

What they have earned from SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin 2023

“For startups, we'd say this is an incredible opportunity. The prize is an incentive, but one thing we have to realize is that the connections you make along the way, the people get to know, and the feedback that you’ll receive from the judges are more valuable and something that you can never get from just staying in your comfort zone. You have to go overseas to somewhere like Thailand, where good companies are sponsoring this event. And that's why you should join SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin.

As for their tips for success, they said: “the tip is to endure through the challenges and think smart about how to get through them and what the best solutions are. We also looked at what the other teams were doing and what the strengths of their pitches were so as to improve our own pitches.