A Practitioner, Not a Professor.
"The most dangerous moment for a startup is not failure.
It is
slow traction."
There is a lethal disconnect between product clarity and market urgency. You can describe the how, but can you define the who? Unless you can pinpoint the exact customer in enough pain to stop their day and purchase, you're just guessing. That gap is the primary reason early-stage growth hits a wall. This is why the Demand Engine exists — to replace guesswork with a structured system that gives founders the clarity to move fast and the precision to grow right.
Only 10 startups are selected for each cohort.
They Have a Demand Clarity Problem
There is a lethal disconnect between product clarity and market urgency. You can describe the how, but can you define the who? Unless you can pinpoint the exact customer in enough pain to stop their day and purchase, you're just guessing. That gap is the primary reason early-stage growth hits a wall.
| Symptom | What Founders Think | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Low conversion | Sales problem | Unclear wedge |
| High CAC | Channel problem | Wrong customer segment |
| Stalled pipeline | Pricing problem | Entry offer mismatch |
Demand is not marketing activity. Demand is a system. Five interlocking components that transform founder intuition into repeatable, scalable growth.
A unique pedagogical cycle of Expert Explanation, Immediate Exercise, and Peer Exchange that turns theory into tangible business assets — by the time you leave, you have built, not just planned.
Each concept is introduced by the mentor with rigorous precision — context-first, no filler.
Founders immediately apply the concept to their own business through structured worksheets.
Peers challenge assumptions and provide live feedback — the sharpest tool in the sprint.
Not slides. Not frameworks. Completed business assets ready to deploy on Monday morning.
The Demand Canvas is a one-page operating blueprint where all five VAASU Demand Engine components come together into a living, executable plan.
While studying at Yale, Vaasu was among the very few students in the world who encountered the internet before it existed — the DARPA project that preceded the modern world. Most didn't know the connection existed; Vaasu saw the beginning of a global shift and has been hooked on the "what's next" ever since.
This obsession eventually led him to create one of Asia's early e-commerce companies, udrool.com, in Singapore, and then to the helm of Yahoo APAC B2B Marketing — giving him extraordinary depth into the startup space and the true frontier of digital marketing.
With over 37 years of marketing experience across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe, Vaasu has navigated the entire digital arc. His work focuses on bridging the gap between a founder's vision and the realities of the market — turning promising ideas into products that people actually buy.
Only 10 startups selected per cohort. Minimum 2 founders per startup. 20 founders per cohort.
Price is per founder. A minimum of two founders per startup must attend.
Venues are confirmed and announced six weeks before each cohort date.
Application Questions
Or register interest for a future event in your city