Hatch

Ask Us Anything: Meet the Investors Backing Founders Early 🚀

Ever wondered what it actually takes to get your first check? Join us tomorrow for an open AMA with two investors who back founders at the earliest stage:

James of Ârc — Early-stage investor at Fulgur Asia, Concentric Capital, Curious Ventures & Ârc Angels

Ashish Sood — General Partner, Curious Ventures ($10M pre-seed fund writing $50K+ first checks)

We'll be talking fundraising, building in Sri Lanka, and what early-stage investors are actually looking for, then opening the floor for your questions.

📅 Tomorrow, August 21st
🕓 4:30 PM onwards
📍 Hatch Auditorium

Bring your toughest questions on fundraising, building, and scaling. See you there!

Register here: https://luma.com/8h4ay3nb

Bread Modular a self-taught musician, brings a modular synth system built from scratch for a live ambient techno set.

Followed by the usual shebang from the resident DJs.

August 29 6 PM At .works, Jaffna
Free Entry.

Register here: https://luma.com/j3wdmt28

Final Call — Applications close in 2 days!

GRIT Business Incubator Cohort III is now open to entrepreneurs in the Northern Province — personalized mentorship, strategy guidance, grant funding, and market visibility, all in a 6-month program.

📅 Apply by 21st August 2026

இறுதி அழைப்பு — விண்ணப்பிக்க இன்னும் 2 நாட்கள் மட்டுமே!

GRIT Business Incubator Cohort III க்கான விண்ணப்பங்களை வட மாகாணத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஆரம்ப கட்ட தொழில்முனைவோரிடமிருந்து ஏற்றுக்கொள்கின்றோம்.

6 மாத கால திட்டத்தின் மூலம் **தனிப்பட்ட வழிகாட்டல், வணிக உத்தி ஆலோசனை, மானிய நிதி மற்றும் சந்தை வாய்ப்புகளைப் பெறுவதற்கான வாய்ப்புகள்** வழங்கப்படுகின்றன.
📅 விண்ணப்பிக்க வேண்டிய இறுதி நாள்: 21 ஆகஸ்ட் 2026

🔗 https://forms.gle/f2QtArTn3YoPZA1M8

For additional information: [email protected]

Every success story has a graveyard of mistakes behind it. Next Friday, we're digging it up.

F-Up Fridays returns on August 28th, and this time we're sitting down with Imran Saibo, Event Producer & Founder of Fun Time Productions — one of the pioneers of Sri Lanka's events industry.

Decades of pulling off unforgettable events don't come without their fair share of chaos — the plans that fell apart last minute, the calls that could've gone very wrong, and everything he learned from picking up the pieces along the way.

Steering the conversation and asking the questions you actually want answered is our moderator, Shopikar Supramaniam, Senior Events & Sales Associate at Hatch.
No filters. No highlight reel. Just the honest version of how it really happened.

🗓️ Friday, 28th August | 6:00 PM
📍 hatch. Member's Lounge

F#ckUp Fridays with Imran Saibo · Luma This Friday, FUP Friday gets an upgrade. 🎉 We're sitting down with Imran Saibo, founder of Funtime, the pioneer behind Sri Lanka's first full-service event…

One founder. One framework. One very full room.

Daniel Ahmadizadeh — 2x YC-backed, now building Crustdata, joined us at Hatch today to unpack Start With One: how to find the person whose problem is on fire, turn them into your first paying customer, and grow from there.

Thank you Daniel, and thank you to everyone who came with real questions. 🙌

🎯 Another Milestone for GRIT – Accelerator II

Last Friday, we held our Accounting and Finance training for the GRIT (Gender Resilience Investment Training) – Accelerator II , a program dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs in the North, made possible with funding support from World University Service of Canada (WUSC).

This session marked the introduction to a series of upcoming mentorship sessions, equipping founders and finance teams with practical tools to navigate uncertainty and make smarter decisions. Here's what's ahead:

✅ 12-Month Budget Forecast
✅ Cash Runway Calculator
✅ Scenario-Based P&L

Key takeaways:
🔹 A clear budget helps manage day-to-day operations.
🔹 Knowing your runway is critical for survival and fundraising timelines.
🔹 Scenario planning enables resilience and adaptability in decision-making.

Finance isn't just about numbers - it's about clarity, confidence, and strategy. With the right tools, women entrepreneurs can avoid overspending, prepare for challenges, and seize new opportunities.

Investors. Founders. Operators. Culture builders.

A delegation came through Hatch last week to see what's being built here: the innovation district, the ecosystem around it, and Startup Nation, our regional competition spanning five markets.

We were excited to share Hatch's story with them, where it started, what it's become, and where it's going next.

Ecosystems don't get built by pitch decks alone. They get built when people show up, look around, and decide they want in.

More soon.

FUp Fridays is back this July, and we're putting a true serial entrepreneur in the hot seat!
Kalana Muthumuni started his first startup just to cover his college expenses. Ten years and several ventures later, he's building Scouts, right in the middle of the biggest shift the world has seen.

He'll be dropping the corporate filter to share the real pivots, the mistakes, and the lessons from a decade of building through uncertainty, steering the conversation and making sure we get to the real story is our moderator, Niresh Ratnagopal (Head of Programs - Hatch).

📅 This Friday, July 31st | 6:00 PM Onwards
📍 at Hatch Member's Lounge
🔗 Register here: https://luma.com/ighrvvkw

NIA in Jaffna: National Innovation Agency Brings Jaffna Innovators Together Under One Roof

Every great business begins with an idea. But finding the right path to turn that idea into a unique, market-ready product is a challenge.

Ms. Layanthini Somasundaram, Innovation Officer at the National Innovation Agency Sri Lanka, The session walked through what it actually takes to move from a raw idea to something market-ready - the roadmap, the support systems, and where NIA fits into that journey.

As she put it, "Innovation isn't only about business - it's also about securing strong roots in a place where Jaffna's ideas can thrive for generations to come." Her perspective on building unique, innovation-driven products was truly inspiring, and we believe this is just the first step in a journey our community will continue to embark on.

Thank you to everyone who showed up ready to ask questions and think through their ideas out loud. And thank you to Layanthini for making the time.

More sessions like this are coming to Hatch Jaffna.