Is the venture builder model better than traditional VC?

The venture builder model is growing. It seems to be better than venture capital. Whilst both have their merits, venture builders are more enabling and beneficial for a promising startup, especially one which lack expertise of a certain area.

It is no news that the chances of getting Venture Capital funding is getting tougher and tougher. Actual hard results are, more often than not, required before a Venture Capital would commit. Today, digital technology has lowered startup cost. Therefore entrepreneurs find it difficult to justify raising fund solely based on business expense and hiring.

Venture Builder as a bridge to Venture Capital

Whilst entrepreneurs may struggle to get venture capital, venture builder companies like Ant Internet stand a higher chance to secure one.  Simply speaking, Venture Builder fills up the gaps between an entrepreneur and Venture Capital.

An entrepreneur may have a brilliant idea but may not have the resources and know-how to develop a Minimum Viable Product or even a prototype.

Hence, we hear many still fail to secure funding.

However, a Venture Builder has in place, with built frameworks and infrastructures to manufacture products, funds, marketing strategies, human resources, company culture, and the expertise to accelerate growth. Naturally, Venture Capital will rather invest in a Venture Builder simply out of lower risk.

If a Venture Builder finds a workable idea in a team of trusted and capable co-founders to run the business operations, it may seal a new venture, and another great business can spring out of it.

The Difference

Venture Capitals may not want to dwell into the hard sweaty work of a Venture Builder and like a typical investor, only provide X amount of funds and expect Y in return.

But a Venture Builder, as the word “builder” speaks for itself, often builds child products of all digital and technology kinds. They build stuff. They have the builder DNA in them.

Area	Route to fundraising
	Venture Capital	Venture Builder
Funding	Direct methods (cash injection, etc)	Indirect funding (salary, product development, marketing expenses)
Product development	A prototype, if not a MVP, is required beforehand	Can be jointly or entirely done by Venture Builder core development team
Workspace & Hiring	Venture Capital can recruit executive and advise. No work space	Co-working space and talents available in place
Marketing	Solely entrepreneur’s initiative	Early marketing strategy and setup will be done by Venture Builder
Trainings & mentorship	Usually mentorship	Trainings and mentorship
Administration and Legal	Solely entrepreneur’s initiative	Plugged into Venture Builder infrastructure
Company culture	Defined by Entrepreneur	Venture Builder culture, until the business stands and run on its own with its own staff.
Proven track record or user size	Required. Traction should have been kick-started	Not pre-requisite. Strategic partnership, commitment, and experience are more important
Equity	Venture Capital takes less equity	Venture Builder takes more
Risk sharing	Venture Capital takes less risk, thus a harder selection process	Venture Builder takes on much more risk.
Industry preference	Portfolio of Venture Capital can be diverse	Venture Builder likely to be very selective.
Expectation on entrepreneur	Return on investment	Execution; Speed to scale is important

Whilst it seems Venture Builder has more advantages, there are very few able to work with Venture Builders. Execution speed is the cornerstone to its success. Therefore, often the lack in sense of ownership by entrepreneur might account for its pressure mounting from Venture Builder side.

Despite the pros and cons, which side will you choose?

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Singapore’s and France’s startup ecosystems are many similarities especially when it comes to public support, Seys says

French video games company Ubisoft, better known for its title Assassin’s Creed, on Wednesday announced the expansion of its startup programme into Singapore. The Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab programme, which is already into its fourth season in Paris, will look to accelerate tech companies from across the world who have some kind of synergy with the gaming and entertainment industry, and nurture them to be future ready.

The Singapore initiative will take place from September 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

Last week, Ubisoft invited e27 to Paris to interact with some of its startups which are working from the Station F startup campus, as well as as several experts from the French startup ecosystem. During the press tour, e27 also talked to Catherine Seys, Startup Program Director at Strategic Innovation Lab at Ubisoft.

Seys talked in length about the programme, the ecosystem, and the Singapore initiative.

Edited excerpts:

What are the key objectives of Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab? What values does this programme bring to startups? 

The main objective of the programme is to contribute to our main mission at the Strategic Innovation Lab –that is to anticipate possible futures of entertainment.

The startups undergoing this programme will get Ubisoft’s backing (not funding), expertise, and they will also get visibility. They will also get an opportunity to pitch in front of Ubisoft’s top management and will also get access to our international network.

Why did you choose to partner with Station F to run the programme in France?

Station F is one of the largest startup campuses in the world and it is pretty unique. It has an entire ecosystem under one roof. It has all facilities and VCs. What startups need is capital, mentorship and other kinds of support. Station F has all this.

There is the kind of romantic perception that it is good to fail. Of course, failure is a great learning, but it is still hard. But when you have access to VCs next door, then it is better and it may prevent your company from failing. I really liked this approach of Station F, that of not talking romantically about companies failing but providing the entire ecosystem under one roof.

Having said that, Station F is not involved in our Singapore initiative. In Singapore, we will partner with IMDA and PIXEL.

Why are you expanding the programme into Singapore? Is the Singapore initiative similar to the programme being run in Paris?

Singapore has a very dynamic startup ecosystem, even though the market is small. It is a very good place for entrepreneurs to start a company.

Additionally, we have a studio in Singapore, which is crucial. We are offering expertise and talents to these companies. We have quite a lot of talents in Singapore.

Also Read: French video games company Ubisoft expands its startup programme to Singapore

What we intend to do is to run the same programme in Singapore as well. We don’t want it to be different in terms of spirit and principle of it.

However, this programme is very customised. Depending on the topic that we have identified with entrepreneurs — and if we feel that it makes sense for Ubisoft as well as for the startups to work together — then we assign one or two specific Ubisoft experts for these startups, and these experts will be in charge of making the relationship happen.

For instance, one of our startup Mimesys, which develops the future of communication and creates the first holographic meeting platform in AR and VR. Tis firm was helped by one of our experts to improve the shape of their holograph. What I am trying to say that we have very good experts inside Ubisoft, who will bring as much values to startups as they can and also will make sure that we as an organisation have learnings from them.

A part of my role is to formalise these learnings and share these learnings with Ubisoft.

What kind of companies do you select for the programme? Only gaming companies? Or any tech company with which you can find some synergy? How many startups do you expect in the first batch?

We are not targeting only gaming/entertainment companies, but also companies that have some kind of synergies with us. For instance, we have been supporting a company called iExec for the last two seasons. It is a French and Chinese company that creates decentralised marketplace for cloud computing resources.

Also Read: An ex-French Minister’s VC firm strives to bridge Asian and European startup ecosystems

Obviously, iExec is not involved in gaming specifically. But gaming is one of the verticals they are targeting. So it is very interesting for us to be working with them. We have worked with them in many different ways. One of the ways was as cloud purchasers. We are not helping them to make their technology better, but we can help them in other ways.

As for the number of startups, we like to take small steps. It is our first project for Singapore. We started with four in the fist season in Paris and  support seven companies in this season. What is important for us is not the quantity, but the quality of the project, to which we can bring value and from which we can learn.

Frances culture and language etc. are totally different from that of Singapore. Do you expect these challenges to affect your Singapore programme?

Of course, there will be some challenges. However, I don’t think language is not going to be a barrier. But the time zone difference will create some issues. There will be some logistics adjustments.

I would not have engaged in opening the programme in Singapore, if we didn’t have our studio in the country. I know Singapore very well and I know our local employees. I don’t think there’ll be any cultural adjustments.

Singapore has a very vibrant startup ecosystem and entrepreneurs here are very innovative. Does this kind of a startup culture exist in France? Are there any similarities between Singapore’s and French startup ecosystems?

Yeah, there are many similarities, especially when it comes to public support. France has got what they call DPI, which is a public financing arm dedicated to innovation. So when you are an innovating startup in France, you have quite a lot of options to grab public funding.

France as a whole has been gearing towards far more innovative tech ecosystem.

Asia’s VC ecosystem is quite vibrant and active. What about the French VC ecosystem? Are there enough VCs to support early-stage companies?

I am not a VC specialist. But from what I see at Station F, France is good at investing between Series A and C, and we are more and more expanding. The number of deals is decreasing but the amount invested is on the rise. So our deals are getting bigger and bigger. I think our ecosystem is maturing. French Tech will push some focus on the seed stage which is very important too, because some risk capital has moved from seed to Series A. So, now there is a gap to in Series C. But again, this is just an overall perception.

There is a huge disconnect between Asian and European startups. We don’t see many Asian companies expanding to Asia and vice versa. Do you foresee a big flow of startups from Europe especially France to Asia in the near future?

Well, it has been our vision since we started talking about our programme. However, Europe is in the shadow (dark) from an Asia point of view, and Asia is in the shadow (dark) from a European point of view.

In photos: A stroll around STATION F, one of the biggest startup campuses in the world

I don’t expect a massive flow, but yes that is what we definitely would like to see in the future. We have already partnered with French Tech (government programme), which means that if we have someone from Singapore wants to come to build a company in France and undergo our programme at Station F, we can ask the government to go through the procedure. The government will then decide whether to give a French Tech Visa to the startup.

What are the major challenges for French startups expanding into Asia?

I haven’t got an opportunity to talk specifically about this because this is not something French companies are doing already. At Station F, we have two startups from the US, who despite having a big domestic market came to France. We also have two startups from the UK and one from Switzerland. We didn’t came across any startups, who had to face the challenge of having to expand into Asia.

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Uber is fighting wars on many fronts, but hasn’t been winning very often. What is the situation in India?

If someone wants to order a ride share in India, either Ola or Uber is the likely choice. The two companies held a combined 96% of the market at the end of 2017 (according to Quartz), and both companies continue to independently grow their businesses in India as merger rumors have cooled down.

Frankly, there are multiple factors that could drive a consumer’s decision to choose one service over another, such as price, car type, reliability and safety, among others. Notably, pricing is the most important factorand can be most easily, objectively observed in aggregate.

To get a sense of which rideshare currently offers better pricing, we considered Ola Micro and UberGo as a baseline, and then we simulated short- and long-distance rides during peak and off-peak hours in the 5 biggest cities in India.

Most of the Time, Ola Micro Wins for Short Distances and UberGo Wins for Long Distances

In the cities we examined, we found it’s more often a safe bet to pick Ola Micro for short distances, but UberGo is more often the winner for long distances.

Uber and Ola have different pricing formulas for each city in India, but the main variables that determine a ride’s cost are 1) base fare charged at the start of a ride, 2) distance and 3) ride time.

UberGo Pricing Formula

 

In Ola’s pricing structure, the charge per kilometer can increase depending on ride distance.

Ola Micro Pricing Formula

We used Google Maps to plot one relatively short trip (e.g. Select CITYWALK Mall to Haus Khas Market in Delhi, 6 km) and long trip (e.g. UB City Mall to Kempegowda Airport in Bengaluru, 35 km) in each region.

Then, to examine the time variable, we took Google’s estimates for how long each trip would generally take during peak hours (heavy traffic) and off-peak hours (light or practically no traffic) to get a sense of both extremes.

Mumbai: Ola Micro is Generally Cheaper Across the Board

In Mumbai, Ola wins out for short and long rides during both peak and off-peak times. We simulated a short ride from Infiniti Mall to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport (7.5 km) and a long ride from Ram Mandir Train Station to Metro INOX Cinema (26.7 km).

During a typical off-peak time Ola is 3-4% cheaper, while during a typical peak time Ola is 6-7% cheaper. Ola’s advantage is driven by lower charges for base fare, distance and time. Notably, Ola’s per-km charge in Mumbai does not step up until surpassing 30 km.

Delhi: Ola Micro for Short Rides, UberGo for Long Rides

In Delhi, Ola is the cheaper ride share for short rides, while Uber is cheaper for long rides. We simulated a short ride from Select CITYWALK Mall to Haus Khas Market (6 km) and a long ride from Connaught Place to Gurugram (31.2 km).

For the short ride, Ola is notably only 1% cheaper during typical peak times but about 9% cheaper off-peak. For the long ride, Uber is about 12% cheaper during typical peak times and about 8% cheaper off-peak. Ola’s advantage for a short ride is driven by it’s lower base fare and per-km charge, partially weakened by its higher per-minute rate.

For a long ride, Ola gets more expensive due to its higher per-minute charge, while its per-km charge also roughly doubles after the distance surpasses 20km.

Bengaluru: Ola Micro for Short Rides, UberGo for Long Rides

In Bengaluru, Ola and Uber exhibit similar competitive advantages as they exhibit in Delhi, with Ola cheaper for short rides and Uber cheaper for long rides. However, this is due to only one material difference in pricing structure. The companies’ base fares are almost the same, and neither charge a per-minute fee.

So, pricing is almost entirely driven by ride distance and does not differ from peak to off-peak times. Using UB City Shopping Mall as the starting point, we simulated a short ride to Bengaluru City Junction Railway Station (4.4 km) and a long ride to Kempegowda Airport (35 km).

Ola’s 12% price advantage for a short ride is driven by its relatively lower per-km charge. However, this particular charge doubles beyond 15 km ride distance, giving Uber the advantage for sufficiently long rides (14% cheaper in this case).

Hyderabad: UberGo is Generally Cheaper Across the Board

In Hyderabad, UberGo wins out for short and long rides during both peak and off-peak times. Using City Center Mall as the starting point, we simulated a short ride to Hyderabad Deccan Railway Station (4.7 km) and a long ride to Rajiv Gandhi Airport (29.1) km.

Although Ola has cheaper per-minute and initial per-km rates, they aren’t enough to offset Uber’s significantly cheaper base fare at a short distance. For a long ride, Uber has a stronger advantage since Ola’s per-km charge significantly steps up after 15 km.

Ahmedabad: Ola Micro for Short Rides, UberGo for Long Rides

In Ahmedabad, Ola and Uber exhibit similar competitive advantages as they exhibit in Delhi and Bengaluru, with Ola cheaper for short rides and Uber cheaper for long rides. Using Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport as the destination, we simulated a short ride from Shukan Mall (5.4 km) and a long ride from Geratpur Train Station across the city (30.4 km).

For the short ride, Ola is 5-6% cheaper depending on ride time driven by its relatively lower per-km charge vs. Uber. For the long ride, Uber is 18-19% cheaper driven by its steady per-km charge vs. Ola’s, which steps up after 15 km.

Methodology, Limitations and Further Considerations

In this exercise, we performed a simple analysis to examine how Ola Micro and UberGo, the companies’ cheapest service, compare across the 5 biggest cities in India.

For practical purposes, we plotted short and long routes based on landmarks in each region. Then, we relied on Google Maps for average ride times based on peak (heavy traffic) and off-peak times (light or no traffic). Beyond these, we considered all other variables neutral.

One area of further study within this framework could be an apples-to-apples intercity price comparison, equalizing ride distances and times.

Further, since short vs. long distance was found to be a big determinant in Ola Micro vs. UberGo, one could simulate a number of different route distances to find the inflection point at which Uber generally becomes the better pick.

Additionally, there are other factors besides price that may influence a rider’s decision on Ola Micro vs. UberGo such as average wait time, surge/lean pricing, driver cancellation rate, vehicle quality, driver quality and safety.

Expanding to Ola vs. Uber more broadly, riders also may consider vehicle type (e.g. rickshaw, luxury car or SUV) or UI/UX. Last, riders of course have other transportation options such as taxis, buses, rickshaws or their own vehicles.

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This article originally appeared on ValueChampion’s blog

Photo by Charles  on Unsplash

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With their diverse business statements on the table, these companies are on a mission to scout for ‘corporate ready startups’ to partner with and accelerate their corporate innovation journey

For startups and entrepreneurs, the road to Echelon 2019 keeps getting better with each milestone announcement.

One of these reasons is FORGE, a business-matching event facilitated by e27. In our previous article we’ve listed down the first batch of corporate partners; this time, we’re adding 6 more to the roster of corporates who are keen on exploring partnership with the right startups.

So without further ado, let’s get to know more about them and their criteria on startups they are keen to meet.

Danone Nutricia Research

The Danone Nutricia Research Center is the research and innovation organisation behind the Specialised Nutrition division of Danone, focussing on Early Life Nutrition and Advanced Medical Nutrition. They bring health through food to as many people as possible, particularly those who need special care. Science is at the heart of their nutrition and health commitment.

Danone is looking to attract participation for aspiring founders or students, international startups, devs or teams of technologists for its upcoming inaugural D²Hack to tackle the problems of allergens presence, tummy’s bowel activities detection, nutritional status tracking, and microbiome detection in infant development. Startups with Healthtech, Foodtech, or IoT solution that can be adapted for infant wellness are also welcome.

Click here for more information about the D²Hack. Partnership, mentorship, and up to $58,000 in prizes await winning startups.

What they are looking for:

• Operating geography: Can commit to participate in the Hackathon
• Industry classification: Agnostic
• Technology: Healthtech, Foodtech, IoT, Biotech, MedTech, Smart home
• Business Maturity: Early stage

Interested startups can sign up here to meet Danone Nutricia Research and join their D²Hack Challenge.

UOB Group

UOB BizSmart, UOB suite of cloud-based business solutions, offers a suite of integrated solutions that lets you seamlessly manage multiple core processes such as sales, invoicing, payroll, accounting, and more. Connected to your UOB banking account and facilities, you can access to ready information on your operations and company financials, allowing you to make better informed business decisions and generate better cash flow.

UOB is looking for: (1) SMEs who are ready to digitalise their business with UOB BizSmart, and (2) startups to provide solutions for their FinLab programme for Big Data, IoT, AI, retail and Traveltech.

What they are looking for:

• Operating geography: Preferably Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam
• Industry classification: Agnostic
• Technology: Agnostic (focus on B2B, travel, supply & logistics, food, construction, retail, health/medtech)
• Business Maturity: Series A and above (Growth Stage) / for SMEs, at least 3 years

Interested startups can sign up here to meet UOB Group.

Asia Pacific Telecom Group (APTG) 5G Accelerator

APTG 5G Accelerator is one of the major Telecom Operators in Taiwan, providing broadband, wireless, and fixed-line telecommunication services. In 2018, APTG launched their inaugural Accelerator Programme together with the Institute for Information Industry (III) from Taiwan, with the goal of ramping up 5G innovation to strengthen Taiwan’s digital industry.

APTG is looking for startups in the ICT, Mobile, IoT, Big Data, and Cloud vertical to accelerate and facilitate the future development of 5G and associated applications in Taiwan.

What they are looking for:

• Operating geography: Southeast Asia
• Industry classification: Agnostic
• Technology: Agnostic (ICT, Mobile, IoT, Big Data, Cloud, 5G preferred)
• Business Maturity:  Agnostic (mature stage preferred)

Interested startups can sign up here to meet APTG 5G Accelerator.

Bernofarm

Bernofarm, a leading pharmaceutical company in Indonesia, has significantly contributed to the national healthcare development by having a strong product presence across all the hospitals in Indonesia for the past 50 years. Going through major digital and strategic transformation, Bernofarm has pushed boundaries within the industry to increase their productivity and quality.

At FORGE, Bernofarm is keen to meet startups that will increase work productivity and quality by having tech solutions for HR, logistics and supply chain, smart productivity, performance management, and applied AI/ML tech.

What they are looking for:

• Operating geography: Southeast Asia
• Industry classification: Agnostic
• Technology: HR Tech, Logistics tech, supply chain tech, smart productivity, performance management, and applied AI/ML tech
• Business maturity: Agnostic

Interested startups can sign up here to meet Bernofarm.

Skyscanner

Skyscanner is part of the Ctrip group and is a leading global travel search company, providing free search of flights, hotels, and car hire around the world. Founded in 2003, Skyscanner helps over 80 million people each month to find their travel options. Their highly-rated free mobile app has been downloaded over 80 million times.

Through their proprietary technology and products, they are interested to work with startups to make travel search simple and useful for travelers. 

What they are looking for:

• Operating geography: Southeast Asia
• Industry classification: Agnostic
• Technology: Online retail, Fintech, Travel tech
• Business maturity: Agnostic (mature stage preferred)  

Interested startups can sign up here to meet Skyscanner.

Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore

Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APB Singapore) is the home of the world-acclaimed Tiger Beer – a Singapore icon born and brewed on local soil since 1932. In addition to Tiger Beer, APB Singapore’s portfolio of beers includes ABC Stout, Anchor Beer, Baron’s Strong Brew, Guinness, Heineken and the range of Archipelago craft beers.

At FORGE, APB Singapore is keen on meeting startups that offer tech solutions for increasing work productivity and quality.

What they are looking for:

• Operating geography: Singapore
• Industry classification: Agnostic
• Technology: eCommerce, Logistics, Manufacturing, Food tech
• Business maturity: Agnostic (Series A preferred)

Interested startups can sign up here to meet Asia Pacific Breweries.

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Business matching meetings will commence during Echelon Asia Summit 2019 at the Singapore Expo on May 23-24. Please note that curated startups will receive a confirmation email from e27. Click here to get your FREE starter ticket.

_{Image credit: 123rf.com / ID 49844931 / rawpixel}

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The Singapore-based mobile wallet plans to expand its multi-currency across Southeast Asia

YouTrip, Singapore’s first multi-currency mobile wallet with a prepaid Mastercard®
that offers zero transaction fees across 150+ currencies at wholesale exchange rates, announced that it has raised US$25.5 million Pre-Series A funding. The round was participated by major Asian family offices and venture capital firm Insignia Venture Partners, founded by ex-Sequoia Partner Yinglan Tan.

The company said that it will use the funding to drive the development of YouTrip’s technical payment infrastructure, to launch of new product features, and proceed with its regional expansion plans in Southeast Asia.

YouTrip was launched in August 2018 as a multi-currency mobile wallet serving mostly travellers, allowing users to pay in over 150 currencies with no hidden fees and at wholesale exchange rates. The mobile app itself is designed to let users exchange and have a storage for 10 selected currencies in advance through the in-app exchange feature.

YouTrip mobile application works with a linked pre-paid Mastercard ® – issued by EZ-Link – and can be used to make payments at more than 30 million Mastercard-accepting merchants worldwide.

Southeast Asia’s population of over 650 million people makes for one of the largest and fastest growing outbound travellers market globally. Singapore is among the biggest contributor to this region, with Singaporeans being one of the most frequent travellers and biggest travel spenders globally.

Also Read: Europe is in the dark from an Asian startup point of view: Ubisoft’s Catherine Seys

“As a frequent traveller, I was surprised with how much banks mark up on overseas transactions – this was among the many reasons why I started YouTrip with Arthur Mak, who is also Chairman of YouTrip. YouTrip recognises the pain points of travellers and the opportunity to serve their financial needs,” said Caecilia Chu, co-founder, and CEO of YouTrip.

Bank-issued credit and debit cards typically carry an overseas transaction fee that can be as high as 3.5 per cent. Overseas purchases made with credit cards also usually entail a Dynamic Currency Conversion markup, sometimes going as high as 5 per cent or more.

YouTrip does not charge any overseas transaction fees nor markup on foreign exchange conversion.

“The fintech space in Southeast Asia is developing faster than ever and the travel industry represents an untapped market at the intersection of this growth. YouTrip’s success of the initial launch in Singapore provides a foundation to develop a roadmap for growing the multi-currency and cross-border payments ecosystem in Southeast Asia,” said Pachara Lawjindakul, Principal at Insignia Ventures Partners.

The company claims to have over 200,000 downloads and one million transactions with a team of 70 people in Singapore and Hong Kong 10 months since launch. Next, it’s set to developing localised solutions for the region’s travellers.

Also Read: Meet the 15 startups participating in Anthill Ventures’s A-Scale programme

By downloading its app from the App Store or Google Play, users may set up an account with no minimum account balance required and for free. Any credit or debit card can be used to top up the e-wallet, which has a maximum stored value of S$3,000 (US$2,192).

All registered users receive a physical prepaid Mastercard, free of charge.
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