The startups will be offered a 6-month rent-free residency at the EY wavespace in Singapore, and will also get over US$87,500 worth of Microsoft Azure credits

EY Foundry, Ernst & Young’s incubator program for early-stage startups, has announced that it has accepted four startups from the accounting-tech, tax-tech, fintech, legal-tech, and regulatory-tech sectors into its Singapore batch.

These selected startups will be offered a 6-month rent-free residency at the EY wavespace in Singapore. They will also get US$87,708 worth of Microsoft Azure credits.

The participants were shortlisted through an open call for nominations from March to June in 2019, before delivering presentations to a judging panel of EY leaders at the official launch of EY Foundry Singapore on July 25, 2019.

“Singapore is a regional hub of choice for professional services, which is set to grow as an economic contributor. We are excited by how our experience, scale, and resources can help to unleash the potential of emerging technopreneurs in this space,” said Soh Pui Ming, Singapore Head of Tax, Ernst & Young Solutions, who was on the judging panel said.

Below is a brief description of the four startups:

Narus Knowledge

A knowledge platform management powered by AI to build, maintain, and capitalise on institutional knowledge. Narus’s services include intelligent capturing that identifies and captures knowledge, context engineering that distinguishes knowledge from information and automate the process, customised ontology and graph database, NLP, smart visualisation that mirrors human memory, intelligent retrieval that enables targeted retrieval of knowledge from multiple devices.

Notarum

An AI-enabled workflow tool that provides services such as fund management to legal and professional services and automated-due diligence to reduce cost and risk for interconnected companies. Notarum also assists with flagging and removing suspect characters and eliminating companies’ regulatory risk.

Also Read: 3 startups shaping AI in Southeast Asia

Regit

A consent-based data management platform to help businesses collect, maintain, and use customer data in a way that is compliant to Personal Data Protection and Privacy. The Regit platform can be used for events, registrations, surveys, or even EDMs and the built-in compliance feature eliminates the arduous work of having information consented.

Staple AI

A finance automation tool that uses AI to automate accounting, finance, and paperwork in business. Staple’s technology allows for ingesting financial documentation by letting users send the documents to get account system up to date immediately.

Also Read: EY to launch startup incubator EY Foundry in Singapore

Previously, EY Foundry had a successful run in Sydney, Australia in 2018. Singapore is the second country where EY Foundry has recruited startups from.

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Companies that are on the radar for their innovative approaches in Asia

With Bitcoin more than tripling recently since hitting it’s 2018 low of just over $3,000 USD, interest in the world of blockchain and digital currencies is back in a big way.

With reports of major international banks teaming up to invest in the creation a digital cash system using blockchain to settle financial transactions while Facebook releases plans to create their own digital currency, blockchain is capturing the major headlines on a weekly basis once again. 

Headlines are nice and all, but we’re yet to see the blockchain commercialization and mass adoption that some have been touting since 2017.

Scaling has been spotlighted as an issue as well as the lack of public education of the technology and currency side of things. Despite this, Asia still remains the world’s leading market for usage and arguably innovation. 

With regulation and traditional industries catching on to an ever-maturing blockchain ecosystem, we’re starting to see promising use cases of blockchain that will inevitably lead to adoption, whether it is noticed by the average consumer or not.

Here are five blockchain companies that are continuously innovating in the industry- 

Also Read:

1. Quras
Consisting of an international team from Japan, China, India, and more, Quras is the world’s first public blockchain that allows anonymous transactions in a smart contract.

With aims at being a leader in the ‘Privacy 2.0’ era, Quras wants to be the go-to blockchain for collaboration and mass adoption while protecting privacy for both users and enterprises.

This approach allows the best of both worlds when it comes to the advantages of public and private blockchains.

Today, a smart contract transaction on a public blockchain, such as Ethereum, is not confidential and can be viewed by anyone.

This has been a big inhibitor to adoption by major companies who require strict data security and identity measures in a controlled, accountable (and often centralized) environment.

Using two types of privacy technologies, zero-knowledge proofs and ring signature, the Quras blockchain gives companies the opportunity to choose the suitable privacy level for any purpose.  

So what are some of the industries that can benefit from Quras’ “public yet private” blockchain? The short answer, every industry that requires specific user privacy without the expense of neither having too much transparency nor network participation restriction.

Use cases include the transaction of customer assets in traditional finance, the handling and protection of personal health records, secure e-voting identification and voting data privacy, cloud computing and IoT protection. 

Shigeki Kakutani, CEO of Quras, says “Information that flows into IoT devices needs to have adequate privacy of personal information, which will only become a bigger issue as IoT devices become a greater part of daily life.” 

With the support of more than 100,000 community members and developers, and growing, Quras is looking to become a recognizable name in the future of blockchain.

2. Yojee

Singapore-based, Yojee, continues to make strides in the multi-trillion global logistics industry. Yoyee is a ‘future-ready’ platform technology firm that uses a combination of blockchain technology, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to optimize and manage delivery operations. 

As an early-mover in the blockchain logistics space, Yojee is looking to capitalize on its extensive partner and client network that spans much of Asia and ANZ.

Yojee’s use of blockchain technology for the logistics and supply chain industry has many benefits, including the creation of a supply chain audit trail, proof of product authenticity, the streamlining of documentation, tamper-proof contracts, and ultimately true autonomous collaboration.  

Also Read: Blockchain-powered fintech firm Omise raises fresh financing to grow its subsidiaries

In 2017, Yojee launched its logistics-focused blockchain on Ethereum. Last year, the company made headlines signing a technology agreement with UPS Asia to utilize Yojee’s blockchain in the UPS supply chain environment.

The momentum has continued with the company signing a three-year deal with Asian logistics giant and top 10 logistics firm, Geodis, this past May with the agreement commencing this month.

With supply chain being a natural industry primed for a technological revolution, Yojee can secure itself in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future in Asia. 

3. Advanced Blockchain AG
Built by early blockchain adopter Robert Küfner, Germany-based Advanced Blockchain AG is a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) company that has become the first blockchain company to list on three major German exchanges. 

These include the Frankfurt and Dusseldorf stock exchanges and Xetra, responsible for more than 90 per cent of all trading in shares at all German exchanges and approximately 30 per cent of trading in ETFs in Europe. For Küfner and team, Asia is still a major land of opportunity.

Küfner states, “Our goal is to make blockchain more accessible and easy to use for enterprises. We are currently doing this in Europe and see Asia as a market ripe for disruption and blockchain adoption.

Southeast Asia, in particular, has one of the highest engagement and usage rates on a consumer level, so it only makes sense that enterprises join by building processes and products that will help facilitate blockchain to the masses.”

With a proven track record in Europe and in the United States, keep an eye on Advanced Blockchain AG as they scale globally and provide custom blockchain solutions for companies. 

4. Altonomy

Fresh off of a $7m fundraising round led by Polychain Capital, Altonomy is a cryptocurrency trading desk focused on institutional clients.

Their main headquarters are in Singapore but the company also boasts offices in the United States. Altonomy’s partners include over 80 ICO issuers, exchanges and investment funds, including over 40 clients ranking in the top 200 by market capitalization.

With a lean team of approximately 20 employees, Altonomy has cornered a fast-growing market of liquidity providers, OTC desks, and advisory firms that realize that the dynamic nature of the industry creates a situation where it is important for companies to partner with firms that are lean, versatile, and ahead of the curve.

Also Read: 5 Asia-based startups that are making blockchain part of everyday life

Ricky Li, co-founder and Head of Americas for Altonomy, comments,  “We are proud of our ability to source liquidity for customers, regardless of token type, order size, market cap, or whether the asset trades on centralized or decentralized exchanges.

Backed by strategic capital and working closely with other luminaries across the asset class, like Polychain, we are the ideal partner to help investors navigate these primary and secondary markets, so they can harvest returns that are uncorrelated with the broader financial markets.”

With new funds and awareness, keep an eye out for Altonomy as they scale. 

5. ECOMI

The collectables industry generates over $200 billion annually, so it’s no wonder that digital collectables have started to transcend into the blockchain sphere.

And with blockchain, a consumer is able to actually own digital assets for the first time without worry that their access or rights may be taken away by the asset creator or ecosystem that an asset is housed in. 

ECOMI is a digital assets ecosystem that brings authenticity and immutability to collectables on the blockchain.

Since the company behind CryptoKitties became the first well-known digital collectables marketplace on the blockchain, raising nearly US$30 million since launching in November 2017, the NFT (non-fungible token) space has gotten increasingly competitive. 

Other promising players that are in this market outside of Ecomi are WAX, EPIK token, and Enjin.

But what makes ECOMI standout is its end-to-end ecosystem of products which include a digital collectables marketplace, a wireless hardware wallet, and a fiat-to-crypto payment card. 

David Yi, ECOMI’s CEO, has assembled an impressive executive team and list of partners that surely make the company a lead contender in this fast-evolving collectables industry.

Also Read:Can these blockchain products make a name as social media alternatives?

The company is gearing up to release its collectables marketplace to the public, ECOMI Collect, in the coming months. 

Conclusion
At this point, it’s undeniable that blockchain is here to stay, one way or another.

What’s still up for debate is how and when the technology will see adoption at scale, and how the varying regulatory environment in different countries will play into the expansion of the entire industry.

Stepping back and taking a look globally, it’s easy to see Asia taking a major leadership role in developing every day, blockchain-powered, consumer applications. But we’re yet to identify the major catalysts that will truly propel blockchain to be ‘bigger than the internet’.

That story is still being written.

Also Read: Blockchain will force banks to change their feudal mindset

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Get the basics right with the A, B and C of startup branding

 

You finally gathered all the courage and decided to build your idea.

You have the grit, passion, and the product required. Yet, you are stuck with where to start. If this is you, I have got one of the many answers.

A fantastic product or service is undoubtedly the top priority to succeed in the startup world.

However, many miss the second priority. Your second priority should be branding, even before marketing.

Also Read: Startups should believe in the power of branding

Unless you are selling plain rice, without branding your marketing won’t stick with people.

“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” – Wikipedia

Branding is a crucial part of any modern startup. If branding is done right, a startup can establish a foundation which draws the customers and the investors.

A strong brand combined with marketing and sales can move mountains.

In this article, I will discuss the initial branding steps you should take for your startup. Read on to see what your focus should be.

A. Logo, name, and basics

There are a few elements that have nothing to do with your startup’s product, yet have a significant impact on your brand. Here are those:

Name 

Your brand name represents your startup or business. Investing time in figuring out the right brand name is undoubtedly a smart investment.

This doesn’t indicate that the name should have a publically-recognised meaning, but it should mean something. For e.g., “Google” didn’t mean anything to people when it was launched, but the founders knew it was meant after “googol”.

Moreover, listing some options and checking whether domains and social media accounts for the name are available is another smart decision.

In this case, a site like a startup name check can come in handy. Another thing to check while naming your startup is whether the name is trademarked or registered as a company. If it is, better opt for another name.

Logo:

Your logo plays a vital part in your brand’s recognisability factor.

It’s one of the representatives and distinguisher of your brand. So, better skip those cheap logo designers and pay a professional to get an excellent, timeless piece of art.

Brands like Amazon, Mercedes, Domino’s, etc. have meaningful logos, and so should your brand.

Other Basics

Other than logo & name, many foundational elements subtly give an uplift to your brand. Things like your vision and mission statements; your use of colour psychology in UI, logo, and social media; the user experience you provide, etc. should be a preference if you want to come out as a fantastic brand.

B. A unique selling proposition

Also Read: 3 branding mistakes that will doom your startup

While name, logo, and colours are some subtle branding factors, USP is a factor that glows. A unique selling proposition (USP) is a factor that differentiates a product from its competitors.

If the marketing element is removed from any business, the USP is the only thing that will sell. Your USP is your competitive edge. If you have a positive answer to any of the following questions, you have a USP.

• Is your startup solving a problem?
• Are you giving a better price?
• Are you giving a better product/service?
• Is your brand more reliable?
• Are you providing something new?

Congratulations if you found the answer. If you didn’t, evolve your offerings, establish a USP first, and build a brand around that USP.

C. A brand story

Brand storytelling is one of the best ways to promote your startup. Everyone loves a great story. We are wired in a certain way.

Stories fascinate us, grab our attention, plays with our emotions, and makes us do things we wouldn’t do otherwise. In modern times, the ones who tell their story in a unique and engaging way have a competitive advantage.

For e.g., David Ogilvy’s “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock” ad is still remembered as an iconic piece of a story that doubled the company’s profits.

Long story short, sharing your Brand story and promoting it through digital platforms is the ultimate branding tip for any startup of today. Start with your Brand’s “Why?”, “What?”, and “Who?”.

Also Read: Building up customer loyalty with emotional branding

Share it creatively and build your brand bottom-up. 

Final Words:

Getting all the basics right, framing your USP, and amplifying it with brand storytelling are the A, B, and C of branding your startup.

If you want to know the remaining, i.e., D-Z of startup branding, comment below. Also, let me know which branding step are you going to take first. 

We will discuss it in the comments below. Until then, I bid you adieu. 

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The opportunities for IoT applications are immense

The ‘Internet of Things’ is mainstream. ‘Alexa, dim the lights’ has exactly one meaning and requires no explanation. Bizarre, perhaps, but undeniably futuristic. The smart home war is in full swing and Apple, Google, Amazon and Samsung are vying to become the ‘operating system of the home’, demanding control of our thermostats and microwave ovens.

It makes sense. The smart home opportunity is enormous. More importantly, it’s sufficiently homogeneous to imagine a ‘winner take all’ global platform. For Alexa and friends, dimming the lights in a Sydney apartment is not materially different to dimming the lights in a Malibu mansion. And with all that delicious consumer data to slurp up, I can see why the tech titans are hot and bothered.

But there’s a gigantic – and in my opinion more interesting – IoT landscape evolving outside the home.  New advancements in low-power wide-area (LPWA) wireless networks are reducing the barrier for developers to create connected products that solve the near-limitless array of IoT use cases in the city, in the factory, and on the farm.

Also Read:Despite ethical concerns with AI, IoT is on rise in healthtech

Today, we rely on brute force to solve problems in the physical economy. Dumpsters are emptied once a week; tires are replaced every 80,000km; a train stops at every station. How much time and energy is wasted emptying a dumpster that is half full, and how many times has a widget been replaced too early or too late because scheduled maintenance was cheaper or easier than constantly evaluating its true condition?

Cheap, pervasive internet connectivity will continuously inform our relationship to the physical world. For just a few dollars, any ‘thing’ will be connected for its entire useful life using technologies like NB-IoT, part of the 5G mMTC (massive Machine Type Technology) standards.

This is the real opportunity for IoT developers. The problem is too large and too diverse to be dominated by a small group of mega tech firms, and the ability to create new economic value is obvious. The entrepreneurial ‘whitespace’ created by the cellular IoT platform will dwarf the opportunity created by smartphones, which birthed companies like Uber, Snapchat and Spotify.

From an Australian perspective, a recent report by PwC claims that, across the five industries assessed – construction, manufacturing, healthcare, mining, and agriculture-fishing-and-forestry – i.e. 25 per cent of Australia’s GDP, the IoT can achieve potential annual benefits of $300 billion.

To me that feels conservative, considering that every ‘thing’ – every component of the value chain – can be measured and improved using inexpensive ‘always-on and everywhere’ connectivity.

Why now? What changed? Developer platforms tend to emerge from a perfect storm of ingredient technologies, and this vision of IoT is no different. In particular, we’ve collectively spent zillions of dollars in the mobile ecosystem in the last decade.

Two billion smartphone users represent a ubiquitous user interface for internet-connected systems. To support this, mobile network operators have invested in network density, coverage and performance improvements that incidentally benefit IoT.

Perhaps less obvious, building all those smartphones has driven down the cost of LTE modems, accelerometers, lithium batteries and GPS modules. Mobile users + better networks + better, cheaper components. The outcome: a company like Lime – a handful of Silicon Valley engineers at the time – was able to put their electric scooters on street corners in over 100 cities, ridden every day by millions of mobile users. Unimaginable just a few years ago.

Also Read:From products to businesses: the hidden opportunities of IoT

With that said, developing for IoT remains harder than building an app. Experimentation – the prerequisite to innovation – remains too expensive. The prototype-to-manufacturing pipeline is cheaper than ever before, but it still requires insider knowledge and remains out of reach for most entrepreneurs attempting to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

The global connectivity ecosystem remains fragmented and, generally speaking, global management of a cellular-connected fleet is prohibitively difficult. Network operators have a history of geographic fragmentation, stemming from deep roots in spectrum licensing.

This bleeds into the connectivity procurement experience, where dozens of local contracts can be required to get an idea off the ground – each with a healthy minimum spend commitment. Compare this to the ease of reaching global customers through Apple’s App Store, or deploying a global cloud service using Microsoft Azure.

Just as it is online and in the mobile space, in IoT there will be no such thing as a regional application, and the connectivity industry will be forced to embrace this reality.

IoT developers: carpe potestatem. It’s an amazing time to be creative. Perhaps, like me, you kick yourself for missing out on the PC, web or mobile wave – ‘on-demand taxis!? I could’ve thought of that!’ – well, now is your chance. Identify an inefficiency in our relationship to the physical world and get ready to sharpen your C++ skills (for better or worse, still the predominant language of IoT devices).

Forget smart toasters, the real IoT opportunity is right outside your door.

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A detailed perspective on an innovative potential which can circulate beyond anything imaginable.

Historically, the idea of electric bulbs, automobiles and mobile phones took a while to catch on and even accepted. Not completely understood, great ideas are often a case to be dismissed before mass adoption.

Likewise, the birth of the Internet persisted in being much of a curiosity in the 1990s. By and by, the Internet changed the ways which business was conducted to become a universal business tool in modern times.

As the forefront of technology has evolved from the era of the Internet of Information to the Internet of Value, technological corporations heavily reliant and built on the Internet have kept watch for opportunities towards blockchain.

The latest newcomer, Facebook, has publicly disclosed Project Libra, a stable coin-based payment network where digital money is designed for use through its social network.

Also Read: 3 of your most important assets may soon have tokenised counterparts in the Blockchain

With blockchain reimagined as an end-to-end solution across industries, the growth of research and adoption in blockchain has sprawled over a rather short period.

The blockchain start-up ecosystem comprises of a diverse crowd, from payments to real estate to private markets, preparing future decades for cutting-edge service innovation.

Yet, across the globe, there remains the concern of diversity in advancements of blockchain and digital assets.

What contributes to the asymmetric blockchain advancements?

“Regulatory clarity is important,” Managing Director of the blockchain solutions firm Hashstacs Inc, Jay Ng, was quoted at a recent Digital Asset Working Group (DAWG) forum in Singapore.

The confidence in tokenised securities is mostly dependent on the underlying robust governance and assurance at national levels. As we transition from a world often accustomed to management, we find that regulatory framework planning in specific geographies advances more quickly than others.

As a means to drive the digital economy to participate in blockchain applications for financial services, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) offered US$225 million to develop Fintech projects.

Down south in Australia, advocacy groups such as Blockchain Association of Australia and Australian Digital Commerce Association champion next-stage DLT adoption.

In Mark Carney’s Mansion Speech of 2016, the governor of the Bank of England also emphasised the benefits of blockchain, aspiring them to be among the highest priorities.

Is regulation the only blocking point to industry application?

“No, it’s us (as humans) doing the adoption,” alluded Alex Medana, CEO of FinFabrik, on a panel of the DAWG APAC Readout in May 2019.

As technological advancement outpaces adoption, (studied in an animated film “Slope of the Curve” ) social factors can stall digital transformation.

Also Read: This blockchain platform helps brands implement CSR activities efficiently, thereby getting more visibility

One of the critical influences holding back blockchain implementation is the right way that traditionalists view it as nascent.

Jay agreed, who came from an investment and trading background, noting that the organisational culture is central to the various levels of willingness and adaptability on blockchain institutional adoption.

While regulatory support undoubtedly plays a role in encouraging DLT innovation further within certain areas, Facebook faces a wave of immense pressure for its recent cryptocurrency announcements.

With a troubled past of privacy scandals and data control concerns, unprecedented scrutiny from regulators weighs down on the tech giant. As all eyes of the media are focused on Zuckerberg, Facebook must navigate the crypto field carefully.

With the greater goal of financial inclusion, can we even out the benefits of blockchain across the globe?

It is still early days for blockchain.

“Of course financial inclusion also needs digital connectivity…making the dream of paperless, cashless, presence-less, and yet safe and secure, transactions possible for all,” addressed the Prime Minister in a keynote speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival on 14 November 2018.

Ironically, where corporations such as Facebook and Hashstacs make agile movements toward progress and technological frontiers, society at large inches a step closer in smoothening inequalities of technological merits across developed and emerging economies.

In short, the holy grail is slowly approaching.

Facebook has conquered Whatsapp, Instagram and now…on its way to Libra. In its extension towards blockchain, Facebook looks to facilitate banking the unbanked.

The tamper-proof record of transactions will reach across 1.7 billion people universally who lack access to the banking system. To further foster financial inclusion, emerging technologies such as the STACS Blockchain reduce the market asymmetry in participation.

Through in-house developments, the advent of multi-jurisdictional exchanges drives regional participation for capital raisers and issuers. Fundamentally, the amassed cases of technological emergence could potentially draw the market closer toward an equilibrium state.

Collaboration towards greater progress

Collaboration fuels progress.

So, what can we do to sustain the practice of digital assets?

Creating a tech-focused future with social impact needs an agreement of industry standards, across complex business and technology decisions. According to Deloitte’s 2018 Global Blockchain Survey, 45 per cent responded positively to join a consortium.

As blockchain consortia continue to gain traction, market participants including exchanges, banks, depositories, asset managers and funds are welcome to be a part of the growing ecosystems – such as in the case of STACS’s.

A tech-focused future with social impact

The path ahead could be shaped as an inspiring one.

Also Read: Trust : an essential component in the success of investment oriented blockchain projects

With the capability to be adaptive and agile, digital ledgers enable the exchange of value within and across industries.

Be it at the level of transactional value, or a company’s valuation, we see blockchain’s potential to realise and circulate new amount beyond anything imaginable.

Read the latest market insights here at LinkedIn and Journal, while following Isabelle on LinkedIn and Twitter in her journey within the blockchain and fin-tech industry.

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