Novelship is looking to quickly expand to additional markets outside of Singapore, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia

Novelship, a limited-edition sneaker and streetwear online marketplace in Singapore, has secured US$2.05 million in funding, led by Global Founders Capital (GFC).

With this round, the startup’s total funding raised to date has touched US$2.3 million from a host of angel investors and organisations. The partnership with GFC marks its first collaboration with an institutional investor.

Novelship is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers specialising in limited-edition sneakers and streetwear from popular brands including Nike, Air Jordan, Yeezy, and Supreme. The startup professionally authenticates every product bought and sold on its online platform and guarantees legitimacy in the marketplace.

The firm says since launch in October 2018, over 1,500 limited edition sneakers and luxury streetwear products have been transacted on Novelship by users located mainly in the APAC region.

The company is looking to quickly expand to additional markets outside of Singapore, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

Also Read: Our hyper-local approach sets us apart from competitors: Amit Saberwal of RedDoorz

“Over the past six months, we’ve seen a steady increase in demand across the region for luxury, limited-release sneakers and streetwear products. With the additional capital from GFC, we will fuel our rapid expansion into key, high-growth markets and become a leader across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Novelship CEO and Co-founder Richard Xia.

GFC is an international seed-to-lifecycle venture capital firm founded by Oliver Samwer, Co-founder of Berlin-based Rocket Internet. It has invested in numerous, high-profile startups including Slack, Facebook, Traveloka, and Lazada.

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Fail often, so you can succeed sooner

Some statistics say that over 90% of startups fail within the first five years. Some put this number at 70% over two years. However, I know for sure that my startup 100% failed. I created an app that allowed backpackers to connect with each other and chat. It was designed to help solo travelers find other solo travelers and locals around the world. However, it did not go well with travelers or anyone for that matter. It was a big blow to my ego but — what do you know? — there were lessons to be learned.

When I told my colleagues and friends that I was quitting my business, everyone asked me why that was the case. I find the phrasing of this question wrong. They should instead ask me what this failure taught me. One belief that got me through all that was that in failure too lies success. So I sat down multiple times and looked back at my journey to find out what I did wrong.

Instead of giving up, I started researching about other startup failures. I read stories about Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn. It was incredible to know how they too struggled immensely in the beginning and rose back from their failures. I found valuable lessons from the Paolo MacCallum, CEO of NamoBOT, a name generating tool. The founder, after messing up several startups, used all the knowledge from previous experiences to bounce back with a new idea.

Here is what I had to learn from these individuals and my own experience:

1. Have Enough Capital

Apparently, I am not the only one who did not have enough money to successfully start a business. According to an analysis by CB Insights, the second biggest reason for startups to fail was running out of cash. Your finances should be well figured out before going into business.

When I first came up with my startup idea, I did not think my finances through. Fundamentally, I was my own sponsor from the very beginning. I thought the savings I had would be enough to launch my startup and they were. However, a few months down the road I was struggling with money.

Owing to the lack of cash, there was only one thing left for me to do, and that was to compromise on the most essential things. I had to lay off two people from my already small team. It was super hard to pay the rent for the workspace.

MacCallum suggested that I should have arranged money for at least a year of operations. There are avenues for startups to find money thanks to lending organizations and crowdfunding. This is how he got his funding for his startup.

Also read: What is venture debt financing? How can startups use it to their advantage?

2. Keep it Cheap, and Offer Discounts

It is super hard to make any profits during the first few months of any business. Same was the case for me. However, I wanted to make money, so I kept the prices at a level that would make me a profit faster. Consumers, on the other hand, are always looking for the cheapest stuff.

High prices are not really helpful when you are a startup, especially in a saturated industry. What I needed to do instead was offer my service at cheaper rates and give out coupons. Introductory discounts can help bring in more customers. I realize that when it was too late.

According to MacCallum, instead of worrying about making profits, I should have been more concerned about getting the word out there and just sell.

3. Not Every Advice is the Right Advice

When it comes to startups, many people think they are experts. They throw a few numbers at you, cite some successful examples and bam, they are experts. On the contrary, what my experience taught me is that you need to filter out all those advices and recommendations. It is crucial to consult people and pick their brains but carrying it out is on you.

Think carefully before you change your mind because someone said something. In the end, it is equally important to listen to your gut. After all, startups are all about defying the odds. If you are just going to play safe, it is not going to cut it.

4. You Cannot Do Everything on Your Own

At first, my startup was a one-man team. I was my finance guy. I was the developer. I was the tester. I was the business developer. I was the one who picked the lunch. Needless to say, it was too much to take on. This is directly related to the fact that I had little money. I was afraid to hire anyone because I simply could not afford it. I did not seek much help from my friends either.

When you want to build something big, you need a lot of hands. I am sure Taj Mahal was not built by one person. Unlike my startup, Taj Mahal to this day gets millions of visitors. The problem was that I took on tasks that I was not even great at. That was a big mistake.

When meeting potential investors, it was me, myself and I. Paolo MacCallum, said that instead of doing it all on your own, there should have been someone with more experience and a knack for communication to better explain the product. And I realized that he was right since it did not work out great for me as I had too much on my plate.

Also read: Why failing your startup does not mean you are a failure

5. Accept When Your Startup is Failing

It takes courage to accept failure and I, for one, lacked that courage. For the longest time ever, I was not even convinced that my startup is just not picking up. This had a domino effect, and things only got worse from there. Clients dropped out, money stopped flowing in, and there was a serious dearth of good ideas.

It took me some time to realize that things are not working out. But when it did occur to me, it got easier to wrap things up and move on to the next great adventure. (What did you think? I was going to give up?).

According to Herman Melville:

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

Staying optimistic is one thing, and staying away from reality is another. The latter just leads you to a downward spiral. Be realistic enough to know when the ship is sinking and obviously, get out of it.

Conclusion

The fact is that startups do fail all around the world. Many times it is because of your own mistakes, while other times it is circumstances that are beyond your control. Regardless, one should never give up and look back to learn valuable lessons. You only learn from experience and the things you learn yourself from failure stay with you for life. Once you know enough, there is no one stopping you from finally succeeding.

Someone has said it right:

The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.”

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This article was first published on e27, on November 28, 2018.

e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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Med247 manages to secure its seed funding round prior to its business launch

Med247, an offline-to-online (O2O) healthtech startup that facilitates app-based post-treatment after offline visit to its clinic in Vietnam, announces an undisclosed amount of investment from KK Fund, a venture capital (VC) firm that mainly invests in seed-stage internet and mobile startups in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Joining KK Fund is a former senior executive in Singapore’s Parkway Healthcare Group, Dr Goh Jin Hian.

Med247 co-founder Tuan Truong explained to e27 that the funding will be used to focus on launching Med247’s physical clinics, and further develop its clinics’ management platform.

It also plans to scale up to more locations to widen users reach.

Koichi Saito, KK Fund’s founding partner stated that the investment in Med247 is a “no brainer.”

“Med247 is one of the very few pre-launched startups KK Fund has invested in. I was amazed by the business concept and the founders involved, especially because one of the co-founders, Dr Phong, is a practising doctor,” said Saito.

Also Read: Hanoi TOP100 winner shows the best Vietnam has to offer

“The founder also got a doctor network and a following of more than 16,000 young parents that will greatly contribute to the growth of Med247,” Saito noted.

Med247 Clinics was founded by Tuan Truong with Bobby Liu and Dr Phong, in hopes to help improving healthcare delivery in fast-growing Vietnam.

Commenting on the investment, Truong said that KK Fund shared Med247 vision.

“KK Fund’s deep understanding of the Japanese healthcare system is a huge plus, and along with Dr Goh’s experience in leading Parkway’s primary care clinics and hospitals, we have significant advantages when scaling Med247,” he emphasised.

Healthcare in Vietnam

According to KPMG, Vietnam’s healthcare spending is estimated to increase from US$16.1 Billion in 2017 to almost US$20 Billion in 2020. Even with the numbers telling so, according to a 2016 report by the World Bank, Vietnam has only 72 doctors per 100,000 citizens, compared to Singapore’s 230.

About 80 per cent of Vietnam’s primary care clinics are situated in homes and waiting time for medical consultation at hospitals is nearly an hour at best, which leaves the country in dire need of basic healthcare delivery.

At the other hand, Vietnam is also experiencing four times increase of per capita GDP in 10 years, making the foray into healthtech even more timely for the startups.

Also Read: A sneak peek into healthtech startups operating in Vietnam

“The medical practice in Vietnam follows the traditional model where it’s doctor and hospital-centric. We want to reimagine healthcare whereby it becomes patient-centric, empowering our patients with our technology platform, helping them to always be connected with our medical professionals,” Truong explained.

Med247 clinics have four specialities offered under one roof, with each clinic specially designed to be “spacious, comfortable, and efficient”. It also ensures that it is insurance companies-compliant on the backend.

Med247 also has an app available for patients to make appointments on-site which help cut down waiting time, facilitate online consultation, medical records and lab results access, and later on, facilitate e-prescriptions, all on the app.

When being asked about what makes Med247 ahead of its competition, Truong explained that Med247 has a strong clinic management system optimised with best practices for treatments.

“Having an experienced doctor as a co-founder, we are able to build the SOP, or Standard Operating Procedures, that put us ahead of the game and enhance our ability to scale. We focus on both online to offline and offline to online conversions at the early stages in order to create a seamless experience for our customers,” said Truong.

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Image Credit: Med247

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The Philippines may still need to catch up in creating a startup ecosystem that truly flourishes, but in the health sector, these names are ready to take part in changing that

Often being compared with Indonesia due to its similar geographical condition and population, the Philippines are where all eyes are looking at now. It stores many potentials, but somehow it has not lived up to the expectation of producing startups in the scale of Indonesia’s unicorns.

According to a report released by e27, active startups in the Philippines only raised a combined value of US$304 million in 2018, compared to Indonesia’s staggering US$4.07 billion worth of deals overall. In the Philippines, startups that progress well are those in the fintech, gaming, and media advertising sectors.

So what about healthtech, with the country tries to catch up by facilitating more players this year?

A recent article published by Dymon Asia Ventures highlighted how in healthcare, traditional players are investing in real-estate based plays (clinics, hospitals) rather than in technology. However, these nine names are here to change that.

Medifi

Medifi is a cloud-based web app that allows remote doctor and patient consultation through its set of telehealth features, such as video conferencing, chat messaging, a personal medical profile and journal, and medical image management.

Medifi, led by Freddy Gonzalez as the CEO, aims to make pre-visit evaluation and post-treatment follow-ups more convenient. Medifi therefore wants to minimise unnecessary clinic visits by enabling users to consult using telemedicine technology.

With Medifi, patients can have access to video consultations, messaging, medical imaging, and a personal health profile at home.

Also Read: Natali Ardianto on his newfound passion for the healthtech sector

The startup also partners with e-pharma startup MedGrocer to allow patients to fill digital prescriptions with a click or tap.

Konsulta.MD

KonsultaMD is a 24/7 health hotline service that is managed by trained, experienced, and licensed doctors providing a medical assessment. KonsultaMD offers health and wellness counselling, ambulance referrals, and professional medical advice under one platform.

In 2017, KonsultaMD joined forces with several other local healthtech providers such as MedGrocer and Lifeline that are accessible through both subscription and hotline number.

MariaHealth

Although it leans more towards insurtech, MariaHealth definitely deserves a mention in this list. Focussing on providing accessible healthcare for all, MariaHealth was started in 2015 to raise the number of Filipinos with healthcare that accounted for only four per cent at that time.

MariaHealth aimed to simplify of the process of getting information from providers by allowing users to compare what the top healthcare brands, primary care clinics, and ambulatory service providers have to offer –and shop right after.

Back in May, MariaHealth received seed investment from tryb Group alongside Gobi Partners, Wavemaker, Hustle Fund, and Grand Metro Holdings. The seed round was continued from January when Gobi Partners invested with Core Capital JV in the company.

Stash.PH

Stash prides itself on the proprietary dashboard (SaaS) that it builds, aimed at connecting healthcare professionals with customers. Stash said that its primary focus is to work on claims management platform for health insurance companies and doctors in the Philippines.

Stash replaces paper-pushing with digital documentation that it believes can effectively prevent fraud and abuse along the way. It does so by linking patients, doctors, and health maintenance organisations under its platform. It leverages on its “expertise in information technology and domain knowledge in healthcare,” cutting through complicated systems that make healthcare administration difficult.

Arooga Health

Arooga Health is a tech-based emotional and mental healthcare platform that matches employees with the appropriate care providers based on their objective of seeking help, financial budget, available schedule, and preferred medium of virtual interaction.

Targeting employees, Arooga campaigns the importance of mental health to avoid unnecessary medical expenses. By addressing mental health concerns, Arooga believes it could help boost employees’ overall work productivity, as well as help care providers get new customers.

Also Read: Prevention is better than cure, and these 2 healthtech startups use AI to ensure a healthier you

Arooga Health was founded by Dominique De Leon and Niña Samantha Sanchez.

As learned on their site, Arooga Health is currently in the development stage of Andrea, an AI-guided solution for employees to learn more about mental health 24/7, get personalised wellness modules, and schedule a consultation to a licensed care provider.

MedCheck

MedCheck is a clinical data analytics company that specialises in non-communicable disease.
It means MedCheck provides physicians and data contributors with cloud-based EMR software to study trends of diseases and treatments, and share these statistics with healthcare providers to help improve treatment methods and patient outcomes.

Under WellBridge Health, an FDA-licensed drug delivery service, MedGrocer runs its ordering and delivery service arm.

MedGrocer

MedGrocer‘s technology platform optimises the medicine purchase experience by letting users upload their prescriptions, do a search, and communicate directly with the available pharmacist. Then the pharmacist will text to verify users’ order, request details, and provide advice on how to manage the medicines, right before it is being delivered.

MedGrocer also offers a corporate-service-type of delivery, in which corporations can have vaccinations with online signups, integrated communications, and on-site administration. It also builds integrated analytics, patient care programmes, and company clinic augmentation.

Aide

Aide allows users to book a home appointment with doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and a masseuse as well as medical technicians.

In 2017, Paolo and Pamela Bugayong-Donato, Patricia Bugayong-Reyes and her brother Patrick introduced Aide, a home visit booking app for professional health care services.

Aide also offers appointment booking for veterinarian service.

With Aide, a regular check-up or laboratory test can be done at home in the patient’s most convenient state.

Also Read: Beyond the hospital: Challenges and opportunities in Indonesian healthtech scene

Aide raised funding from Ayala Healthcare Holdings (AC Health) in October 2018, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Philippines-based Ayala Corporation, a conglomerate with multiple business interests in real estate, banking, and telecom.

Zennya

Zennya’s approach is to let users take control of their health by choosing services through a mobile app, and order the services they need on their time and schedule.

Zennya uses machine learning system that is combined with trained and continuously assessed care providers through its mobile professional education platform. Using Zennya, healthcare providers can put treatment notes and diagnostics data to be captured through providers’ mobile exam room system. It will also be reviewed by automated expert systems.

Currently, Zennya said that it is developing a personalised mobile digital health network that connects users to a range of health and wellness services, laboratories, and diagnostic services. Its system will integrate data from mobile-connected diagnostics devices and wearables to provide a 360-degree view of users’ vital health and wellness information.

Some startups mentioned above, such as Arooga Health and MedCheck, offer a different aspect of healthtech that is both uncommon and necessary. With the sector set on innovation and gradual progress, healthtech is looking at a bright future in the country –opening doors for the first unicorn the country could ever see.

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Image Credit: jesse orrico on Unsplash

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With digital advancement comes advancement in email marketing tools for great results in conversion rates

Email marketing is the old that remains trendy. Today, both new and old businesses stand a greater chance of increasing your blog traffic, using email marketing than ever before.

The presence and seeming dominance of social media makes email marketing look obsolete. It is a common assumption that people no longer read emails; nothing is further than the truth as a lot of people are addicted to their emails.

With digital advancement comes advancement in email marketing tools. The key is to understand what works and how it works.

According to Email Marketing Stats, [first name] emails with a  subject line are 26 per cent more likely to be opened while automated emails generate 320 per cent more revenue than non-automated emails. Email marketing works and would continue to work; below are five infallible email marketing tips your start-up needs.

1. Clarify your email marketing objectives

The first step to success in any field or pursuit is to set clear cut objectives. Even the best of business tools need to be aimed properly if they are to lead to any business accomplishment.

Email marketing can be adapted to meet a variety of business goals. Whether it is to keep your existing customers informed about progress on recurring inquiries, new offers, and updates on your business or just keeping in touch, email marketing works just fine.

Also Read: An effective email gives a distinct reminder of your brand, delivers the intended message, and compels you to click

It can also be adapted to nurture and convert new leads or all of the above. But the key to making the most of any business advertising tool is to clarify your objectives.

2. Create excellent email newsletters

An email newsletter allows you to send updates, news, tips, promotional offers and sales copies about your product to clients – existing and prospective. Usually sent at regular intervals, these newsletters help your business retain customers.

Not every visitor to your website or social media pages would stay. A couple of them might never even come across your business again, but if you can get them hooked on to your newsletter, you increase your chances of converting and retaining them.

Like every other business tool, creating an email newsletter requires a process flow. The logical first step is to select your preferred email marketing provider, build an email list, adjust some settings and start pushing out mails.

Set the ball rolling with a welcome message that speaks well of your business. The success of your entire email marketing is hinged on how effective your newsletters are.

3. Craft a compelling welcome message

First impressions might not be last impressions, but the experience from a first time can be the thing that converts a lead to not just a paying client but an unpaid brand ambassador.

‘Bury them as they arrive’ with your very compelling welcome message. Welcome messages have the highest average open rate, so you want to make it count.

However, people get into your mailing list, make sure you create a welcome experience for them. Hire a professional content creator if you need to do.

But make sure you are always leaving a lasting impression. This has the power to determine who unsubscribes from your list and who becomes eager to read every mail you send.

4. Display expertise focus on educating

Every reader is looking to learn. If not, why take the pain to read anything. Every reader expects to learn something new or be reminded of something they already know in a way that makes it an experience.

There are a lot of things competing for your clients’ time and attention. If they open your mail, it is because they want to hear what you have to say.

Also Read: 7 ways to supercharge your startup’s email marketing campaign

What you have to say has to be both relevant and educating. Reading is for learning. Don’t make every mail sent solely about your product or service. If you teach them long enough, they will volunteer their school fees.

Compose your words carefully. You want to showcase your business as an authority in your chosen industry. Understand the problem you are trying to solve and always communicate your solution in the best way possible.

The chances are that some people don’t know what they want until someone tells. Make your emails educational, whether you are selling or not. When people know what your product or service does, it helps them figure out how your product helps them and in what quantity.

5. Be responsive and offer discounts

Everyone loves a giveaway; discounts inspire sales.

You must understand just how important your email marketing effort is. You must run it as a fully functional business process.

Every client inquiry and request must be attended to and promptly so.

Also Read: 5 steps to write an appealing first email to a potential client

Don’t wait for your clients to request for a discount before you give one. Treat your online customers as well as you would treat your physical clients. Such giveaways and discounts must be well planned and executed.

Email marketing remains a viable marketing option, with these tips in mind you are better positioned to succeed at it whether you are an old business or starting your business.

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Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Image Credit: Damian Zaleski

 

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