Mark Britt, co-founder and CEO of Malaysia-based online streaming company iflix has officially stepped down from his position after more than five years with the company. Marc Barnett, iflix’s managing director will take over the role, as reported by Marketing Interactive.

“A huge congratulations to him on his new appointment – a recognition of the massive contribution he has made over the past three years,” Britt said about Barnett, who now assumes overall responsibility of the business.

Britt added that he will be joining the board as executive director. He also will spend more time with his family following his decision, as stated in his LinkedIn post.

Iflix’s spokesperson also shared that Britt will lead iflix’s advertising business with a particular focus on Indonesia as executive director. He will also spend time between iflix’s key markets and Australia.

Also Read: Streaming platform iflix announces funding round, partnership with Indonesia’s MNC

Before running iflix, Britt worked at Nine Entertainment’s digital arm Mi9 as CEO. During his time there, he was responsible for its SVOD investments and portfolio of startup ventures.

Meanwhile, Barnett just got promoted to be managing director just in November from his position as COO. He first joined the company in 2016 as Chief of Staff.

Before that, he was director at The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, and COO of Bohemia group.

The company also bid farewell to its Malaysia’s Head of Marketing this year. Awin Roslin left for Astro in September.

It also welcomed Kevin Liu as Chief Technology Office for iflix Advertising to spearhead the programmatic strategy.

Also Read: iflix gets funding from Japanese entertainment giant Yoshimoto Kogyo, establishes JV

In July, the Kuala Lumpur-headquartered company announced the closing of a new round of investment led by global asset manager Fidelity International, with participation from existing backers Catcha Group, Hearst, Sky, and EMC.

The final size of the round has not been disclosed, but the company said in a statement that the total size is in ‘excess of US$50 million’.

The money from the new round was reportedly used to drive growth ahead of a prospective IPO.

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Image Credit: iflix

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Why tech startups Meracle and Zeend are turning to this programme to help solve common problems in the fundraising space

Among the most vibrant startup ecosystems in the world is Southeast Asia, a region that has established quite a reputation for churning out many promising startups in its folds. Being home to 26,000 startups, 3,000 investors, 13,000 events, and 8,000 jobs in 2018 alone as listed in e27’s media platform, the region is notable for being one of the best places to realize one’s startup dreams.

This, however, does not entail a perfect experience for those who are mounting their startup business plans in the region. By extension, this does not mean that founders are immune from risks.

In fact, there are three particularly overarching problems faced by startup founders in the region, specifically those who are still in their growth stages. These problems affect a slew of areas when it comes to fundraising such as access, credibility, and efficiency.

Founders often suffer from a lack of access to active and relevant investors due to the limitations of their respective networks. This is most apparent to new and young founders who are not yet fully immersed in the startup ecosystem.

As such, founders are often forced to accept funding opportunities that are not tailor fit for their startup needs.

Moreover, founders who have only been in the business for a short period of time have difficulty establishing their credibility to potential funders. This is because their limited experience often translates as uncertainty from the perspective of investors. This leads to a prolonged fundraising process that ultimately hurts the chances that startups have to truly take off.

More than that, founders deal with efficiency problems as a result of using multiple service providers across fragmented processes, with each one trying to get a share of the fees. The lack of visibility and analytics over investor activity and the entire fundraising process also poses problems that render any active attempt towards startup growth completely inefficient.

Startups from Southeast Asia dealing with these problems head on

Meracle Pte Ltd is a Singapore based company that develops and markets digital health technologies to help address suboptimal medicine delivery in chronic diseases. Their product, The Whizz spacer system, improves asthma control by addressing the issues of incorrect technique and low compliance concurrently.

Better asthma control requires addressing both technique and compliance. The Whizz spacer utilises a multipronged approach to provide a comprehensive solution to patients, caregivers and physicians.

Whizz is a spacer utilises advanced technologies to aid asthma patients inhale their medication correctly. This is done by providing immediate feedback via visual indicators that intuitively correct inhalation techniques. The accompanying mobile app stores data that doctors can access and analyse and to treat patients accordingly and confidently. Data collected eventually would allow analysis and studies of asthma patterns and prediction of probable asthma attacks.

In order to help sustain their momentum and give their brilliant product a much-needed boost, Meracle Pte Ltd connected with the e27 Fundraise Programme. Through the fundraise programme’s features, Meracle is granted access to e27’s network of investors, build rapport with the investor community through sustained engagement, and manage the entire fundraising process in a single online platform—effectively curbing the usual obstacles that hamper startup growth.

Joining them in this pursuit is Zeend.com Inc. Based in the Philippines, Zeend.com is an e-commerce platform that digitally transforms traditional business establishments. Local brick-and-mortar businesses, such as groceries, pharmacies, hardwares, and utility & bills payments, can create instant and free website/online store. After signing-up with Zeend platform, traditional businesses can instantly display their products and accept online transactions.

Merchants that sign-up with the Zeend platform will also be connected to specific suppliers/manufacturers in their category as part of the Supply Chain Model. Zeend merchants will have easy access to suppliers in their area and conveniently order online.

“Merchants in the platform will have two types of customers: the first one refers to those from the local area of the establishments who will shop online, and the second one refers to the remittance side. The sender of remittances can choose to directly buy goods for their family and loved ones instead of sending cash. The goods will simply have to be claimed by the recipient in the local store,” said Zeend.com Inc.’s Co-Founder, Rugy de Veyra.

With Zeend’s important brand of innovation, it is imperative that they gain access to potential investors that can contribute wholly to the startup’s growth, enabling them to help more people. Through this, the company is off to greater heights.

e27 Fundraise Programme and its three-pronged approach

There are several solutions out there coming from different facets of society that all do their part in minimising these regional obstacles. What makes the e27 Fundraise Programme particularly unique, however, is its three-pronged approach to solving common problems.

In order to democratise fundraising for startup founders, the e27 Fundraise Programme has come up with three umbrella solutions that accommodate the three pressing challenges in the region’s tech ecosystem. These three umbrella solutions are: increased visibility, sustained engagement, and digitalisation.

Through the programme, startups are empowered to let investors know that they exist. While most young startups find difficulty in carving a name for themselves, the programme—because of e27’s massive network of investors—effectively puts young startups within their radars making fundraising well within the realms of possibility.

The second prong is focused on establishing sustained engagement between startup founders and investors, thereby helping startups build rapport with the investor community. This is achieved by giving startups the platform to show investors their startup growth and progress over time.

Lastly, in a community whose lifeblood is digital innovation, the e27 Fundraise Programme makes use of digitalisation as a way to help startups manage the processes of their fundraising pursuits from end to end, and within a single online platform that they can keep track of over the course of their negotiations.

With this three-pronged approach, startups who sign up for the programme can guarantee better funding opportunities to come their way.

The e27 Fundraise Programme is in partnership with Wholesale Investor, Australasia’s leading venture capital and capital raising platform for sophisticated and accredited investors. For more information on the programme, you may enquire here.

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Aument is developing a solution for the increasing pressures on primary care healthcare resources across Europe which are negatively impacting patient outcomes.

With the use of advanced analytics and intelligence amplification, we provide a venue for primary care physicians to transpose their knowledge onto a cloud-based platform thereby equipping them with cutting-edge AI and machine learning based multitasking capabilities.

Using our innovative approach accompanied by our proprietary algorithms we believe Aument can increase patient diagnostic and assessment efficiency by up to 30 per cent.

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This article was first published on nfinitiv.

Image Credit: Sunyu Kim on Unsplash

The post Podcast: A conversation with Dhruv Mahta, Co-Founder of Aument appeared first on e27.

 

Health, money, and relationships are the top three things that come to mind when we think of new year resolutions. From millennials to Generation X, baby boomers as well as the sandwich generation, the need to manage finances is compelling enough, whether it is for retirement or having sufficient savings for their children’s education and development needs.

Yet, securing one’s own financial future or helping your loved ones be financially ready has been a prevalent concern, especially with the lack of confidence consumers have towards the financial industry and the perceived complexity of financial planning.

In a move to enable people to plan their future with ease and confidence through better financial decisions, fintech startup BetterTradeOff (BTO) is tapping on advanced analytics and statistics to guide our financial choices. Their web-based tool called ‘Up’ leverages real-time data and analytics to provide consumers with a detailed analysis of their financial needs and goals, and elements impacting their financial situation.

Founded by Laurent Bertrand, with Up he aims to reshape the way financial planning is viewed and allow anyone, regardless of financial literacy or income level, to manage their finances and plan their future with trust and confidence in the process. Along with a wealth of international experience in transforming the financial services and technology industries, Bertrand is an MBA from INSEAD and also holds a degree in Aerospace.

Also Read: Swiss fintech incubator F10 enters Singapore, soon to kick off accelerator programme

e27 spoke to him just in time for my new year’s financial goal planning.

What’s your story?

I’ve spent the past four years turning a passion project into a growing business and an innovative company determined to transform the way people make financial decisions. It’s a topic I know well, and am deeply interested in, as the former Head of Data and Analytics at UBS Wealth Management (APAC).

What motivated you to start this?

I co-founded it with BTO Chairman Robert Lonsdorfer with the belief that we could leverage technology, to provide people with a means of making better decisions regarding their financial future. Making it possible for anyone, regardless of their financial literacy or status, to build a plan for achieving their dreams and goals.

It started as a sort of challenge to ourselves to see if it could actually be done and has now culminated in the launch of Up – our direct-to-consumer solution – a tool that allows people to build their own financial plan online in as little as 15 minutes.

What drives you to do this every single day?

Making it possible for people to not only achieve their dreams but inspiring them to dream bigger, by showing them what’s possible when they have the information and tools they need to make better financial decisions.

What were your initial challenges?

As industry insiders, we knew that bringing financial planning online in an easy yet holistic manner would be challenging. What was difficult was not knowing if and when we would crack the code to make it work with such a broad range of topics to be covered. We found many ways that didn’t work, but to paraphrase Thomas Edison– once feasibility was proven, we still needed to demonstrate that the solution provided the kind of experience end-users expect. Three years before considering commercialisation is a long time, but it also provided a strong technological foundation.

Also Read: Strengthening its expansion into fintech, Grab introduces GrabPay Card

How is financial planning evolving in the light of fintech?

Financial planning is nothing new and many financial institutions have tried to digitalise the experience to better understand and serve their clients. Similar to payment and robo-advisory before, fintech services such as BTO have been able to leverage technology to address pain points with existing industry practice.

What is unique with our solution is the ability to bring an inherently complex subject in a simple, interactive and educational manner that can help everyone make better decisions. We designed our solution so it incorporates all the rules, taxes, statistics for different countries easily to allow for global deployment. We believe that solutions such as BTO will empower advisors and clients alike to secure their financial future and achieve their dreams.

How do you manage your team?

As the saying goes, there’s no I in the team. From the very beginning, we discussed what kind of culture we wanted for our company: open, supportive, creative, customer-obsessed and outcome-oriented. We apply such principles not only internally but also with our external partners and our clients. The result (hopefully) is an environment where it is easy to work together while retaining the highest level of professionalism. While the company continues to evolve and grow, we make sure that we continue living these values on a day-by-day basis.

Also Read: Meet the 18 original founders of Alibaba

What was your funding strategy?

When we embarked on this journey, we knew it would be a difficult and long one with possibly (and it proved to be rather prescient) a very long time before going to market and monetisation. We decided to focus our resources internally on what was critical (to retain the IP) and externalise everything that others could do better and faster.

Our funding strategy was aligned accordingly, relying on enlightened angels and onboarding an institutional investor who could understand the value (in short, an initial client). Having deployed our solution multiple times in four countries and demonstrated our ability to scale quickly, we are preparing the next rounds with institutional investors who can help us accelerate and establish our solution as the standard of the market where our clients operate.

What are the key fintech trends in 2020?

There is a clear trend that should continue in 2020 to push for more pure digital players with digital licenses becoming available in banking, asset management, and insurance. Without the burden of legacy systems, fintech should enable further customer-friendly solutions. That said, we believe that beyond convenience and cost, providing a differentiated customer experience with seamless online-offline experience will become even more important.

The increased visibility of digital financial planning as a means to deliver consistent, customer-centric advice will grow even more in 2020. While fintech will continue to lower the cost to serve, allowing for greater inclusion and untapped revenue, we have seen strong interest from many players (traditional and purely digital) to differentiate themselves and avoid a race to the bottom.

What advice would you give aspiring founders?

Build the strongest team starting with the co-founders and make sure that you have industry insiders, especially with FinTech were regulatory considerations are critical to operating. Even with a well-identified problem to solve and a clear market, finding the right business model can take time and it will boil down to the ability of your team to deliver.

When working with large institutions, ensure that you jointly define and agree on the specific use cases you want to co-create/work on. It is time well spent to build relationships, focus effort and ultimately ensure a successful outcome.

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Image credit: BetterTradeOff

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Not many businesses prioritise cybersecurity, even as cyber attacks cost companies around US$200,000 (each) on average. One study by Accenture found that only 14 per cent of small businesses are ready to address cyber threats.

Despite the low rate of cybersecurity preparedness among businesses at present, it’s worth noting that things have changed significantly compared to the situation in the past decade.

In today’s highly connected environment, it’s virtually impossible to separate cybersecurity from business strategy. Securing computers, networks, and cyber resources is already an inevitable part of crafting a sensible strategy for doing business.

The World Economic Forum considers cybersecurity as the top concern for CEOs around the world as data breaches don’t only lead to reputation damage. They have a direct effect on the finances of a business.

The 14 per cent that prepares for cyber threats have a good grasp of what needs to be done. They adopt not only basic protection but also implement more advanced and targeted solutions in order to anticipate more aggressive attacks.

Automated security systems enable startups and small businesses to continue focusing on their businesses without needing to implement complicated methods and learn all of the technicalities of cybersecurity. Knowing and doing the following essential strategies is already a significant stride in fending off cyber threats.

Also Read: Meet the 10 cybersecurity startups graduating from ICE71 Accelerate programme

Intelligent solutions

At the workplace, having antivirus or malware defence tools installed is not as simple as it sounds. First, you need to make sure that you are getting the best option available, something that perfectly suits your needs. Generally, it’s not enough to rely on freeware security tools, let alone free software from dubious sources.

Free solutions may be great for baseline protection, but they don’t do anything beyond it. They can effectively detect, quarantine, and remove malware, but that’s all they are designed to do.

Cyber threats are not limited to malware transmitted through downloads, file transfers, or email attachments. They can also take other forms such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, DoS and DDoS, eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, phishing, and social engineering.

There’s a reason why third-party security software and services still sell in the presence of free tools. For one, they offer functions and features that address threats other than traditional malware. They also offer services that address specific critical needs of businesses.

For startups, for example, targeted solutions such as automated penetration testing can significantly increase security especially for those that process a lot of data. Other security solutions that can be included in your arsenal are ransomware detection and prevention, password management, weblink scanning and tagging (for safer web browsing), and a more advanced firewall.

Also Read: Goldman Sachs invests US$147M in cybersecurity startup Acronis, gearing up for acquisitions

Educating users about cybersecurity

People are arguably the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. Antiviruses or malware scanners can work ceaselessly to monitor attacks and prevent them in real-time. They do everything wirelessly and automatically. They may have instances of false negatives or failures in detection, but overall they get the job done efficiently.

People, on the other hand, are prone to deception, especially those who are new to the concept of cybersecurity. It’s not extremely difficult to make phishing schemes work. Some may even be convinced to temporarily shut down their malware defences to allow the installation of a supposedly harmless application.

The solution to this problem is to educate everyone in the business organisation about cyber threats and prevention strategies. It’s important to teach managers and employees about various forms of cyberattacks, especially those that involve social engineering. It is advisable to develop the ability to perceive possible phishing attacks, for example.

There should be clear cybersecurity guidelines, protocols, and procedures in the office or workplace, and these should be clearly conveyed to everyone. It may also be necessary to compel everyone to use stronger and different passwords for different accounts and devices.

Also Read: Imbalance between work and personal life is a cybersecurity issue

Data encryption

Stolen data may only be considered harmful if it becomes useful to the party stealing it.

Encryption as a cybersecurity strategy is done not only on files stored in the hard drive. It’s something that also needs to be implemented on data exchanged between a client device and a server, saved passwords, and inputs to online forms, as well as files stored on the cloud.

There are many tools that can be used for encryption. On Windows, there’s the popular BitLocker. On Mac, there’s a built-in solution that involves the conversion of files or folders into a disk image, or you can use FileVault. To encrypt data exchanged between a client device/app and server, the solution is to use https or SSL encryption.

Meanwhile, to help employees avoid data sniffing or other similar attacks, it is recommended that they use VPNs. When it comes to data stored in the cloud, most cloud service providers have integrated encryption tools. If you use a cloud service that does not provide this function, it’s better to switch to a different provider.

Encryption takes time and computing resources. Hence, it’s impractical to do it for all files. It makes sense to choose specific types of files such as business plans, project files, financial records, and confidential documents. This is something for the management to decide upon.

Also Read: Cybersecurity in the age of information warfare and IoT

Multi-factor authentication

Another simple but highly effective cybersecurity strategy for startups and even for established businesses is the use of multi-factor authentication or at least two-factor authentication. For the uninitiated, this means the addition of another requirement besides the username and password when logging in to an account.

It could be a code sent to a mobile number or email address, a biometric scan, or a physical device inserted into the USB or some other port in a device.

Multi-factor authentication ensures that even if cybercriminals successfully steal sets of usernames and passwords, they will still be denied access when they use the stolen login credentials. Just make sure that you don’t end up locking yourself out of your accounts because you lost the phone number (SIM card) or email address you use in setting up your 2FA or multi-factor authentication.

Update all software

Lastly, it’s a must to keep all of your applications and operating systems updated. Updates exist not only to add new features to software or OS. Often, they carry security patches to address vulnerabilities that may be exploited by emerging threats.

They are also released to address stability issues. Updates may raise bandwidth consumption, but it’s a small price to pay in exchange for a more secure and stable device or software.

Also Read: Cybersecurity in the age of information warfare and IoT

Takeaway

The threats startups face are not different from what larger and more established companies. After all, cyberattacks generally don’t discriminate. They focus on vulnerable entities—those that don’t have adequate protection installed and people who happen to be clueless about the different forms of attacks and strategies to counter them.

Except for cybercriminals specifically paid to attack specific entities, hackers and cyber attackers target companies not because they expect to get something highly valuable, but mainly because their initial random attacks were able to penetrate.

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