Month: December 2019

Hong Kong’s TravelFlan raises US$7M in Series A – Press Release

TravelFlan, a Hong Kong-based travel and lifestyle AI digital solution provider, today announced a US$7 million Series A investment led by Sogong PinPoint Kclavis AI Travel Tech Fund (SPK Fund), with the participation of Artesian Capital, Linear Venture, Construction-Radiant Tech Ventures Fund, Hong Kong Government ITVFC Fund, SOSV and its accelerator Chinaccelerator.

“Closing this round will put TravelFlan to a new level of commitment, and to motivate the team to strive more,” said Abel Zhao, CEO and Cofounder of TravelFlan, in a press statement.

“Since we launched our B2B2C-focussed AI digital solutions at the beginning of 2018, we have seen an increasing demand in the region. TravelFlan aims to bring their solutions to a much broader audience and adopt in-depth local strategies to provide more high-quality service to our clients,” he continued.

TravelFlan provides AI chatbot and backend simultaneous auto-update data processor (SADP) services for its clients. Its core solutions include text-based/voice-enabled AI personal concierge, supply chain or inventory management system, big data analytical engine and inventory aggregator/processor.

Currently, the startup is working with industry leaders including China Mobile, Samsung Group, SITA, Hong Kong Airlines and many more to tackle their revenue and customer experience issues.

Travel unicorn Yanolja eyes IPOs for Korea, Singapore units – Maeil Business News Korea

South Korean travel tech unicorn Yanolja is considering to list its local and Singapore business unit over the next two years to gain traction for its global stretch, Maeil Business News Korea reported.

“We are considering listing Yanolja’s subsidiary in Singapore in the overseas market next year or 2021 thanks to the high growth potential in the global market,” said chief executive Lee Su-jin.

“We aim to achieve KRW70 billion (US$60.2 million) in global sales in 2020, more than twice as high as this year’s KRW30 billion.”

In June, the startup raised US$180 million in Series D funding from Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) and Booking Holdings.

Also Read: Chinaccelerator announces 9 startups in the 16th Demo Day, to bridge China to the world

Electric vehicle startup Rivian gets US$1.3B investment from T.Rowe Price, others – Reuters

US-based electric vehicle startup Rivian announced that it has US$1.3 billion funding round led by fund manager T. Rowe Price, Reuters wrote.

It also included the participation of Amazon, Ford Motor, and BlackRock Inc.

Prior to this announcement, Rivian had raised US$2.2 billion from investors (according to investor website PitchBook) and was valued at an estimated US$5 billion to US$7 billion.

Its total valuation in the wake of the latest investment round was not immediately clear.

ByteDance denies rumours of TikTok stake sales to address US pressure – SCMP

Following an earlier report, Chinese tech giant ByteDance denied that it is currently considering to sell a majority stake in TikTok as an option to deal with mounting pressure from the US over national security and privacy concerns, South China Morning Post reported.

A ByteDance spokesperson said there have been no discussions about any partial or full sale of TikTok, calling the rumours “completely meritless.”

The platform has been coming under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators recently. Last month, the US government launched a national security review of ByteDance’s US$1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly.

The US Army also banned the app from government-issued mobile devices this week.

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Some people thrive in a 9-to-5 day job setup while some flourish when they work on their own pace and in their own space. If you belong to the latter category, freelancing can be a lucrative option.

But becoming a successful freelancer is easier said than done. Many professionals jump into the path of becoming a freelancer head first and often get frustrated when success eludes them. 

Working as a freelancer is not always a piece of cake, it demands exceptional will power and self-discipline. In addition to being self-motivated, freelancers also need to strategise to make it work.

If you thought being your boss would be easy, trust us, it’s not. But while all this may feel a bit overwhelming, we have 10 great tips to your rescue. Add a bucketload of hard work and sincerity to these tips and you will enjoy being a freelancer while earning a good sum of money of course. 

Consider this your business enterprise

The first step towards a successful freelancing career is considering it a business. Approach building it as you would any other business. Create short term and long term goals for your business.

This will help create a road path so that you can create set actionable tasks for your business. As you consider yourself a business, look for tasks beyond your paid projects. When you are between projects, utilise the time to market and advertise your business. 

Often new freelancers lose the direction needed to deliver on time and cover all the bases. Hence, list out what services you would be providing, the scope for these services and a practical workflow. 

Grow your network

As you plunge into the market as a freelancer or rather as a business enterprise, make sure you don’t forget about the other major component to your success. Yes, it takes more than a freelancer to become successful, you need clients.

Start building your network even before you leave your day job or finish your course. Your connections may not give you work directly but they may refer you to their contacts. Or in other cases, your past clients may talk about your work to their connections. This is word of mouth advertising and it goes a long way. 

Also read: 5 freelancers share how to thrive in the gig economy

Most of the freelancers work from home, this may feel a little lonesome at times. As humans, we crave social interactions at one point or the other.

Join networking groups with people from your industry, attend workshops or venture out to a coworking space once in a while. Such socialising is great for freelancers growth and you never know, you may strike gold and find more clients at such events. 

Build an online presence

Even when you are between gigs, create tasks for yourself for each day. One of these tasks should be creating a strong online presence. Start with setting up a powerful website, it will be your virtual sales pitch to all the prospective clients.

You need not meet each one of them, your work on your website should do that for you. 

Create professional social media accounts. Stay in touch with your industry experts through these media and build your strong profile in the meantime. This can also be a great platform for networking while working at home. 

Find your niche

Everyone has one field they can specialise and excel in quickly. And we are not talking about skills. For instance, a good graphic designer can prove to be a spectacular logo maker or a content writer can be a mindblowing fictional writer. Therefore, identify your niche and cultivate it into an in-depth service for your clients.

As you find your creative niche, you will discover that you are delivering better to your clients while enjoying the work more. And that’s exactly what you became a freelancer for. A specific specialisation also helps freelancers narrow down their clientele and market their work better.

Set up some smart numbers

Being a freelancer often requires you to be a master of multiple arts. You would not only be building your business, carrying out marketing tasks, maintaining client relationships but taking care of the numbers as well. You cannot just pull out arbitrary numbers out of thin air when sending a quote.

You would be competing with other freelancers as well and hence can’t take the risk of underselling or overselling your rates. 

Test the waters and check out what the competition is charging for similar services. You should also invest in an invoicing tool to keep your number game strong and sorted in the long run. 

Create your unique style

A unique style or flair sets you apart from others. Creating a specialisation with a unique flair will help you stand out in the industry. A unique style is building upon a certain niche.

If your niche is designing logos, then you can make designing certain kinds of a logo your unique style. Once you have refined this style, people looking for such work will prefer your services rather than hiring just any other competitor. 

Know your clients

Your clients can make or break your business enterprise. Don’t consider them as temporary employers. Build and nurture relationships with each of them. Even if you are not hired by them again, they may refer you to others. 

Create a database of all your past and potential clients. You may even need to send out cold emails in between gigs to keep them apprised of your presence in the industry. 

Collect client testimonials

As you set up your online presence with a good website and social media, showcase your client testimonials in addition to your work portfolio. This adds a personal touch and makes your past clients evangelists for your business. 

Also read: Freelancing is a new norm, but it still faces a massive problem

Testimonials also work as referrals, with each of these testimonials, potential leads are motivated to hire you for the project. Some clients may not be too enthusiastic or eager to set aside some time and write reviews for you. You can offer some incentives to get those reviews posted.  

Stay organised

Freelancers often struggle with devils of their own making. You may have left the 9to5 job to enjoy work on your leisure but that does not mean throwing up your schedule into the winds. Set up time structure for your tasks for a good work-life balance. In addition to the time management, keep an organiser with all your deadlines, work deliverables to stay you on top of things. 

Build your brand

Building your business as a freelancer goes beyond a good website and an active social media profile. Write blogs for your website as well as others in the form of guest blogging. Invest a little amount in running some adds for your target demographic on social media pages. 

The key to a successful freelancing career lies in strategic thinking and strong marketing. With the help of these tips, you can build yourself a reputable brand that is known for professionalism and quality of work. When you are starting out in the industry on your own, it all may seem daunting but staying positive as you plan and put your energy to work will go a long way.

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When practicing for a job interview, most people concentrate on answering typical interview questions in a dry run. This is an essential part of your interview practice, but to really make a connection with the interviewer, it’s important to practice other things such as your voice projection, tone, and conversational skills. 

Asking questions is just as important as knowing how to answer them.

Not only does it help to create a natural flow of dialogue between you and your potential employer, but it shows them that you care about the role and take a special interest in their company. Here are some things to ask the next time you’re invited to attend a job interview:

What’s a typical day for someone in this role?

If you’ve read the job description, it’s very likely that you’ve seen the outline of the role and your responsibilities as a whole. But it’s important to find out exactly what you’ll be doing day-to-day. Ask about a typical working day and what’s expected.

You can even ask about non-role specific things such as where you’ll be sitting, who you’ll be interacting with, where the team tends to have lunch. Show an interest in the social elements of work too – employers want interesting, well-rounded individuals, not just a workhorse. 

Also Read: 4 key steps to the perfect startup job interview

Is there an opportunity for progression?

Employers love candidates who are ambitious. Ask them about progression or where they see this role in a few years’ time.

Then follow up with the question of, “What can I do to achieve that?” It can even be interesting to discuss topical issues such as how AI (Artificial Intelligence) and automation may affect roles of the future.

Talking about current trends such as technology will show them your understanding of the industry and will place you as a forward-thinker who is moving with the times. 

How do you measure success?

Ask the interviewer about one-to-one reviews, appraisals, team and individual targets, and the general management structure affecting your role.

It’s important to understand how your success will be measured, and by asking this you will be showing them how keen you are to be good at what you do. 

What characteristics do you look for in employees?

This not only shows how much you want the role, but it also gives you a chance to fill in any missing gaps in your interview. It presents an opportunity to redeem yourself on certain areas, clarify certain aspects of your personality, or come back with a final statement of why you’re perfect for the job. 

What is the company culture like?

One of the most important questions to ask is about company culture. Raising this doesn’t just show the employer that you’re ready to invest your time and hard work into their business, but it also gives you a better insight into what it’s really going to be like.

The company has to suit you, as much as you have to suit them. For instance, startup culture is known for being lots of fun, with social events and great office perks. But it’s also a culture that breeds hard work and sometimes long hours.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas by submitting a post.

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

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The year 2019 belonged to gojek. The Indonesian ride-sharing giant hit headlines for a few good reasons — its Co-founder Nadiem Makarim quit to join the government and become Indonesia’s Minister of Education and Culture. It also raised a significant amount of investments from top VCs and tech behemoths like Google and Tencent.

The year also belonged to several other companies and people. They hit headlines and drew eyeballs for a variety of reasons.

This article discusses the 10 most-read news stories of the year.

honestbee describes CEO Joel Sng departure as resignation

While gojek grabbed headlines for all good reasons, honestbee, another popular startup in Southeast Asia, made it to the first pages of startup portals for wrong reasons.

After a great run until 2018, the company started showing the signs of deterioration when it suspended/shut operations in the Philippines in the early months. This was followed by the shut-down of its operations in Malaysia. This resulted in the firing of its CEO Joel Sng (the company, however, described his departure as resignation).

honestbee’s fall has been spectacular; it has a deep pocket with about US$46 million in funding. But the company burned US$6.5 million per month, which was unacceptable for its stakeholders. It also struggled to pay suppliers and was experiencing payroll delays.

VinaCapital Ventures invests in Vietnam-based UrBox and Wee Digital

In March, VinaCapital Ventures, the VC arm of the asset management company VinaCapital, made an undisclosed amount of investment into digital gifting platform UrBox and AI- and biometric-powered fintech startup Wee Digital.

UrBox has partnered with more than 3,000 retail outlets across Vietnam, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Tiki, Adayroi, and Grab. It received pre-seed funding from Vietnam-focussed accelerator and seed fund VIISA prior to this funding round.

Wee Digital, which was founded by serial entrepreneur Christian Nguyen, is the first fintech that applies financial biometrics.

This story also drew readers in large numbers.

Consumer credit company Experian invests in Grab’s Series H round

In July, Experian, a global consumer credit company, invested an undisclosed amount in Grab’s latest financing round, making it Experian’s fourth investment in Asia.

The investment also opened a partnership in which the two companies will see the use of technology and data analytics to support Grab’s customised offerings for its users, such as improvement in access to loans for aspiring entrepreneurs in the region.

Until July, Grab had in its kitty US$1.46 billion from Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Vision Fund and added another US$300 million from existing investor Invesco, a US-based investment manager.

Grab introduces 4 new services to its core app in Singapore

In April, Grab announced the introduction of four new services to its core app in Singapore — namely hotels bookings, video on demand, movie ticketing, and trip planner.

The introduction of the new features followed the launch of GrabPlatform in July 2018, which enable partner companies to integrate their services into the Grab app.

Any story about Grab, a popular startup in the region, always grabs eyeballs.

Women-powered organisation she1K invests in drone startup

In June, Singapore drone startup, Performance Rotors, raised undisclosed funding from she1K, a women’s corporate executive network that champions, funds, and boards startups. In its first-ever investment, she1K said that it’s syndicating angel investments from its members.

Performance Rotors is a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) solutions company focussing on confined spaces inspection. she1K invested in the startup after selecting it during the first she1K private pitch to its members and co-investing partners that are held every 2 months, both in-person in Singapore and Hong Kong and via Zoom calls globally.

“We’re burning money,” says Lippo Group founder Mochtar Riady, selling 70 per cent stake in the omnipresent e-wallet OVO

Indonesian e-wallet company OVO made headlines when Mochtar Riady, Founder of Lippo Group, the major shareholder of OVO, disclosed in November that it sold 70 per cent of the stake in OVO.

The reason? The fintech firm was burning about US$50 million per month and that it cannot afford to inject any more money.

“They continue to burn money, we cannot afford it,” he said. “How are we supposed to be strong?”

OVO, one of the five Unicorns of Indonesia, was launched by Lippo Group, which also has stakes in ride-hailing firm Grab. Ovo is the second-largest digital wallet in Indonesia after Gopay, based on an iPrice Group ranking that looks at monthly active users.

Malaysian salestech startup SalesCandy sets foot in neighbouring regions

In May, Malaysian slaestech startup SalesCandy announced its entry into Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The company struck multiple contracts across Southeast Asia in the first quarter of 2019 and is readying up operation in the said countries.

SalesCandy’s product is SalesCandy LMS that features a mobile app action-based Lead Management System (LMS) with a real-time routing mechanism. This allows a salesperson to respond to enquiries coming from multiple online and offline channels within five minutes.

gojek acquires majority stake in Philippines’s blockchain fintech company Coins.ph

In January, gojek announced that it “is making a substantial acquisition of shares” of Philippines-based blockchain-powered fintech company Coins.ph.

The companies also announced a partnership, under which gojek’s payments platform Go-Pay and Coins.ph will work together to encourage cashless financial transactions in the Philippines by combining Go-Pay’s technological expertise, scalability and experience in Indonesia with ​the blockchain firm’s deep local knowledge.

honestbee names Ong Lay Ann as new CEO

As it went from bad to worse, honestbee in July announced the appointment of Ong Lay Ann as its new CEO. He replaced interim CEO Brian Koo, who was appointed in May after Joel Sng’s departure.

The company also announced the departure of its CTO and Co-founder Jonathan Low.

gojek CEO Nadiem Makarim resigns to join Cabinet

In October, following long-time growing speculation, gojek Group CEO Nadiem Makarim confirmed his resignation from the company to join President Joko Widodo’s new Cabinet (he was later appointed as the Minister of Education and Culture).

Speaking to the press at Merdeka Palace, Makarim expressed his commitment to serve Indonesia as a mission that he has been pursuing with the founding of gojek.

This story was widely covered by the media across the globe. While he is not the first tech entrepreneur to join politics, his elevation is the first such development in Southeast Asia.

Google, Tencent, JD.com to inject more than US$900M in gojek

Tech behemoths and existing investors Google, Tencent, and JD.com agreed to invest around US$920 million into gjek, the ride-sharing startup from Indonesia. The funding was meant for regional expansion and fintech development.

The post 10 most-read e27 news stories in 2019 appeared first on e27.

Update: Kopi Kenangan representative has reached out to e27 to clarify that Alpha JWC does not return for the company’s June 2019 Series A funding round nor will they be participating in its current expansion. We apologise for the inconvenience.

Kopi Kenangan, Indonesia-based on-demand coffee chain, just announced the extension of its Series A round with investments from Arrive (backed by US rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation) and athlete and entrepreneur Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures.

Joining the round is returning investors Sequoia India, followed by new investors NBA star Caris LeVert and Sweetgreen CEO & Co-Founder Jonathan Neman.

An official statement from Neil Sirni, co-founder and President of Arrive, reads: “We are inspired by Kopi Kenangan’s tenacity, vision, and ability to execute. In just two years, they have expanded to 18 cities, 200 stores, and over 1,800 employees. We’re excited to be an investor in and partner to Kopi Kenangan as they introduce Indonesian-style coffee to the world.”

Sequoia India led the coffee chain’s US$20 million Series A round in June 2019 while its seed funding round was led by Alpha JWC last year.

Founded in 2017 by Edward Tirtanata, James Prananto, and Cynthia Chaerunnisa, Kopi Kenangan aims to answer the gap left by the market sandwiched between the high-priced coffee served at international coffee chains, which are beyond the price range for most Indonesians, and the instant coffee sold at many street stalls.

Also Read: Indonesia’s tech-enabled coffee chain Kopi Kenangan raises US$20M from Sequoia India

Kopi Kenangan said it plans to add more than 1,000 new stores over the next two years and expand across Southeast Asia.

“We want to build a legendary brand, and we’re excited to work with our new investors and advisors who have built global consumer franchises spanning sports, entertainment, F&B, and technology,” Tirtanata said.

Nielsen Company named Kopi Kenangan as the number one in top-of-mind awareness in the kopi susu or milk coffee category and second only after an established multinational coffee chain in the general coffee category.

“We recognise that this is a joint effort from our Teman Mantan [team] which includes our baristas and employees, partners, shareholders, and most importantly our customers who have made us top-of-mind for kopi susu,” said Chareunnisa.

Arrive is a Roc Nation company, full-service management, music publishing, and entertainment company founded by Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter. It was launched in 2017 and it provides strategic capital and advisory to startups and early-stage ventures with a focus on the United States and Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Startup of the Month, June: Indonesian tech-enabled coffee chain Kopi Kenangan

Serena Ventures was created in 2014 by entrepreneur, philanthropist, and tennis icon Serena Williams with the mission of giving opportunities to founders across an array of industries, focussing on early-stage companies. Serena Ventures invests in companies aligned with its core themes of diverse leadership (women and person-of-colour), individual empowerment, creativity, and opportunity.

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Image Credit: Kopi Kenangan

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Myanmar’s Phandeeyar Accelerator has announced a new investment initiative, which aims to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups in the country.

The Yangon-based organisation has also made a US$25,000 investment in Resdi from the new fund. The restaurant bookings and discounts startup will use the money to expand its team, fuel product development and reach a wider audience.

Founded by Zay Ye Htut (CEO) and Thiha Htet Naing (COO), Resdi is an online restaurant reservation platform with the discount for off-peak hours. It helps fill up the empty tables with a low commission rate for the restaurants, then giving the discounts based on time for the users within off-peak hours.

Resdi was also the winner of Phandeeyar’s Startup Challenge 2018 and awarded a US$3,000 prize money.

According to Resdi, there has been continuous growth in Myanmar’s restaurant industry with new restaurants entering the market. However, it is a challenge for both newcomers and existing restaurants to get a favourable number of customers.

Also Read: Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan raises Series A extension from Jay-Z, Serena Williams’s VC firms

At the same time, the customers also have to pay the same prices between peak hours and off-peak hours while having long queues to get a table at their favourite restaurants.

Resdi aims to solve that problem by enabling the users to book their favourite restaurants and get off-peak hour promotions. As a result, the restaurants will be running at full capacity at all operating hours and customers will receive discounts during off-peak hours.

“At Phandeeyar, we’re always looking for resourceful entrepreneurs who are building tech products that support consumers and businesses. Resdi is a really good example of this. We have been following them since launch, and have been impressed by their initial growth. With this new investment, they will be able to capture the market for restaurant promotions and deals in Yangon, and later on in other cities in Myanmar” said Jes Kaliebe Petersen, CEO of Phandeeyar.

 

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The modern business market is oversaturated with businesses of all shapes and sizes. What this means is that anybody who’s looking to start their own business in this economy should be ready to fight some fierce competition if they ever hope to reach success. This might seem particularly challenging to anyone looking to launch a startup. 

Aside from doing their homework thoroughly and ensuring that they’ve tackled every single aspect of running a business, startup owners must also be extremely vigilant. Sometimes, making even the smallest of mistakes can really propel you on the road to failure. 

With that in mind, here are the key elements of launching your startup and setting it up for success.

Don’t rush to enter the market

Without a solid business idea, there really is no point in starting a business. However, a solid business idea alone won’t be enough to set your business up for success. The fact is that many startup owners rush to enter the market when the market is just not ready for them.

Also read: The concerns, risks and success factors of any startup

That’s why so many startups fail sooner than they start. To avoid such a thing happening to your endeavor, make sure you have a good business idea and sit on it until you notice that there’s room for your business in the market. Only then should you launch your endeavor and present it to an interested audience. 

Set clear goals

Another thing you need to take care of is setting clear goals. While wanting to reach success is certainly a goal, it’s not very clear how you intend to achieve it. That’s why, instead of setting such a vague and distant goal as your only one, you should instead set a plethora of smaller and clearer goals that are somewhat easier to achieve.

Not only will this enable you to prioritise better and see which of the things need to be done first but it will also offer you a visual representation of just how well your business is truly doing. Pro tip: create a goal board and write down all of your set goals on it so that you can have the additional satisfaction of ticking them off one by one as you manage to achieve them.

Put together a strong team

No matter how big or small your endeavor is, the fact is that you simply can’t do it all by yourself. Instead of trying to achieve something on your own, you should let like-minded people help you out. So, when hiring, make sure you carefully select individuals that share your vision and passion.

Even more importantly, make sure you select individuals who have the necessary skills to make your dream a reality. Additionally, do know that there are no born A players. Instead, they are being created and molded in the workplace. Therefore, when trying to put together a strong team, choose individuals who display the biggest potential of becoming your own A players. 

Design a good website

In this day and age, trying to run a successful business without having a good website in place to back it up is simply pointless. The fact of the matter is that the majority of modern consumers will turn to the online realm to research a business before they actually decide to put their hard-earned money into it.

Also read: Why moving fast and pivoting is necessary for startups

That’s why you need to ensure that they are able to find your business there. Aside from that, not any website will do. You need to make sure that your site is well designed and optimised to allow for a seamless browsing experience. Also, you should make the transition from HTTP to HTTPS to offer your visitors – and potential customers – another layer of security when interacting with your website. This way, you will not only appeal to your audience but you will also make your website more appealing to online search engines. 

Always be on top of your finances

Another mistake startup owners make is not paying enough attention to their finances. The fact is that, in the business world, money truly is everything. You entered the game hoping to make money but you need to be very conscious of how much money you’re actually making.

The fact is that here, you will need to give some to make some, i.e., you will need to invest some of your resources into something that promises a good ROI in the end. However, if you’re not crystal clear about your finances, you may end up making mistakes that will cost you greatly in the long run.

Know when to take a step back

Finally, the thing nobody really talks about much is the negative side of the hustle culture. While yes, you do have to work hard and keep on pushing in order to reach success, you also need to be able to understand when it is time to slow down. Overworking yourself might present some short-term positive results but that’s just it – they’re all short-term. If you continue to work too much without having enough time to rest, you will reach burnout sooner than you think.

If you’re considering launching a startup and you want to ensure you do everything in your power to make it a success, keep these elements in mind. Sure, you will need to do much, much more than just what’s previously been mentioned, but this is a great place to start.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas by submitting a post.

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

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Vox Dei reveals startup coverage trends of the 2010s – Press Release

Vox Dei, a Singapore-based startup that specialises in text analysis, today announced the results of their startup media coverage analysis for the 2010s.

Conducted as part of a test for their software Lexikat, the startup tracked media trends both in general and in various specific fields in 2019 and all the way back to 2020.

The analysis looked at coverage from media such as Dealstreet Asia, e27, Wired, and Popular Mechanics.

According to the analysis, “Hype in the tech press does not necessarily predict investor interest levels … Except possibly in the case of crypto which saw increased interest during the Bitcoin spike of 2018.”

It also noted a spike of interest in blockchain by English language media in 2018. Meanwhile, in Chinese language media at the same time, big data was a more popular theme.

The analysis also pointed out the popularity of sectors such as cleantech –and the reason behind it.

“Cleantech is frequently mentioned in the same breath as other technologies, as a way to boost their image. For example, Uber is principally a sharing economy startup, but also helps the environment,” the analysis elaborated.

SoftBank’s US$3B WeWork financing talks stall with Japan banks – Reuters

SoftBank Group’s talks to secure US$3 billion from three of the biggest banks in Japan have stalled as the lenders have hit internal lending limits to the firm, according to a Reuters report.

Citing two people familiar with the matter, the issue is said to further complicate the US$9.5 billion rescue package for the coworking space giant.

The sources also said that the banks are concerned about the risks involved in rescuing WeWork.

Also Read: 6 key elements of a successful startup

Kopi Kenangan raises Series A extension from Jay-Z, Serena Williams’s VC funds – e27

Indonesia-based coffee chain Kopi Kenangan today announced the extension of its Series A funding round with investments from Arrive (which is backed by US rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation) and Serena Ventures (which is owned by athlete and entrepreneur Serena Williams).

Joining the round is returning investors Sequoia India, followed by new investors NBA star Caris LeVert and Sweetgreen CEO & Co-Founder Jonathan Neman.

With the new funding, Kopi Kenangan said it plans to add more than 1,000 new stores over the next two years and expand across Southeast Asia.

Myanmar’s Phandeeyar launches new investment initiative, backs restaurant booking app Resdi – e27

Phandeeyar Accelerator today announced a new investment initiative, which aims to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups in Myanmar.

The organisation has also announced a US$25,000 investment in restaurant booking and discount app Resdi from the new fund.

The startup will use the money to expand its team, fuel product development, and reach a wider audience.

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Businesses these days spend typically significant amounts of money on quality assurance, especially for those in the tech sector – just one significant product issue can be enough to be a significant detriment to a company’s reputation for years to come, even if they had produced rock-solid products until that point.

One critical strategy that can often be overlooked by larger organisations: using their own solutions for their infrastructure and business operations, ensuring that all employees are familiar with the nuances of the solutions their company offers, both positive and negative.

SMEs and startups would be more familiar with this approach, but in this article, I’d like to offer some additional nuances for consideration by tapping onto Synology’s own experiences.

The use of this strategy has definitely paid dividends for the company in the form of customer accolades. The Synology brand has topped PCMag’s Readers’ Choice Award every year in the home network-attached storage (NAS) category since it was added in 2012, with customers lauding our reliability and fantastic customer service. The same publication has also awarded us top honours in its Business Choice Awards.

Also Read: Getting out of the weeds: Simplicity is the key to scale startups

We’ve identified a few key takeaways that we feel were critical in our success:

Take time to understand how your products fit into your own business

One of the biggest factors in our quality assurance success is our commitment to using our own products for almost all of our business’s IT infrastructure, allowing the organisation to collect feedback from all of our workforce – from IT to HR.

Aside from quality assurance, one huge added benefit is that our sales, marketing and support teams are very familiar with the company’s products since they’re using those solutions on a daily basis.

This might seem like a basic first step, but does require the investment of time and resources to conduct an intense scrutiny of an organisation’s infrastructure and processes, from both business and operational leaders. This might even spark some additional ideas about how your products could be further refined to better fit into businesses.

For example, to name just a few, we use our products for the following critical business functions: storage for virtual machines; Active Backup for Business; collaboration and messaging; surveillance; and disaster recovery.

Also Read: How this fundraising programme helps these two startups access better funding opportunities

Proactively foster a culture of openness towards constructive feedback

A company’s products are often a labour of love from its employees, and this emotional investment might result in them being resistant to feedback, whether it be from customers or from their colleagues.

The organisation’s leaders will need to be proactive in fostering a culture where employees are receptive to criticism, and where feedback is valued and seen as an essential part of helping the company and its solutions succeed.

From the R&D team to department heads, we ensure that all employees understand the importance of actively addressing feedback and that this is seen to be a priority from the management. Our own efforts in this regard are perhaps most clearly demonstrated in the anecdote that the company’s Chairman spends a couple of hours every day reading through user comments and enquiries.

Develop clear lines of communications

Of course, it’s also important to ensure that customers and internal staff are able to share their comments easily. Aside from emails, our teams also visit end customers from time to time to get them to share their comments and address any issues they might have, allowing our team to gather feedback directly from the ground; we find that this also helps to encourage our users to share thoughts that they may not have penned in written feedback.

Similarly, our employees are encouraged to use email or internal messaging platforms to share feedback freely, both when they have positive experiences and whenever issues arise.

Also Read: How to shine like a diamond in the coalfield of startups

Develop SOPs to ensure all feedback is addressed

In using our own products, our R&D team is able to examine how our products function in real-world scenarios, allowing them to quickly identify issues and possible improvements, accelerating our development process.

Another possible point of failure for many businesses is that feedback can be lost down a black hole, where internal teams can decide to prioritise what they themselves deem to be important rather than addressing actionable feedback.

Going back to what I mentioned earlier, all feedback is also read by the management so that they are aware of any issues that they might need to direct their team’s attention to. We also collect and log all of such feedback for internal reference.

Don’t lose sight of the competition

One potential drawback to using only your company’s own products is that your team’s vision of the competitive landscape can become quite insular, owing to a lack of experience with the solutions offered by your competitors.

The management, therefore, needs to ensure that the team proactively keeps itself up to date on the latest news and products on the market through thorough market research; in this era of information overload, the difficulty is not in finding the information, but rather in ensuring that the team avoids complacency and keeps an eye on the competition to ensure that their own products are always a step ahead.

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One of the areas that will always remain challenging while launching a startup, is funding. Funding is a necessary part of any startup and getting it is far easier said than done. The ideal type of investment for an early-stage startup is an angel investment, an injection of a good amount of cash to fuel the early stages of your project.

However, it is surely not easy and there are steps you can take to increase the likelihood of attracting one. So let’s take a look at what those might be.

Lay down the basics with care

A business needs a solid foundation. It has to be built on rock, not on the sand and if you are all enthusiastic but fail to and no planning at the start, then you won’t achieve this. This means bad things for the company as a whole, but it also means bad things for your investment prospects.

“Angels are looking at a few things when they size up a startup. One of those key things is how rigorous the process of establishing the company has been, something which will indicate to them the care and effort that will be maintained once their money has been put into the business,” explains Dick Rutherford, tech writer at LastMinuteWriting and Writinity.

Have a concrete understanding of the basic principals of your business to impress a potential investor.

Also Read: Angel investor Mike Flache shares his tips to begin investing in startups

Don’t be afraid to say what you need

An angel investor would far rather have you making solid demands based on actual projections and the data that you’ve gathered about your idea than floundering or asking them what they think they ought to give.

You’re not talking to them for business advice, you want money, it’s as simple as that. So there should be no beating around the bush, just try to get straight to the point about what it is you need to make your startup a success.

Research your angel

Reaching out to a stranger that you don’t have any information about and asking for massive amounts of money is not a good idea. You need to know who you’re pitching your business to in order to be able to impress them in the proper way.

“Ideally you know as much about your potential angel investor as you can without it getting weird. You need to be able to predict the conversation so that you come to it prepared with all you need to prove to whoever it is that you are worth both their time and, crucially, their money,” explains Doug Howard, business blogger at DraftBeyond and ResearchPapersUK.

Also Read: What your startup needs to know about angel investor funding

Contact people who know them, try and encounter them out of a pitch meeting, do anything you can to know that there won’t be any personality curveballs when it comes to the crunch.

Professionalism to a fault

Don’t make any mistake about it. It’s crucial that when you engage with your potential investor, everything about the way in which you act is geared for professionalism. Essentially, you’re auditioning and the part they are auditioning you for is the dedicated, organised professional who will continue to do their absolute best to avoid letting them down or causing them big financial losses.

Even once you’ve relaxed with them, you need to be on guard against any sort of test and make sure that you stay on top of your game for the entirety of your meeting and any further exchanges.

Conclusion

Getting an angel investment is hard, but it’s by no means impossible, it happens all the time. You just have to make sure that besides having a good idea, you are setting up for success in those crucial pitch meetings.

Hopefully these tips will help to maximixe your chances of securing funding.

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