When bicycle-sharing caught the frenzy in China around 2017, Kelvin Ng and Justin Seow sensed a similar opportunity in their home country Singapore. So, in 2017, the pair launched an e-scooter-sharing business Popscoot.

“Together, we sought to revolutionise first and last mobility while firmly aware of the obstacles in our way. Our years of experience in brand-building helped us create a platform that was gaining an enthusiastic following. However, in the end, restrictive legislation along with its associated cost almost did us in,” says Kelvin.

According to Seow, Popscoot was founded based on a trail to test out the market and gather feedback for travelling patterns and various other requirements.

“From the very beginning, we wanted to learn more and collect more information from riders and commuters. We singled out gaming and rewards as the most sought-after interest in our commuters. Moreover, it also aligned with our interests in creating a gamification add-on not just for Popscoot but also on other mobility platforms,” Seow adds. “This paved the way for the birth of FOUND,” adds Seow.

What is FOUND

FOUND, a morph of Popscoot, positions itself as a provider of mobility-related solutions for commuters as well as brands. FOUND is essentially an app that gamifies your daily commute and rewards you for it. On the flip side, it unlocks the opportunity for brands to engage and interact with commuters.

“In a nutshell, commuters pick tasks or quests to complete along their journey. Available tasks are triggered based on commuters’ proximity to certain locations. Upon completion, users can claim their rewards in the form of coupons, offers, FOUND coins,” explains Kelvin, who developed the product, along with Seow and Wee Kong.

“For brands, it is an opportunity to develop task storylines and content that match commuters’ ‘I-want-to-know and I-want-to-buy’ moments along their journey,” says Kelvin.

“Think Pokemon GO + rewards + mobile ad campaigns. This is what we are,” Kelvin adds.

Once rolled out, FOUND can be integrated with various mobility players such as Neuron Mobility, Bird, Lime, SMRT, etc.

A massive opportunity

According to Kelvin, traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising provides poor interaction and return on investment (ROI) despite its reach to the extremely-high throughput of shoppers and commuters daily. Besides, it is relatively expensive and out of reach of smaller brands and businesses.

“This is where FOUND fits in. This app provides an avenue for brands to interact with commuters in an affordable and engaging way,” claims Kelvin. “We see opportunities in partnering with brands, retail and tourism to develop content that is relevant to commuters along their trips.”

In Singapore, digital ads marketing spend is projected to reach US$500 million in 2022. FOUND is targetting this market.

Partnership with Enterprise SG

FOUND is all set to showcase at Intelligent Transport System World Congress (ITSWC) which will be held in Singapore from October 21-25. The event is organised by Enterprise SG (ESG).

“Our association with ESG started when we were still developing PopScoot. We sought their help with marketing opportunities for Popscoot,” continues Kelvin.

“This was when they introduced us to EZ-Link, which identified synergy in the FOUND platform we were developing. Together with Viatick, our Bluetooth-solutions strategic partner, we applied for a grant from ESG,” Kelvin shares.

FOUND, still in the beta stages, will intially be launched in Singapore, and then will expand to other parts of Asia in partnership with EZ-Link.

Founders’ background

Both Kelvin and Justin are hardened entrepreneurs, albeit in the more traditional vein. Both their fathers founded and led their own companies, perhaps that was where they derived their entrepreneurial streak.

“We ourselves founded Creative Agencies, helping to position, design and activate brands for SMEs and global market leaders for over a decade. Justin cut his teeth in a global branding agency before embarking on a stint at his family business in Suzhou, managing a team of over 100. I am a Certified Management Consultant, who graduated from NUS Business School, successfully launched a retail concept at a public listed company, before going back to Design School. This is where I met Justin and joined him at the branding agency. The rest, as they say, is history,” Kelvin says.

Their business partner Keong has eight years of experience in Singapore and Vietnam and has previously founded and managed Interactive Media Maven.

The post This Singaporean startup gamifies your daily commute and rewards you for it appeared first on e27.

Researchers have found that millennials are more inclined towards starting their own business rather than doing a 9 to 5 job. The reason behind this could be that there is a growing trend of people wanting to build things from scratch. This gives them a sense of ownership and creativity.

Product designing, marketing, investment, and profit calculations, etc.; require hard work, but these can easily lead to stress and depression.

In this article, we have discussed some of the ways using which you can deal with your startup stress.

Work on the causes of stress

It’s not the whole process that leads to stress, rather certain areas in a startup that are responsible for it.

What you need to do is adopt a positive attitude and find out the reasons which lead to stress. Once you have figured out the causes of stress, you can easily work on them; eradicate them or mould them.

Also Read: 5 research-backed stress-busters that can help you improve work-life balance

For instance, if fewer sales are a reason why you are having stress then you can certainly work on the ways with which you can increase your sales; introducing new marketing tactics or investing in PR. Therefore it is important to figure out the main cause of stress in your startup and work on it.

Increase your reading habits

Most of the successful businessmen you see on the esteemed cover of Forbes magazine are all avid readers; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, etc.

There are two main reasons why you need to read while engaging in a startup; the first one is that it draws your attention from the tensions your daily routine and helps you relax, whereas the other reason is that it gives you the ideas and inspirations which you can apply to your problems.

For example, if you are reading about a successful business that faced issues at the start of his entrepreneurship journey then you can certainly find some reference to your problems in his story and apply the remedies which he used back in time. So, read the biographies of successful people regularly to keep you inspired.

Exercise and meditation

A healthy body keeps a healthy mind.

Mental stress is automatically dealt with if you engage yourself in exercise and meditation.

A simple exercise like running helps you to focus on yourself which is extremely helpful when it comes to dealing with stress. Moreover, when you break a sweat in a gym or a jogging track, vision and dedication are increased which helps you fighting with work-related stress too. 

Secondly, meditation is also found to be fruitful in mitigating startup related stress. With meditation, you attain an inner peace that helps with self-evaluation. This process of introspection and self-evaluation helps deals with startup stress.

Get yourself a Mentor

No matter where you are on the success ladder and whatever you do, you always need someone to show you the right direction and tell you that everything is going to be alright. Get yourself a mentor and seek his help when you find yourself in a startup bottleneck. 

Talk about your problems, seek advice and implement. But remember, this is a never-ending process. Your mentor would show you light from his personal experience.

Also Read: Stressed at work? Here are 11 best meditation apps to help you relax

So, if one piece of advice doesn’t work out, do not lose hope. Rather, discuss again and seek new advice. This will not only remove the startup related stress but give you the ideas using which you can ensure tremendous growth for your business.

Focus on activity and not the outcome

There is no denying the fact that profit maximization is the ultimate aim of every startup. But you need to show patience with such outcomes.

In a startup, your main focus should be the activity and the process whereas the outcome and the profit should be given secondary importance. This will help you reduce a great deal of startup related stress.

Keeping these simple things in mind, you can get rid of the stress that hinders the growth of a startup.

These steps will not only minimize your stress but it will ensure your grooming and mental development as well which is important to become a successful businessman.

 –

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:  José Martín Ramírez C

The post How to deal with startup stress? appeared first on e27.

How Kdan Mobile’s DottedSign changes the way we do e-documents

Back when the idea of an electronic scheme was merely a theory, signing documents was not without hiccups. First, it usually meant a longer turnaround time, especially when there were multiple signatories. More than that, the geographical zone differences of these signatories could also add to the delay.

Second, the possibility of human error — such as placing your signature on the wrong section, or missing a signature altogether — could mean having to repeat the process all over again. This is especially difficult when dealing with sensitive documents that aren’t easy to replicate.

Third, the security of documents may be compromised since paper documents could be easily tampered with.

Thankfully, an abundance of digital solutions available in the market today have stepped up to help solve these challenges. The evolution of signing has gone from paper to paperless, and now to cloud-based signature service. These services ushered in a new way of doing document signing by helping in the following areas:

● reduce courier costs
● expedite turnaround time
● increase productivity, and
● upgrade a document’s security and legality.

The number of e-sign services is on the rise, but one particular player is making a name for itself

The convenience of electronic documents has made digital signing a fundamental part of the modern-day workflow. The progress of technology, the rise of the gig economy, and the advent of employing remote workers all contributed to this phenomenon.

In recent years, we’ve also seen how the digital signing landscape has been influenced by the growth of both mobile workers and mobile users. With telecommuting and remote working is increasingly gaining popularity among both startups and traditional businesses, employees and constituents may be working in various locations at any given time. Additionally, as of 2019, smartphone users in the Asia Pacific region are at 1,483.4 million.

These scenarios reveal the need for a secure, accessible, and mobile-friendly digital signing solution. To this end, several e-sign services currently out in the market have been adapting to these swift changes. Adobe Sign, for instance, recently made digital signing available directly from Dropbox. DocuSign, another player, boasts of a product that matches the needs of its consumers.

Despite the surge in e-sign services, there’s room for one more player. Enter DottedSign, a smart e-signature solution launched earlier this year. Aimed at providing solutions for mobile workers, the service was built on mobile-friendly UI that helps mobile workers finish their work with just a few simple taps. It was also designed to support multiple languages, so all users can use with ease.

Although a new player in the field, DottedSign has already proven its reliability in important negotiations. During the Echelon Asia Summit 2019, e27 and AsiaIOA electronically signed a Memorandum of Understanding through DottedSign’s reliable partner.

This wasn’t the only notable signing engagement where DottedSign’s services became an instrumental component to. During two events in Tokyo — the Venture Cafe Tokyo and Tokyo Startup Station — the e-sign service was also used, ultimately attracting various parties.

DottedSign — not just another e-sign service

Recently, e27 sat with Kdan Mobile’s CEO Kenny Su to talk more about DottedSign and why his company decided to offer an e-sign service. The foray, says Su, was but a natural response given the company’s history of having started as a PDF application developing technique.

Before its launch of DottedSign, Kdan Mobile has been building mobile software applications and online services since 2009. Their solutions empower the world to create, distribute, and conjoin projects through the use of mainstream digital devices.

Throughout the years, their services have been used by 5 million members across 167 countries worldwide and received a total of 150 million downloads. This serves as proof of their solid reputation is their market presence not only in Taiwan where they are headquartered, but also across China, the U.S., and Japan.

One major reason why Kdan Mobile’s apps have been the go-to app for consumers is because of its flexibility and user-friendly interface. Their services are available for download on desktop, Android, and iOS, and have been carefully built with the consumers in mind. In addition, Kdan Mobile’s push for cloud-based applications means that their services are easily accessible anywhere, anytime.

Their extensive experience as a SaaS provider is why DottedSign is not just another e-sign service. In conceptualising DottedSign, their solid background in SaaS due to their experiences in developing apps in the past years has proven beneficial for providing solutions to mobile workers. Furthermore, he adds that “today’s contracts are a little more complex than they used to be. There’s often a freelancer involved on one end (e.g. a programmer) who sends the contract, a small business that hires the freelancer, and a client that you’re working with. Thus, we’ve been working on a new, complete e-signature to optimise your business’s workflow that will change the way you sign documents, forms, contracts, and agreements forever.”

At a glance, DottedSign exhibits the following features:

● Mobile-friendly user interface – DottedSign boasts of a friendly UI for people who rely on smart devices and travel a lot.
● Visual signing task management flow – The visual progress bar makes it easy to monitor and track signing tasks by checking signers’ statuses. Meanwhile, a search tool makes it easy to find specific documents in the pile.
● Security and legality warranty – Sign legally-enforceable, paperless document. Digital audit trails record every change made to the document, such as when it’s created, sent, viewed, signed, etc. One-Time Password (OTP) verification adds stronger authentication and better protection to personal identity and data.

DottedSign also lets you boost efficiency by multitasking documents at once. That is, it gathers all signing tasks in one place, including those that are completed, waiting for you to sign, and waiting on others’ signatures. What’s more, it simplifies the process of remote business by automating your document delivery. This means you can track progress by checking each signer’s status. You’re assured that nobody incorrectly places or misses a signature.

And it doesn’t stop there. Kdan Mobile continues to update more features that will be used in enterprise solutions in the near future, such as admin console for enterprises to manage their signing documents and open API for the integration to CRM system.

A two-week free access to DottedSign’s Pro features

For a limited time, DottedSign offers a 14-day trial so users could check out for themselves the features and benefits of using this e-sign service. What’s great about this offer is that it allows you to access its advanced Pro features, such as: creating multiple signature tasks, unlocking special input fields, or offering in-person signing. Enterprise users can learn about special pricing options by contacting the sales team through the website for more details. Ready to check it out? Click here to sign up for free and begin your two-week free access.

– –

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

The post Electronic signing made easy for modern businesses appeared first on e27.

Walk into any store. Pick up the nearest item on the shelf and you’ll see a “Made in China” sticker. What comes to mind?

I’ll tell you what most Americans imagine. They think of shoddy workmanship or knockoffs. They think of run-down cities and broken infrastructure. They imagine a society without the resources to create the type of innovative companies and technologies that we can.

Unfortunately, for many: “Made in China” means “cheap.”

If you believe this, one visit to Shanghai will change your mind for good. You’ll find an unending sea of glass and steel, with a skyline to equal any you’ve seen. In many ways, it’s a city out of the future – bullet trains, modern architecture, and glowing crowds of people talking on mobile devices.

The changes that have occurred in the last twelve to fifteen years, even the last five, are unbelievable.

China has shifted

In the last decade, wages for the average Chinese worker have more than doubled. Chinese companies like Tencent and Alibaba are the world’s 10th and 12th most valuable, respectively. They adopt new technologies with a speed unmatched by anything on this side of the world.

China is no longer a place for the West to outsource cheap labour. In recent years, people have become wealthier, more urbanized, and more modern. In fact, Chinese companies are now the ones outsourcing their labor to lower-cost economies like Vietnam and Mexico.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise: history is cyclical.

In the 1960s Japanese-made cars weren’t taken seriously. No one doubts the quality of a Honda today. Taiwanese electronics were considered inferior, and now dominate the market. Despite their power in the market today, even South Korean products were once thought unreliable.

The reality is that China has been going through that very same transformation. They’re rapidly transitioning out of the “low cost” mentality and have the ability to compete globally with quality products. These companies can win against the world’s best-known brands.

The unseen advantage

It’s important to understand that Chinese companies have something most American companies don’t.

Something that we used to have.

For decades, America has dominated the international market with our entertainment, technology, and incessant drive to innovate and change the world. It’s not an exaggeration to say that life everywhere would be drastically different, and worse, if not for American ingenuity. The key to much of that dominance?

An appetite for risk.

We’ve been on top for so long, with no true peer competitors, that there’s no reason to take the kind of outrageous gambles that lead to either incredible success or bankruptcy.

However, Chinese companies are hungry. They work harder and work more, as people who want to prove themselves tend to do. Just as we did during the Cold War era.

The cutthroat business environment on the mainland breeds only the most adaptable, capable companies.

Most importantly, they’re willing to take tremendous chances to reach their goals.

Also read: A look into China’s future: Unravelling China’s edtech landscape

Chinese companies know they have to succeed in an environment long dominated by more established players, and that means doing things differently. For some, those risks have paid off.

More than a few tech publications have ranked Lenovo as the #1 brand in laptops, beating out established brands like Apple, Asus, and Dell.

Huawei has quietly become the world’s second-largest smartphone brand, with a vast range of five-star products on Amazon. If you’ve heard of “Clash of Kings,” then you’ve heard of the Chinese app giant, Elex Tech.

Changing expectations

On a business trip to Shanghai in 2006, I visited a popular market displaying hundreds of Chinese-built phones. Barely anyone would touch them. Back then, the Chinese preferred brands like Nokia, Samsung, and Apple.

When I asked why they said it was because they were worried about the quality of local products.

When I visited again in 2017, it was now local companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, or ZTE that dominated the mobile market. And not just in China, but all across Asia. Walk into a mall in Thailand and you’ll find Huawei phones next to LG.

Today, Chinese consumers demand quality, and Chinese companies have delivered. Expectations have changed.

Businesses that don’t take them as serious competitors are going to regret it when they see where the customers are going.

The future consumer market

Five years from now, don’t be surprised if “Made In China” means “quality.” If we cover our eyes to this new reality, we will not only miss the threat of these newcomers but also the vast potential in working with them.

This is a turning point. Many businesses are still afraid of doing business with China due to the perception of their build quality, copyright issues, and government interference.

The severity of these problems have been eroded, or even eliminated, in recent years.

Build quality has evolved. Copyrights are now actively protected as Chinese companies seek to gain international legitimacy. And the government, far from inhibiting them, is bullish on joint ventures.

It’s an incredible opportunity for those who can recognize this and act quickly. We must have the courage to take risks again.

Chinese companies are actively looking for partners on this side of the pond. The synergistic possibilities are both widely varied and potentially game-changing.

Also read: 6 shifts in China’s internet sector from 2017 into 2018: report

Traditionally, America has partnered with Chinese companies only to gain a leg up in the local market. This isn’t about that – it’s about working together to help them move out of China and compete globally in a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The first to do so will reap the rewards. Brands like AMD, HP, and Qualcomm have already bet big on joint partnerships with China.

America must regain that mindset of challenging the status quo instead of perpetuating it.

China has changed – and so must we.

–

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

Image Credit: twinsterphoto / 123RF Stock Photo

The post What I learned about the pervading myth of Chinese quality products appeared first on e27.

Mall91, an India-based social commerce platform, has secured US$7.5 million in its Series A funding round led by Go-Ventures, the venture arm of gojek.

Singapore-based Beenext, Indian VC firm Kalaari Capital, and AngelList India also joined the round.

This funding will help Mall91 to expand its business, as it looks to target the next 400 million vernacular users across tier II, III and IV cities in India. It will also embark on international expansion opportunities.

The company also plans on expanding to other top eight local languages of India.

Also Read: How to deal with startup stress?

Started in December 2018, Mall91 combines various functions onto one platform, including gaming, video, chat, and social shopping features. It combines live videos-based shopping, local language voice recognition-based catalog discovery, and Whatsapp like chat/messaging-based checkouts.

Mall91 targets users who speak different regional languages across India. Mall91 claims to have reached to 2,000-plus tier II, III and IV towns/villages of India.

Speaking on the investment, Mall91 Co-founder and CEO Nitin Raj Gupta said: “While we focus on enhancing our platform and offerings, we will also aim to expand our talent pool to drive our ambitious growth plans.”

Photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash

The post Social commerce startup Mall91 targets 400M small-town internet users in India; raises US$7.5M from gojek arm, others appeared first on e27.

gojek reveals five startups selected into its Xcelerate’s first cohort [Tech In Asia]

Indonesia’s gojek announced five startups from the first cohort of its accelerator programme in partnership with Digitaraya, gojek Xcelerate. They are a decentralised warehouse services provider Crewdible; mobile concierge platform IZY; mobile platform of pet care solutions PETO; smart city ecosystem enabler Qlue; and, sharing accommodation platform Travelio.

The five shortlisted startups will receive mentorship from McKinsey & Co, Google Launchpad Developer, and UBS Bank. According to Digitaraya’s Managing Director Nicole Yap, the startups will also have an opportunity to be incorporated under gojek’s ecosystem.

Malaysia prolongs VCs, angel investors’ tax incentives until 2023 [DealStreetAsia]

The Malaysian government reportedly decided to extend tax incentives given to venture capital (VC) and angel investors until 2023, which aims to encourage startup funding and attract more foreign investment in the country.

The extension is one of the latest moves by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in his Budget 2020 proposal. The budget also seeks to boost private equity (PE) investments in the country, with the government seeking to provide a 1 billion ringgit (US$239 million) 1:5 matching guarantee for PE funds to invest in Malaysian consortia.

Also Read: Malaysia’s Petronas sets up US$350M VC fund to invest in tech startups around the world

There were 105 registered VC firms in Malaysia at the end of 2018 and these firms had invested a total of 613.3 million ringgit (US$150.1 million) in the entire year.

Budget 2020 promises to support and encourage new financing options such as Equity CrowdFunding (ECF) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platforms. Both platforms had collectively raised more than 430 million ringgit (US$102.8 million) as of June 2019.

The Malaysian government is allocating 297 billion ringgit (US$71 billion) for Budget 2020, an increase of 19.5 billion ringgit (US$4.7 billion) compared to 2019.

Dental 3D printing startup Structo secures funding [e27]

Singapore-based dental 3D printing startup Structo announces that it has secured a new round of venture funding from several Asian investors. According to the company’s statement, the investors joining the round include the Singapore Economic Development Board’s investment arm (EDBI), GGV Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Temasek-backed, Pavilion Capital.

Structo plans to use the latest round of funding to further develop its digital additive manufacturing solutions, and launch new products that leverage automation to enable the mass production of custom patient-specific products.

Structo was founded in 2014 as a project from the National University of Singapore (NUS). It develops 3D printers and solutions for the dental industry.

Also Read: 5 Singapore startups that could be the next industry darling

Huub van Esbroeck, co-founder and CEO of Structo added that it has installed its printers across five continents and produces hundreds of thousands of dental appliances per month. Apart from its Singapore-based headquarters, Structo also operates from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK).

AI-powered edutech startup Mathpresso receives US$14.5 Million in Series B funding, focussing on driving growth [Press Release]

Mathpresso, an AI-powered education startup from South Korea, announces that it has secured US$14.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Legend Capital with participation from new investors InterVest and NP Investments as well as existing investor Mirae Asset Venture Investment, bringing its total funding to US$21.2 million.

Founded in 2015, Mathpresso is an ed-tech company that offers ‘QANDA’, a mobile app that enables students to search solutions to math problems just by taking a photo and ask 1-on-1 questions to top-school tutors.

“Our mission is to provide equal opportunities to education through technology,” said Jongheun Lee, co-founder, and CEO at Mathpresso. “With the new investment, we plan to bolster our presence in the Asian market beyond Korea and Japan which will bring us closer to achieving our mission.”
–

The post Today’s top tech news: These are the five startups in first gojek Xcelerate appeared first on e27.

By bringing together Southeast Asia’s best, Thailand is geared for great things in the digital space

It’s no secret that the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia is growing at a rapid rate. The region is home to 10 unicorn startups and has been earmarked as one of the most attractive destinations for investors. Thailand is a particularly nascent market for entrepreneurship — having ranked 71st out of 137 countries globally, and 15th out of 28 countries in the Asia Pacific region in the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2018.

The government of Thailand has been pouring efforts into building up the country’s tech ecosystem in recent years. The National Innovation Agency, a government agency aimed at encouraging innovation, overhauled its financial support programme for startups to help move progress along quicker and allowing them to access THB44 billion in funding. The agency’s main goal is to build 3,000 innovation-based startups in the next decade, to nurture the startup ecosystem and generate growth.

It also works in partnership with True Digital Park (TDPK), the country’s first and Southeast Asia’s largest digital innovation hub. Based in Bangkok, the global startup destination is a playground of sorts for startups, providing space for work and daily living in an integrated community. Initiatives like these really emphasise Thailand’s dedication to a digital transformation.

Digital transformation in the land of smiles

When we talk about digital transformations, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is simply shifting daily manual processes and activities into a digital framework — but it is far more than that.

According to The Enterpriser’s Project, a digital transformation in the business context is about “fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value.” It also involves a “cultural change that requires organisations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure”.

This applies to ecosystems as well, and is the driving force for innovation, which is the reimagining of a process that has already been established. For example, social media gave the entire world a brand new way of communicating and sharing experiences, overhauling society in ways we couldn’t have imagined before. Innovating the way people connect with one another has sparked a digital transformation and resulted in vast generational changes.

While there are countless areas of business and life that are in the midst of being transformed, social media remains to be one of the most obvious examples of how innovation throbs at the core of digital transformation. It is so prevalent that it has become part of everyday life not just for people, but businesses as well.

Thailand’s TDPK is where such digital transformations in the region could plant its roots. With the sheer amount of talent and investment that the park brings together, it provides crucial knowledge creation that is supportive to digital innovations. By positioning itself as a hub where innovation thrives and sprawls, TDPK empowers the region’s startup ecosystem and boosts its potential exponentially.

Togetherness of possibilities — bridging the region together

In September 2019, TDPK held a tech conference, Togetherness of Possibilities, which aimed to inspire and share knowledge and experiences among startups, businesses, and government agencies. The conference featured new technologies and innovation labs exhibited by partners of the space, from public and private sectors, as well as top executives and entrepreneurs whose work is designed at driving more sustainable digital economic development in Thailand and the SEA region.

Mr. Suphachai Chearavanont, CEO of the Charoen Pokphand Group and Chairman of the Board of True Corporation, said: “Innovation and digital technology is the driving force of digital transformation especially for enterprises and industries that need to change their business model and apply digital technology to create added value for products and services.

“Meanwhile digital technology also plays an important role in digitising — making communities, societies, healthcare, and the environment better. It also reduces the income divide and helps to sustainably create prosperity for Thailand. True Digital Park has been developed to increase Thailand’s competence through innovation, creativity, and technology. All these factors combine to create sustainable economic growth in the long run.”

TDPK’s Togetherness of Possibilities 2019 conference provided an excellent opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to meet with experts and highly-rated speakers from leading companies and startups from Thailand, as well as other countries.

Some of the notable attendees were Dr. Chinawut Chinaprayoon, Executive Vice President of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency; Pariwat Wongsamran, Director of Startup Thailand, the National Innovation Agency; James Tan, Deputy Chairman of Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE Singapore); Phi Van Nguyen, Chairman of Saigon Innovation Hub; S. Ryan Meyer, Managing Director of APAC, General Assembly; Nicholas Nash, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Asia Partners; and Khailee Ng, Managing Partner of 500 Startups.

The conference was held over the course of a day and the agenda was jam-packed with talks, forums, and networking opportunities for attendees to discuss and brainstorm. Keynote speaker Dr. Lu Gang, founder and CEO of Technode, talked about future-proofing China’s future with global innovation and tech, while panel discussions hashed out issues and thoughts on corporate transformations, the evolution of players in Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem, and unicorn opportunities in the region.

Integration and support from the region

The biggest takeaway from the conference was the need for Southeast Asian tech ecosystems to integrate and support one another. Pariwat Wongsamran said during one of the panels: “Actually, all of us (Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand) have the programmes to help ASEAN startups already. We can [join them] in the same programme.”

He added, “We can share data together and [help them] to go for investments. Venture capitals don’t just think about investing in one country, but instead investing in Southeast Asia as a whole. That’s why we should [work] together and use existing programmes like landing and launching pads, and exchange programmes, to help startups.”

Congregations of tech players like TDPK’s Togetherness of Possibilities are essential in building networks and strengthening local startups in the region. It gives every stakeholder in the ecosystem the opportunity to look beyond their own horizons and ideas, and it ultimately creates a wider bird’s eye view on the region as a whole, which helps keep everyone on track. It prevents repetitive ideas or homogenous business communities, while at the same time encouraging healthy competition among startups and businesses.

The importance of synchronicity in Southeast Asia

Such gatherings also attract foreign startups and investors, who might be looking for a way into the vast Southeast Asian market or to expand their portfolios with innovative new businesses. Thailand is privileged to be at the heart of Southeast Asia, and has the potential to be used as a base for foreign startups who want to tap into the region and spread their wings.

Investors are taking an active interest in the region as well, with acquisitions of Southeast Asian tech startups more than doubling in the first half of 2019, according to the Financial Times. The takeovers amounted to US$4.9 billion during that period and were led by unicorns like Indonesia’s Go-Jek.

Also read: One roof, all possibilities at the heart of Bangkok

A report by Golden Gate Ventures in Singapore and the Insead business school predicts that this trend will increase, and estimates a minimum of 700 startup exits between 2023 and 2025. Michael Lints, a partner at Golden Gate Ventures, told FT that the research showed a high number of global investors who are seeking to deploy capital in the region, with the US showing the highest level of curiosity, followed by Japan, Korea, and some parts of Europe.

TDPK reflects Thailand’s commitment to sustainable development in both the country and the region. It recognises the difficulties local startups face when it comes to accessing investors or the wider market, and how they lack deep technology and are actively creating opportunities and putting in measures that will help these startups gain a more global perspective. Despite being slow to start with, the Thai ecosystem is gaining speed and attracting attention from all around the world.

During Togetherness of Possibilities, TDPK announced the completion of its startup ecosystem, reinforcing how prepared it is to drive the regional digital economy forward. The potential for Thailand to become a major innovation and entrepreneurial hub in Asia feels well within reach. TDPK’s focus on building a complete startup ecosystem that encourages connectivity and knowledge-sharing has driven its mission to help startups and tech entrepreneurs reach their full potential forward.

In order for this innovation hub to thrive, TDPK and other Thai agencies, both public and private, must seek out more collaborations and capital from other Southeast Asian hubs. This is something they are already doing in earnest and has seen success in the form of partnerships and interest in the country’s entrepreneurial activities. If they continue in this vein, there’s no stopping Thailand from achieving its goals.

The post True Digital Park’s “Togetherness of Possibilities” drives digital transformation in Thailand appeared first on e27.

 

There is a level of enthusiasm that comes with starting a business for the first time. A lot of first-time business owners get too excited, act blindly, running their businesses down and land themselves in debt as a result.

According to a report on Forbes, in 2018 the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy posits that roughly 80 per cent of small businesses survives the first year. That number sounds quite high because there is a common belief that most businesses fail in their very first year. It is safe to say that there are no guarantees, just principles to be followed and pitfalls to be avoided.

Capital may be a limiting factor, but if you repeat the same startup mistakes as older business founders, you are bound to fail worse than they did.

Starting a business requires that you do plenty of research, part of which includes how not to run a business. From research and expert opinions, here are 5 pitfalls to avoid when starting a business.

1. The pitfall of a wrong market notion

Business is business. That something interests you so much does not make it a viable business pursuit unless you know how you can turn your hobby to a business. Many businesses have become history just because of this wrong notion.

In business, you sell what the market wants, not what you feel like selling.

If you ignore the needs of the market, you set yourself up for failure. When you ignore the needs of the market, you quickly lose relevance. Discard the notion that the idea in your head is good enough until market research proves its viability.

2. The pitfall of not building an email list

Business is a game of numbers. The more channels you explore in driving sales, the more your chances of succeeding. Start early to build an email list for your business.

Also Read: The real reason why you should launch your startup faster (which is not talked about)

The start-ups who fail to pay attention to this end up at the bottom of the pyramid. Make email marketing a vital part of your business marketing plan.

A good email marketing service would enable you to create highly engaging email newsletters with an easy user interface (ideally drag & drop), mail automation, contact management and performance tracking of email marketing campaigns.

3. The pitfall of shabby negotiation skills

There is no law that says you must use up your start-up capital. Simply because you have enough to spend and go round for a start, does not mean you should do things without a proper negotiation.

Negotiation is a key part of business; it is an essential business skill.

You don’t negotiate because you don’t have enough, you negotiate because it is part of the business process. Shabby negotiation skills would drive faster down than calculated debt would.

Whether it is negotiating with employees, investors or suppliers, the key is to put your best foot forward and keep the emphasis on your business idea.

At this level, your target is to sell them your business plan or idea in the stead of a track record, which you don’t have because you are just starting out. Everything on the table is negotiable, master the skill and use it always.

4. The pitfall of not having a concrete business plan

Not having a business plan can be likened to flying blind or shooting without aiming. Every business must exist first on paper before it exists in reality. Your business should be so clearly represented on paper that it is near impossible for a willing investor to skip.

Creating a business plan takes time, thought and effort, and may seem like an impediment to getting on with opening or growing your new business, it is imperative in today’s competitive business climate for you to have all relative information available and evaluated before opening your doors.

With a thoughtfully prepared business plan, you will enter the business world prepared, ready to run your business and ready to compete.

Business plans are gradually becoming a cliché, but its importance remains undeniable. Along with depicting your business idea end-to-end on paper, painstakingly crafting your business plan helps you gain a better understanding of your business and increases your chances of success.

5. The pitfall of talent acquisition

Don’t be in a hurry to answer employer of labour. It is nothing more than a tag often too heavy on those who wear them. If you speak with successful business owners, you may be shocked to find out that they would do everything themselves if they could.

Before you employ anyone for the first time, make sure you really need to. The burden of paying salaries is real. Don’t hire anyone until it becomes necessary.

Also Read: 11 annoying business buzzwords you use without thinking and what to say instead

If you don’t put pen to paper and do your due diligence, failure is inevitable. Avoiding the pitfalls highlighted in this piece helps you keep your head in the game while making the most of your business.

–

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: Ben Maguire 

The post 5 pitfalls to avoid if you are starting a business for the first time appeared first on e27.

Between picking up her kids from school and future entrepreneurs in the world; Hong Kong-based VC Carman Chan lives an exciting life. Founder and leader of Click Ventures, an early-stage investor in technology startups in Asia and North America; she wants to enable the ecosystem to make it future-ready.

Value education

Although she ditched her PhD offer at a London University 20 years ago to fuel her venture; Chan sure does understand the value of education and training. No wonder then, that her first shot as a VC is strongly built on “nurturing innovators”. Driven by this mantra, she started the Click Academy within Click Ventures. It is a global initiative to give back to startup ecosystems by nurturing innovators and ecosystem stakeholders.

They do so by running training programmes, workshops, periodical reports, etc. “As a VC, we should spend at least 80-90% of our time learning. When we share knowledge, we learn, so it’s a win-win,” said Carman. With the Academy, she hopes to share observations and learnings from decades of building and supporting early-stage ventures to aspiring entrepreneurs.

But aren’t there a slew of accelerators, academies, and incubators aiming for the same? She instantly hit back with, “yes they are dime a dozen, but what about the people outside the ecosystem?”

In 2020, Chan wants to tackle this challenge and she is working with corporates and Universities to design an education programme of sorts to usher in curious minds who are not a part of the startup ecosystem. As a fair bit newbie to the environment, what I like about this notion (and hope to see it to fruition soon) is that there is no prerequisite i.e. unlike an accelerator or incubator one does not need to have a startup idea, team or a startup yet.

“Just bring in the curiosity,” Chan added.

Also read: Click Ventures’ Carman Chan on the most exciting changes in Hong Kong

She believes this kind of knowledge encryption has dual benefits. Not only will it create more entrepreneurial value but also enable businesses, investors, and corporates to understand the needs of startups and entrepreneurs. When you inspire a fresh graduate or student or even a mid-level employee with necessary knowledge and tools about the ecosystem there is a high chance they will be better empowered to become entrepreneurs.

Similarly, traditional businessmen jump into the ecosystem by becoming investors without knowing it too well and sometimes end up placing harsh terms (sometimes suffocating startups). Chan said, “I have seen investors ask for a personal guarantee from founders before funding. Or inflating success rates. If business investors were more educated (about the ecosystem), it could lead to better synergy.”

Women in tech

As one of Nikkei Asian Review’s Women to Watch in Asian Tech, Chan’s journey as a tech columnist-turned-serial entrepreneur- turned VC is inspiring for women entrepreneurs in Asia and the world. So I could not help quizzing her on if and how this education will empower women in the tech and business world?

“There is a lot of discussion about unconscious bias and it is very real,” said Chan. “I am often the only woman on the advisory board and I have to put in a lot of extra effort just to be heard.” She pointed to a “big inertia” when it comes to women in the fraternity and said that not a lot was being done to address the gender gap.

Women need to organise themselves and come together to tip the scales. Women-only investor networks, women entrepreneurs’ groups, and founder groups are growing and are a good sign. Chan herself is a part of SheVC, HK Female Founder and Funder, and WomenVC Network.

She likes their decentralised nature and says, “these networks can be game-changers for traditional Southeast Asian societies.” Startups need a global network to grow as every startup sooner or later will expand. Being a part of these networks come in handy. At Click Academy, she also runs a programme to discover and empower women-led or women empowerment projects to keep her company in the VC/startup world.

The post Not much is being done to address the gender gap in the VC space: Carman Chan of Click Ventures appeared first on e27.

WeWork further expands in Singapore amidst job cuts [press release]

WeWork today announced the official launch of its new space at 9 Battery Road in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD).

The co-working space operator will also be opening two new locations beyond the city’s traditional CBD at 83 Clemenceau Road and 30 Prinsep Street in December 2019.

WeWork entered the region through the acquisition of Spacemob and its leadership, where the first location at WeWork Beach Centre was opened in December 2017. WeWork plans to have a total of 12 locations in less than two years in Singapore.

The company has been going through a rough patch in the past two weeks and is reportedly planning to fire thousands of people across the world.

Indonesia’s OJK grants new licences to six fintech lenders [DealStreetAsia]

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has granted fully business operational licences to six fintech startups as of September this year.

The six startups are Modalku (the Indonesian arm of Funding Societies), KTA Kilat (Pendanaan), Kredit Pintar, Maucash, Finmas (Sinarmas and Oriente-backed fintech firm) and KlikACC.

OJK had previously granted licences to seven fintech startups in August this year to Danamas, Investree, Amartha, Dompet Kilat, KIMO, Toko Modal, and UangTeman.

In total, there are 13 companies granted fully business licences from OJK. So far, there are 127 fintech companies registered under OJK.

E-hailing drivers unhappy with ‘AH’ vehicle code [TheStar]

E-hailing drivers have expressed dissatisfaction with the Transport Ministry’s decision to change their vehicle’s code to ‘AH’, which denotes that it is a “private e-hailing” car.

Ng Kian Nam, representing a group of disgruntled drivers, said although the ministry had clarified this does not change the car’s status to that of a commercial vehicle, it was still a change in category.

On Wednesday (Oct 9), Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the change to the “AH” code is only in the Road Transport Department (JPJ) ‘s MySIKAP system, and will not be reflected in the vehicle’s ownership grant.

“What is the difference if there is a status change in the grant, or just in the MySIKAP system? It is still a change in category.

KK Fund-backed Drivehub looking for regional expansion [press release]

Thailand-based online car rental marketplace Drivehub has reached breakeven and is looking to expand service into other Southeast Asia markets.

Started in 2017, Drivehub connects thousands of rental vehicles from nationwide (such as Hertz, National, Sixt) and local car rental providers with potential renters. Since then, it has expanded its presence into 33 locations over Thailand.  

The startup is backed by KK Fund.

 

The post Today’s top tech news: WeWork further expands in Singapore amidst job cuts, other woes appeared first on e27.