Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic, leaving 1.5 billion students in 188 countries out of their classrooms. The world has not seen this level of disruption of education since World War II.

There are various edutech companies providing a wide range of learning tools for primary, secondary and pre-university students across the continent and everyone will agree that the time is ripe for these startups to grow whether it is in brand awareness or user base.

Never before have schools and colleges so urgently needed digital tools and services to facilitate remote learning —and been less able to afford them. After a financing lull in March, investors poured money into edutech, catapulting several startups past the US$1 billion valuation mark.

For instance, Udemy raised US$50 million in February pushing valuation to US$2 billion, ApplyBoard raised US$71 million in May, Quizlet closed a US$30 million round in May crossing US$1 billion valuation mark.

Also Read: How the Coronavirus is teaching edutech startups a much-needed lesson

Barclays estimates that spending on technology by educators will increase 12 per cent a year and is still just three per cent of a US$6 trillion global market. However, the large scale adoption of the edutech offerings still remains a challenge because of the following reasons:

• Only 59 per cent of the world has internet access
• Only 49 per cent of the household globally has access to the PCs
• Governments are prioritising health care sector over the education sector 
• Schools struggle with capital technical resources in the absence of government support
• Lack of trained staff to conduct online classes

Hence, investors have deliberately focused on entities that market tools and services directly to consumers (DTC) and not to the institutions. Three DTC edutech sectors that gained most investments were online tutoring, digital aides and apps, and edutainment.

Online tutoring companies in the US, China, and India have attracted huge traction and interest from the investors.  For example, Chegg outperformed forecasts by hitting US$132 million in revenue and 30 per cent rise in the stock price in Q1 2020. Byju, India’s second highest valued startup raised US$100 million Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital. Countries such as Australia, Korea, and Saudi Arabia have seen a surge in edutech startups supported by large rounds of funding in Q1 2020.

Interest and investment in tools and services designed for direct use of the students and parents are on the rise. Digital aides and apps such as Google Classroom, Seesaw, and Classdojo have seen a sharp rise since the remote learning started. Sites such as Khan Academy have seen 2.5 to three times increase in the traffic, with users spending twice the amount they did before the pandemic.

Users are turning to learn as a source of entertainment and a way to gain additional skill sets. Some of the popular edutainment business in this space has added several users and attracted millions in investment.

Also Read: These Indonesian edutech startups are helping students cope and thrive during the COVID-19 crisis

Example: MasterClass, which recruits celebrities to share expertise in non-credit-bearing online classes has registered 10 folds growth in revenue and raised US$100 million in funding. Similarly, Duolingo reported a 101 per cent increase in the user base since March.

The outlook in the DTC edutech space certainly looks promising. However, investors foraying in this space should also be mindful of the ongoing risks such as regulation, funding cycles, and competition. Ultimately, the best companies, investors, and impactors in this space will be those who put the users at the centre.

Finding ways to reduce costs, deliver quality pedagogy, and demonstrate impactful outcomes will determine the long-term winners as the edutech market grows and matures.

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According to CrunchBase, there are about 11,288 SaaS-based startups in the world. That’s the level of competition we are talking about. Companies are always on the lookout for ways to keep them ahead of their competitions.

One thing successful startups have found out is that while most of the factors might not be within their control, the internal factors such as cost and resources are definitely within their control. Proper financial planning and optimised execution are the building blocks to any long term business’s success.

Having experience of co-founding and running three companies, with one in London and the two in India, the last 25 years have given me key insights into how to make the most with the resources you get.

I have tried, tested, failed, tried again, and succeeded in implementing measures and goals to optimise resources. One thing that I have learned over the years is that you don’t win in business (especially startups) if you waste money.

What we are going to address here is not just about being frugal but also about being sustainable. You cannot build a business by being a cheapskate, right? What worked for us was finding the right talent (or rather a sustainable talent with low turnover) and developing deep knowledge about the problem we are solving. The key here is to develop a low yet evolving footprint.

Also Read: A Beginner’s Guide: Should I buy a SaaS for my startup?

Frugality in work and office space

The section that I would like to discuss is how we optimised the costs in our daily-tools and operations. I believe this is where we saved a major chunk of our resources. We were very open and candid with our employees about our ethic of frugality in everything that we do in the company. We tried to be sustainable in almost everything that was under control, from creating a coworking space, work from home facility to using the right tools to minimising the travel expenses. To dive you a little deeper and get into the details, I’ve broken down the list into these areas.

Frugality in the product-development phase

Although we were being cost-effective with a lot of our choices, we never compromised on the quality of tools for our software developers. They would always get the most advanced and tech-forward computers and equipment. Before you jump to the conclusion that this was a biased (and uneconomic) call, let me tell you how it wasn’t.

As a SaaS company, developing a competitive product was the heart of all our operations. And my top priority was to take long-term, sustainable and smart decisions in product development.

One of the fundamental decisions that we had to make was choosing the cloud server infrastructure. It was a close call between AWS and DigitalOcean and we went with the latter.

One reason was obviously the pricing. And since we had a few but skilled and experienced software developers and I myself was involved heavily, it allowed us to build the website from scratch and gave us the flexibility we wanted.

Another bold technical decision that we took was choosing Scala as the language for programming. Scala is a very sophisticated language and to be honest it is not an obvious language to choose. The reason why I insisted on using this language is that I had over 15 years of experience working in Scala.

Not only did I have trust in it, I knew that I would be able to oversee each and everything going on in the website. And in case of an emergency, I will be able to take things on my own hands and keep the website in check. As entrepreneurs, sometimes it is important to take the route that is comfortable for you or one which you have faith in rather than venturing into unknown territory.

Also Read: 5 things Saleswhale learned about building a global SaaS platform from Southeast Asia

So far these two have been some of the good (and frugal) decisions we have made.

This doesn’t mean we haven’t made any mistakes. We did. Big ones that too.

For any startup that wants to build a mobile application, one of the cheapest and obvious ways is to go for a hybrid platform. We did the same and went for Titanium, which is a hybrid platform. But we started facing a lot of performance issues and it just didn’t suit the product we were building. After one year of struggling we had to move to native development. The app was already live on Titanium and it was a massive struggle to shift the platform. We could do it only because we had a very small number of users at that point in time.

So my advice for upcoming SaaS entrepreneurs would be to spend adequate time in the product development phase. Remember each small and big decision that you make in this stage will stick with you in the long run. In my opinion, the best way to be frugal here is to aim for the long run and go for a sustainable approach. The more you switch platforms in the later stages of your development, the more expenses you will suffer. Having a sustainable approach ensures frugality in the long run.

Efficient use of office space

One of our top priorities was having a good coworking space. Since we were a small team, rigorous collaboration was a must. While deciding on the office space for the Guwahati team, we made sure that a major part of the office space can be utilised as a coworking arena. This is where people across departments would sit together and work.

In fact, for the first five years, I myself preferred sitting in the common area. This helped us in two ways, mainly. Since we were a one-of-its-kind SaaS software operating from India, this working style helped everyone in the team understand each other’s role and contribution towards the common goals. Secondly, it helped us save a lot of money as we didn’t have to spend too much on renting out extra spaces for each team and department.

Also Read: How to choose a coworking space for your startup

It is a no-brainer that managing the operating space effectively can generate additional profits. I’ve mentioned earlier about the common working area which helped us a lot in setting the tone of the workplace. Rearranging and making the most out of the available space smartly can save up quite some bucks. Since we were sacrificing personal luxuries at the top-level, people never complained if we didn’t have state-of-art furniture or matching desks at our office.

Remember at the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey, the focus should be solely on growing (and sustaining) the business. When that happens, having a nicer office will be the least of your worries.

As a perk to make up for the limited desk space, we had a loaded snack station to keep our people happy during work hours. (This is a proven hack and I would definitely recommend it).

We didn’t have such options in India back in the day but you can even rent furniture from places such as Furlenco on a temporary basis. Optimising on your resources for the long term and sustainable development is not easy and definitely be augmented with years of experience behind your back. What wise people do is learn from their mistakes, smart people learn from others’ mistakes.

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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 and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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As COVID-19 continues to make a negative impact on many different industries and restrict customers’ movement up to an individual level, it has undoubtedly accelerated the pace of adoption of new technologies in various verticals.

One of which is VR. During the pandemic, the technology is gaining more attention among emerging industries such as e-sports and edutech, according to our recent interview with SOSV General Partner William Bao Bean.

In the medical and healthcare sector, as the public is being encouraged to limit visits to hospitals for the most urgent care and procedure, VR is coming to save the day. There are different ways that hospitals are using this technology; while patient consultations seem to be the obvious choice, staff training and anatomy reconstruction operations are also the way to go.

To understand more about the use of VR in healthcare, e27 interviews Silver Wings founder Kapil Chhabra. Silver Wings is a Singapore-based VR company that provides VR solution for a range of industry from automotive to tourism. The product that they offer includes a multi-user hologram table.

In the healthcare sector, Silver Wings is working with clinics in Singapore, such as the FeM Surgery group at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Novena and MacPherson. The project involves the use of VR as a visualisation tool to help patients understand surgery processes better.

Apart from that, Silver Wings also help medical students in their training process through the use of their technology.

Also Read: VCs get behind Disaster Tech in search for innovative life-saving technologies

The following is an edited excerpt of the interview:

Why do you think there has been a newfound interest by investors in the VR industry?

For an investor, it’s all about how scalable a product or solution is. Since VR is quite project-based, a lot of companies don’t have ready-made products that they can sell to the mass.

Back in 2014, to buy a VR headset would cost thousands of dollars, therefore people did not have access to the right content. But not anymore, people can now get VR headsets for a way lesser amount, which is why there is a growing interest.

How are you working with doctors to improve your products?

The best part about this technology is that as soon as any feature is updated, it is received very quickly. So from the product side, improvements are constantly happening. From the sector side, we do our best to enhance the medical process and try to minimise inefficiencies by first creating prototypes as solutions.

For example, before an operation, a doctor needs to talk to a patient about the medical procedures, what medicines they take, etcetera. All this is just a replication of things. Does a doctor really need to do that? Can it be done by a virtual doctor? So it’s really about improving productivity more than anything else.

What can be achieved if VR is more widely adopted in healthcare?

It is definitely a technology that can help the industry in many ways, especially for training. Imagine the kind of pressure that builds up for first-time doctors. And imagine using VR to replicate the whole process.

They can experience the same scenario and then get better used to the pressure of handling the real situation.

Also Read: (Exclusive) Thailand’s fleet intelligence solutions startup DRVR close to raising US$450K funding

How accurately can it replicate something as crucial as a doctor training?

It really depends on company to company how they approach it and how photorealistic their experience is. Generally, anyone who wears a headset can get overwhelmed because of the nature of the visual experience.

I do agree that sometimes the “real” feeling is not there, especially during training. But in terms of learning, it is much more enhanced. Currently, we are all learning through a video, which is some kind of a 3D model –but VR is beyond that. Imagine learning through a medium which is much closer to the real world.

Which countries in your opinion are leading in terms of VR adoption?

The best part about this technology is that as soon as anything is updated, it will be all received very quickly. But if I had to pick I would say that the US is pretty ahead because they are the ones who are researching it. In the Asian side, I would say China is really leading the way.

What do you think can be done to accelerate the pace of adoption in Southeast Asia region? 

There’s an awareness gap. We need to create platforms and events where people can come together and talk about the solutions that they have created. There has to be a better platform where people can easily notice and connected with each other.

Also Read: This infographic shows how VR and blockchain can work together in enhancing wellness through gamified meditation

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Image Credit: Lucrezia Carnelos

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IUIGA opens its first furniture showroom

The Story: Singapore-based omnichannel retailer IUIGA announced the opening of its first furniture showroom at TripleOne Somerset.

The Features: The furniture and furnishings available in the store will be around the range of S$1,000 (US$750) or less. It will also provide complimentary layout design services that include 3D rendering.

The Plan: IUIGA will be opening six more stores by the end of 2020, with more details released closer to the date.

What is IUIGA: Launched in 2017, IUIGA sells products ranging from kitchen products to apparels to electronics. The company has recently raised a US$10 million Series A funding round led by Konimex Technologies, a subsidiary of Indonesian conglomerate Konimex Group.

Also Read: How COVID-19 is changing traditional retail and e-commerce in SEA

Report: SEA-based VC firms lack gender diversity

The Story: In their new Women in VC: The Southeast Asia Edition report, DealStreet Asia revealed that about 76 per cent of VCs with operations in Southeast Asia (SEA) do not have a single female partner. It also stated that for every one female investing partner, there are five male decision-makers in the region.

The Details: The report looked into over 120 SEA-based investment firms in the region, from angel investments, corporate VCs, to accelerators.

Report: Ant Group eyes US$225B valuation in IPO

The Story: Ant Group targets US$225 billion for its dual listings in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the next few weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. This IPO will likely be one of the largest in the world.

Reports stated that the sales could raise about US$30 billion in total if markets are favourable.

The IPO is expected to happen in October the earliest.

The Impact: According to South China Morning Post, the IPO is expected to give another boost to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, which has already seen a renaissance of Chinese tech listings after it relaxed rules in the wake of losing China’s biggest tech firms to New York.

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Anisa Menur Maulani also contributed to this article.

Image Credit: IUIGA

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Ricult, a Thailand-based startup providing Artificial Intelligence-powered farming solutions, has raised US$2 million in a pre-Series A round of funding, says a report by Nikkei Asian Review.

The round was co-led by Bualuang Ventures, the venture arm of Bangkok Bank, and Krungsri Finnovate, the VC unit of Bank of Ayudhya.

With this deal, Ricult’s total funding raised in the seed round has touched US$5 million.

The agritech startup plans to use the funding for product development and to widen its presence in the domestic market, as well as expand into neighbouring countries such as Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Founded in 2015 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s alumnus, Ricult combines its “in-depth” expertise in weather analysis with satellite technology to develop a platform to help farmers and agribusinesses manage their farms more effectively.

This helps farmers increase yield from their cultivation, access online markets to sell their agricultural products, and offer a chat line with agriculture experts.

Its mission is not limited only to helping agriculturists, but also to benefit entrepreneurs throughout the agricultural supply chain, including banks.

Banks can consider the information in an approval process for loans to farmers and agricultural businesses, agricultural products insurance, or life insurance businesses. Merchants selling agricultural products can reach agriculturists on the platform through data solutions services.

The firm claims currently it has information of 200,000 Thai farmers and 100,000 global farmers on its platform, with the number of local farmers expected to reach one million and those worldwide to reach four million in the next three years.

Its next plan is to create business models which can scale up and expand into neighbouring countries such as Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

In a recent Techsauce article, Co-founder and CEO Aukrit Unahalekhaka, said in addition to business, Ricult wants to create a platform that can leverage technology to help people in society, especially farmers who are the backbone of Thailand.

“Often, many farmers are still using natural farming where it is impossible to assess productivity or various environmental factors. However, with the detailed and in-depth expertise of Ricult, farmers will be able to assess risks more accurately as it can forecast up to nine months in advance. In addition, data is analysed via satellite images on a single platform that provides product price information and chat service about cultivation with experts which will help develop the country’s agricultural knowledge as a whole,” he added in the interview.

Also Read: Taking a glimpse into agritech startups in Thailand

Previously, Ricult has secured seed funding from angel investors and venture capital companies, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dtac Accelerate, Chanwanich Group, Wavemaker, and 500 TukTuks.

Ricult expects to raise additional funds in 2021.
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