Listen, to be an entrepreneur, you truly have to be crazy on some level. Anything else in life that has a 95 per cent chance of failure. You probably wouldn’t do. Generally spending years of your life. And millions of dollars of someone else’s money when you fully comprehend that most startups fail? Sure, that sounds like a good idea to you.

The reason for this is that if you are truly an entrepreneur in your blood. You have no choice but to create, even if that means you will most likely fail. For example, there are some instincts you have as a person. That you are going to need to put aside if you want to succeed at the entrepreneurship game.

1. Don’t jump right in without sufficient research

The one thing most entrepreneurs have in common is passion. You have an idea; You are excited by the idea and its potential to change the world. And all you want to do is take that idea and turn it into a product.

Want to know what sounds a whole lot less appealing to you right now? Taking a deep breath, not building the product, and spending a month doing in-depth market research and competitive analysis. Guess what? If you skip this part; boring as it may be; you’ll regret it later. So then fight that instinct to run with the idea. And instead see who else had the same idea, who has tried it, who failed; who succeeded, and why.

2. Embrace competition

Once you have embraced the need for competitive analysis, now ask yourself; what is your goal here? Your instinct, as a human being, is to feel unique, to convince yourself that no one else is like you, no one has tried this, no one has already built what you have been dreaming of building.

You basically need to do the opposite of that. Build yourself a comprehensive landscape of companies in your space. Make that landscape as full as possible. Your goal here is not to convince yourself there is no competition. It is to understand that there is, which means there is a demand for your idea. If others have tried it, then you can either do it better than they, or alternatively, you can go back to the drawing board, which means you have essentially dodged a bullet by not simply building something that already exists.

Also Read: Moovaz acquires GetVan to bolster its tech-powered relocation business

3. No one likes to be wrong, but you might be

As you do your research and become more of an expert on your domain, speak to people, get feedback, look at data, and be prepared to accept that your assumptions were actually wrong. That doesn’t mean you need to call it quits, but a pivot might be in order. That’s never easy because, after all, this was your baby, but as an entrepreneur, knowing how to be wrong and move on is an absolutely mandatory skill.

4. Not everything you do has to be scale-able

Paul Graham wrote a famous essay entitled Do Things That Don’t Scale. You want to build a sustainable business, one that grows consistently, and the thought of going door to door to interview people or pick up the phone and call your customers doesn’t exactly scream scalability.

Fight that thought in the early days of your venture and do things that don’t scale, because the only way to reach millions of people is by first getting tens or hundreds of people to care.

5. Understand that you might have to close up shop

This is the toughest instinct you need to fight as an entrepreneur. You are most likely not a quitter and so reaching a conclusion that it’s time to call it a day is the last thing you are used to doing.

A good entrepreneur knows when it’s time to take an objective look at the numbers, the market, and the competition, and realize that the time has come to move on.

Also Read: NTUitive’s new programme VB18 will help Singaporeans get paid while building a business

As many have said before me, failure is that only if you don’t extract lessons from it. Looking from a failed startup can become your biggest asset in your next venture, but sometimes you just need to know how to quit.

Like I said, you have to be crazy to be an entrepreneur, but let’s not forget the famous Apple ad.

“Here’s to the crazy ones … because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.”

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The article was first published on nfinitiv.

Image Credit: Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

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This article is published as a part of a partnership with Future Food Asia. ProAgni is one of the 11 finalists of the US$100,000 Future Food Asia (FFA) 2020 Award to be hosted from September 21-25.

While global protein demands continue to rise, the animal protein industry is often entangled with issues of sustainability, biosecurity, and ethics. As an increasing number of consumers are taking matters into their own hands by seeking safer, more sustainable, and ethical food choices, there is a clear gap that livestock producers are failing to address.

It’s no surprise that antimicrobial resistance is on the rise when taking into account the growing prevalence of antibiotic consumption in livestock farming. In regions such as Southeast Asia, for example, the lack of policy implementation and infrastructure perpetuate this issue.

Antibiotic use in farm animals has become a structural problem in the industry, as it is directly harmful to human health, and the consequent antimicrobial resistance poses a threat to the economic sustainability of the farmers.

Anti antibiotics

ProAgni, an Australian bioscience startup, is addressing this problem head-on. With a mission to eliminate the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in intensive livestock production, ProAgni has successfully developed its patented antibiotic-free nutrition range ProTect that optimises digestion.

Their feed additive technology has been developed to influence microbial fermentation and optimise animal performance, such as weight gain and health, by delivering the key types of energy that the animal can utilise. This has led to significant improvements in productivity, while maintaining animal health safety, thus providing an alternative to antibiotic use for growth promotion.

High steaks

The co-founders of ProAgni asked themselves: how do kangaroos thrive and survive on so little food and water? And produce little or no methane? What if farm animals could do the same?

They were inspired by the possibility of reducing methane emissions from ruminants whilst using less grass, water, and time and remove the use of unnecessary antibiotics to contribute to improving the economics and sustainability of farming.

Also Read: Hunger for no hunger: How Agrisea grows rice in the ocean to address food scarcity

Co-founder Fiona believes their combined efforts at ProAgni could change the status quo of the industry where there’s waste, wasted time, money, and resources. She believes that adopting their technology means more efficient meat production with fewer emissions and antibiotics and that the technology can be adapted to have applications in agriculture in Western and emerging markets.

The biggest achievement moment for ProAgni was witnessing that the product performance exceeded their initial expectations and was supported by positive feedback from producers and strong sales growth. Another milestone was proof that they could shelf-stabilise obligate anaerobic bacteria.

Fiona believes that as a finalist at Future Food Asia, ProAgni will be able to meet like-minded people who are passionate about change in the food supply, toward triple bottom line solutions.

Mooving on …

ProAgni’s ProTect product lines have been commercially available in Australia for the past two years, where the products have been scientifically and commercially validated. What keeps Fiona up at night is the fact that the industry is not adopting change rapidly enough and is doubling down on solutions that are not sustainable.

But this only fuels ProAgni’s visions as they continue to collaborate, create collective value, and accelerate the adoption of innovation for sustainable food production.

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Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) has often been regarded as one of the most lucrative industries and for good reason. In 2018, over US$60 billion was invested in CVC deals.

That number returned a 100 per cent increase from the previous year and represents 23 per cent of the total calculated capital invested in represented VC firms. It is no surprise that CVC puts up these impressive numbers: it is an easy and symbiotic way to develop business interests, expand your network, and see tangible results in a short time.

These results can be seen through new integrated solutions, foreign business opportunities, and growth in general assets.

Many CVC ventures end up largely profitable for the larger corporation as well as the smaller startup. This is because working together allows both organisations to develop themselves in a way that is positioned around each other.

As the relationship develops, this results in financial return and expanded partnerships. In some instances, the larger firm can even acquire the startup if it is well integrated into the larger business environment.

Corporate venture capital, at its core, solves a problem. The scope and intensity of the problem can vary but the bottom line is that CVCs address and mitigate some internal business challenges while finding solutions to other problems that exist through various business areas.

The why behind corporate venture capital

According to Bloomberg, it is estimated that over 70 per cent of capital invested in CVC is directed through the San Francisco Bay Area. This is because the Bay Area still holds the innovation hub of the world. However, for those outside the Bay, it can be difficult to have executive partnership conversations without a local anchor.

With venture capital being such a “people industry,” building and maintaining relationships is one of the most, if not the most important, aspect to be successful.

As a CVC, it is important to go into the venture with the mindset of building synergetic relationships. This is because CVC is always a two-way street. As a part of a larger corporation, it can be easy for the startup to be overtaken with the corporation’s larger disposable resources and facilities.

Also Read: These Kazakh startups are gearing up to dive into corporate innovation waters and beyond

However, this often causes the startup to fail. The CVC Partner needs to play umpire and protect both the needs of the startup and the company they represent.

It is important to maintain authenticity behind both companies while looking for ways to grow together. Avoiding these pitfalls allows for a symbiotic relationship between the startup and corporate partners so that those pre-established internal relationships will let you hit the ground running, and is why successful ventures within a CVC can quickly scale in market and industry respectively.

Establishing CVC governance

When starting to think about running a CVC practice, keep in mind who you will be reporting to. We at 10X Innovation Lab had the chance to interview HP Tech Ventures’ Partner Mitchell Weinstock who has a background in the hardware industry and has three successful startup exits.

Mitchell notes that where your group operates changes the behaviour of the CVC. Sometimes the CVC organisation will report directly to the CEO, CFO, or CTO, and each will have a different governance style. When bringing a startup forward, the CVC team should know the answers to questions such as:

“Who is this project benefiting? And who is providing the funding?”

At different stages and levels of CVC engagement, the people who are supporting the startup project will be different.

This will also affect the other times you will closely work with a specific part of the organisation at large and how they will respond to the CVC group. Ensuring a regular cadence of communication in your chain of command is critical. You need to constantly be aligned with the current thinking and be ready to adjust your investment thesis if the leadership team changes direction.

Part of that is deciding upfront if you are purely investing for strategic intent and financial gain takes a back seat to gain insights for the organisation, if they are equal, or you are acting more like an institutional VC and focusing on financial gain.

A governance structure is also important for a variety of financial reasons. If you are reporting to the CEO, you tend to have greater flexibility in your decision making and funding. CVC funding can be done from a variety of sources.

Depending on the size and purpose behind the venture, the funding may come directly from the company, such as when a single LP fund where the company is the sole limited partner, or it may come from an off-balance sheet account where the funding is not affecting the business units.

Before even starting a CVC practice, Mitchell recommends that you go to the people that will be overseeing the potential venture and align with the strategic visions they have for the company.

Being able to tailor CVC initiatives that revolve around these objectives will allow you to layout a road map for what kinds of potential partnerships you are looking for and create an investment thesis that both startups and other venture entities will understand.

Creating a focus

You might be wondering how to scale down your initial list of CVC opportunities. An investment thesis will keep the team aligned and focused on what is strategic to the company.

When looking at startups Mitchell recommends that you look past the product idea and look hard at the team behind the solution. He added, “The teams that most often win are not those with the best product but those with the best execution.”

Also Read: 5 things startups should know about Corporate Venture Capital

Invest in teams first. Think about the characteristics of a good business partner and know that it may take years for the product to develop and mature to the point where the company can engage in a partnership.

Many CVC opportunities for HP Tech Ventures developed over a long time. Take your time and consistently reevaluate the maturity of the product and team. Don’t give up on them because startups pivot and change over the various stages.

It helps to start with a big funnel of deal flow contacts and then narrow down your potential opportunities to match your investment thesis. Don’t eliminate opportunities just because they don’t match one of your criteria.

Take the time to thoroughly evaluate each business venture and determine whether you see a potential of collaboration in the future. Mitchell points out that some of his most successful opportunities have been from people or places that he did not initially consider as a likely source of good startups.

Landscaping CVC through COVID-19

Amidst the coronavirus, those that operate through international markets are easily able to connect with anyone around the globe. One advantage of being able to meet online is that it is easier to find a common time to sit down and chat. Another one is that those small cultural disparities, which are often overlooked, allow for smoother communication.

By creating a good network right now during COVID-19, you will set up a strong infrastructure for creating syndicates of investors who will support corporate venture capital investors in the coming years. This infrastructure will allow you to assert yourself into the venture capital world and you will be able to carry these networks into real-life collaboration.

You will need to be more creative as an investor or an entrepreneur because of the global working phenomenon caused by the pandemic. Many events where investors and investees regularly come together have been forced to be postponed or cancelled to protect people’s health and safety. Despite this, Mitchell suggests that there are still so many opportunities.

Investor conventions have moved to an online platform so now you have access to thousands of presentations and pitches that you would not normally be able to see because of time and travel restrictions. Go online and find conferences that pertain to your industry or horizontal.

Finally, as you build a pipeline of prospective startups and VCs, have regular readouts of the funnel status with your management team. They need to know when you are getting close to closing so they can prepare all the funding stakeholders for funding requests and to ensure that your internal sponsors are committed to the investment.
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Despite booming sales accelerated by COVID-19, e-commerce players have taken growth for granted at the expense of consumer experience, according to new research.

Within Singapore, over a third of consumers (39 per cent) said they are less than satisfied with their digital commerce experience, citing delivery costs, product prices, and delivery time as their top three concerns.

Titled Into the Light: Understanding What has Changed for the ASEAN Consumer During COVID-19, the study was conducted by data content and social research agency Blackbox Research and consumer intelligence platform Toluna.

Also Read: Why brands fail on e-commerce and what they can do about it

The report analysed current sentiments, expectations and behaviours of 4,780 consumers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Singaporeans using more but feeling worse

Yashan Cama, International Commercial Director of Blackbox Research, said the study confirmed a significant change in consumer behaviour in recent months driven by an increasing necessity to shop online.

The report found that Singaporean consumers reported a spike in online spending in response to COVID-19, with 63 per cent of those surveyed now spending more online, and the total online spend for the average Singaporean consumer increasing by 31 per cent.

However, the findings also suggest that that while major e-commerce brands are enjoying higher usage rates, this growth has come at the cost of greater scrutiny from consumers.

For example, while brands including Shopee (52 per cent), Qoo10 (41 per cent) and Lazada (39 per cent) are widely used by Singaporeans, consumer satisfaction with Qoo10 and Lazada falls on the lower end, while Shopee only performed average on the spectrum.

Cama said that consumer frustrations about service quality could make or break major brands.

Also Read: How shopping sites performed during COVID-19 in Singapore

“We expect some of these cornerstone brands to experience a shake-up in the coming months if these existing problems are not quickly addressed. Consumers will only become more discerning in future. With 5G technology on the verge of transforming platform capabilities, current market leaders may wake to find themselves no longer at the front of that queue if they don’t address concerns and work to deliver a more frictionless experience.”

However, Cama added that this presents Singapore with a unique opportunity to act as the innovation incubator for brands to develop best-in-class e-commerce platforms and services to address these newfound challenges.

“Singapore has always been an important market for both global and regional brands due to its strategic location, as well as its developed financial and legal system. We foresee Singapore becoming increasingly attractive as a tech and innovation hub, as trade tensions and hostility between markets like the US and China continue. Singapore has every potential to become the testbed for new e-commerce players as they look to achieve a greater understanding of consumer sentiments — within Singapore and the region,” Cama noted.

Local businesses emerge as pandemic heroes

The report also identified key trends as a result of the pandemic, notably a shift in consumer sentiment towards local brands. 78 per cent of Singaporean consumers said they were more likely to support local brands in the future, driven by a desire to strengthen their local communities and economy.

Also Read: How Shopee uses AI, data to build a marketing strategy that suits changes in user behaviour

When asked to identify brands that they are pleased or impressed with during the COVID-19 crisis, Singaporeans named homegrown players such as Sheng Siong and Fairprice as their top local brands, and overall the respondents listed at least three local businesses in their top five.

“‘International’ might be on the verge of becoming a dirty word,” said Cama. “Local brands have truly stepped up to the plate during the pandemic, as demonstrated by the key roles these two grocery heavyweights have played during key milestones such as Singapore’s circuit breaker period, and their ability to manage customers and meet their needs in the best possible way.”

“The resurgence in national pride can also be attributed to consumers looking to support their own economy. They are increasingly choosing to shop local over international. International companies will need to reassess their brand portfolios and seriously consider how they can localise their brands to reflect the values that matter most to Singaporean consumers,” he explained.

Home becomes the new headquarters

According to Cama, COVID-19 is not only changing how and where consumers are spending their money, but it is also shifting how people are going about their day-to-day lives, which will have a tangible impact on future consumer behaviour.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, homes in ASEAN have emerged as the headquarters for learning, working and socialising. An overwhelming 95 per cent of Singaporeans are happy working from home, and the majority aren’t missing going to the movies or shopping at retail outlets,” he said.

“Consumers are not rushing back to their old habits, so this new sense of life revolving around the home hub means companies need to rethink how they build this into the consumer experience in future. These changes go right to the heart of consumer behaviour and require innovative approaches across the board from property developers, landlords, employers, through to retailers,” he shared.

Also Read: How Pomelo tackles the problem of high product return with its O2O retail experience

Commenting on the significance of the findings, Cama said that the study has shown that the pandemic has unequivocally shifted how we identify as consumers. If businesses fail to adapt, the stakes are high. Any negative interaction with a brand, particularly in times of crisis, can have longstanding effects on his or her sense of trust and loyalty.

“In order to build resilience, brands need to keep a real-time pulse on customer preferences, and at the same time reimagine customer experience for a post-COVID-19 world, with care and connection at the forefront. Organisations today have an obsession with data. This is not a bad thing. But only by choosing to value customers as more than digital units or data points, will brands emerge successful,” he concluded.

Blackbox Research and Toluna carried out an online nationally representative survey of n=4,780 across six countries, aged between 18 to 60. Stratified random sampling was applied across key demographic and geographic variables to ensure representative coverage. The survey was conducted in June 2020.

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Photo by Erik Mcleanon Unsplash

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QBO Innovation Hub (QBO) has announced a partnership with the US Embassy in the Philippines to launch an initiative to support early-stage startups, amid uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

Titled INQBATION: The Take-Off, the programme will provide selected startups with financial support in the form of grants, loans and fundraising opportunities. Besides this, they will get workshops, free consultations, tax filing, marketing and access to customers.

To participate, startups will need to have a working prototype and should not have raised more than Php 5 million (~US$100,000) in external funding.

Currently, the programme is open only for Filipino startups. Last date to send the application is October 4.

“With INQBATION: The Take-Off, we want to enable early-stage startups who only need a leg up to succeed,” said ReneMeily, President of QBO.

Also Read: Going big? Then Go e27 Pro.

The partnership comes at a critical time as the pandemic has stirred up unpredictability making it difficult for many startups to directly seek investment from direct sources like VCs.

According to the Philippine Startup Survey 2020, 64 per cent of local startups will need at least Php 5 million to stabilise their operations in the next 12 months, and less than 20 per cent have enough cash and capacity to stay operational.

Also Read:  LongHash to launch incubation program targeting early stagers blockchain projects

“We are hopeful that by giving a platform to early-stage startups, they will gain knowledge and resources to develop some truly innovative ideas and solutions. We are dedicated to supporting a robust startup ecosystem, building deeper commercial ties between the US and the Philippines, and are enthusiastic about contributing to the vibrant startup scene of the Philippines,” said Matt Keener, US Embassy Cultural Attaché.

QBO is an innovation hub or a platform for the startup community to collaborate, develop talent and grow. It claims to be Philippines’s first public-private initiative for startups.

Some of its partners are IdeaSpace, JP Morgan, Department of Science and
Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry.

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