In their new Igniting Start-ups with Investor Insights report, Singapore-headquartered PR and communications firm SPAG stated that having a communications roadmap plays an important role in the success of a startup fundraising process.

According to the report, while the COVID-19 has disrupted startup investment in 2020, there are sectors that experience a surge in popularity this year: fintech, edutech, and health tech. However, startups still need to pay extra attention to setting themselves apart and securing the attention of investors with the right communications roadmap. As highlighted in the report: “A surge in the quality and quantity of startups brings tougher competition, and more must be done to turn investors’ heads.”

“To win the innovation game, startups need to develop a comprehensive, target-audience focused strategy. The current pandemic and the post-pandemic world present a unique set of challenges where startups need to stand out from their competitors and develop investor relations through communications. While communication needs differ at different stages of a start-up’s growth, how start-ups communicate with their audiences and tell their stories remain a critical function of success,” said Priyanka Bajpai, Regional Head, SPAG, in a press statement.

Developed in partnership with KPMG (Singapore), APACMed, PRCA SEA, and e27 and in consultation with key members of the investing community and innovation ecosystem, the report aims to provide an overall view on the communication landscape and guide startups with sound communication advice. It dives into the investor perspective for startups, from a communications standpoint, and includes insights from the advisory committee on the Asia Pacific (APAC) investment scene.

The report looked into the different stages of a startup’s communication journey –from inception to late stage– and provides insights based the different needs and challenges of each stage. But before we can get to this part, we first need to understand what investors are looking for in a startup and how they find them.

Also Read: Top contributor posts this week: Building a remote work culture, fundraising from home and more

The figures

When asked about the top three fundamentals that they are looking for in a startup, participating investors stated that they are considering product or service (50 per cent), market or product fit (27 per cent), and unique value proposition (27 per cent). For product or service, there are other considerations that investors are looking at –a great part of it involves the necessity of the product or service itself (55 per cent).

When it comes to considering the founders and the team behind the company, attitude and personality come out on top with 23 per cent.

The report also revealed the channels through which investors are gaining access to potential investments, which was dominated by other VCs, investors, proprietary networks, and pipeline companies at 36 per cent. This indicates that recommendations still play a great role in helping the investors secure these deals.

The journey

The report described the startup journey as potentially “overwhelming” when navigated without a strong communication of a company’s unique offering or brand proposition. Based on insights by key industry players, there are four different stages in a startup journey and communications strategies that are especially suited for each stage.

1. Nailing your proof-of-concept
Described as a “make-or-break” step of the startup journey, communications strategy in this stage focusses on convincing investors of the viability, scalability, and product-market fit of your company.

Key activities that you need to work on:
• Create a compelling pitch deck
• Know your do’s and don’ts in investor communications
• Catch investor’s eye and constantly network

Also Read: Top contributor posts this week: Building a remote work culture, fundraising from home and more

2. Launching your business
This is the stage where a startup map out its business by developing brand narrative, a comprehensive document encapsulating key messages on the company’s purpose, product and service offerings, and so on.

Key activities:
• Build your brand narrative
• Leverage channels effectively
• Track and measure strategies

3. Scaling up and beating the competition
Ideally, at this stage, a startup should be able to identify and capitalise on current initiatives that work, while mining new marketing streams that are necessary for growth goals.

Key activities:
• Grow your marketing and communications team
• Be bold and unique in your strategies
• Never neglect internal communications

4. Gaining market leadership
At this stage, a startup should be on its way to gain a foothold of the market, but it does not mean they can forgo promoting, protecting and strengthening the credibility of your brand.

Key activities:
• Strengthen thought leadership
• Localise brand communications
• Remain consistent, authentic and credible

—

Image Credit: Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

The post Report: Communications roadmap is key to successful startup fundraising in time of crisis appeared first on e27.

ScaleUp Malaysia, an accelerator programme powered by Singapore-based VC firm Quest Ventures, has announced the launch of the second cohort.

The programme is part of an investment deal by Quest worth US$1 million. As per the agreement, the VC firm will invest US$60,000 in up to 12 companies.

Also Read: Quest Ventures, ScaleUp Malaysia team up to invest up to US$1M in Malaysian startups

ScaleUp said it attracted more than 200 entries from countries such as Belgium and Egypt. The finalists were selected based on criteria, including product-market fit, revenue generation models and scalability of their products.

The accelerator aims to assist startups with their growth and product-market fit to scale them into businesses with high revenue growth and profitability.

The finalists will embark on a 3-month intensive group-based training programme focused on areas, including product management and finance.

Additionally, they will participate in a month-long boot camp to aid them in fund-raising. Upon completion of the programme, the 20 startups will pitch their solutions to an investment committee.

The 20 companies selected for Cohort 2 are:

Quadby: A social app specialised for millennial students to find and chat on campus.

GenYouth: A platform that develops the workplace competencies of youths.

Hire.Seniors: A platform that helps retirees and senior citizens find employment opportunities in Malaysia.

ERTH: A social enterprise focusing on e-waste recycling service.

Smartfund: A B2B invoice financing platform for SMEs.

EzyOffice: A one-stop office system and renovation solutions platform.

Fefifo: A co-farming company that focuses on empowering progressive farmers in ASEAN.

Hatio: A technology provider specialising in supply chain & logistics.

Hauz: A data-driven enterprise solution that manages and monitors remote workforce operations in the service industry,

Homa: An O2O marketplace for construction and renovation materials marketplace in Malaysia.

Kiddocare: A babysitting mobile platform for access to trained babysitters.

Load2Go: A logistics platform which focuses on delivery solutions for heavy industry materials.

MMC: A company that provides online and offline solutions from hardware to software to F&B businesses.

MyBump Media: A car-wrap advertising platform.

Pomen: A SaaS automotive maintenance platform that specialises in fleet companies and vehicle owners.

Qijang: A simplified omnichannel e-commerce backend system.

Supervisor: A platform that helps corporates and homeowners manage and supervise their renovation works.

Tanalink: An agro-tech company utilising data to reduce crop wastage.

Recqa: A centralised, searchable knowledge-based repository for team members to share their learnings.

Virtual X: A company that specialises in creating business solutions using augmented and virtual reality technology

ScaleUp Malaysia has also opened registration for startups to state their interest to participate in Cohort 3. Register your interest for Cohort 3 here.

—

Image Credit: ScaleUp Malaysia

The post Meet the 20 startups selected for ScaleUp Malaysia accelerator’s Cohort 2 appeared first on e27.

The corporate VC arm of Bank BRI Indonesia, BRI Ventures, has partnered with the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) to help more local tech startups get publicly listed.

e27 has reached out to BRI Ventures to get more details on what the partnership entails, and the efforts that they aim to make to promote IPO to startups.

Nicko Widjaja, CEO of BRI Ventures, said that even though IPOs generally happen during the later stages of a startup’s development, BRI’s latest fund Sembrani Nusantara will aim to help more tech startups get publicly listed.

“The fund is gearing up to make its first investments in two local champions this month. We’re also seeing a growing roster of limited partners placing capital into the fund. Sembrani Nusantara is currently the only locally incorporated, OJK-licensed VC fund in Indonesia,” he further said.

Sembrani Nusantara will focus on startups in education, agro-maritime, retail, transportation, and healthcare sectors and will be taking a “hyper localised” stance in making investments, Widjaja told Entrepreneur in a separate interview.

Despite the pandemic hit, the stock market has experienced a bearish trend. The trend of digital transformation is said to add more competition to blue-chip companies who are starting to realise that to remain competitive, they must adopt modern technology such as cloud computing, analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Also Read: Grab, BRI Ventures, Mandiri Capital join LinkAja’s US$100M Series B round

According to BRI Ventures, these conditions are also expected to promise a bullish technology-sector IPO market for years to come.

“The wide-ranging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the VC community to recalibrate and move away from the previous growth-at-all-costs-model to one focused on startups that can survive and carve a path to sustainable growth. But we really can’t have a conversation about this without addressing how to build a healthier landscape in which startups can exit. This means a well-defined path to IPO,” Widjaja concluded.

In order to educate more startups about the benefits of getting listen on the public stock exchange, BRI Ventures and IDX co-hosted a workshop which covered topics such as financial sustainability.

The seminar was held right after the official MoU signing and saw participation from both retail and institutional investors, media, and members of the public.

For BRI Ventures, its most recent moves include investment into LinkAja, one of the leading digital payments brand in Indonesia.

IDX itself has recently appointed Pandu Sjahrir, a serial entrepreneur and startup investor, as one of its commissioners. In an interview with e27, Sjahrir detailed his plan to encourage Indonesian startups to get listed on the platform.

Also Read: In Brief: Indonesia’s travel company Tiket records spike in sales despite pandemic

“What we are doing here is deepening the demand, particularly by having more young investors on board. This is something that starts with education about the capital market,” Sjahrir said.

–

Image Credit: Muhammad Rizki

The post BRI Ventures, IDX partner to help more Indonesian tech startups get publicly listed appeared first on e27.

Gobi-Core Philippine Fund (GCPF), a US$10-million fund jointly formed by Gobi Partners and Philippine VC firm Core Capital, today disclosed an investment in local live-streaming startup Kumu as part its Series A fundraise.

The startup, which closed the round earlier this year, will utilise the funds to expand and support the growing engagement on its platform.

In the last two years, Kumu claims to have become a fast-growing startup, continuously dominating the app downloads. As per a statement, its user base has more than doubled since the start of the year, surpassing the five-million mark by October.

Also Read: Access to institutional VC funding is a major concern in Philippines: Herston Powers of 1982 Ventures

By the end of 2020, Kumu hopes to have more than 600 content creators on its platform earning double the minimum wage in the Philippines, about 20x more than what the platform had at the start of the year.

Kumu CEO and Co-founder Roland Ros said: “It is truly exciting to become one of the first startups to become part of the Philippine Fund, and be joined by partners who share the same vision as I do—that the Philippines can provide the right support for local startups to excel. And with this investment, our team can expand to support the growing engagement in the platform.”

“Kumu exudes the vision we have for the Philippine startup community — that our local players can be movers of the economy with innovative and efficient solutions,” Core Capital Co-founder Jason Gaisano said.

Established in 2018, GCPF is an early-stage investor which aims to build the founding pillars of the growing startup community in the Philippines. Since its launch, GCPF has invested in local edutech startup Edukasyon and insurtech startup MariaHealth.

The fund hopes to invest in four more startups in emerging industries such as foodtech, gaming and logistics by end-2021.

Also Read: Edukasyon extends Series A round to deepen Gen Z student engagement in Philippines

“The early and encouraging success of our first batch of investments shows there is potential for Filipino startups to be big players in their respective industries,” said Ken Ngo, Co-founder of Core Capital. “I believe that as we continue to work closely together, we can make a positive impact on our startup ecosystem and on our economy for many years to come.”

—

Image Credit: Photo by Kushagra Kevat on Unsplash

The post Gobi-Core Philippine Fund discloses investment in Kumu, to invest in a total of 7 startups by end-2021 appeared first on e27.

Scorpio Electric, a Singapore-based smart e-motorcycle startup, has announced a US$6.3 million in fresh funding from undisclosed private investors.

This round follows a S$2 million (US$1.5 million) seed funding in 2018 from its parent and SGX-listed luxury automobile distributor EuroSports Global Limited.

The fresh capital will be used for the development and production of its zero-emission, fully-electric motorcycle, intended to launch in 2021.

Also Read: Now, Scooterson’s AIR smart scooter can be moved from one place to another remotely

A portion of the proceeds will also be used for software and hardware development of its first motorcycle. This will include the construction of prototypes that will undergo quality checks, in accordance with international standards.

Additionally, Scorpio will invest in the completion of its headquarters and assembly plant. The 3,600 sqm plant is expected to produce up to 8,000 electric motorcycles annually.

The regional market presents an opportunity for Scorpio Electric to expand in Southeast Asia, which has over 200 million motorcycles and 15 million annual transactions.

Also Read: How electric scooters will revolutionise Southeast Asia’s congested cities

The smart tech startup claims it distinguishes itself from the competition by incorporating the use of Artificial Intelligence and data analytics into its electric motorcycles to increase its efficiency.

Melvin Goh, Chief Executive of Scorpio Electric, said: “There is so much untapped potential globally, but none more important than right here in our backyard of Southeast Asia. More than 15 million bikes are sold a year in this region, along with an extremely young demographic looking for new products – the future is full of opportunities.”

—

Image Credit: Scorpio Electric

The post Scorpio Electric raises US$6.3M to develop zero-emission, smart e-motorcycles for SEA appeared first on e27.