My name is Lam Tran and I am the founder and CEO of WisePass. It is a company I launched in October 2014 enabling brands build better relationships with their consumers. Today, this article is about the future of e-commerce in Vietnam and what is likely to change based on my personal opinion. I’ll take a look at three critical factors I believe may change the landscape.

Competition landscape

The e-commerce landscape is dominated by three large companies: Shopee, Lazada and Tiki. Shopee is clearly winning in every metrics at the moment if we take a look at Similar Web. With a higher monthly traffic count, Shopee seems to be the clear winner at the moment but when I look at the potential entrants, I am looking at a couple serious competitors that will likely change the game.

The first competitor is Amazon that already entered Vietnam. They already set up their legal entity and they can decide in the coming years to enter the market officially and compete with the current players. Currently, the focus is just to get sellers and increase transactions for the global market.

It’s understandable as the Vietnamese may remain small for Amazon. I believe the market will grow big enough for them to start within the next 60 months.

The second competitor coming in the market might be likelier as I believe Grab is set for e-commerce. There is a great fit for the super app strategy as they have e-commerce capabilities, strong funding and most importantly, e-commerce is a great revenue growth opportunity across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

Currently, Grab is busy to finish its listing with the SPAC in the US and it shall take at least a whole year to complete the process. The question is more when they’ll decide to go with e-commerce across Southeast Asia. My personal prediction is that they will have to do it within 36 months.

Operational profitability

If you’re looking for operational profitability in the e-commerce landscape, I suggest you pass as a founder or investor. The game is all about revenue growth and that’s how valuation is determined.

The e-commerce platform is a cash burner and that’s the reason why you see several rounds happening for Tiki as Lazada is owned by Alibaba now and Shopee belongs to the SEA group. Here is what a P&L looks like in the early days :

This is a snapshot of the financials of Lazada group reported by Techcrunch giving you an idea of what to expect when you’re running an e-commerce platform. Bottom line the cash position was driven down while net revenue was going up. To keep growing up, you need serious financial backers to play the game.

To become profitable, you need a serious amount of orders monthly to cover all your fixed costs and ensure you have enough organic traffic to generate orders more cost effectively. This is not happening anytime soon as the financials of Shopee can show for Q1 2021

Shopee Southeast Asia EBITDA was negative US$412 million during Q1 2021 but the whole group is positive. For more information you can click here. Since running an e-commerce platform burns cash on the long term, you’ll need serious financial backers behind you.

Also Read: Everyday e-commerce: New ways of paying, new ways of buying

Financial backing of e-commerce giants

Back to Vietnam, we have Lazada, Shopee and Tiki. Let’s get started with Shopee.

They currently release on quarterly basis their financials as they’re listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what you can find about the group in Q1 2021.

The group is actually now making money and and it’s likely to grow bigger. Bottom line, the SEA group is healthy operationally and have US$5 billion in cash on their balance sheet. The SEA group is set to stay in the e-commerce for some time and Shopee is likely to grow even bigger.

For Lazada, the e-commerce platform belongs to the Alibaba group and it generates billion of dollars in EBITDA yearly.

The Alibaba group is going to be able to keep pumping in a few billion dollars when necessary and shall be supporting this Southeast Asian initiative as that is the largest population they have nearby China. Another big piece of e-commerce in Asia would be India but I do not think Alibaba has any plans to enter the market anytime soon.

For Tiki, it’s slightly different as it still relies on venture capital and keep raising more capital on a regular basis in order to keep growing their revenue.

Hopefully the company is able to maintain a low enough cost structure to have a lighter cash burn compared to its two other counterparts. If the company is able to keep raising successfully capital in the next coming years, the company shall be fine.

From the latest news, Tiki shall raise another round of US$200 million and may end up going to a local stock exchange to start trading its shares.

E-commerce is more than just these three factors. However, if competition heats up, players keep losing more money as they grow and if these players do not get capital injection with certainty, it’s really likely to see a big shift in the landscape in the coming years.

At the moment I don’t think this is happening anytime soon for any of them.

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Starting a business from scratch is no easy feat, especially in the middle of a pandemic, with limited capital. Most businesses, in fact, are struggling to stay afloat and have to constantly alter their business models to cater to the SOPs set in place as Malaysia moves in and out of lockdown.

While setting up and running a business in this climate is not easy, it is also not impossible– with the right steps, attitude and mindset, it can shape up to be one of the best moves you make.

Identifying the needs of current consumers

One of the first steps in starting a business is to conduct research to identify a gap in the market. This is to determine if the intended product or service can cater to the needs of current consumers or solve their problems, ensuring that there will be a steady demand.

It is also important to focus on strategically branding the business as this will help the public to better identify and recognise your business as an impactful one.

The first two steps above were what we hyper-focused on when brainstorming for SweetPeachier, Malaysia’s first home IPL device. It was a brand launched during the first round of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) in the first half of 2020, when beauty salons were not allowed to operate, causing people to lose access to their regular hair removal services.

We realised that the market lacked a semi-permanent method of hair removal that can be done from the comfort of their homes, both in light of the pandemic and for those who are not too comfortable getting it done more publicly.

After deciding to make it our mission to help these people, we got down to thinking long and hard on a suitable yet memorable name, while driving awareness of our brand through well-researched marketing techniques.

Also Read: Should you start a new business amidst the recession?

Being financially equipped to run a business

The next step in building a successful business is to maintain a comprehensive overview of the financial aspects of the enterprise. Having a good idea of where your company stands financially means that you are more likely to be ready for potential challenges and future pitfalls.

For instance, SweetPeachier was not founded on a large sum of capital, we, in fact, started out with only US$1,170 and chose not to withdraw any money for ourselves for the first three months as we experienced insufficient liquidity and cash flow to cover business expenses.

This was an unforeseen and unfortunate setback but we persevered. To scale the business, we raised funds through contributions from sympathetic family members who believed in our mission.

With their support and strategic financial planning, we were thankfully able to move past these hurdles and are proud to report that we have recently achieved US$240,000 in sales, with a growing customer base across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Ensuring great customer service

Another important aspect of running and owning a business venture is to work on providing a great consumer experience through efficient customer service. Happy customers are customers who are more likely to make repeat purchases while recommending your brand to friends and family.

All of this combines to ultimately increase your consumer market reach and revenue. Additionally, providing top-notch customer service will most definitely enhance customer loyalty.

Through it all, it is important to note that starting your own business is going to take a lot of energy, time and capital. The best way to keep yourself motivated through the ups and downs is to not lose focus on what really matters to you.

Staying humble and hungry for knowledge is also key to eventually becoming a successful business owner as the more you know, the more you can understand your target market and make improvements to better serve it.

Do not give up on your dreams because other people doubt you, believe in yourself, work hard and stay motivated – the rewards reaped will speak for themselves.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

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Building a website, setting it up for SEO, and developing content in order to launch your marketing strategy is extremely important for any successful business. Often, in addition to social media, your company’s website is your customers’ first touchpoint. It is the face and introduction to your business.

Interestingly, despite its importance, it is also one of the most underappreciated aspects of your business.

That is why I invited Kevin Geary, CEO of DigitalGravy, which specialises in websites and SEO, to sit down and talk with me about the nuances of doing it intelligently.

Apart from DigitalGravy, he is also the Founder of DigitalAmbition, which helps companies learn how to start, grow, or scale their businesses online.

Altogether he has over 15 years of experience in these areas, which makes him a great person to spill the beans on this topic.

We specifically talk about:

• The types of websites are there (landing pages, one-pagers, full websites)
• Which is the world’s best website framework to use?
• What kinds of pages and content must you have?
• What is a Responsive website?
• What is SEO?
• What’s the difference between Global and Local SEO?
• What are backlinks and how do you get them?
• What is Domain Authority and how do you improve it?
• What are keywords and how do you rank on Google for them?
• Shorttail vs Longtail keywords
• Shorter vs longer articles
• What’s the difference between doing a website yourself and having a specialist design and develop one for you?

If you are curious about how you can use SEO and other website hacks for your business, make sure you don’t miss this episode!

If you don’t see the player above, click on the link below to listen directly!

Acast
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher

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This article on SEO and other website hacks was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: Michal Czyz on Unsplash

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Singapore-based Mighty Jaxx, an online platform for designer toys and collectibles, has bagged US$10 million (S$13.57 million) in a new round of funding led by Tencent, a source close to the company confirmed to e27.

Korea Investment Partners and KB Investment also joined the round, which brings Mighty Jaxx’s total funding raised to date to US$14.8 million.

The development was first reported by DealStreetAsia.

The new round comes over a year after it secured US$3.2 million MightyVerse, its platform for tech-enabled figures, led by KB Financial Group with participation from SGInnovate and GC VR Gaming Tracker Fund.

MightyVerse (incubated at Ubisoft) collectibles are able to store information and digital assets, gamifying the collecting experience.

In 2019, Mighty Jaxx raised US$1.6 million in pre-Series A, led by Eight Mercatus.

Founded in 2012 by CEO Jackson Aw, Mighty Jaxx is an urban culture company that designs and manufactures collectibles and lifestyle products in partnership with global talents and brands such as Warner Brothers, DC Comics, Looney Tunes, Sesame Street, and Casio G-Shock. It is building an integrated platform to empower future pop-culture brands with the end-to-end supply chain of collectibles, including artist development and incubation, proprietary IP operation, and providing global consumer access with new retail.

The company claims so far it has shipped millions of products to over 60 countries with diverse offerings in collectibles, gaming, lifestyle, and fashion.

In March, Mighty Jaxx launched Nubbies: Sesame Street, a hyper-casual game title, in association with the new collectible series of the same name.

Mighty Jaxx also recently entered the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) space. NFTs are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on the Ethereum blockchain that cannot be replicated.

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Image Credit: Mighty Jaxx

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Vietnamese internet giant VNG Corporation is considering going public in the US via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a US$2 to US$3 billion valuation, Bloomberg has reported, quoting unnamed sources.

The technology giant is working with financial advisers and is holding talks with several SPACs for a potential merger.

VNG is Vietnam’s first tech unicorn with a valuation of about US$2.2 billion. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Temasek and Goldman Sachs are some of its high-profile investors.

Also Read: VNG invests US$6M in Got It, to launch premium instant P2P gifting solution in Vietnam

The firm has been considering a potential listing for several years. Back in 2017, Bloomberg reported that VNG had signed an MoU to list its shares on the Nasdaq, the second-largest stock exchange in the world.

Started out as a gaming business in 2004, the company has since expanded into digital content, e-commerce, digital payments and recently cloud services. It offers a wide range of products and services across four business groups: online games, payments, Zalo, and cloud.

In March this year, VNG invested US$6 million into B2B gifting services company Got It in exchange for a 25 per cent stake.

Back in 2016, it acquired a 38 per cent share in e-commerce platform Tiki for US$17 million.

In August 2020, VNG filed a lawsuit against TikTok for alleged copyright infringement in Vietnam, according to a Reuters report. VNG, which has business interests in online gaming, music streaming and messaging apps, accused the Chinese app of using audio tracks owned by its subsidiary Zing without adequate licences.

Of late, listing via a blank-cheque company or SPAC has caught the imagination of Southeast Asia’s startup industry. In the recent past, many companies have disclosed plans to list via SPAC merger. The list includes Grab and PropertyGuru (Singapore); Carsome (Malaysia); and Tiket.com and Kredivo (Indonesia).

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Image Credit: VNG

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In our increasingly cashless world of neo banks and e-wallets, Malaysia has become a hotspot for both regional and global fintechs. Fintech companies are setting up bases in Malaysia not just to access the substantial domestic market, which boasts a population of more than 32 million, but also to establish their presence in Southeast Asia. This year, the capital of Kuala Lumpur shot up by 11 places in the Global Fintech Rankings, which is a testament to the country’s conducive environment for fintechs looking for a gateway to the region.

Leading platforms like GrabPay and Touch ‘n Go have a cumulative active user base of 21 million. Part of why fintechs have been so successful in the country is because they have managed to capture the e-commerce market, with many users choosing digital alternatives over cash for convenience, safety, and ease of use. Malaysia’s digital wallet usage rate of 40% sits at the top of ASEAN, above neighbours like the Philippines (36%), Thailand (27%), and Singapore (26%).

Malaysia is also well-known for being a multicultural and multilingual country. The country is home to speakers of 137 languages, including major lingua francas like English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. This diversity lends itself to a wide pool of talent with different backgrounds and experiences, making Malaysia a microcosm of the larger Southeast Asian market.

Over the past years, the country’s digital adoption rate has been growing steadily, in part thanks to the support from government institutions like the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Regional tech giant Grab, for example, got its headstart in Malaysia as a ride-hailing platform known as ‘MyTeksi’. Since then, the super app has grown exponentially and recently announced plans to go public, with an expected valuation of US$39.6 billion.

Also read: Going Global: Malaysia’s homegrown fintechs take on the world

Unsurprisingly, the recent pandemic has only accelerated this growth. Mobile banking transactions, for instance, hit a record high of US$109.7 million last year, up by 125% from the year before, according to the Fintech Malaysia 2021 report. With people working from home and more concerned about safety and hygiene, the Malaysian market is adopting digital solutions at a faster rate than ever before.

The growth of Malaysia’s fintech ecosystem is also partly thanks to regulatory support from Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia) & Securities Commission.

To support regulator’s efforts, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has launched the Fintech Booster, a capacity building program by MDEC, in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to assist fintech companies, both local and foreign in developing their products and services via three strategically crafted modules: Legal and Compliance, Business Model, and Technology.

Among the initiatives spearheaded by the government is the Malaysia Tech Month Fintech Showcase, led by MDEC. Malaysia Tech Month 2021 (MTM 2021) is a virtual, month-long curation of electrifying digital and technology keynotes, workshops, discussion panels and business-matching sessions. It will feature a distinguished group of local and international industry speakers and investors to share their expert thoughts and experiences in 4IR-driven digital economy. This showcase provides both domestic and global fintechs with a platform to network, demonstrate, and learn about best practices, which will ultimately fuel the country’s thriving tech ecosystem.

Wahed, a game-changer for Islamic Finance

New York-based fintech Wahed is one of the startups that will be featured at this upcoming showcase.

Established in 2015, Wahed is an Islamic digital investment manager that allows users to build ethical, shariah-compliant investment portfolios. The company does the legwork for users by screening investments for issues like excess debt, tobacco, alcohol, firearms, and gambling, among other things that might violate Islamic principles. Users’ investments are then diversified into different asset classes, such as US Equities, Malaysian Equities, Gold, and Islamic Bonds, also known as Sukuk.

Wahed entered the Malaysian market in 2019 as the first company to receive an Islamic Digital Investment Management License from Malaysia’s Securities Commission. To date, the company has more than 200,000 clients across the world.

Part of the reason Wahed has managed to achieve these milestones is because of Malaysia’s rich tech ecosystem.

“Malaysia is definitely home to one of the leading Islamic Finance ecosystems in the world,” said Syakir Hashim, senior vice president of business operations at Wahed.

Furthermore, the conducive regulatory environment also helped them expand in Malaysia. By consulting with MDEC, Wahed was able to understand the local ecosystem, stakeholders, and other government agencies. This support allowed them to tailor their offerings to Malaysian users.

“By truly delving into the market to understand the lifestyle, language, culture, and pain points of the local market, we were able to grow Wahed Malaysia to what it is today,” added Hashim. “We are en route to being the household name for Islamic Investing in Malaysia.”

Malaysia ranks 1^st in the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Index and had an estimated Islamic Fintech Market Size in 2020 of $3.0 billion expected to grow by 23% annually to reach 8.5 billion by 2025.

Harnessing Malaysia’s tech talent pool with MoneyLion

Another global fintech company that proves the preparedness of the Malaysian market is MoneyLion. The company develops financial products with low barriers to entry, providing a digital all-in-one finance platform for the everyday user. Some services MoneyLion provides include mobile banking, lending, automated investing, Buy Now Pay Later solutions, crypto, and more.

Co-founded by a Malaysian but based in New York, MoneyLion has raised US$227.5 million to date and is dubbed an emerging unicorn. In fact, it is in the final stages of its NYSE IPO, with an estimated US$2.9 billion in equity value.

Although MoneyLion does not yet have a local presence for Malaysian consumers, most of their technology and AI teams are based in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Also read: Fintechs ushering in a new era for a more digital India

“One of the proudest achievements I have is that, out of a handful of successful neo banks in the world, we built MoneyLion’s technology entirely in Malaysia,” said co-founder and chief technology officer Foong Chee Mun.

Foong had been living in the United States during the founding of MoneyLion, but returned home to Malaysia for some time as his wife became pregnant. At the time, he hired three engineers to work with. Now, the Kuala Lumpur team has grown to 180 people and continues to attract tech talent from both local and international universities.

“The MoneyLion KL office is not just a backend office, we are responsible from end to end, from product ideation to management to engineering to optimization and growth,” added Foong. “I strongly believe that we have the right talent and environment to build a regional fintech hub right here in our very own backyard.”

How Ablr leverages Malaysia’s market-readiness and digital infrastructure

Another fintech that has successfully expanded in the Malaysian market is Ablr.

In line with its mission of humanizing financial services that improve people’s lives, Ablr leverages data to provide a better credit system for consumers.

Their first product, for example, enables businesses to allow customers to pay for goods and services over time via a series of flexible monthly instalments with no hidden or late fees. This means that businesses have a solution for accelerating revenue, while consumers can pay in a fair, convenient, and transparent way.

Founded in 2017, the startup now has offices in both Singapore and Malaysia.

There were multiple reasons for entering the Malaysian market. Ablr found that there was a real need within the Malaysian market for consumers to get access to fairer and more transparent financial solutions. Malaysia’s infrastructure, mobile phone penetration rate, and rapidly growing middle class were also factors that pushed for Ablr’s expansion into the country.

Market readiness was another key reason, said founder and chief executive officer Ian Ow.

“We believe Malaysia is about to experience a revolution through fintech innovation and digital enablement that would create many possibilities and opportunities for social and economic advancement,” he added. “The government has heavily supported the adoption of new ways to pay and access financial services, while Malaysians have displayed an open-mindedness in embracing new technologies.

Ablr was able to ride this wave of growth because of the fintech-friendly environment which promotes innovation and financial inclusion. For example, the Financial Technology Enabler Group (FTEG) set up by Bank Negara Malaysia pushes policies that increase the adoption of technological innovations in the financial services industry.

“Our initial rollout with businesses and consumers in Malaysia has been encouraging so far,” said Ow. “We are currently preparing for a soft launch with our key partners and are in the process of developing a focal vertical on Islamic Finance with that work anchored in Malaysia.”

Backing Malaysia’s fintech founders with 1982 Ventures

For Singapore-based venture capital firm 1982 Ventures, the decision to set up operations in Malaysia was an easy one.

The fund focuses on investing in early-stage fintech startups across Southeast Asia and found that Malaysia has a supportive ecosystem, despite being often overlooked by regional and global venture capital firms. When the Malaysian government put out an open call for overseas venture capital firms to work with the government, 1982 Ventures took the chance.

Since then, 1982 Ventures has found plenty of opportunities to work with different stakeholders in the local market.

“We have been engaged by Malaysian family offices, corporates, and investors that are looking for a fintech VC partner with a proven track record,” said co-founder and managing partner Herston Powers.

Also read: From the experts: How to hire the right members for your startup

1982 Ventures’ Southeast Asia portfolio includes fintech leaders such as Brick, Fundiin, Homebase, Infina and Wagely.  1982 Ventures will be announcing more investments and strategic LPs as they approach the first close of their fund.

While venture capital investment into fintech startups has been growing more than 50% annually for the past five years, the share of investment into fintech in Southeast Asia is much lower than the global rate. 1982 Ventures thus aims to fill this gap in the region, including in Malaysia.

“Fintech in Southeast Asia is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” said Powers. “In nearly all major markets, the most valuable venture capital-backed companies are from the fintech sector and this will be the case in Southeast Asia and Malaysia.”

Wahed, MoneyLion, Ablr and 1982 Ventures will all feature at the upcoming Malaysia Tech Month Fintech Showcase. To learn more about the programme and the fintech showcase, please head to their official page.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by MDEC

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BRI Ventures, an investment arm of Indonesia’s state-owned BRI Group, today announced a collaboration with ITB School of Business and Management (SBM ITB) to launch the country’s first venture capital university courses in 2021.

SBM ITB will open the venture capital courses under both undergraduate and graduate programmes at its Jakarta and Bandung campuses. It aims to nurture the archipelago’s fresh job market of professional venture capitalists for emerging startup sectors.

The curriculum is designed to help students learn about basic venture investment principles, gain exposure to various startup ecosystems, as well as understand financial building blocks related to the startup life cycle.

“Ten years ago, venture capital wasn’t considered a career and now has become one of the ideal accomplishments among local business students,” said BRI Ventures’s CEO and veteran venture capitalist Nicko Widjaja.

Also read: Ecosystem Roundup: GIC invested US$94M into Bukalapak before its IPO; All about the cloud kitchen industry in Indonesia

Capitalising on the university-industry collaboration, the venture capital investment courses will give students access to extensive industry insights and subject matter expertise from business leaders.

“The programme is strongly aligned with the mission of SBM ITB, which aims to nurture leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset that creates impact,” added Dean of Economics and Business Prof. Utomo Sarjono Putro.

The Southeast Asian startup funding landscape has witnessed an influx of global and regional venture capital firms rushing to grab a share of the Indonesian market. The total funding of local startups has surpassed US$1.9 billion across 52 rounds in the third quarter of 2020, according to the Indonesian Venture and Startup Association.

In recent years, Indonesia has witnessed a rapid growth of tech ventures, especially with the growth of the country’s four original unicorns Gojek, Tokopedia, Traveloka, and Bukalapak.

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Image Credit: BRI Ventures

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SubPlace, a subscription online shopping startup, said today it has raised US$2.36 million in just four days of launching its equity crowdfunding (ECF) campaign on MyStartr.

The startup raised the money for its smart lock product LockIn, and it came from 275 investors.

As per a press statement, SubPlace plans to set up 250 brand stores across Malaysia within the next five years, with an expected uptake of over 100,000 new users.

Launched in November 2020, SubPlace is an online platform where consumers can subscribe to a range of products and services such as fast-moving consumer goods, personal care products, furniture, home appliances, and electronics.

Also Read: Luxury lifestyle brand Oxwhite smashes Malaysia’s ECF records with US$1.2M fundraise via pitchIN

The lifestyle subscription platform will operate under two subscription models: SUB and SUB+.

● SUB is where users can subscribe for their daily necessities and services (e.g., groceries, pet supplies, health, and beauty products. Products are available as a single plan or in bundles. Subscribers may cancel subscriptions without obligations or continue the subscriptions on a monthly/long-term basis.

● SUB+ is a rental platform for high-value furniture, home appliances, and electronics, all of which come with warranty and servicing. Products are available at a low entry cost. The subscriptions are not installments, and customers will not need to pay a deposit nor require a credit card.

SubPlace claims LockIn is a state-of-the-art smart lock, which will be launched in October this year at the price of ~US$566. The product will be available either as an outright purchase or through a rent-to-own plan starting at ~US$16 per month.

Besides the X1 smart lock, the company will also offer two other smart locks, the LOCKIN S30 Pro and LOCKIN 2X Pro.

“I believe that the success of this campaign is an indicator of a healthy appetite for smart home products, indicating the high potential of the smart home market. However, we also acknowledge that we are now tasked with delivering on our promise, and we want to let our investors know that we will not disappoint. Our goal is to exceed everyone’s expectations,” said Mak Wai Hoong, CEO of SubPlace.

Also Read: This startup took only 38 minutes to achieve its US$720K crowdfunding target

The company recently partnered with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) to launch the Go e-Commerce Onboarding campaign aimed at helping SMEs move business online.

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Image Credit: SubPlace

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The challenges associated with deep tech companies essentially stem from the complexities of the technology commercialisation process.

They can be placed into four broad categories: prolonged development timelines, complex value chains, limited availability of social and physical infrastructure, and high capital demand.

For Singaporean deep tech startups, this is no different. Every founder in the Little Red Dot also factors in the specifics of the local ecosystem, displaying both outstanding strengths — the quality of science, modern infrastructure, efficient government— and a fair share of shortcomings — small domestic market, limited depth of the local B2B market, large science to commercialisation gap.

If local entrepreneurs encountered barriers on all four fronts of building their venture (i.e. customers, value chain, talent availability and capital), then their chances to build a worldwide success story and win over competition would dwindle quickly.

For those Singapore-based founders embracing the arduous deep tech path, there is no choice but to build themselves a central position in a deeply interconnected mesh of global players.

Such a global mindset quickly becomes an asset by going after the most promising markets and forming strategic partnerships with world-class technology partners — rather than the “best in my own backyard” types.

In the US, EU, China or India, looking at an international presence early on may be seen as a risk of defocus by investors and advisors alike. But in many other cases — basically, the rest of the world — being competitive equates crossing national borders and target a major economy on at least one side of the business, be it go-to-market, hiring talents, or raising funds.

The challenges of building capabilities and doing business across borders are familiar to many venture founders chasing expansion and growth, starting with the last generation of key digital players, from the GAFA to regional unicorns such as Grab in Southeast Asia or Revolut in Europe.

In the case of hard tech, framing an international strategy is driven by market sizing, timing and scalability. The successive steps of the deep tech entrepreneurial journey require both short-term, dynamic, and medium-term, trust-building types of interactions with top-in-class industrial players looking for an entry ticket to the adequate spot on the value chain.

Because of the complexities of the productisation tasks at hand and the deep scientific background needed, the barriers to entry, maturation and scalability are extremely high — and the associated rewards in the case of a successful go-to-market equally attractive.

The risks inherent to developing or combining high technologies can be methodically and systematically mitigated by founders who are successful at striking those key cross-border partnerships: finding the right equipment manufacturer, prototyping workshop or international distributor, and developing long-standing collaborations.

While framed as client-supplier relationships, these collaborations are more complex and rarely purely commercial. The amount, typology and aggregated know-how of those industrial key players often hint towards North America, Europe and Japan as Tier 1 targets, together with Israel, South Korea, China and India as contenders.

Also Read: How early-stage deep-tech startups can attract and retain the right talent

While leapfrogging at tremendous speed — even leading in selected niche markets — Southeast Asia as a whole is still structurally considered as Tier 2 with regard to hard tech intensity, depth and maturity.

While the global technological and economic maps may be totally different in one to two decades, the scarcity of mature deep tech players in the region requires that young ventures focus on developing abroad early on.

Strategy amidst chaos

Deciphering those cross-border value chains constitutes both a strategic necessity and a schizophrenic element. In order to successfully create impact, founders need to navigate a moving network of stakeholder relationships. They must constantly assess and understand the ultimate users of their startup’s product or service as well as the intermediaries.

Decisions about how much time, energy, and resources they want to spend then drive how they approach the intermediaries — e.g., asset managers, corporate sponsors, advisors or investors — who sit between their venture and the future customers or partners. While intermediaries are a bridge, they can also create barriers. The expertise and willingness of an intermediary to work with the founders on the creation and evolution of a startup strategy can be critical for its success.

This very strategic mindset and the associated cross-border processes go hand-in-hand with better control of development timelines, go-to-market and funding in the long run.

Obviously, obstacles and pitfalls encountered during this cross-border journey are numerous. It means different legal systems to master, challenges to identify the right partners to initiate the dynamics, eventual push-back from the original entrepreneurial ecosystem or the local government.

The idea that national distances affect the conduct and performance of businesses operating across borders has been at the core of entrepreneurship for decades.

Here are three practical tips that founders can take to overcome some of those pitfalls:

Being default global vs default local

Future international success starts as soon as the venture is incorporated. Globalising a company doesn’t happen overseas at the beginning, but at the founders’ desks: they need to identify the right support in advanced economies, large markets and top industrial ecosystems, then convince them to be involved.

Without the founders’ quasi-obsession to build a global player, the future expansion is at risk. Mistiming of the internationalisation strategy, forgetting the root causes of global success, hiring the wrong leaders and over-delegation of the international developments by the founders are typical mistakes to be avoided.

Also Read: Meet the new batch of 8 Vietnamese startups joining VSV Capital’s accelerator programme

Capitalising on international play books

The path to becoming a cross-border firm is a series of iterations and humbling experiences. Obviously, each business model requires a different playbook.

Founders should spend some time preparing their own version that serves as the single source of truth, covering the latest learning on how their venture can grow effectively at the global scale.

The reality is that few Singapore-born deep tech organisations are actually multi-geography, therefore not that many people have been actually confronted with the challenges of growing a business across borders. As a result, that knowledge is a scarce resource because so few people have been there, and so it’s difficult to seek expertise when you decide to go down that road.

Empowering the right executives

When a deep tech company hires an executive, the business essentially hires the executive’s network. Great executives will staff a team quickly. The converse is also true: executives with weak networks burn time to build their teams.

In the first years of work, deep tech ventures mostly need to find a Sherpa working with the core team, someone who knows the market very well and has a pre-built international network. This Sherpa will allow gaining knowledge about markets, prospects, the capacity of competitors at a global level.

Over time, the founders can bring in more and more talented professionals, a winning combination being to combine senior local hires in targeted markets with long-time company employees.

Hiring the right persons is the first step, setting them up for success is the next: the organisational structure of the venture is to be adapted continuously to give key executives the freedom to operate efficiently.

This article was originally published in a longer form on Medium on July 30, 2021 and is accessible here.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives in many different ways. Lockdown restrictions meant we were suddenly unable to spend time catching up with friends, family, and colleagues. We explored innovative ways to explore the virtual side of social activity due to the unprecedented circumstances. As a result, many turned to video games, taking e-sports and the entire industry to the next level.

Recent research conducted by Accenture suggests that the global gaming industry is currently valued at US$300 billion. To put this figure into perspective, it exceeds the music and movie industries combined.

For example, summer blockbusters such as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame or Star Wars: The Force Awakens movies all famously generated over US$2 billion individually.

However, when Grand Theft Auto V (GTA) was initially released, it earned more than $800 million in its first 24 hours.

More recently, the pandemic has led to the increased adoption of virtual social interactions as many found gaming to be an engaging distraction from the pandemic and its frustrating restrictions. But who represents the average gamer in 2021?

The changing demographic of gamers

According to NewZoo, over 80 per cent of Southeast Asia’s urban online population are gamers. This has led to publishers and gaming firms seriously looking into capitalising on the growth potential found in this region.

According to an IDC report, a 75 per cent pandemic-driven increase in mobile gaming activity is expected to remain indefinitely. Predictably, this surge of interest is generating a particular focus on the rise in mobile gaming availabilities.

As a result, it’s time to retire the lazy stereotype that only adolescent boys play video games. From the dad who lives and breathes GTA, to the mum who plays Candy Crush, to grandparents playing Wii, in a digital age, we are all gamers.

Also Read: Will Robinhood’s IPO lead to more short squeezes like GameStop?

In the past three years, the gaming industry has seen an additional half a billion players enter the space, which has increased the global figure to 2.7 billion. In addition, an influx of older gamers means that the average age of a typical gamer is now 35.

Women currently represent 60 per cent of new players on the scene, while 61 per cent of men are long-time gaming veterans. But how do these changing demographics and unique preferences lead to the changing faces of icons in today’s world?

New gaming platforms and changing demographics are pushing business boundaries away from product-centric to more experience-oriented platforms.

Gamification is becoming a standard for brands. Many household names are also embracing the concepts of gaming to educate and market their products.

Having said this, within a short period of time, we could also look at gaming as a means to connect and communicate with any audience across various industries from consumer brands to financial institutions.

We are on the cusp of a new wave of behaviour that is set to go global, and there is a growing urgency to understand and contribute to this new system.

The opportunity: Gaming as an ecosystem of super platforms

The impact of gaming on entertainment and our culture has shown upward trends leading to a more digital lifestyle. As the streaming wars gather pace, Amazon Prime is creating a TV series based around Bethesda’s Fallout, and HBO is making similar moves with an adaptation of The Last of Us for TV.

Now content with TV shows such as The Witcher, Netflix is also adding video games to its service next year as cloud gaming prepares to enter the mainstream.

During the height of the pandemic, empty sports stadiums worldwide removed much of the passion and atmosphere that attracted global audiences.

By contrast, gaming platforms are now transforming into digital social platforms where players can meet, communicate, watch live-streamed events and make purchases. All of which is fuelling the growth of e-sports.

Having said this, Ampverse became one of the fastest-growing e-sports companies in the East, setting out to play a different game by fusing data, technology, performance management, and monetisation. It’s this unique combination that is enabling major players to create a competitive advantage in a thriving market.

We have recently made acquisitions in Thailand, Vietnam and India and its winning team, Bacon Time, garnered a staggering peak viewership of 175,502 online viewers during the 2021 Arena of Valour Pro League Championship in Thailand.

The new sports heroes, celebrities, and rock stars filling sporting stadiums and attracting millions of online viewers are gamers.

According to Statista, by 2024, viewers of e-sports tournaments are expected to reach 577.2 million people worldwide.

In addition, gamers and e-sports teams are widely regarded as icons and influencers by consumer lifestyle brands and audiences alike.

Upholding the integrity of the e-sports industry

With an increasing amount of attention and investment in the industry, one of the biggest challenges is how the e-sports industry can be more effectively regulated.

With third-party involvement needed to ensure that teams and stakeholder’s needs are continuously being met, blockchain tech could be the solution to many of the challenges in the gaming industry.

In a digital world where we are all gamers, e-sports presents a long-term growth opportunity and a chance to extend the experience in traditional sports. E-sports initiatives are providing companies with attractive options to grow their international fanbase.

Also Read: “Zombeast” parent Storms to take its hyper-casual games to Indonesia, Africa with Series A financing

In particular, Southeast Asia’s games ecosystem is booming, with a US$5 billion game market expected to grow to US$8.3 billion in 2023.

These are just a few examples of why strategising efforts to focus on specific market segments and target audiences is becoming imperative in the industry.

It’s time to connect the dots by building hyperlocal ecosystems that connect teams, fans, platforms and brands. Many are only just beginning to understand the potential of e-sports, and the opportunities that are waiting in the world’s fastest-growing gaming region.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

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