One of the best metaphors for the stages of building a startup comes from Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital.

He breaks the stages down into the (1) jungle, (2) dirt road, and (3) highway.  While at the end of the journey, you are on the highway, and you can start moving as fast as you can, the middle of the trip is bumpy and windy.

But it is the very beginning stage, the jungle when you have no determinable path, just an idea and a product looking for market fit.

While many of us can relate to navigating jungle trails and spending time in the thick brush, speaking with several entrepreneurs about this metaphor, some will jokingly add their modifications.

One recently said, “Sure, it’s a jungle, but it’s also the middle of the night, and you can hear the growling of hungry animals.”  That modification certainly adds layers of the fear and uncertainty that entrepreneurs face in those initial stages.

“Welcome to the jungle, we take it day by day

If you want it, you’re going to bleed but it’s the price to pay”

Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N’ Roses

Surviving the jungle certainly takes perseverance and the unique characteristic of an entrepreneur that is sheer hustle and resilience. But surviving is not necessarily thriving, and the key is to get out of the jungle as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here every day

You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play

If you got hunger for what you see, you’ll take it eventually”

Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N’ Roses

Also Read: Report: COVID-19 might result in US$28B missing startup investment this year

Navigating out of the jungle

So, let’s extend this analogy a bit further and discuss how you navigate yourself out of the jungle. First, let’s set the scene that you are surrounded by thick brush with no idea which direction to go or how far you need to go to get out.

Before setting off, you need to make the directional decision of where to go. This is essentially the educated decision an entrepreneur makes when identifying a problem statement and developing a solution.

Establishing sound logic is essential here because these are your first steps. What is your hypothesis?  “I am going in this direction because…and I know I am on the right path if….”

Experience matters in understanding problems. This doesn’t necessarily mean age, but rather experience with the situation. This can come from the founders or the team, but supplementing this with a support network, advisers, or even a credible angel investor can provide much-needed insights in pointing you in the right direction.

It’s essential to start assembling a network around you that you can lean on for support and insight.

Finding an advisor is not always so straightforward and may not be 100 per cent necessary. The point is to round out your understanding of the problem statement and the use case for your solution.

If you have the background already, maybe you can push forward.  If not, an advisor could be a colleague or your old Uni professor that consults on that same topic.

Now you need to start making a pathway in the direction that you have chosen. If you were indeed in the jungle, there is no more useful tool than a nice machete, and with that, it is unavoidable to include “hack” into the extension of our analogy here.

You have limited resources, and you’re trying to find the shortcut out of here, little by little hacking your way through the jungle.

So, you’ve now chosen a direction, and you’ve started making your path. The problem is, how do you know that you are right?  Do you keep going along, hoping that you will finally get out of the jungle?  While there are plenty of startups that do that, this is not what you should be doing.

Also Read: Finance your startup: 10 types of investors you should know

When you are moving in a direction and making a path, testing your path is the same as testing your product-market fit. Rarely is anyone able to get it 100 per cent correct straight from the beginning?

The more likely it is that you will have to shift directions to “pivot”. Sometimes, this can lead you in a completely different direction entirely.

Some scrappiness is critical here as most startups are operating with limited capacity and resources. You may even be looking at raising funding or have already received Seed funding.

It is important to look for more than just capital and seek an investor who can add value to this journey and accelerate your path.

A bad investor at this early stage can be like encountering heavy rain in the jungle.  You can slug along, but it may obscure the easier path, just like a bad investor can push you in the wrong direction or emphasize short-termism.

A good investor can be like finding a GPS signal or, better yet, an evac helicopter.  As much as an investor will diligence you, you should diligence your investor.

You are not out of the woods yet

If you manage through and find product-market fit, you’ll find yourself leading toward the dirt road.  You won’t be entirely out of the woods, but at least you’re not hacking your way through the brush. This is a topic for a quite different conversation.

–

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

Image credit:

The post Navigating the startup jungle with perseverance and character appeared first on e27.

The growing use of plastic waste (over 7-10 million tonnes in India alone) adversely impacts the environment. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles comprise a big chunk, and they mostly end up in landfills or oceans.

Despite the global awareness about its environmental impact, its use continues to rise in many parts of the world.

A Hyderabad-based entrepreneur-duo saw a huge opportunity here and e turning plastic waste into a multi-million dollar business.d

Neeman’s was started by Taran Chhabra and Amar Preet Singh in 2018. The startup designs shoes and other footwear products from plastic bottles. The footwears are natural, lightweight and flexible, besides breathable and odour-resistant.

“Neeman’s was created out of craving not just to break the mould but to obliterate it: to say goodbye to the average for good and demand a change in the way we wear shoes,” the founders say. “We believe you should feel good about what you wear. And at Neeman’s, we’re passionate about making sure your shoes make you feel good, look good and do good for your planet.”

The company’s ReLive Knits model is made of 100 per cent recycled PET bottles. Available in two styles (sneakers and slip-on), they utilise eight PET bottles per pair. The products are designed for all seasons, and all-day wear and are cool in summer and warm in winter.

How does Neeman’s convert plastic bottles to shoes?

Also read: Southeast Asia is in plastic waste crisis, and these 16 sustainable startups strive to turn things around

The company collects the PET bottles, recycles and wash them and then shreds them into small flakes. The next step is to melt, cool, and press the chips and form them into long strands of yarn. It further refines and spins them through a 3D knitting machine to finally create the upper of the shoe. The inner sole is made from bamboo.

“Plastic bottles being dumped in oceans have been a constant concern for the country. So, being in the business of sustainable footwear, we wanted to do something about it. Thus, we took a revolutionary step by collecting plastic bottles from landfills and oceans and recycled them to design this new range- the ReLive Knits. These sneakers are designed to reduce carbon footprints while offering supreme comfort and care,” the firm says on its website.

The firm also makes footwear products from wool, cotton and recycles tyres. Its wool Jogggers is made of ultra-fine Australian Merino wool, which is unbeatable as it is 8x stronger than cotton and about 10x more potent than silk.

On the other hand, the Eco Flip and Eco Slide models are made with natural rubber, recycled compounds and natural oils. Besides, it uses natural cotton and recycled fabrics to make its Cotton Classics model.

Also Read: Biodegradable plastic startup RWDC Industries raises US$22M in fresh funding

Last August, Neeman bagged US$2.7 million in a Series A financing round to launch its products in international markets (the US, West Asia and some regions of Europe. The international foray will begin by the end of this year. To start with, it will launch as a D2C or online-only brand before exploring offline options.

Previously, Neeman’s secured US$1 million in pre-Series A round from Anicut Angel Fund.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

The post Shoes from waste plastic bottles! Neeman’s is going places with its sustainable footwear products appeared first on e27.

In continuing my previous three essays on Web3.0, I am covering the basics behind buzzwords in crypto.

Throughout my career, I’ve built several marketplace startups. Upon graduating with my Masters, a friend of mine and I started a lifestyle startup. We created a platform connecting photographers with people who need on-demand photography services.

In 2017, I joined another startup. We were connecting hotels with people who wanted to have an affordable yet standardised experience when travelling. As the Head of Marketing, I was responsible for attracting guests to more than 3,500 rooms across 400 hotels.

A year later, I joined Greenhouse as a GM. While we started as a coworking space, we saw an opportunity to simplify finding reliable service providers in the Asia Pacific (APAC). In turn, we launched a B2B marketplace for professional services.

Today, we manage APAC’s largest curated network of service providers offering market entry services. We work with more than 200 service providers in 31 countries. So far, we’ve helped hundreds of startups to expand to Asia. We are leveraging outsourced business development and corporate services through our network.

The journey of building three marketplaces has been invaluable. First, I had a chance to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly of running a marketplace business.

Then, about one year ago, I wrote an essay, sharing my thoughts on what it takes to kickstart one.

Marketplaces are complex. Building one feels like you are running two to three businesses simultaneously. After all, you manage sellers (supply), buyers (demand), and everything in between. Yet, if successful, such models can be compelling because of the inherited network effects.

Also Read: GuildFi raises US$6M to develop Web3 infra to connect games, NFTs, communities

On the one hand, leveraging tech to connect supply and demand has helped us solve some of today’s most significant problems. For example, think of Uber’s impact on transportation or Airbnb on accommodation. But on the other hand, marketplaces are often criticised because of:

• High rake rates: think of Apple charging 30 per cent for their AppStore and the uproar from companies such as Epic and Spotify. The larger the marketplace, the more it tends to charge for each transaction.
• No upside: If you are lucky enough to build a lot of liquidity and transactions, most probably you have raised a lot of capital. It isn’t easy to kickstart such a complex model without sufficient capital. Meaning, now it’s time to pay your investors back. That’s rightfully so because they took a risk on you. So in the event of an exit, investors, founders, and employees are sharing the upside. But what about the buyers and sellers of your marketplace? The people who you wanted to help in the first place?
• Centralised control: Yes, Uber drivers and Airbnb hosts have access to new revenue streams thanks to those startups. But they are at the mercy of the platform. The marketplace can delist them, increase its commission rate or dictate who gets more clients and who does not.

The outcome of high rake rates, no upside, and centralised control creates dramatically misaligned incentives.

Perhaps the most famous example of marketplaces gone wrong is food delivery networks (e.g. DoorDash, Grab, GoFood). If you speak to restaurant owners, you will quickly realise how they are not pleased with such platforms.

However, when a marketplace reaches critical mass, it starts having considerable power to the extent that the platform can push the supply side into negative margins on its menu items. Not to mention abusing power.

Think of how in 2019, DoorDash collected millions of dollars of tips and booked them as revenue. Pretty much stealing the money from its users.

Throughout the past decade, it has been challenging to build a model that satisfies all parties involved. While the world is a better place because of companies such as Airbnb, UpWork, and Uber, marketplaces receive a fair amount of criticism.

To be honest, I have been as much a part of the problem here as anybody who built a marketplace business. So I started thinking, is there a better way to run one?

Also Read: Can decentralisation make for a more robust internet?

At about the same time, I started reading on Web3.0. That helped me realise how there are ways to fix many of the problems mentioned above. So let’s illustrate how the decentralised web can solve many issues with Web2.0 native marketplaces.

Traditional versus Web3.0-enabled marketplaces

In a traditional marketplace, the dynamic is pretty straightforward. You have supply (sellers), demand (buyers), and the marketplace itself being in the middle. The platform charges commission to handle transactions and police the network.

In Web3.0-enabled marketplaces, things start getting a bit complicated. We still have supply (sellers), all parties own demand (buyers) but the marketplace itself. Meaning, the users who make a living off the marketplace can “take control” of the platform through tokens.

Tokens are used to make payments, vote on essential features, and manage overall governance. In traditional marketplace models, the users of the platform and the platform itself often become enemies over time. Whereas in Web3.0 enabled marketplaces, that’s not possible. It’s all a result of well-aligned incentives.

To be fair, Web2.0 marketplaces such as Uber and Airbnb cannot give ownership to millions of drivers/hosts around the world even if they want. It’s an incredibly complicated and regulated process.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

But, on the other hand, you can quickly spread control with blockchain-based tokens, no matter the location of each user. Platforms such as Ethereum enable that. Without human intervention, you can create tokens and program smart contracts that police the network the way you see fit.

Braintrust

If you are not familiar with Braintrust, here you go an excerpt from their website:

“Braintrust is the first decentralised talent network that connects highly skilled technical freelancers with the world’s most reputable brands such as Nestle, Porsche, Atlassian, Goldman Sachs and Nike. Braintrust’s unique business model allows talent to retain 100 per cent of their earnings and enables organisations to spin up flexible, skilled teams on-demand at a fraction of the cost of traditional staffing firms. This new business model that limits fee extraction and enables community ownership is uniquely enabled by a blockchain token.”

On the outside, it looks like any other marketplace for freelancers. But the mechanism that powers the platform is entirely different.

First of all, Braintrust is non-profit. Meaning, all revenues collected through the platform are distributed to the people who support the platform— either using their token BTRIST or in cash.

The thesis of Braintrust is to replace intermediaries that are extracting disproportionate value. For example, in the case of UpWork or Fiverr, the platform collects 25-40 per cent of every transaction.

On the other hand, Braintrust takes zero from talent. Instead, the organisation collects a 10 per cent flat fee from clients, rewarding whoever brought the client onto the platform.

In fact, there is no Braintrust company, just a bunch of smart contracts on Ethereum.

Also Read: ‘NFTs provide new ways to handle IP management, empower content creators’: Inmagine CEO Warren Leow

The more you study their model, the more interesting it gets. In a recent interview with Acquired.fm, Adam Jackson, the CEO of Braintrust, mentioned six different core teams behind Braintrust.

Each team represents an independent entity. Those entities collectively employ about 30 people. Adam Jackson is, in fact, the CEO of one of those six entities called Freelance Labs. The other five entities operate independently.

“… Our community does all the coding and that kind of stuff. So it’s really like we started it off decentralised, so we wouldn’t have to like contort ourselves later,” said Adam Jackson, CEO of Freelance Labs.

The objective of Braintrust is to ensure that all people who care about the rules of the network can earn control fairly. To achieve that, they distribute tokens, and each token represents one vote.

The only way to get the brain trust token– BTRIST is to help build brand trust by supporting the network. That can be done in various forms. To name a few, bringing clients, developers, improving the software, etc.

Braintrust sold about 20 per cent of all existing tokens to early backers and investors in the early days.

“We have 10s of 1,000s of community contributors that contributed in some small way or some larger way. But outside of the small amount we sold (to early backers), the only way to get the token is to help build the network. And so, that could mean dozens of things. It could mean like writing copy for us or building UI or committing code or writing a smart contract or auditing those smart contracts, all the things…”, said Adam Jackson, CEO of Freelance Labs

Having said that, starting such network businesses is hard. That’s why in the early days, Braintrust raised about US$30 million and hired a few people to help with reaching sufficient traction.

But once the network gains a critical mass of users, it gets self-sustained. To illustrate how it works, consider the following example.

Also Read: Bitcoin and Ethereum simplified for a five-year-old

Let’s assume that you can bring a new client to Braintrust. Not too long after you onboard them, that customer hires one of the developers listed on the platform. Since Braintrust is built on Ethereum (thus, it works with smart contracts), you will be automatically paid 10 per cent of whatever the client pays for hiring that developer. No middle man fees. No platform charges. You get 10 per cent.

Maybe someday the community will collectively decide that five per cent is more appropriate and build a new smart contract to handle that, who knows. But the point remains. Braintrust is decentralised. The community has control of significant decisions.

That was considered impossible up until recently. In Web2.0 applications, we rely on a group of executives or product managers to make critical decisions. As Chris Dixon argues, “Instead of don’t be evil (Google’s motto), it (Web3.0) can’t be evil. It cannot change the rules.”

And Braintrust is not the only marketplace experimenting with community ownership.

Audius

Audius is such an interesting case because of two reasons. One, it’s built predominantly on Solana (an Ethereum like blockchain). Two, because it has massive adoption with nearly 6M users.

In a nutshell, Audius is a digital streaming service that connects fans directly with artists and exclusive new music. The keyword here is direct because Audius is fully decentralised. A network of operators runs the platform. Meaning artists and fans have come together to manage Audius as a community.

The company was started in early 2018. By now, it has 6 million monthly users and over 100,000 artists. While that number may not sound large compared to platforms such as Spotify (+400 million users), it’s one of the most used Web3.0 platforms out there.

Music is such a fascinating industry. Pretty much everyone listens to music, yet, the music industry is worth only ~US$25 billion globally. Compare that to the video gaming industry, which has an estimated size of ~US$65 billion in the US alone.

Logically, that cannot be right. A lot more people listen to music than play video games. But the way the music industry has been controlled by intermediaries (i.e. music labels) makes it challenging to innovate.

The music label model is not entirely bad, though. It is suited to a world where there are one hundred artists that matter. Music labels exist to discover and support the next big hit. In turn, it does work well for a certain calibre of artists.

Also Read: The future of startup financing in the WFH age

Unfortunately, most artists are not fortunate enough to end up working with music labels. Audius gives an alternative to that path. The network enables artists to own rights to their music and share it with the world on their terms.

Perhaps by now, you are wondering how does decentralisation help this?

“What decentralisation does here is, it removes any company or set of individuals from being in a position to make decisions like that. So they are not able to undermine both the integrity of the platform and the ability of users to get the same value from it as they have been previously,” said Roneil Rumberg, Audius CEO.

Let’s illustrate the benefits of Audius’s decentralised model:

• Security: The people who run the network buy and stake Audius tokens. In the event any of them misbehaves, that person can get penalised against the stake they hold. That provides a level of economic security around how the network runs.
• Distribution: The token grants certain types of distribution features. As an artist, depending on how many $AUDIO tokens you stake, your distribution power within the network may grow.
• Governance: On October 23, 2020, Audius network officially launched. From that moment onward, the company was incapable of changing the code that powers the platform. Decisions such as how the music is uploaded, searched, and curated, were handed over to the community. To make such decisions, you need to make a governance proposal and convince the community why there is a change. Then, you can initiate a vote, and only if you have a sufficient number of users supporting you, the new feature will be implemented.

Let’s use a few practical examples to showcase how Audius has designed incentive programmes to drive good behaviour.

One, as an artist, if your song crosses a certain threshold of listening/engagement on it, you get paid. Two, as a listener, if you curate a playlist that ends up being popular, you will get paid in $AUDIO too.

Over time, community ownership has spurred many exciting projects. In turn, third parties have built several cool apps. For example, if you make an account on Audius today, you won’t be using the core app but one of those third-party projects.

Another community-led project is a music racing game where you steer your car around, and through obstacles in sync with the music you listen to.

The Spotify or Apple Music experience is far superior to Audius’s one. Yet, as the platform grows, I am sure that will change. We will see more unique features driven by a loyal audience. Skin in the game naturally increases loyalty and incentivises word of mouth.

It’s fascinating to observe the evolution of marketplace models. Utility tokens enable governance directly by the community. That was not possible up until recently.

Traditional marketplaces required a centralised body to police and grow the network. Web3.0 is changing all that as it enables internet-native economies.

Also Read: Bitcoin and Ethereum simplified for a five-year-old

While everything sounds great, there are some issues I will need to highlight. One, although Audius is growing nicely, its UX and traction are nothing like Spotify’s. It will take a while before Web3.0 can create as intuitive a user experience as we are used to.

Two, despite all growth in the space, there is still a shortage of talent. Three, there is a risk of over financialising relationships. And fourth, high transaction (gas) fees. Web3.0 enabled marketplaces will need to deeply understand the interplay between supply and deman to address all thatd. Building internet-native economies are not easy.

But if successful such platforms will distribute wealth like never before in human history. Instead of relying on a centralised group to decide what’s good and evil, the community decides. Don’t be evil; become can’t be evil.

–

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

Image credit: beer5020

The post The different ways the Web3.0 is enabling marketplaces appeared first on e27.

Flash Express, a Thailand-headquartered e-commerce logistics service provider, today announced the launch of its full services in the Philippine market. 

The Philippine unit aims to assist local micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in growing their businesses and improving the logistics service industry.

According to a press statement, the company will provide clients with advanced logistical equipment, technology, and workforce. It will also enhance its serviceable regions of coverage through 138 hubs and centres across the country.

The Thai unicorn began its operation in the Philippines in August with Express service. It is now gearing toward making Flash Home available and operational to complement its current offerings to Filipinos.

Atty. Ruth B. Castelo, Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Group at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said at a press conference that Flash Express would contribute to the local logistics industry, boost the economy, and increase the employment rate.

“As Filipinos, we didn’t rely on the negative impact of the pandemic; in fact, we recorded a relevant increase in the online business category for the past year,” said Castelo.

Also read: How the logistics partner can make or break the online shopping experience

Founded in 2017 by CEO Komsan Saelee, Flash Express began in the Thailand market as a free door-to-door pickup and delivery service with low COD charges, around the clock customer service, and 365-day operations without holidays. The startup then evolved to become a one-stop full-service e-commerce logistics company.

Its business lines include Flash Logistics (large items delivery service), Flash Fulfillment (warehousing and fulfilment solutions), Flash Express (the express delivery service that utilises technology and Big Data to optimise efficiency and service), Flash Home (parcel delivery agent service), and Flash Money (financial service).

In June, the firm added US$150 million to its kitty and became Thailand’s first unicorn, aiming to expand into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Earlier in 2020, it raised US$200 million in a Series D funding round led by PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company.

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce sector witnessed a boom across Southeast Asia. This led to the emergence of a reliable network of e-commerce logistics solutions.

According to Ken Research, the pandemic has stimulated the Philippines’ e-commerce market, which has seen a surge in online consumer activity. The sector’s top players, such as Lazada and Shopee, even recorded an increase of more than 2 to 3 million visits per month on applications and websites. 

Along with the government’s effort in providing tax incentives and infrastructure improvements, Ken Research estimated that the Philippines logistics market would cross US$19.8 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 29.0 per cent over the forecast period 2020-2025.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Flash Express

The post Thai logistics unicorn Flash Express launches full services in the Philippines appeared first on e27.

Credit car challenger slice raises US$220M to become unicorn

The crux: slice has raised US$220 million in a Series B round that values the company at over US$1 billion.

Investors: Tiger Global (lead), Insight Partners (lead), Advent International’s Sunley House Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Anfa, Gunosy, Blume Ventures, and 8i.

Plans: slice intends to use the funding to expand and strengthen its presence in the payments space, hire great talent, and expand its product offerings.

More about slice: It provides slice super card, a prepaid visa card with a credit line that allows customers to get credit card-like benefits. Users can sign up with slice in seconds, quickly get a virtual card (and get a physical card delivered to their home), and get 2 per cent cashback on each transaction. slice has also made it easier and more convenient for users to pay their bills by letting them slice the bill into three months instalments at zero cost. slice claims it ships over 200,000 cards each month.

Pixlr rebrands, adds new AI features

The crux: Photo editing, animation and design company Pixlr (owned by Inmagine) has launched Pixlr 2022 with new features to amplify the users’ image editing and designing experience.

With new branding, designs, features and a clean futuristic logo, Pixlr has evolved from just an editing tool to a practical design tool that fits every user, be it novices and professionals.

More about the features: The brand new version of AI-powered features come fully equipped with an interactive animation function, nifty brushes with more tablet-friendly functionality, and a rigorous healing tool. These features allow premium users to edit up to 50 images at once and wide-range formats selection.

Pixlr 2022 enables graphic animations in its cloud-based photo animation and design tools, Pixlr X and Pixlr E. Pixlr X helps all users to animate their projects and designs in a few clicks with its ready-to-use selections, while Pixlr E allows more adventurous and challenging animation experiences for all users. Pixlr 2022 also lets users remove unwanted textures and distracting backgrounds from any images.

Indodax delists Vidy, VidyX coins

The crux: Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Indodax said it would delist cryptocurrency assets Vidy and VidyX on November 30. This follows requests from the country’s Financial Services Authority (OJK).

What is Vidy: Vidy is a Singapore-based adtech firm. Vidy’s clients include prominent media entities across Singapore and Indonesia such as Vogue Singapore, CNN Indonesia, CNBC Indonesia, and Mothership. The firm is backed by MNC Group, Qtum, and Fenbushi Capital.

Indodax has advised its users to move their Vidy and VidyX holdings to their own wallets as the exchange will stop all trading in the coins by November 30.

Australian startup GapMaps expands to India

The crux: GapMaps, an Australian cloud-based mapping software specialist, has announced its expansion into 21 countries including India. In India, the company has appointed Subhashish Dey as Client Services Director.

Tim Shaw, GapMap’s director (market planning), said: “Many of our customers, especially the global brands, have encouraged us to enter new markets so they can use GapMaps overseas. This contributes to decisions on where we expanded the business.”

About GapMaps: Founded in 2013, GapMaps empowers decision-makers in multiple industry sectors to refine their network strategies with location intelligence and demographics. Its products can be adapted for any market or industry. Over 500 brands in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East and Africa use the products to make location intelligence data easily obtainable for more accurate business decision-making.

The post In brief: India’s slice turns unicorn, Pixlr rebrands with new features, GapMaps expands to India appeared first on e27.

According to a Harvard study, due to digital disruption, since the year 2000 around 52 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have “gone bankrupt, been acquired, or ceased to exist”, and over 75 per cent of S&P companies are set to be replaced by 2027. In the 4.0 era, where tech startups and SMEs are causing industrial revolution across sectors through innovation, corporates are struggling to keep up and this is where corporate innovation can help bring these once-established companies into the 21st century and beyond. An innovative, out-of-the-box strategy with innovation at its core is the need of the hour for any business to survive today and corporations are no exception to this.

Corporate innovation comprises different aspects — product, division and business model innovation to name a few. The likes of Uber and Netflix are excellent examples of companies that have disrupted their respective industries by leveraging technology and implementing business model innovation.

Need for corporate innovation in Thailand: Challenges and opportunities

Southeast Asia is a digital haven and arguably the next Silicon Valley, and at the centre of this region is Thailand. In 2017, there were 600 startups in Thailand. This year, there are 2000. A bustling ecosystem with leading entrepreneurs, robust infrastructure, strong consumer trust, and most importantly, smooth capital flow from corporations and investors, Thailand’s startup scene is a promising one. However, there are still a few challenges when it comes to corporate innovation and how the lack of it affects startups. As the startup scene matures, there is a need for a better, closer relationship between corporates and startups; This is where corporate innovation can help.

Also read: Wealthech startup Kristal AI looks to democratise private banking

Industry leaders are starting to realise this gap with many corporates venturing into startup funding, establishing accelerators and incubators, and some even going the extra mile to launch corporate venture capital with the aim of strengthening relationships with startups and harnessing innovation. Unfortunately, not all stakeholders have the know-how of working with startups and engaging business units with technologies, which leads to a limited or confined interaction between the two parties. Hence, despite the growing demand for innovation and disruptive technology, many corporate innovation strategies eventually fail. According to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, there are over 30,000 new products introduced every year, and 95 per cent fail due to lack of innovation. Big names like Kodak, Nokia and Motorola have succumbed due to sheer lack of innovation.

As such, Krungsri Finnovate’s Finnoventure Fund I is helping the Thailand startup ecosystem thrive by enabling corporates to innovate and participate in digital disruptions by leveraging technology.  Krungsri Finnovate — a leading corporate venture capital supporting and investing in domestic and regional startups — has launched the country’s first startup private equity trust fund called “Finnoventure Fund I”. This fund is not only an excellent investment opportunity but also a great way to get access to business information and build partnerships with promising startups in the region.

Bolstering growth in Thailand by bringing startups and corporates together through innovation

With Finnoventure Fund I, Krungsri Finnovate aims to enable corporate innovation while creating a healthy future for both startups and corporates in Thailand. They spent the first phase or the 1.0 era between the years 2017 and 2019 setting up startup incubators to understand how startups work on the ground.  In 2020, as they entered the 2.0 era, the core emphasis was placed on investments in and partnering with startups for the developments of innovations for business expansion. Currently Krungsri Finnovate has worked with more than 60 startups in over 100 working projects. Starting this year, in the 3.0 era, Krungsri Finnovate is ready to leverage investment in private equity trust funds so as to create growth opportunities for rising startups while generating investment returns and business growth for investors at the same time.

Finnoventure Fund I is set at 3 billion baht with a three-year investment term and ten-year fund life targeting both corporate and individual investors with ultra-high net worth income. This fund is the first of its kind in Thailand. “To be the first hereby means that we are the first CVC that enables external investors to invest into our fund via PE-trust structure in Thailand (following key role models like, Softbank, SBI and Credit Suisse). We aim to be a sustainable business unit selling our experience, know-how, and secret sauces of investment execution to external parties, shared Sam Tanskul, Krungsri Finnovate’s Managing Director.

Also read: These startup champions are ready to build a new Hong Kong

Krungsri Finnovate believes that the scope of social commerce and eCommerce in Thailand is great owing to factors like a fast adapting population, a growing online marketplace, and increasing social media penetration. These trends have expedited further amidst the pandemic. Today, Thailand has 46 million registered Facebook users. Studies reveal that social commerce revenue in Thailand grew from $3 billion three years ago to about $11 billion in 2020, half of the total e-commerce market. Another notable trend is that in Thailand, almost half of all e-commerce takes place through social media or chat rooms on Facebook, WhatsApp or Line’s app. These are the trends that Finnoventure Fund I is tapping into to foster a robust startup ecosystem in the country.

Sam said, “We are an underserved bank country where a number of businesses and retailers are not able to leverage financial services, such as investment and lending properly, proven by a number of Ponzi schemes and loan shark cases. Thus, there is huge potential for any fintech company that can bridge these gaps and help Thais to improve on financial literacy. Besides, Thais hold the largest ratio of automobiles per head. And, we have considerable experience and industry knowledge in these emerging tech trends. Plus our core investors who join the Fund with substantial amounts will be able to work together to endorse the startup ecosystem through our Strategic Partnership Expertise.”

Bringing Thai startups to the region and beyond through meaningful partnerships and collaborations

The core objective of Finnoventure Fund I is to create a collaborative ecosystem with innovation at its core and help Thai corporates innovate while enabling startups to get the right kind of support they need to further their business goals.

“We aim to encourage corporates to understand more about the potential of tech startups, and understand how nontraditional innovative, disruptive business works in the 4.0 era while encouraging startups to thrive by getting the right support from corporates without deviating from their core focus areas, said Sam.

Also read: QBO partners with e27 for Startup Venture Fund Pitch

Also, Krungsri Finovate is a corporate venture capital arm under the Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), is one of the bank’s major shareholders. MUFG brings extensive global startup investment experience to the table. With names like Grab and Coinbase in their portfolio, they will bring invaluable insights and industry expertise. “With MUFG, Finnoventure will have access to industry insights, expertise, network and experience. We also plan on leveraging MUFG’s presence in other Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, to help us establish ourselves as a leading regional VC” added Sam.

To know more about Krungsri Finnvoate’s Finnoventure Fund I, visit https://www.krungsrifinnovate.com/en/Home

– –

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels

– –

This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Krungsri Finnovate.

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

The post Finnoventure Fund 1: Helping the Thai startup ecosystem thrive through innovation appeared first on e27.

Pace Enterprise, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup founded by Spacemob founder Turochas “T” Fuad, has bagged US$40 million in its Series A investment round.

The Series A investors include UOB Venture Management (Singapore), Marubeni Ventures (Japan), Atinum Partners (South Korea), AppWorks (Taiwan), and a series of family offices from Japan and Indonesia.

Existing investors Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia, Alpha JWC, and Genesis Alternative Ventures also joined.

Pace will use the funds to expand its technology, operations, and business development to hit a gross merchandise value run rate of US$1 billion in 2022 and grow its user base by 25x over the next 12 months.

Also Read: Debunking BNPL myths: Is it going to be the primary mode of payment?

CEO Fuad said: “…the region [Southeast Asia] is expected to become the world’s fastest-growing BNPL market. This funding supports Pace in achieving its mission of democratising financial services for all by helping us pave our expansion into Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.”

Joon Oh, executive Director, Atinum Partners, commented: “The financial services industry in Asia is shifting dynamically, but Pace has managed to establish primacy in markets by tapping into local consumer curves to establish itself as a dominant player with its clear vision. Through this funding, we hope for Pace to continue empowering more people across Asia with innovative fintech services.”

Launched in 2021, Pace offers BNPL solution for offline and online merchants to match customers with appropriate spend limits. It currently allows consumers to split their purchase bills into three equal interest-free payments over 60 days.

The startup currently operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

As per a press statement, Pace has more than 3,000 points of sale across the region. It has grown its overseas operations by working closely with regulators and adapting ultra-local approaches, such as integrating frequently-used in-market payment methods to build resonance with merchants and shoppers. It will continue to replicate a hyperlocal framework as it goes live in new countries.

In June, Pace received an ‘eight-figure USD’ debt financing round led by Genesis Alternative Ventures. In addition, it also announced an exclusive regional partnership with luxury goods and retail specialist Valiram.

This debt round was preceded by a “seven-figure seed funding” round co-led by Vertex Ventures and Alpha JWC at the time of its official launch in January.

A well-known face in Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, Fuad has previously launched and sold three startups. His first startup was WUF Networks, an Internet of things software company based out of Silicon Valley. The company was acquired by Yahoo! in 2005.

Fuad was also CEO and founder of travelmob, an online marketplace for vacation rentals. Headquartered in Singapore, travelmob was acquired by HomeAway (now part of Expedia) in mid-2013.

Also Read: Buy now, pay later: The changing face of finance for a mobile generation

In 2016, the serial entrepreneur established and ran Spacemob. He was appointed as Managing Director of WeWork Southeast Asia and Korea after the Spacemob acquisition.

In between his startups, Fuad was Managing Director for Skype Asia Pacific, responsible for its business expansion across Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia.

—

The post Pace raises US$40M Series A as it aims to increase user base by 25x over next 12 months appeared first on e27.

Pomelo Pay raises US$10M Series A for global expansion

Singapore- and UK-based digital payments company Pomelo Pay has raised US$10 million in a Series A round led by UK-based independent investment firm Inference Partners.

Pomelo Pay last raised a US$2.9 million seed investment led by Force Over Mass, which also invested in this round.

The investment will allow Pomelo Pay to expand its presence across global markets, including Europe and Asia, starting with plans to double its workforce in London, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

Also Read: Telling the fortune of digital payments in 2021, CNY style

Launched in 2018, Pomelo Pay allows merchants to digitise their payment infrastructure and take payments from anyone in any location (physical or digital) at near-zero costs. The company provides integration with over 30 payment networks globally.

Its payments platform is also used by banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), enabling them to offer a broad suite of payment acceptance solutions to their end customers.

The company claims it crossed US$500 million in total payments processed for 2021 and projects a growth of 5x by 2022.

Pomelo Pay has 50 people across its headquarters in London and offices in Singapore and Vietnam.

Precision agri platform Fasal raises US$4M in pre Series A

India-based precision agriculture platform Fasal has raised US$4 million in pre-Series A round led by 3one4 Capital with participation from Genting Ventures (Malaysia) and existing investors Wavemaker Partners and Omnivore.

Other investors in this round include The Yield Lab Asia-Pacific, Antares Investments, and Sandeep Singhal of Nexus.

Fasal will use the funds raised in this round to expand its business across India and Southeast Asia, strengthen its full-stack services, and ramp up hiring for sales and marketing, agronomy, and technology teams.

Fasal’s eco-friendly and affordable precision farming solution is disrupting the US$42 billion progressive horticulture industry by ensuring maximum yield from small farms.

Also Read: Fasal’s IoT device increases yield, reduces wastage by helping horticulture farmers make smart decisions on crops

Based out of Bangalore, Fasal was founded in 2018 by Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma. It is a full-stack AI-powered IoT SaaS platform for progressive horticulture. Fasal delivers farm and crop-specific actionable insights to farmers in vernacular languages using on-farm sensors and scientific algorithms.

The platform is also working on new services, including F&V market linkages and parametric crop insurance.

To date, the startup claims to have helped save more than nine billion litres of water from irrigation, reduced pesticide expenditure by ~60 per cent, and increased yields across 40,000+ acres of farmland.

—

The post Pomelo Pay raises US$10M; Wavemaker, Genting Ventures join Fasal’s US$4M round appeared first on e27.

Technology and COVID-19 are forcing healthcare to change at a rapid pace. From the rise of wearables to telehealth and beyond, healthcare tech is shaping up to be a very interesting industry in the next few years.

Our guest today is Blair Hirst, a biomedical engineer by trade, the founder of Digital Health Review, a platform for people to educate themselves about what’s going on in the world of healthcare including products, services, and more. She’s also the Senior Engagement Manager at Acorn AI Labs, a company focused on medical data solutions.

In this conversation, we talked a lot about healthcare, and somehow we ended up mentioning the role of government, politics, lobby groups, insurance companies, and big pharma affecting how it all works.

More specifically, we spoke about:

– What is the current state of the health care tech industry?
– How do you think COVID-19 has impacted technology in healthcare?
– Do you think people will learn anything from COVID-19 and adapt so it doesn’t happen again?
– Should healthcare be for-profit or non-profit?
– What are the pros and cons of getting into the industry right now?
– What are some barriers to entry?
– Speak to the regulatory hurdles?
– What do you think are the major shifts occurring in the digital health industry as it concerns consumer usage?
– What are some examples of interesting companies in the last two years?
– What are some types of products and services coming up soon?
– What is going to define the growth of technology adoption in healthcare?
– What trends do you see emerging in the next five to 10 years?

Also Read: What you can learn from Carsome about championing mental health for employees

Thanks so much to Beck and I hope you enjoy the show!

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

Acast
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher

—

The article was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: adamhoglund

The post Discussing the future of healthcare tech with Blair Hirst appeared first on e27.

Pace raises US$40M Series A as it aims to increase user base by 25x over next 12 months
Investors include UOB Venture Management, Marubeni Ventures, Atinum Partners and AppWorks; Pace, which has more than 3,000 points of sale across the region, looks to hit a gross merchandise value run rate of US$1B in 2022.

Indonesia’s Jokowi to launch VC fund backed by state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
Telkom Group, Bank Mandiri, and Bank BRI seem to be the initial investors of the fund, which was also backed by other big SOEs; The agreement has yet to be finalised, but the fund will invest in startups established by Indonesian founders and operate in the country.

Malaysia’s Mavcap to invest US$38M in SEA startups via two new funds
Orbit Malaysia Fund I and Ficus SEA Fund will back startups in the verticals such as AI, fintech, healthtech, greentech, industrialtech, IoT, and edutech; The Orbit fund I will be managed by Kejora Capital; Ficus SEA has a Shariah-compliant investment structure.

Ascendo Ventures launches US$33M fund for early-stage ESG-themed startups
New Horizon Fund will focus on sustainable and renewable energy, foodtech, digital technologies impacting carbon emissions, and innovative businesses with blockchain-driven decentralised governance structures; It will opportunistically make follow-on investments in the portfolio companies of its first fund.

SoftBank-backed Ajaib pours US$52M into Indonesian bank Bank Bumi Arta
Ajaib seems to be following in the footsteps of other tech companies such as Gojek, Sea Group, Akulaku, and FinAccel, which have invested in small local banks to turn them into digital banks; Last month, Ajaib entered the unicorn club after raising US$153 million in a round led by DST Global.

ARC Group launches US$20M SPAC opportunity fund, hits first close
The ARC Opportunity Fund can invest in 10-12 SPACs across varied sectors, geography, and sizes with each fund; It will target Asian sponsors who want to create SPACs; It is exploring options to work with sponsors looking to create SPACs in Singapore.

Wavemaker-backed agritech firm gets US$4M in pre-series A
Other investors are 3one4 Capital, Omnivore, The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, and Antares Capital; Fasal runs a SaaS platform powered by AI and IoT; Its solution gathers data from sensors installed on farms, creating crop-specific analytics.

Indonesian home cleaning firm bags US$3M in Series A round
Investors include Posco Venture Capital, A Ventures, ES Investor, Honest Ventures, and Enlight Ventures; Okhome offers various kinds of home care services, including general cleaning, disinfection, and air conditioner maintenance.

Banks and fintech: An arranged marriage built on trust, but does it last long?
Some banks tout happy engagements with tech startups, but how does the “marriage” go when trust, legacy system and security hurdles come into play?

Payroll services startup GIMO raises US$1.9M
Investors are Integra Partners, Resolution Ventures, Blauwpark Ventures, and TNB Aura AN Scout; GIMO allows employees to access their earned salary almost instantly via a mobile app integrated with the company’s payroll system.

Vietnamese HRtech firm nets seed money from CyberAgent Capital
Recruitery allows companies connect with headhunters to make new hires; The firm has helped over 1,000 businesses expand regionally and has operations in countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

SG-based OCBC mulls setting up crypto exchange
OCBC’s CEO Helen Wong said crypto technology is worth studying but the bank won’t rush into the space; Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase already offer futures trading in cryptocurrencies.

F10 Singapore names 9 startups in third incubator cohort
The participants specialise in areas such as buy now, pay later, NFTs, data analytics, the gig economy, financial literacy, and regulatory tech; Selected startups will receive coaching and gain access to F10’s network of mentors, experts, and investors.

Could China’s CBDC threaten decentralised cryptocurrencies?
As China continues to make advances in developing its CBDC, it’s worth asking how the arrival of currencies like the eYuan will impact the world of cryptocurrencies.

How to tackle employee mental health to build a resilient workforce
A proactive approach to building resilience, wherein businesses can anticipate and react to future events swiftly and decisively, will better equip them with ways to tackle the next wave of health concerns– be it a real issue like influenza or a silent one like mental health.

—

The post Ecosystem Roundup: Pace raises US$40M Series A, Jokowi to launch VC fund, Mavcap to invest US$38M in SEA startups appeared first on e27.