Syed would be the highest-ranking Muslim official in the Biden administration if confirmed, but GOP senators are refusing to even show up for the vote.
Former Airbnb Head of Americas Marketing Jennifer Yuen
Despite all our differences, in many ways, we are the same. Cultures diverge, but commonalities bring us together. Airbnb has been an extraordinary platform for allowing people to truly experience new cultures in every corner of the world, and it has been thanks to passionate leaders like Jennifer Yuen.
In this second Global Class podcast episode, learn how it can be better to focus on cross border “tribes” instead of other target demographics, how some markets can influence others (helping you prioritise your expansion plans), how diversity can be a strength, and why “there’s no place called global.”
Jennifer is the former Head of Americas Marketing for Airbnb and was an early team member who launched the business in the APAC region. Previous to that, she led product marketing for the Facebook search product and held marketing roles at IHG, a global hospitality company, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and AT&T.
The early stages of starting a business can be brutal. Funding is scarce, the team is lean, everyone has to wear multiple hats, and nobody knows you exist. You need to secure funding to grow, but you’re also competing against thousands of other companies. Most importantly, you don’t want to fail.
There’s been a worrying tendency for founders to stray into ‘moral grey areas at this juncture. Essentially, they artificially inflate their attractiveness with misrepresented statistics or sensationalise their offerings to stand out and entice investors.
This has been a problem since as far back as 2013, but with the current startup boom, it’s more evident than ever because more people are doing it.
There’s no hard right or wrong here, but if you’re a founder and you do this, understand what’s really at stake. You’re gambling not just the reputation of your company on this dishonesty but your own as well.
If you knowingly make claims you can’t back up, the trust lost is almost impossible to rebuild when people find out – and that reputational blow is never worth it.
Fear-driven fakery
Fear of failure is a powerful motivator in business, especially in the startup ecosystem. Startups fear that if they don’t play their cards right, they’ll become another contribution to the 90 per cent startup failure rate.
On the other side, VCs fear missing out (FOMO) on the Next Big Thing if they don’t make suitable investments, which could cost them millions in potential revenue.
Many founders focus on trying to spin a good story to attract VCs. Common tactics include exaggerating their numbers, talking up their product and how it will change the world, or even creating fake demand with fake reviews.
They also capitalise on the FOMO sentiment among VCs by framing their pitch in an ‘it’s now or never’ time-sensitive deal, putting pressure on VCs to leap.
This might work in the short term, but sooner or later, it’ll catch up with them. ‘Fake it till you make it’ only goes so far– the Theranos story is an excellent example– and VCs themselves are quickly wising up to the game. Once you’ve earned a bad name, even if you try to start over with a new company, it’ll be much harder to convince them to put their faith in you again.
Why fear failure?
When children fall, we tell them that it’s okay. They can get up and try again. It isn’t the end of the world. It teaches them what they must do to avoid falling again.
This lesson is just as valuable to adults. We’re often so focused on getting to the finish line that we forget the journey is just as important, even if there are a few bumps and scrapes along the way.
Failure is the greatest teacher, as they say, and once we’ve learned our lesson, we can adapt. From Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, we saw that it wasn’t the strongest or the most intelligent species that survived, but instead the one that was best able to adapt and adjust to changing environments.
Founders tend to take failure as a massive blow to their reputation, but the irony is that they could do significantly more damage by lying and failing to deliver.
Instead, they should embrace failure and learn to adapt to it instead of avoiding it through deceit. People understand that failure is a part of life. It’s what you do next that matters more.
Being upfront about the potential for failure and showing how you will handle it can help your reputation.
When my co-founder Surekha and I started Redhill, we were clear on our ambitions, but we also said: “We’ll do our best, but we’ll tell you if we fail.”
We were very transparent about the possible risks and what our strategy was to mitigate them. People appreciated our honesty, and this helped us build a reputation for responsibility and trustworthiness.
Staking your reputation as a founder
As a startup founder, your reputation is everything. You are your product. People work for and invest in your company because they believe in you and trust you to lead the way forward. That doesn’t mean they expect you to be perfect, but it does mean they expect you not to betray their trust.
Reputations precede the person. You might get away with one lie, but lies only engender more lies. If you make things up to avoid failure and it backfires, that stains not just your company’s reputation but your own as well.
Plus, now that everyone has a digital footprint, a bad reputation is not only difficult to reverse – it can follow you for years and affects the trust that people have in you.
On the flip side, trust and authenticity are byproducts of a genuine effort to create a good reputation. If, as a founder, you are consistently honest and authentic, people will also associate that with your business.
Inspiring trust is invaluable because people believe in your ability to deliver your best even if you fail, which makes them more likely to work with, support and even advocate for you.
At Redhill, we’ve returned the money to people when we couldn’t deliver on what was promised. We also explained what we learned from the mistake and how we would do better next time.
In many cases, admitting failure and explaining our learnings has fortified our reputation because our clients see that we’re not just in it for the money– we genuinely care about doing a good job. Some have even rehired us and recommended us to others because of it, and that’s actual gold.
Trust has been the foundation for business success since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, the high-pressure, high-stakes environment of the startup and VC ecosystem has made the current ‘win at all costs mindset somewhat endemic within the industry.
Being the little guy is hard and talking up a big game often seems like the only way for founders to get their foot in the door, but that’s a very short-sighted play; what happens when the house of cards falls?
The more this happens, the more cautious VCs will be about investing and the more difficult it will be for startups to get funding. Fewer founders will be willing to take the plunge, and there will be less innovation overall.
Ultimately, this mindset takes ‘putting your best foot forward’ too far and only hurts all of us in the long run. That’s why it has to start and stop with us.
As founders, we started this journey knowing the risks because we felt it was worth it. Sometimes things don’t work out, and that’s okay. Failing is just part of the process, not the end of the story. It’s never worth pawning your reputation to avoid failure because having a good name is everything.
As long as you have your name and reputation intact, you can always pick yourself up and try again – and that’s a rare privilege.
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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
Bangkok-headquartered digital asset and cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub has sold 51 per cent of its total shares to SCB Securities (SCBC) for 17.85 billion baht (~US$536 million).
SCBS is a subsidiary of one of Thailand’s largest and oldest banks, Siam Commercial Bank or SCB.
Upon the deal closing (expected to complete in Q1 2022), SCBS will become the major shareholder of Bitkub. This brings Bitkub’s valuation to more than US$1 billion, making it Thailand’s third unicorn, alongside Flash Group and Ascend Money.
SCB intends to work closely with Bitkub as a business partner, develop digital asset businesses through new business models to create long-term added value and lay the foundation for the bank’s further entry into the financial world of the future.
“We strongly believe that together we can drive the Thai economy into the future to be a regional financial and technological centre. And it is an important opportunity to create a new national champion for Thailand,” said Bitkub CEO and founder Jirayut Srupsrisopa.
Founded in 2018, Bitkub offers services including cryptocurrency and digital assets exchange, blockchain solutions and ICO advisory services, education workshops, and venture capital investments. The startup aims to push forward the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem toward mass adoption in Thailand.
The acquisition is in line with SCBx Group’s (the holding company of SCB) strategy to upgrade to a financial technology group, meet new consumer needs, and enter the new competitive and emerging arena of digital assets in the next three to five years.
SCB also owns a fintech venture subsidiary SCB 10X, which has invested in enterprise blockchain solution provider Ripple, custody tech firm Fireblocks, investment bank Sygnum, and centralised crypto lender BlockFi. The firm also participated in the US$93-million funding round of The Sandbox.
Thai crypto market has witnessed the involvement of notable banks this year. In August, Bank of Ayudhya, through its VC arm Krungsri Finnovate, participated in the US$41 million Series B of Zipmex, a Singapore-based crypto exchange that has been licensed in Thailand.
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In recent times, telcos have never been the epitome of ‘cool’ regarding brand positioning. Because there are usually only a couple of dominant telco players in each market, they typically don’t have much incentive to innovate or provide a stellar customer experience.
This means it’s rare for customers to get genuinely excited about a telco brand. At least, this much is true, according to Delbert Ty, head of marketing at Singapore-based digital telco Circles.Life.
Circles.Life is on a mission “to bring power back to the consumers,” explains Ty. Launched in 2016, the company offers no-contract mobile carrier plans with fully digital support.
While this is the norm in many developing nations, the approach is considered novel in developed markets such as Singapore, as incumbent telcos lock customers into 12- to 24-month contracts and provide SIM cards and customer service at offline branches.
With Circles.Life, customers can instead buy a SIM card online and pay as they go. They can take comfort in knowing that the amount they spend on mobile fees sync with the data and minutes they use.
In 2019, Circles.Life claimed to have reached a five per cent market share in Singapore. The company then expanded to Taiwan and Australia that same year.
On top of simple and unique offerings, Circles.Life’s marketing efforts have injected a breath of fresh air into the regional telco space. The company has consistently created viral campaigns that get the public talking.
For example, the brand made waves during its 2016 launch by involving influencers who vandalised what seemed to be a new telco’s outdoor ads offering 3GB data for S$40 (which was the norm back then).
The campaign sparked conversations that the offering was indeed nothing special and garnered media coverage about Circles.Life’s new data plan (20GB for S$20) after the brand unveiled itself as the one behind this stunt.
Speaking with ContentGrip (an online media powered by ContentGrow for professionals in media, marketing, and tech), Ty shares some of his recipes to help fellow marketers create viral campaigns.
Viral campaigns get folks talking about Circles.Life
Influencer youtiao666 vandalised a fake telco ad in 2016.
When done correctly, viral marketing can significantly increase brand awareness. People will Google the brand responsible for engaging campaigns and visit the website. This, in turn, can help the company retarget them later on using paid ads.
Generally speaking, retargeting campaigns cost less than those that aim to bring in new visitors. As a result, this helps to bring the customer acquisition cost (CAC) down.
Higher awareness should also help increase a brand’s overall search volume on Google. Ideally, this will help increase SEM impressions and bring CAC costs down even further. According to Ty, these tactics can apply to any industry, whether it’s B2C and B2B.
“Be clear with your strategy, message, creative material, and plan,” says Ty. “They all have to have in clear linear sync — meaning ‘this therefore that.’ When it comes to execution, you should be able to explain this to any layperson.”
In the case of Circles.Life’s vandalism campaign, the idea was about waking people up to the reality that what incumbent telcos offer is — quite simply — not good. Instead of just showing a ‘brand A vs brand B’ message, the team brought to life the sentiment of customer dissatisfaction through faux vandalism.
Circles.Life announced its most extensive no-contract data plan in this campaign, which was 20GB for S$20. This was an outsized improvement from the 3GB for S$40 commonly offered by other local telcos at the time.
Viral campaigns should evoke strong, visceral emotions
Circles.Life giving 2020 the middle finger in Australia
The core component of viral marketing is not so different from traditional marketing. Practitioners need to have a strategy, a target audience they want to reach, a clear message they want to convey, a creative idea, and a plan that stitches it all together coherently.
“The only thing that sets what we’ve done apart is the creative idea. We think of the Nth level extreme of what can elicit a visceral and emotional response,” says Ty.
“This usually considers culture and local norms, as what gets a strong response in one market could very well fall flat in another. But there’s also a flip side. Something that gets the appropriate emotional response in one market might end up being way over the top in another.”
In the case of Circles.Life’s vandalism campaign, Ty believes the strategy might not work in a country where vandalism is more common (in Singapore, there is very little vandalism).
So marketers need to understand each target market’s culture fully. According to him, culture is the vehicle in which a company’s ideas can be distributed.
Circles.Life’s also made headlines in Singapore when its ‘vending machines’ let locals pay S$3 in exchange for S$50. The free money stunt drew such a massive queue that police eventually stepped in to disperse the crowd. This was done to promote the company’s new S$3 unlimited data plan.
To find viral campaign ideas, the team does rapid-fire brainstorming sessions to populate a list of ideas. The team discusses trending topics, perennially hot issues and explores which ones sync well with the brand’s strategy and messaging.
Ty notes that marketers should always try questioning the premise. He asks, “Why are certain things done the way they are? Why is this the right channel? Why should we be liked as a brand? Through this line of questioning, you’ll unearth the weirdest, wackiest ideas that will help you drive distinction.”
To objectively assess whether an idea has a decisive score in “discussion worthiness,” Ty’s team will check Google Trends and Twitter to see what’s trending. Another avenue is to look at media mentions via various tracking tools such as Google Alerts and BrandWatch.
“Lastly, we’ve also explored doing ‘fake door’ tests on ideas by creating meme versions of the concepts and posting them on social media organically. Based on the upvotes and likes, we’re able to assess its discussion worthiness,” adds the marketer.
How Circles.Life handle mystery brand reveals
Several of Circles.Life’s publicity stunts have been kept unbranded initially, with the brand then revealing itself later on to spark interest. This is designed to explore whether the team can achieve more significant virality if the campaign is perceived as ‘organic’ by the public — rather than an advertisement.
The first ad features a lover’s break-up message
In Australia, the team decided to do a fake print ad of a scorned lover breaking up with her partner on a major publication. This stunt generated several media pickups, including one from the world-renowned tabloid Daily Mail.
As a former Procter & Gamble marketer, Ty shares that he uses Pantene’s playbook for mystery brand reveal activities. He emphasises the importance of providing a clear narrative that follows each initial mystery.
For the Australian fake ad stunt, the team followed it up with another print ad. It revealed how this disenchanted lover was breaking up with her telco and that Circles.Life is here for her now.
The follow-up ad unveiled Circles.Life’s publicity stunt
Ty explains, “This continuity in the narrative makes it easy for the audience to recall the previous coverage, and we eventually can drive the user’s journey back to our brand.”
That said, some stunts don’t need to be mysterious at all. For example, earlier this year, the telco created a S$20,000 lottery for families who, for some reason, are not eligible for housing benefits or loans from the government. The stunt was introduced as part of its new family plan launch.
Ty adds, “Even though we knew it would ruffle feathers, it only made sense if we put our name on it. In this case, we believed that because we were making a stand, literally putting our money where our mouth is, and most importantly, not selling anything, we’d be able to achieve the cut-through we wanted.”
He reminds fellow marketers to make sure that there is a reason why they’re not revealing a brand during bold marketing stunts. Further, each stunt should be carefully orchestrated not to contradict the creative idea. Lastly, practitioners should be mindful that this is a tactic. Tactics don’t work indefinitely, and they certainly don’t work if the strategy is wrong.
He explains, “Our approach here is that with risky bets like stunts and viral activities, there is an inherently low chance of success. So, no matter how creative you and your team are, you’ll never have a greater than 50 per cent hit rate.”
Because of this dynamic, Circles.Life’s marketing team hedges the risk by spending less than 20 per cent of their time and money on publicity stunts. This allows them to be braver and not worry about the cost of failure. They spend most of the budget on more traditional and reliable channels that are easily trackable, like performance marketing.
Ty says, “Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is okay, so long as you have a contingency if it does happen.”
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
BeeX, an autonomous robotics startup in Singapore, has secured an undisclosed “seven-figure” USD in a seed investment round.
Cap Vista, the strategic investment arm of Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency, led this round. It also saw participation from Quest Ventures-Maritime Fund, IMC Ventures, SEEDS Capital, and the National University of Singapore.
With the money, BeeX will expand its team to accelerate the development of autonomous capabilities across more diverse and critical environments, it said in a note on its website.
It will also commission a more powerful hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV) used for harsher conditions in offshore wind. It represents a unique opportunity for rapid growth in underwater infrastructure as the world adopts renewable energy at an unprecedented rate to achieve net-zero.
Founded by Grace Chia and Goh Eng Wei, BeeX is a deeptech engineering spin-off from the National University of Singapore, with a decade of R&D. It designs and builds vehicles to redefine how underwater work can be done. BeeX has a multi-disciplinary team with experiences in marine robotics, autonomous self-driving, electronic design, and naval architecture.
While autonomous robotics has impacted how work is done on land, air, and even outer space, the underwater world has stayed the same. Humans are still working in dangerous environments — be it physically diving or being mobilised on multi-billion-dollar large vessels — to deploy human-controlled remotely operated vehicles.
BeeX believes that Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (HAUVs) independent of these big boats can provide a sustainable way of large-scale underwater inspections. This will become a fundamental building block in ensuring the safety of coastal cities and accelerating the shift towards renewables, such as floating solar and offshore wind, by significantly reducing their operations and maintenance costs.
BeeX claims its HAUV — A.IKANBILIS –performs repetitive tasks efficiently with advanced autonomy, enabling better data and insights into critical large scale infrastructure like offshore wind, floating solar and aquaculture farms. It excels operationally in high currents and low visibility, with its custom propulsion, electronics, and sensor fusion techniques.
“BeeX’s marine autonomy technology will revolutionise underwater inspections and disrupt the maritime sector, and contribute to applications in sustainability and defence,” said Chng Zhen Hao, CEO of Cap Vista.
James Ong of IMC Ventures, commented: “The best validation of BeeX’s solution is demonstrated through the demand for their product in the maritime industry. BeeX has shown the commercial ability to sell its solutions on commercial terms, and it validates that the technology works and the pricing is viable. IMC hopes to help BeeX scale by utilising IMC’s broad network across Asia Pacific”.
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