I learnt what professional courtesy really means the hard way.

My team and I were on a location shoot. It was a full-day affair involving 20 men from different walks of life. As the editor, my main job that day was to make sure everything was running smoothly, be there to cover anyone who needed to take a break, head out to buy lunch for the crew, anything.

My art director was also present because shooting 20 people who weren’t professional models required a whole new level of directing.

With my team in the zone, I pretty much had nothing to do except make small talk with the men waiting to get their hair/makeup done. After a while, I wandered into the photoshoot area.

As I peered over my art director’s shoulder, I made a comment about how to get the guy to relax, to pose, to smile; thinking my feedback would be helpful.

Then she stopped the photographer and turned to me. I was her boss, but she did not let this stop her. She stood up taller, looked at me, and said, “Debs, do you want to do my job? Because if you don’t, leave me to run the shoot because I know what I’m doing. I don’t tell you how to run a magazine, you don’t tell me how to do a shoot.”

Five seconds. That was all it took to learn a valuable leadership lesson that I still carry with me today.

What is professional courtesy?

At the very heart of it are two things: respect and boundaries.

At the workplace, everyone has been hired to do a job that the company believed them to be good at. If I were hired as the in-house barista, it means you don’t tell me how to do latte art. You need to respect that I know my beans and how to work the coffee machine.

And so, if you were hired to be the data scientist, I would never claim to build a better dashboard than you.

Boundaries add another dimension to the idea of professional courtesy. It means recognising who you can boss around and who really needs to take your s**t. This is especially important for cross-team collaboration where it’s hard to tell who’s the “boss”.

Also Read: Beyond burn out: Why you should also celebrate the pursuit and not just wins

It’s fine to tell your own team members what to do, but it isn’t fine to expect someone from another team to take orders from you, even if you are ranked higher within the organisation.

So here’s the analogy of how these two elements work together

The barista asks the data scientist to build a dashboard to track which coffee works best for post-lunch productivity.

The data scientist then finds out what metrics the barista is after, maybe a number of lattes ordered vs long blacks, maybe pulling results from a survey about how people felt one, two, and three hours after drinking what kind of coffee.

After a few days, the data scientist comes back with a dashboard, and the barista takes it to his boss (let’s call her the Pantry Godmother).

Instead of saying thank you, the Pantry Godmother tells the barista that she feels the colours aren’t attractive enough and doesn’t think the dashboard is right. She then sends the barista to tell the data scientist how to build a dashboard.

How should the data scientist react? How would you react if you were the data scientist in this story?

What’s the deal, really?

There’s nothing wrong with collaboration and feedback. But remember: the data scientist is well within his rights to tell the Pantry Godmother, “No. I won’t make your changes because you do not understand how data science actually works.”

If the data scientist accommodates her feedback and makes some changes to his dashboard, he’s doing her a favour — not obeying her.

If the data scientist makes the changes but includes more insights into how the dashboard could work better, he shouldn’t have to justify his decisions to the Pantry Godmother.

Also Read: Keep calm and remain communicative: Startup founders share how they cope with coronavirus crisis

Please understand that this analogy illustrates two very distinct job areas interacting with each other in the workplace. By no means am I saying that pantry staff should shut up and take whatever is given to them.

Why is it important to practice professional courtesy at the workplace?

Can you imagine the angst the data scientist must feel every time the Pantry Godmother tries to be a data scientist?

Once a colleague of mine wrote “Be My Valentine!” as a cover line for her February issue and was told by a senior person of the ad team that it should have read “Be My Valentine’s” because “Valentine’s Day”.

We spent a good hour on the phone discussing how to tell this person she was wrong. The stress we went through was unnecessary because how do you say to a person who believed she was intelligent that she was actually obtuse?

Contrary to popular belief, telling someone, they are wrong or that you’re not going to give in to their requests takes an immense amount of mental and emotional energy.

Like the data scientist, many of us would like to think that our decisions when it comes to our work are for the best— not necessarily the best but for the best. To have someone second-guess us every step of the way is not just frustrating, it damages relationships at work.

The data scientist doesn’t tell the Pantry Godmother how to manage the barista, how to arrange the teabags, and when to change the kitchen sponge. Why? Because he recognises that it isn’t his space.

Mental wellbeing at work goes beyond promoting work-life balance or improving the employee experience.

It’s also about people treating each other with professional courtesy, knowing the difference between feedback and instruction, knowing who is obliged to follow your orders, and knowing who really doesn’t need to give a hoot about what you think about their work.

If you wish to give your two cents’ worth during a cross-team collaboration,

• Do it in person: Do not ever send someone to play messenger. If it’s your feedback, you should be the one to tell the other party.
• Know that the other party is allowed to reject your feedback: If that person doesn’t report to you and works in a different function/team, they are not obliged to go with everything you say.
• Take what you are given: The other party is allowed to take what makes sense and do what they think is best. They can add their own touches to the project and do not have to justify why to you.

It is frustrating enough that work-from-home has made cross-team collaboration harder, so let’s be mindful about where your involvement begins and where it really ends.

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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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Multilingualism is championing innovation in online expression and redefining boundaries through technology.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

This inspiring quote by the revolutionary Nelson Mandela holds tremendous significance in an era when society gradually acknowledges the critical role that mother languages play in empowering and educating people and spurring innovation and development.

The world is a macrocosm of multilingualism, with over 7,000 distinct languages and multiple dialects spoken across cultures.

A pluralistic nation like India mirrors this phenomenon with 22 official languages and 6,000 dialects spoken. Since the last few years, mother languages have been grabbing innovator attention globally, particularly in India.

Platform enterprises have long realised the potential of Indic languages, spoken by over 90 per cent of 1.35 billion Indians. They have re-engineered their solutions to offer intuitive experiences to speakers of native languages.

From digital banking, online shopping and payments to ordering food or booking office commute through ride-hailing apps, interfaces that support multiple languages have been re-shaping lifestyles in a digital-first economy.

But even as businesses have built complex algorithms to enable online payments and transactions in mother languages, the primary use case of ‘expression’ on the open internet, a fundamental need in society, has thus far remained largely untapped.

Speakers of mother languages, who otherwise lead virtual lives by shopping and transacting online, are left outside the realm of online expression due to their inability to speak English.

The need for multilingual expression to build language inclusive society

As people from other cultures, Indians are also known to have opinions on almost everything that happens in the world. People love to express themselves, and they speak best in the language closest to them.

‘Expression’ is inherent in each individual, and the need to express online holds tremendous significance in this ‘techade’.

Also Read: What is the next frontier for lending in India

However, ‘expressions’ have mainly remained offline and restricted to close social circles due to the English-centric approach of global tech giants, which has prevented native language speakers from joining social platforms and engaging in a language of their comfort.

A multilingual country like India, with 658 million internet users, including 467 million social media enthusiasts (as of January 2022), offers significant opportunities to social platforms to enable Indic language expression.

By leveraging disruptive technologies like the AI-backed Natural Language Processing (NLP), which decode human language and the attached nuances, platforms can build solutions that break down linguistic barriers and act as enablers towards building an inclusive society, where users express themselves and engage with one another in a language of their choice.

Key to hockey stick growth of social platforms

The real key to a digitally connected world, in addition to enabling expression in mother languages, is the real-time translation of a message across multiple languages, amplifying user outreach.

A seamless dialogue between speakers of two native languages like Punjabi and Tamil or Assamese and Gujarati on a real-time basis would take digital transformation to a whole new level.

Platforms that are architected to enable creators to build content in one language and users to consume it in another language induce immense gratification and build sticky user journeys.

The hockey stick growth in Indian language content through broader adoption of language inclusive platforms and translations of this content in multiple languages will result in content that everyone can generate and consume irrespective of their language preference, steering digital empowerment.

The incredible power that mother languages command will help catalyse growth and innovation, digitise the ‘un-digitised’, and democratise people’s voice in a transformative tech-driven world.

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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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Singapore-based corporate cards and payable management startup Volopay has secured US$29 million in a Series A round of investment, led by Tinder Founder Justin Mateen’s JAM Fund.

Winklevoss Capital Management (US), Rapyd Ventures (US), Accial Capital (US), Access Ventures (Hong Kong), Antler Global, and VentureSouq (Dubai) also joined. Fintech veteran and Acorns Founder Jeffrey Cruttenden also participated in the round.

Volopay will use the funds (a mix of equity and debt) to expand into the Asia Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. It will also look to enhance its integrations with popular ERPs, HRMs, CRM software tools, and project management applications.

“With APAC and MENA churning out several unicorn level enterprises every year, it is indeed making a big wave on the global frontier. And this is only the beginning. Accelerating their growth would require an efficient expense management tool that is simple yet scalable, something that Volopay has always aimed for,” Rajith Shaji and Rajesh Raikwar, Co-Founders of Volopay, said in a joint statement.

Also Read: Volopay raises US$2.1M from Tinder co-founder, others to make expense tracking easier for startups

A Y Combinator startup, Volopay provides businesses with corporate cards, invoice automation, bill payments, and multi-currency business accounts without the hassle and limitations of a traditional bank. The multi-currency wallets enable clients to hold money in their base currency and any major currency (USD, SGD, EUR, GBP) and subsequently use it for payouts.

Volopay is building its own infrastructure and applying for financial licences in the markets it operates.

“Many of our competitors around the world will opt to integrate with third-party infrastructure suppliers to provide financial services. It limits the type of products you can offer clients. With each region playing host to its own network providers, it is almost impossible to deliver a consistent and delightful customer experience for our global company clients operating in different parts of the world,” Shaji commented.

“We are doing something no other company has done regionally; we are building our own infrastructure. Not being held back by the limitations of an intermediary, this foundation will not only let us create highly innovative financial products but also a pleasant and reliable customer experience across all our markets,” Shaji added.

Since its seed funding, Volopay claims to have grown to a 150+ member team spread Asia Pacific, such as Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Its clients include Funding Societies, Zipmex, Moneysmart, Smartkarma, and Austrionova.

Michael Shum, Chief Investment Officer at Accial Capital said, “Accial Capital views the B2B corporate spend vertical as a way to support entrepreneurs and SMEs with liquidity and close the credit gap. Volopay has a great ambitious team focused on redlining the finance workflows with its robust technology.”
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Why does this keep on happening?

That was the subject of e27 Daily Digest that was disseminated to our community in November 2021 –right after we published our coverage of sexual harassment cases in the Southeast Asian tech startup ecosystem. The subject was chosen by the content team due to the fact that these issues seem to happen over and over again. Despite the fact that the mainstream media no longer pay great attention to the #MeToo movement anymore. Despite the fact that survivors keep on speaking up.

During that period, our friends in Tech In Asia also published a similar coverage on the issue, sending an even stronger message to the ecosystem that this is far from over.

We entered the 21st century with the hope that our society has progressed way beyond how it was hundreds of years ago. But we were appalled to discover that some things remain the same; despite progress here and there, the minorities continue to face barriers in developing their true potentials and achieving success. Issues such as sexual harassment and unequal pay continue to haunt the workplace, inside and outside the tech startup ecosystem.

Certainly, each issue is unique and requires its own unique approach. But when we look at how issues faced by women in tech is being narrated, we might suspect that perhaps we are going nowhere because we have been using the wrong approach so far.

The problem

Analytics Insight provides a handy list of challenges faced by women in tech today, and equal opportunities come out on top.

Also Read: A woman among women: 27 female-led startups in SEA that are going places

“Just like any other industry, gender biases are permeated in the technology sector as well. This is very obvious with how the tech world is referred to as male-dominated. The survey by JobsforHer observed that 82 per cent of the women working in tech feel unheard in their jobs. With already existing gender biases that women are fighting daily, this unconscious bias impedes females from enhancing their skills and experience,” the article writes.

When it comes to dealing with the problem of unequal opportunities, the narrative that has been going around the tech ecosystem –in SEA and other major hubs such as Silicon Valley– tend to put heavy emphasis on the individual’s contribution to this problem. For example, if a woman developer receives a lower salary than her male peers, despite having the exact same level of competency, then it must be because the woman does not negotiate for a better salary.

There is rarely an emphasis on the failure of the system that leads to this issue in the first place.

This narrative becomes even more popular with the publication of books such as Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead –perhaps one of the most popular works for the topic of women in business, including tech.

Personally, I have read the book and found merits in it. But I will not deny that there are also many points that are problematic in it, particularly its emphasis on women’s lack of ‘leaning in’ as the cause of their problems.

As women, we may have been conditioned to be polite and put other people first, and this may lead us to become reluctant to speak up for ourselves. But if we think that this is the only reason why women are not making progress in the workplace, then we are missing out on a very important point.

It is all about the framework

The International Labour Organization (ILO), together with the Australian Government and Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), released a practical guideline for employers to promote equality and prevent discrimination at work in Indonesia. Despite the local context, I found that the steps detailed in the guideline can be relevant for other markets.

In promoting equality and preventing discrimination, the guideline puts emphasis on the active role that employers play. From the details, we can see that this is a process that goes from the top to the bottom; leaders need to take initiative to review how diversity and inclusion are being practised in their organisation and identify issues. Only then that they can figure out the best policy and implement it for their team members.

Also Read: Levelling the playing field: How to build a home for women in tech

As you can see here, we are moving beyond motivating the individuals to lean in here. Instead, we are doing creating an environment and a system that ensures equal opportunities.

We can keep on telling women to lean in, but if there is no legal framework to back what they are fighting for, everything will be pointless. You can send young women to workshops to teach them negotiation skills, but if there is no policy that supports equal pay for all sexes, then we are not going anywhere.

What this means for business

This means you have to do something. (Duh! What did I write these paragraphs for?)

It is easy to dismiss International Women’s Day as a ceremonial feat when we spend the whole month of March talking about women’s issues –writing about high-profile CEOs, providing discounts for women– but fail to implement concrete steps throughout the year to ensure equal opportunities. This means the event should be momentum for leaders to start reviewing how equal opportunities are provided in their organisation, see where they can make improvements, and set up the framework to make sure its implementation. This is never an easy process; in fact, it requires an investment of time and resources.

Sometimes –often– it would be easier to just focus our effort into a single momentum. Instead of investing time and resources to make slow but real, impactful changes.

But let us go back to the opening paragraph of this op-ed and ask ourselves: how long do we want these things to keep on happening?

That way, hopefully, we will be inspired to choose between what is easy and what is right.

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Singapore-based e-commerce enabler Cococart has received US$4.2 million in a seed funding round led by Forerunner Ventures (US) and Sequoia Capital.

Existing investor Y Combinator, Uncommon Capital, Soma Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, James Park of Fitbit, and Eduardo Vivas (Curated CEO) also joined the round.

The startup will use the new funding to grow the team, accelerate product development, and expand to other countries.

“We’re just getting started. There are still so many challenges in starting and running a business that we want to solve, from deliveries to supply chain to financing. We see a massive opportunity in front of us, and we want to bring Cococart to 200 million businesses worldwide. Our goal is to define the next generation of commerce,” said Cococart Co-Founder and CEO Derek Low.

Also Read: E-commerce enabler aCommerce files for IPO in Thailand

Founded in 2020, Cococart currently has merchants present in over 90 countries. The company aims to transform local businesses and enable new ways to sell online. The firm claims merchants can set up their storefront in minutes with no code, no design, no app downloads.

Most local businesses are still taking orders on WhatsApp and managing their orders using spreadsheets. With Cococart, they can set up a website with no learning curve. The store comes with everything from inventory management to mobile payment solutions.

Since its launch, Cococart claims to have grown to support over 20,000 businesses in more than 90 countries, taking in over 500,000 orders.

In 2021, the company grew its merchant count by 3000 per cent and customer base by 4600 per cent, according to Low. In that same time, the company grew their team from two founders to 22 people across 12 countries.

“At Forerunner, we believe the next revolution in commerce will be driven by empowered sellers,” said Kirsten Green, Founder and Managing Partner at Forerunner. “Cococart embodies this shift by enabling small businesses to manage online ordering and unlock new growth easily. E-commerce tools like Cococart stand to enable a growing generation of companies to compete and scale more efficiently.”

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