Starting a business or a startup has always been a dream of mine. So as a young entrepreneur, I thought that I had most things figured out. But the truth was I hadn’t. This may sound a little controversial, but the idea for Hipster Inc. came by accident.

The year was 2016, and Bok (the Co-Founder of Hipster Inc.) and I, computer science graduates, started some product companies, including a book barter company called Barterli, where people could exchange books to promote reading.

We pitched this idea to StartupX, and it took off pretty well. Even the National Library Board partnered with us to propel our idea forward. We partnered with some developers to bring our idea to life, and the other incubator companies started to notice that we could quickly launch products and re-iterate versions, so the cohort startups in the incubator we were a part of started to reach out to us for help.

Coming from a programming background and having some entrepreneurial senses, we offered to help. Mainly, we were curious how we could bring their ideas to life and enhance them so their products take off.

So we started helping them part-time for two hours a day. This led to more startups wanting us to help them. What began as a part-time hobby became a full-time business. Bok and I employed more developers, and just like that, Hipster Inc., a humble software development company, was birthed.

Today, the company undertakes projects across various industries like edutech, finance, productivity, travel, F&B for subscription models and even blockchain. The team is now 60 men and women strong. Our USP is that we are developers who know how to put ourselves in the founders’ shoes through our startup ventures.

Also Read: How to generate winning startup ideas

This comes from working with a few dozen startups and directly working with their founders. Observing their thought process and how they solve problems give us good insight. As Sam Levenson puts it, “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.”

Advice to budding entrepreneur: Elements you need to get started

Find an SEO-worthy business name

Now that you have your winning idea choose a name for your business that is unique and relevant. Down the inevitable road, this will help you in SEO and marketing. Shakespeare once said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Unfortunately, this isn’t true of SEO.

Find a Co-Founder that can complement you

Statistics state that about 80 per cent of partnerships fail within the first year. When choosing a business partner, it is important to exercise caution and be selective. Find someone you can trust. After that is established, the right partner is also someone who will complement you and that has strengths that vary from yours.

In the case of Bok and myself, Bok takes care of business development and finance, and I take care of the technical aspects and operations.

Do your market research and competitor analysis

Sometimes, what you want to create exists already in the target market or somewhere else. Learn about existing solutions, and don’t re-invent the wheel if someone is already doing it unless you can do a lot better. Also, talk to users about their pain points and see what they say about your product before you create anything.

Don’t be disheartened by no’s

When you first start, you will get a lot of no’s everywhere you go. The nos with explanations are very important to hear and introspect. No’s, are also a good sign that you are innovating. Take failures with curiosity and change your course of action without getting disheartened.

Network with like-minded people

This will get you ahead more than any marketing. Give before you get. When we started, we did much pro-bono work for the right client. This allowed some good association with companies no one had ever heard of before.

Partner with as many companies as you can to help them do better. Of course, this also means establishing a brand for yourself and marketing yourself.

Keep learning

Read good books, and watch good videos on every topic related to your startup, sales, marketing, scaling, and product development. Look to people who have pulled a business off successfully to guide you, so you don’t need to re-invent the wheel. Well researched market and products from competitors or someone who did it well before saves time and money for you.

Bootstrap as long as you can

A significant investment isn’t needed to start anything. Work with what you have. There are a million free tools out there at your disposal. Being liquid is important and even more so as the company matures.

On work-life balance

Be prepared to work double the hours. Being an entrepreneur means also doubling up as a manager and supporting HR, the marketing and sales teams.

Entrepreneurs need to be willing to work approximately 60-80 hours a week. Ironically, the push to be an entrepreneur was to avoid working a 40-hour week some.

How to grow your business: How to grow, best practices, what to invest in

Product quality: Real meaning of MVP

Never ignore the quality of the product. Focus on the MVP or Minimum Viable Product, a product of minimum features with top-notch quality rather than an inferior quality product with a myriad of features.

Also Read: Guide to successfully start realising your product ideas

When considering the development of a product, consider how it will impact the customer, and do your research. Before a product is ready for launch, start marketing it. Value and prioritise design and branding. Many startups ignore these aspects.

It can’t be denied that, to some extent, people with good looks get an advantage in life. Good handwriting has its benefits in school. The same is true for a product with a good design.

Be realistic by taking calculated risks

Take risks but the calculated ones. Consider how much money will you lose if a risky venture fails. In our early days, we made the mistake of too aggressively expanding into too many new markets.

That didn’t work out. In Asian culture, making mistakes and failures are not encouraged, but there is immeasurable value in trying things early, failing faster and learning from this process.

Appreciate early clients and serve them well

Learn to love and appreciate your early customers. They may not pay a lot of money but also realise they sacrifice opportunity costs by trusting you with their opportunity. Treat them well, they are going to be testimonials for future customers to come.

Be a true leader to your team

As the captain of a ship, people look to you to be their leader, to impart vision and direction. Employees who join startups do so because they believe in the leader’s vision and think that they are working towards something concrete. They partner with you and, in some cases, sacrifice through pay cuts because they know as the company accelerates, so will they because of the contributions they are willing to make.

In a startup, vision and culture is everything. People skills are more important than any tech skills. Empathy and a high emotional quotient will get you ahead. Always be clear with your team members and promise only what you can deliver.

Value and appreciate your employees, especially those who have been with you for some time. Be humble. Kindness goes a long way. Be realistic when planning future milestones. Focus on creating values and building a great culture.

Hire the right talent

Never hire solely for skills. Hire for personality and attitude. In one way or another, people learn skills if they need to do something, but changing a person’s attitude and mindset is hard. Encouragement and motivation won’t work in the longer term.

Also Read: How startup leaders can delegate to prevent burnout 

People who make great employees are hard-working, always learning, and proactive. During an interview, notice what they do, not what they say. Give them a small task to do to test their sincerity.

Manage pragmatically

Be cognisant of your team’s progress and celebrate that. By being aware of their little milestones, you can ensure that their direction is aligned with your company’s vision.

Active involvement creates a sense of team and allows you to learn from external projects and other businesses’ challenges. While founders should focus on the big picture and vision, they can’t afford to avoid the details.

Customer experience over product superiority

Humans are emotional creatures, and your customers will remember their experience far longer than the feature list and technology you provide. Therefore, ensure you give your client’s the best possible experience from start to finish.

In approaching any new venture or opportunity, and in all your dealings, always try to solve problems. Be patient when starting, and remember it’s a slow and tough climb to the top. At the same time, have a sense of urgency when approaching tasks and launches.

Businesses that seem to have it all together are a product of all the hard work poured into them. The answer to what it takes to do X is whatever it takes. Always challenge the status quo. There is so much still to learn, so we should never stop learning, growing, or evolving.

–

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: Canva Pro

The post How to start up your startup: Advice for the budding entrepreneur appeared first on e27.

Privyr, a Singapore-based startup that helps consumer-facing salespeople and businesses convert leads right from their phones, has raised US$6 million in Series A funding.

The round was co-led by MassMutual Ventures and Vulcan Capital, with participation from Wavemaker Partners, bestselling author Nir Eyal, and Binance Investment Director Gwendolyn Regina.

The new funding will be used to expand Privyr’s product capabilities, increase market penetration, and scale its team from less than ten employees to over 40 within a year.

Earlier, the startup raised US$900,000 from Wavemaker Partners, Entrepreneur First, and several angel investors.

Also Read: Wavemaker Partners closes 4th fund at US$136M, announces new appointments

Privyr builds a mobile-first sales productivity and workflow management tool. It helps salespeople and small businesses better engage and convert their leads into clients through WhatsApp, SMS, iMessage, and phone calls.

The startup aims to make sales interactions more personalised and convenient, leading to much better customer experiences and sales conversion rates.

The company claims over 45,000 sales professionals across more than 75 countries use its product.

Co-Founder and CEO Aaron Lim, said: “Over the past few years, virtually all consumer-facing sales have moved to mobile messaging apps like WhatsApp or iMessage. What used to happen in a few face-to-face meetings has turned into hundreds of micro-interactions with dozens of leads simultaneously. Salespeople are spending hours every day copying and pasting messages, updating spreadsheets, and figuring out who they need to follow up with – it’s a complete mess.”

While many businesses are turning to chatbots and automation to solve this problem, Lim believes there’s room for a different type of solution. “If you’re in a high touch profession built on human relationships, putting a chatbot in between you and your customer removes the personal interactions they’re looking for. Instead, Privyr provides an easier and more efficient way for businesses to personalise engagements and manage client relationships from their phones.”

“There’s incredible demand for simple, mobile-based solutions targeted at individuals and SMEs — particularly in developing markets where sales primarily happen on mobile and WhatsApp,” explained MassMutual Ventures Managing Director Anvesh Ramineni. “Privyr’s solution addresses a massive pain point in the sales process, and the fact that the company has come this far with zero sales or marketing staff is a testament to the widespread appeal of such a product.”

—

The post Privyr raises US$6M Series A to help B2C firms convert leads right from their phones appeared first on e27.

For the last few years, we have been banging the drum about the evolution of video as a brand-building tool. With the pandemic fuelling the rise of all forms of mobile video, particularly short-form video, this trend is only set to accelerate.

eMarketer estimates that digital video consumption is expected to soar to 2.2 billion viewers in APAC by the year 2025.

Also, through our research and experience over the last few years, we’ve seen two distinct categories of video experiences that have accelerated largely due to mobile: “on-the-go” and “captivated viewing.”

As a result of these changing viewing habits, people are most drawn to brands that are easy to discover and use, whether it’s through their strong presence in online communities or their high-quality mobile content across platforms.

This is evident, especially among younger audiences who are increasingly influenced by video content when discovering new brands or when it comes to brand selection. A McKinsey study of Gen Z across six countries in APAC revealed that 70 per cent of Gen Z respondents surveyed discover new brands via video-based social media at least once a month.

So in the latest episode of Ideas That Matter, a content series brought to you by Meta, we chose to look at the evolution of video and discussed how social trends are intersecting with business to create new opportunities.

I had the opportunity to speak with  Joanne de Rozario, Managing Director, Prodigious Singapore, MC/creator Khánh Vy, who has over 6 million followers and Viksita Singh Menon, General Manager, South East Asia, Paula’s Choice Skincare, to uncover how agencies, brands and creators use video for growth and success.

We explored why it is important for businesses to tell a connected story about their brand and all of the different ways they can do it today with video.

The power of educational videos

Menon, a self-confessed beauty enthusiast, has seen how videos drive awareness, interest, engagement and consideration for beauty brands. She said that people could not visit stores to try products or ask beauty advisors about what made the product unique with the pandemic.

Also Read: 5 video marketing trends that marketers can leverage in 2022

They turned to tutorial videos which served the dual function of educating and entertaining them. “Once the consumer is interested in the product, they want to know, how do I use the product? What’s the before and after going to look like? This is where videos play an extremely important role,” she said.

This has also fueled the rise of beauty influencers who teach how to get the desired look, and share product intelligence as well as tools and techniques that engage their followers.

Storytelling versus story-yelling

While beauty is an obvious category, video’s power goes far beyond anyone category or vertical. Joanne de Rosario, who has worked in creative production for half her life said she is a true believer in the power of a good story.

“The combination of moving visuals, voices, a powerful script, music, all provide the perfect way to tell a story to move someone,” she said.

Moreover, as a result of the pandemic, people are even more likely to respond to purpose and connection. People are much more concerned about how brands make them feel. They want to know what the brand stands for, and will make considered choices to support brands that stand for a purpose they personally identify with that reflects their values and beliefs.

Therefore, as Joanne put it, “Brands need to work into what I personally call storytelling, not story-yelling.”

Build unique and personalised experiences with video

From big brands to individual businesses, video’s role in branding is universal. Just ask Vy, who went from being an unknown high school student to a language influencer with over 6 million followers across her social platforms in just six years.

“I was just a high schooler, an ordinary girl in a small city in Vietnam. One day, my friend uploaded a video of me mimicking seven languages just for fun. And after one night, that video just went viral all over the internet, and my Facebook page went from 300 friends to 50,000 followers,” she said.

Vy received invitations to attend several shows and discovered that people were hungry for language education and personal development skills. In 2017, she started a Facebook page but wasn’t quite sure about what kind of content she should create. In 2019, a mentor advised her to create more video content.

However, with so many content publishers flooding the web and social media with their own videos on learning languages, Vy quickly realised that creating just any video wasn’t enough. In order to attract and engage viewers, she needed to create videos that offer a unique experience, and focus on their needs.

Also Read: How smart video integration can improve your remote working environment

She believes success with video is tied to authenticity, and consistency breeds familiarity, which is why she has consistently been posting videos about learning languages for free, for people from all walks of life.

“In the last three years, my Facebook Page saw massive growth from 50,000 followers to 2.3 million followers,” she said.

Experiment with different video formats and lengths

With the plethora of video options out there, brands of all sizes face similar challenges and are looking for ways to create a video that achieves good reach, attention and completion rates.

Joanne’s advice, “If you want to tell a long story, and sometimes you have to, it’s not wrong. But don’t forget to look at the sections, which you can then lift for different platforms that require a shorter story. More importantly, don’t forget to shoot them so you can use them for both horizontal and vertical formats.”

Video is indeed here to stay and grow. To find out more, check out our new resources here.

–

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: Canva Pro

The post The secret sauce of how brands and creators use video for growth and success appeared first on e27.

Ringkas, an Indonesia-based digital mortgage platform, today announced it has secured a US$2.3 million pre-seed funding round.

Investors that participated include 500 Global, Iterative Capital, Creative Gorilla Capital, Teja Ventures, Init-6, and several founders of “companies valued at over US$1 billion.”

“Shelter is a basic physiological need that every person should have access to. It unlocks the pursuit of entrepreneurship, career ambition, family, education, and more. Homeownership has been a building block for the advancement of economies, and this is why we believe Ringkas’ application of financial technology to homeownership has the potential to be a multi-billion dollar journey with massive social impact,” commented Khailee Ng, Managing Partner at 500 Global, in a press statement.

With the capital from this round, the company will focus on launching its platform in collaboration with Ciputra Group, the largest property developer in Indonesia.

Over the next six to 12 months, Ringkas plans to onboard 10,000 home seekers and launch its platform across multiple impactful projects in the Greater Jakarta Region in Indonesia. After that, Ringkas will roll out its platform across Indonesia and will consider further expansion in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: Is co-living a good opportunity for property owners?

Founded in early 2022, Ringkas aims to solve the housing problem by digitising the overall value chain and creating an intelligent platform that would simplify the mortgage process, efficiently match customer profiles, and target assets to the risk appetite of the financial institutions.

“Indonesia has millions of home seekers and over 12,000 developers on one side; on the other side, over 1,200 banks and financial institutions. The secret sauce to unlocking this opportunity is to leverage technology to connect all the players in the industry in a simple, fast, and customer-obsessed way,” says Ringkas co-founder Ilya Kravtsov.

The company wrote that the mortgage penetration in Indonesia is one of the lowest in the world with total mortgage lending from banks equivalent to 3.25 per cent of GDP. In comparison, it is 11 per cent of GDP in India and over 50 per cent of GDP in the US.

Furthermore, the Indonesian housing backlog has grown over the years and currently stands at 11.4 million units. The root cause of this challenging situation lies in the fact that 55 per cent of the country’s workforce comprises small and medium entrepreneurs, freelancers, and individuals without a fixed-term contract. According to Ringkas co-founder Leroy Pinto this means over 70 million people in Indonesia struggle to prove to the banking system that they have the financial resources to secure a mortgage.

—

Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

Image Credit: Ringkas

The post Ringkas raises US$2.3M pre-seed round to create 100M new homeowners in SEA appeared first on e27.

Recent trends in regional markets show that infrastructure plays a key role in economic growth. However, as one of the drivers of economic development, businesses often contend with ageing facilities that deteriorate over time. 

Companies belonging to big industries like energy, oil, and gas require constant upgrading in this regard or else suffer significant costs to doing business. For instance, in the United States, infrastructure damage has cost USD10.7 billion dollars in the period from 2001 to 2007 alone. 

The good news is that such losses are preventable. The only challenge is that these solutions are not yet widespread due to the fact that they are rooted in one of the younger industries developed in recent years: artificial intelligence, or AI.

AI and optimising infrastructure

AI can assist oil and gas companies in well-placement analytics and analysing pipeline flows. These optimise not only workflow in the energy industry, but also reduce possible risks such as leakages and accidents. Other technologies that have helped improve operations in such industries include data capture images, which help assess the situation on the ground before sending out manpower to inspect ageing infrastructure.

Also read: oVice, a virtual office platform, uses innovative technology to redefine remote work

Skyller is one of the companies that aim to solve these industrial problems through data capture and machine learning. Equipping fellow businesses with the tools to analyse and strategise their next steps, Skyller promotes a safe, smart, and cost-efficient way of dealing with ageing infrastructure. Apart from this, the company also deals with other logistical concerns such as the deployment of pipeline inspectors and offshore platforms. 

Skyller’s modern solutions to modern problems

Siwat Saibua, Skyller co-founder and CEO, traces Skyller’s vision in its name––Skyller means “scholar,” and in this sense, the company’s team of experts can be seen as a group of scholars providing smart solutions to modern problems. 

Using drones, robots, satellites, and any image data acquisition devices, Skyller turns to information modelling, or what Siwat refers to as the “digital twin.” From here, clients are able to gauge problems on the ground without necessarily being the first responder. 

Skyller’s clients can hire the company to undertake the data capture and locate specific issues in their infrastructure and logistics. Alternatively, clients are also free to do this themselves and ask help from Skyller for tools and data processing only. Siwat notes that Skyller has a ready fleet of drones and robots mostly in Thailand so far. For international clients, staff can be trained by the Skyller team to use the company’s tools and also open for collaboration of fleet partnership. (trained or collaboration partnership local drone service)

Although most of the examples that have been mentioned so far are in the oil and gas industries, Skyller is also active in other industries, such as renewable energy, telecommunications, and construction. 

Also read: Alpha JWC Startup Series: pitching & fundraising through the lens of a VC

For renewable energies, Skyller can help in onshore and offshore solar farms, wind turbine generators, power transmission and distribution networks, and substations. Their assistance in telecommunications still largely concerns infrastructure by way of inspecting and assessing telecom towers. Similarly, their engagement with construction involves outdoor stockpiles and construction sites.

Such engagements can greatly benefit these industries by cutting down on costs and improving staff retention and satisfaction. For the former, the data imaging derived from Skyller’s data acquisition devices can help identify and address any infrastructural issues before they get worse. Reporting of issues will also be easier in this manner, as data captured can be analysed in real-time. For the latter, staff’s lives are not put at risk in inspecting faulty ageing facilities, and they get to be equipped with helpful technology. 

For Skyller, the keyword in addressing issues in infrastructure is efficiency. The analysis of these issues in real-time is what makes AI so crucial. 

Instead of waiting for human intervention, large threats such as pipe or gas leaks can be avoided. With the help of agile machines and the knowledgeable eye of Skyller’s experts, these problems can be minimised so that companies incur fewer costs, and at the same time, prevent environmental damage. 

Environmental opportunities and expanding reach

For the latter point, Siwat explains that environmental safety is part of Skyller’s vision, apart from reducing operational hazards and expenses. As an example, Siwat cites the image capture and processing on the coastal patrol of oceanic wildlife, analysing any anomalous events such as coral reef bleaching and rising ocean temperatures.

Also read: Get to know the startups in the 2022 APT 5G Challenge

At present, Skyller is looking for global partners to collaborate with to improve its services. If widely used, the company’s tools can greatly help not just other businesses, but also mitigate environmental damage through data. Potential collaborations could help save not just costs, but also lives.

The potential for expansion and improvement is endless, especially considering what the company’s devices can do. Innovation takes the lead in mitigating potential impacts of climate change, improving company efficiency, and ensuring worker safety. 

For more information on Skyller, visit http://www.skyller.co/. 

– –

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

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 The future of infrastructure is in tech innovation appeared first on e27.