Today’s digital world is filled with opportunities for abundant business growth. But the abundance of opportunities creates a lot of noise making it harder for brands to stand out online.

That’s why building positive brand equity can help brands gain traffic to their content, have more successful launches, gain press attention, and be able to charge more premium prices. But how do you build that kind of brand reputation?

Brand equity is built on brand awareness, trust, and the brand’s digital footprint. It is the perception of a brand and can have a positive or negative perceived value.

A great way to think about brand equity is, the value a brand gives. How can a brand stand out and offer more value, especially in this competitive digital age?

Focus on individuality and bring the whole person to work

One of the main issues when it comes to branding is conformity. Especially when someone is working to build a personal brand. There are so many great examples of brands to use for inspiration but there is also far too much copying. 

It’s no surprise as we are taught to conform. But success in branding actually comes from our individuality and our stories. Businesses and individuals building online brands need to think about what “secret ingredients” they have to offer. It is often diversity that makes a company successful. Creativity comes from diverse ideas and backgrounds. It comes from brainstorming and throwing out different opinions. 

Building positive brand equity in today’s digital world is about a brand coming into alignment with purpose. Everything about a person’s individuality can influence the brand. Think about today’s most successful though often controversial founders and CEOs that have an online presence. They are very strong personalities who are not afraid to bring themselves into their work. Their personal values drive the brand’s success. 

Brands that work to abolish conformity and create a safe environment to experiment will see the most success. 

Many executives, however, have achieved their positions by conforming. So as executives we have to ask ourselves, how much fulfilment are we experiencing, and how much more could I contribute to the success of this brand by bringing more of myself into it?

Learn to share your value in a way that captures

Ultimately we have to remember that our brand’s value is not encapsulated by what we think of it but by how it is perceived. How is the brand held in the minds of customers and followers? That’s your brand’s equity. The ones you are seeking to influence and impact, decide the value. 

Also Read: How luxury brands are experimenting with the metaverse

What they want to see is authenticity. Are you the person you say you are? Are you working to deliver the value that you claim to be creating? It is a combination of the digital and human sides coming together in beautiful harmony to create a digital footprint that will leave a positive impact. 

The search engines have their say. If you can’t be found by the people that need you, there is no value. But just being visible online is not enough. Great branding is part strategy and part you. 

One of the best ways to show your human side is with video. Video shows so much more than just writing out a bio or brand statement can. On video, your audience can see your personality. Your tone and body language, even what’s behind you. It’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your world and they love that.

Balance out performance marketing with brand marketing

We like to look at the numbers. The statistics, clicks, and shares. These are the things that are trackable and they do give us feedback but not the whole picture. These performance markers are important. But the numbers are not what fosters an engaged community. 

You need a combination of performance marketing and brand marketing. Performance marketing gives you feedback and keeps you profitable while brand marketing shares your why and builds engagement and loyalty. 

Brand marketing is a huge part of building a brand’s equity. It’s where a lot of companies fail. Outsourcing the content marketing side can help. Having a specific team that focuses on just the content without getting bogged down in the logistics of the business can make all the difference. It takes stepping back and looking with fresh eyes, your audience’s eyes. 

The community-building aspect is one of the reasons influencer marketing has become so popular and works so well. People will trust a recommendation from others much more than a company’s ad campaign.

Know how important brand equity is in this digital world?

We alluded to this in the beginning but brand equity is more important now because technology has made it so much easier to start a brand. A smaller barrier means more competition and certainly does not mean everyone will be successful at branding. There are so many resources, many of which are free, to create a website or landing page online and start a brand. Often this leads to more noise and less quality. 

Also Read: How small businesses can boost brand visibility via videos and messaging

There are a lot of mediocre brands. Don’t be one of them. Work to offer real value. This can take time and learning. It means putting in the work to connect and engage. Time to evaluate the perception your brand has and develop your story. 

Know that building brand equity is important and put effort into it.

Go where your people are and show up consistently

You don’t have to put focus on every single platform that comes along but you do have to show up where your potential audience is. 

The marketing channels that are popular change. Those who get on new platforms quickly can gain more traction just from less competition. This does not mean that you need to be on every social media wave. But you do need to be where your audience is. Meet your consumers where they are. Where they love to hang out and spend time. 

Search for your ideal customers. Where are they? Go there. What kinds of conversations are they having? Get involved and connect. 

Follow these steps and you can build brand equity over time, stand out from all the mediocre brands online, and build trust with your audience. 

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The benefits of neurodiversity are clear. People on the autism spectrum are, as a group, significantly more focused than average. They have a long attention span and can work for hours on a single project without interruption.

They don’t get distracted by office chatter, water cooler talk, or Facebook notifications from friends. This can be a tremendous advantage in an office environment where multitasking is often seen as the norm.

What is neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is a natural difference in the way people think and communicate.

It’s often defined as “neurological differences that are not disorders,” or “differences in how we process information.” These can include autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other conditions characterised by unusual sensory experiences or motor control issues.

If you’re reading this, chances are you don’t need to be convinced that neurodiversity is a good thing. But employers might. Here are five reasons why your company should consider hiring neurodiverse people:

• Neurodiverse people have unique skills
• Neurodiverse people are loyal and hardworking
• Neurodiverse people are creative thinkers
• Neurodiverse people have specialised skills in areas like mathematics, music, or computer science (where they can use their brain differently from non-neurotypicals)
• They offer an advantage to the entire business because they make it more inclusive

It’s not “nice” to hire neurodiverse people; it’s smart. Employing people with differences in thinking means more creativity in your company. It also means more innovation, new perspectives and fresh ideas.

Neurodiverse individuals are more creative and innovative and bring fresh ideas to the table. They approach problems differently than people without differences in thinking, so they’re such an asset to any company.

With that in mind, here are some reasons why neurodiversity can be an asset:

Neurodiverse employees are more creative

No matter where you look, plenty of evidence points towards this being true.

Also Read: Autistic founders and advocates share their vision of a more inclusive workplace

A study from Stanford University found that people with autism were better at finding solutions for seemingly intractable problems than their peers who didn’t have autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

And research from Harvard University indicates that having ADHD can be beneficial at work if you’re doing something creative. It helps you stay on task!

Neurodiverse employees will bring something unique to the table and help you solve business problems in a way that others can’t.

For example, when a neurodiverse employee works on your team, they may be able to see things a bit differently than their colleagues. They may come up with solutions that others wouldn’t have thought of before because their perspective does not limit them.

Or perhaps they have an idea for solving a problem but don’t know how to explain it, so everyone else understands. A neurodiverse employee could provide input into how this idea could be better communicated or find someone who can help them express it more clearly (and therefore solve your company’s problem).

Neurodiverse employees are loyal and hardworking employees

They come up with creative solutions because they see things others don’t see or think about things others don’t think about naturally.

Neurodiverse people excel in the workplace because they’re self-starters who don’t need to micromanage, making them great team members. Neurodiverse employees are independent thinkers who aren’t afraid to speak up when something’s wrong with the company or its policies, so their ideas can significantly impact your business.

Neurodiverse people are also great problem solvers since they tend to think outside of the box more often than non-neurodivergent individuals do, which means that if you’re struggling with something at work, whether it’s productivity issues or a faulty process, you’ll find someone who will have an answer for you if they’re part of your team!

Neurodiverse candidates are self-starters

They are creative, independent thinkers who can help companies achieve their goals, so long as their ideas are encouraged and rewarded.

People who are neurodiverse make great additions to small teams or as self-starters. They are creative, independent thinkers who can help companies achieve their goals, so long as their ideas are encouraged and rewarded.

If you’re a hiring manager looking for a way to boost your company’s productivity, consider this: neurodiverse candidates are excellent problem solvers. They will not only think outside the box but also try out new strategies that may seem crazy at first but will ultimately lead them to success.

One of the benefits of hiring neurodiversity is that neurodiverse people often have highly specialised skills, like amazing recall or an innate ability to analyse data, which makes them great employees in many parts of a company’s operations.

Also Read: Towards an inclusive society: Singapore-based startups that are building solutions for people with disabilities

In addition to being more loyal and hardworking than neurotypical employees (NTs), those with autism and Asperger’s syndrome are less likely to quit their jobs because they want stability and routine. They’re also good at working independently, so it’s easy for them to get things done without much supervision.

Many companies hire NTs who have mental health issues such as depression or anxiety: Their diagnoses drive them toward perfectionism, and higher productivity levels than your standard employee would achieve without an issue holding them back from reaching their full potential at work.

Neurodiverse employees are loyal and hardworking because they need their jobs to survive in a society that doesn’t always understand them. They will work harder than anyone else because they know how important it is to be successful at work, pay their bills on time, and have enough food in their fridge when the month ends.

Conclusion

There are many reasons to hire neurodiverse employees, and you’ve just read about some of them. If your company is looking for smart, creative people who can bring something unique to the table and solve business problems, then hiring a neurodiverse employee might be worth exploring.

When we’re hiring individuals with differences like ADHD or autism spectrum disorders, it’s important to remember that these conditions come with many diverse talents (and possible challenges).

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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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Indonesian crypto wallet, trading platform Pintu scores US$113M Series B
Investors include Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed, Northstar Group, and Pantera Capital; Since its launch in April 2020, Pintu claims over 4M users have installed its app, up from 500,000 in May 2021.

How CoinDCX aims to be India’s gateway to the broader global crypto ecosystem
CoinDCX, a unicorn crypto exchange with 12.5M+ users, recently launched CoinDCX Ventures to nurture the crypto and Web3 industry in India and beyond; In April, it closed over US$135M in Series D round.

Vietnamese blockchain gaming guild Ancient8 nets US$6M
Investors include Makers Fund, C² Ventures, Pantera Capital, 6th Man Ventures, IOSG Ventures, and Play Ventures;
Ancient8 helps GameFi studios identify high-quality gamers and run Web3-native targeted advertising.

Request Finance raises US$5.5M to simplify enterprise crypto payments
Investors include Animoca Brands, Balderton Capital, and XAnge; Request Finance aims to simplify and automate invoicing, expenses, payroll, and accounting in crypto for more than 1,900 Web3 teams.

All hands on deck: How Iron Sail strengthens blockchain gaming ecosystem through collaboration
Launched in October 2021, Iron Sail results from a partnership between blockchain-based game hub Whydah and seven local gaming studios.

How the metaverse opens new opportunities for education
Education in the metaverse will be more democratised, the academic curriculum will be more equitable and open.

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Singapore fintech Capital C scores US$54M in fresh funding
Investors are Phillip Capital, Luminor Capital, Paradise Group, and Citystate Group; Capital C’s products include individual financing, SME financing, vehicle financing, and BNPL.

StashAway lays off 14% of staff
The robo-advisor StashAway has cut 31 staff members across five markets; The layoffs come after the company raised US$25M in a Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital India in April last year.

Tiger Global-backed Lummo cuts 150+ employees
Inc42 previously reported that the company had let go around 100 to 150 employees in Indonesia as well as around 50 to 60 people in India; Lummo has two apps under its umbrella: LummoShop and bookkeeping app BukuKas.

iPrice Group lays off 20 per cent of employees
The layoffs are part of the group’s several measures to focus the business on its core mission, “to help people save money” shopping online; The decision comes three months after iPrice closed a US$5M from Itochu and KDDI Corporation.

Indonesian fintech startup Aino aims for IPO in 2023
The firm has raised an undisclosed sum in pre-Series B from Japan’s TIS Inc and Nippon Keei; It raised US$4M Series A from TIS in 2019; Aino provides digital payment methods in a number of sectors, especially public transport operators.

Why global investors are eyeing China’s EV landscape
Despite facing overcapacity issues, local electric vehicle startups have mushroomed in the country; Around 500 EV startups had been established in China by 2019, including some 300 EV makers.

Omnistream closes US$7M Series A for global expansion
Investors are SIG Venture Capital, Delivery Hero Ventures, Spiral Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners; Omnistream helps retailers optimise their physical footprint by generating store-level planograms that optimise assortments for hyperlocal demand.

Razer Fintech acquires E2Pay to further expand into Indonesia market
E2Pay provides a wide range of payment solutions to merchants and financial institutions, including payment gateway, e-money, and remittance services licenses in Indonesia.

watchTowr can tell an organisation in real-time if it can get compromised
The Singaporean cybersecurity startup bagged a US$2.25M seed funding from Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital and Wavemaker Partners in Feb 2022.

China mulls giving Ant Group second shot at IPO
The authorities are also close to granting the group a license that could pave the way for it to revive its listing plans and be regulated more like a bank.

Salary Hero raises US$2.8M to bring financial wellness to Thailand through EWA
Investors are Global Founders Capital, M Venture Partners, 500 TukTuks, 1982 Ventures, and Titan Capital; Salary Hero integrates and works directly with employers to provide earned wage access and financial wellness products.

Binance to expand operations in the Philippines
Binance is planning on financing traditional Philippine financial firms – such as payment service providers and banks – to help bring those businesses into the blockchain world.

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Copyright: samwordley

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It has been over a month since crypto-assets TerraUSD (UST) and Luno crashed.

To explain the crashes in simple terms, in early May, the UST stablecoin — pegged against the US dollar — was trading at US$80 a coin, but it tanked to 35 cents following a massive sell-off. Its sister currency Luna also dropped and became almost worthless.

Some experts say the crypto crashes were not surprising — there was a bubble of irrational exuberance in cryptocurrency, which was already starting to deflate even before UST and Luna plunged.

While the crashes have rattled the market, industry watchers feel such events are healthy and necessary for the long-term future of cryptocurrency. Moreover, they will encourage many investors to think and analyse opportunities carefully.

On the flip side, the crashes have given more ammunition to policymakers globally to regulate the trading of cryptocurrencies. The US government is already seized of the matter and believes that regulation is essential to protect investors’ interest and guard them against financial contagion.

Also Read: What the fall of Terra Luna and the Asian financial crisis have in common

But the moot question is: can regulation alone restore people’s confidence in digital assets?

“Surely, governments will attempt to regulate crypto trading,” says Eddie Thai, General Partner of Ascend Vietnam Ventures, an early backer of Axie Infinity. “Some regulations may be necessary to restore confidence in the eyes of many retail investors. But I don’t think regulation will be the primary driver of overall investment interest in crypto versus potential financial gains and other factors.”

In any new space, he adds, governments often struggle to design and enforce well-balanced regulation; crypto is even harder to regulate effectively because of its fundamental design. “It’s this design that attracts a lot of crypto investors. Confidence will be gained back as investors become more knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies and their risks and as builders improve their design and execution.”

Even before the UST crashed, several governments had begun examining crypto regulations. For instance, Singapore in April approved legislation to tighten rules for cryptocurrency providers. The new law requires virtual asset service providers in the country which only do business overseas to be licensed.

Malaysia has also made it clear that it has no intention of recognising cryptocurrencies as legal tender.

“This crash will likely increase the urgency of governments and regulators to hasten their work on regulations,” opines Bobby Ong, Co-Founder and COO of CoinGecko, an independent cryptocurrency data aggregator. “We believe rules, if appropriate and proportionate, could help eliminate some outright scams so real projects could flourish. Beyond that, it is up to the projects to build sustainable offerings that will gain investors’ trust and confidence.”

Certainly, policymakers are worried and are taking every step to regulate and protect investors from potential losses in the future. However, many governments are still in the dark and have a vague idea about the differences between digital assets.

“What is more important is that governments are educated about the differences between various assets. A few regulated (private or public) stablecoins (like USDC) can emerge as default stablecoins,” says Kenrick Drijkoningen, General Partner at Web3 investor Play Future Fund.

Agrees Chris Sirise, Partner at Saison Capital: “Regulatory frameworks will be an essential driver of confidence in the sector. There are many mechanisms for a stablecoin to maintain its peg. Having one approved by regulators and audited by reputable third parties on an ongoing basis will increase confidence significantly. However, there is still a case to be made for decentralised stablecoins. That category will take time to rebuild trust, especially among retail investors.”

As all the experts mentioned above indicate that crypto should be regulated for the benefit of retail investors. But is regulation really possible?

Also Read: The 27 Web3 startups in Singapore that show crypto is more than Terra Luna and stablecoins

“To be very honest, from a functional and execution point of view, it’s impossible to regulate crypto markets. It is like a ‘casino’ that cannot be shut down,” says Elvin Zhang, Executive Director at Startech Global Ventures (part of Sinarmas Group).

As for the expected RoI, he says above traditional average (50 per cent annual internal rate of returns) can still exist in the semi-regulated ‘casino-like’ asset class. “Normal core productivity-related returns (less than 50 per cent) will veer back towards the regulated financial markets, and seasoned investors will find the two more and more differentiated when forming asset allocation strategies. General population confidence should then follow the above asset class bifurcation as well.”

But still, it is impossible to shut off something that is truly decentralised finance. The only thing governments can do is to control the valve that pumps money into the crypto markets. “But there is already capital control, meaning if you get money through some dark web, you are subjected to money laundering regulations. So that is the maximum governments can do,” Zhang says.

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Copyright: fellowneko

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Lyve Labs, a collaborative platform owned by Seagate Technology to build solutions that harness data flow, announced the winners of its Lyve Cloud Hackathon 2022 competition in Singapore on June 2.

The winners of the competition are Team YYQQ1314 (led by Tang Yun and Xu Qian), Team YSL (led by Liew You Sheng), and Team FastStream (led by Kai Wei Hoon). Each of these teams won cash prizes of S$8,000, S$2,000, and S$1,000.

Other participating teams are Team CSTOR (led by Oliver Wee), Team The Water Cooler (led by Lwin Maung Maung Thaw and Xu Haiyang, and Theekshana Wijewardhana), Team Linh AI (led by Giang Nguyen, Nhan Nguyen and Louis Phung), and Team BEANS (led by Callista Chang).

In this hackathon, the teams were to build solutions using Seagate cloud technology to tackle the challenges of improving data storage for customers and businesses. The participants had to choose one of the following challenge statements:

– Build a middleware solution on top of Lyve Cloud that serves as a media streaming server
– Connect other public cloud big data software stacks with Lyve Cloud
– Build a data migration and movement solution from other Cloud vendors to Lyve Cloud
– Create a solution to connect Lyve Cloud’s audit logs to other public clouds

Also Read: From gigabytes to zettabytes: How to develop a data-driven mindset

The participants were judged by a panel that consists of David Gu (Senior Director IT, Seagate Technology), Noa Franko-Ohana (Director, Lyve Labs), Muhammad Yazid (Director, Lyve Cloud), and James Xi (Technical Engagement Manager, Lyve Cloud).

In her opening speech, Franko-Ohana stresses the value of nurturing the local startup ecosystem in markets where the lab operates.

“Lyve Labs has rolled out several programmes, including Lyve Cloud for Startups along with the Innovator of the Year, to support the scaling of data-driven businesses while reaching out to young developers who have the ideas but lack the means to thrive. We are here to help you thrive,” she says.

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Image Credit: Seagate Lyve Labs

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