Ivan Yeo stepped down as the CEO of EVOS ESports, a leading e-sports startup he co-founded, in 2021 to focus on his health and handed over its rein to a new generation of leaders. During this time, he started in-depth research about Web3, one of the most talked-about sectors globally.

As he dug deeper, Yeo realised the enormous potential Web3 presents and the disruptive capability across multiple industries it carries.

This landed him on the idea of Avium.

“Avium is building a network of studios by leveraging Web3 infrastructure,” Yeo says. “We are building an entertainment brand to greenlight original content by the Southeast Asian studios behind Marvel Comics, Valve, Netflix, Prime Video, and Tencent.”

Yeo believes that one of the key ingredients of building a successful brand is to capture attention. Avium is doing this by establishing multiple channels.

Also Read: Web3 games should aim to have sustainable tokenomics, ecosystems: Froyo Games’s Douglas Gan

“Our first channel is creating our original content, characters and stories, and we’re supported by hundreds of artists and creators from top Southeast Asia studios working on this. This will eventually be distributed across various social media and content platforms in multiple formats, such as audio, comics, and animation,” he shares.

The second channel is via Avium Esports, which Yeo claims to be the first ever decentralised e-sports team. It allows the startup to establish its presence and gain attention in the gaming sector, drawing eyeballs and creating legions of diehard fans.

“So building Avium as a brand means continually building these avenues for us to capture attention and further develop them,” adds Yeo, who successfully turned EVOS into an organisation with a presence in four countries. EVOS has raised over US$16 million across several rounds and employs over 60 full-time professional gamers and 300 exclusive talents under its brand.

The Founders’ Pass collection — an NFT designed to incentivise the creatives and studios building Avium’s brand — is at the centre of Avium’s ecosystem. It is an all-access pass to the Avium ecosystem. It means the Founders’ Pass holders get auto-access to a curated community, direct access to the project core team, exclusive events, creative resources and subsequent collections by Avium, including the upcoming Origins collection. The pass holders are also considered Avium’s founding members, with rights to build with studios and producers while leveraging the brand.

The benefits for studios

Every artist dreams of creating their original IP and being recognised for the brilliant work they produce. However, bringing original content to fruition and mass distribution remains difficult because Southeast Asia lacks a supporting ecosystem (seen in Hollywood) to enable this.

As a result, much of the work undertaken by Southeast Asian studios is only seen as “outsourced”. While they may be working on blockbuster Hollywood titles, they are minimally recognised, have no claims to the art they produce, and do not participate in the value created downstream (distribution, merchandising, etc.).

“Using the collaborative and community-driven culture of Web3, Avium works with studios to produce original content and intellectual property (IP). Together with our ecosystem partners, we assist them with community building, marketing, NFT technology and smart contract deployment. That’s the unique thing about Web3. The community backing the project is ultimately the same fans who can enjoy their creations,” he elaborates.

Avium and EVOS

Yeo believes there is an opportunity for collaboration between Avium and e-sports, specifically EVOS. For now, the Web3 startup is endorsing and supporting Slate Esports, a decentralised e-sports organisation owned by the players and the community.

Slate was formed by SEA Games Bronze Medalist duo Akihiro’ JPL’ Furusawa and Daryl ‘Youngin’ Ng after EVOS released them in late July. Both are Founders’ Pass holders. With the endorsement, Slate will leverage Avium’s ecosystem and represent the brand through the decentralised ownership model by utilising the pass.

“The decentralised ownership model is one of the first use cases of Founders’ Pass, allowing community members to utilise the Avium brand. Ownership by the players and fans aligns incentives better and allows them to participate in brand value growth, compared to Web2 business model,” Yeo explains.

Also Read: EVOS Esports Founder’s new Web3 media startup Avium lands US$2M funding

Avium has also onboarded two renowned regional art and animation companies — Caravan Studios and Circle Studios. Caravan has developed entertainment IP for household brands, including Marvel Comics, Netflix, Prime Video, Lego, Legends of Runterra, and Clash Royale. Circle Studios is the company behind Valve, Tencent, Dota, and Mobile Legends.

“For us, Caravan and Circle are not just teams of people we outsource to or just there to get the work done. We acknowledge and work with them as ecosystem partners, symbolising a deeper relationship between the creators and what’s created. Ecosystem partners are active participants in the Avium ecosystem. The more they succeed, the stronger the Avium ecosystem becomes. So it was important to find partners aligned with the vision of what we are building,” Yeo says as he shares the reasoning behind the partnerships.

Last week, Avium received US$2 million in a pre-seed round led by Saison Capital and joined by East Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Ricky Ow (ex-Warner Media), and Hepmil Media Group. The fund will be deployed to build the brand and IP in line with its vision to become the most prominent Web3 media and entertainment company.

“We will deploy the capital to fund the costs of creating original content and characters in the Avium world, publishing stories in the media, and establishing our content creator network and presence in e-sports,” Yeo concludes.

—

The post How Avium is building a Web3 media brand blending entertainment and e-sports appeared first on e27.

It’s not very often that I receive phone calls from ex-colleagues. So, I was surprised when my phone’s screen flashed with an ex-colleague’s number when I was ready to sign off after a busy week. The strange thing was that we hadn’t spoken for nearly two decades, except for the occasional greetings and wishes on WhatsApp.

I must say, it was a long conversation. We chatted about family and our jobs. Lo and behold, he informed me that he has been with the same company for the past 35 years.

He went on to express that for some time now, he was overcome with emptiness. Unfair treatment from his manager, lack of support, and unmanageable workload. A couple of times, he voiced his intent to quit, but he never could follow through with it. I felt for him at this point.

A lot of questions floated in my head instantly. Would I have been in the same boat if I was still working there? Had he been stuck at the same company for too long? How can companies value long-serving employees?

I’ve been reading about burnout, roadblocks at work, and mental health. As I continued listening to him, I realised that this was what he was experiencing.

As we navigate the new normal, we are constantly faced with new crises every now and then. Businesses have to transform to suit the different needs of customers. Employees have to re-skill and up-skill constantly to keep up with the new technology tools to prevent burnout. Customers have a variety of channels to cater to their needs and wants.

But business leaders are not addressing complex issues such as stress, mental well-being, exhaustion, and burnout. There is no emotional support given at the workplace.

Working on core company culture to prevent burnout

We must understand how important it is for an employee to feel good, happy, and motivated at work. From having one-on-one conversations to checking how they are doing, managing their workloads, or even giving them time away from work.

Also Read: How startup leaders can delegate to prevent burnout 

However, employees need to be shown that they are valued before burnouts even occur, which can lead to an even bigger mental health problem. This is why I would like to share the best ways to support an employee emotionally.

Give feedback

We all wish to have constructive and timely feedback on our performance. Giving balanced feedback can help in shaping an employee’s work. Employees working remotely or in a hybrid setup could request a monthly evaluation from their supervisors. You could even seek guidance from trusted peers, mentors, or even your managers.

Healthy criticism and feedback will have a positive effect on your employees for many reasons. Among some of the reasons, we can mention that it helps to build a relationship between the higher-ups and the employees. Their work will feel more important and valuable if you show that you care.

Equip your employees with the right tools

Ensuring your employees have the right tools to do their job well can benefit productivity and satisfaction. Whether on-site or remote, there must be a collaborative synergy between teams. Some examples of tools are collaboration platforms, CRM, customer engagement platforms, and project management.

One of the most frustrating things that I have experienced as an employee myself was when the company tried to save money by not purchasing the tools that I needed to the point that it was impossible to do a decent job.

Unclear job expectations

One of the biggest aspects of why your employees procrastinate or get to the point of burnout is the lack of clarity on what, how, and for what amount of time they need to do a certain job. You won’t likely feel at ease if you’re unsure about your level of authority or what your boss or other colleagues expect from you.

That is why you as a manager should develop an excellent hierarchy structure and a detailed plan for your employees. This way, they would know what they need to do and to whom they should go for help and advice.

Dysfunctional workplace dynamics

Nothing screams “toxic” more than an unwelcome job environment. I know that the saying “we are one big, happy family” is misused and should not describe a company because you are mainly there to purely profit from one another but to be honest, you are spending a big chunk of your day at work, with your co-workers. That is why you should at least have a friendly interaction with them.

Like just imagine this scenery: Perhaps you are the target of an office bully, feel undercut by coworkers, or have your job micromanaged by your employer. This may increase work-related stress and make the whole working experience not enjoyable.

Work-life imbalance

You risk burning out rapidly if your work consumes so much of your time and energy that you lack the energy to spend time with your loved ones.

Also Read: 6 leadership lessons I learned after we raised our seed round

That is why ever since people started working from home during the quarantine, they understood how important it was to be near their loved ones more. You can see a lot of employees all around the world requesting or even demanding that they be allowed to work from home permanently.

Lack of social support

I once worked for a company that went from 10 employees to 150 in less than five years. In a conversation that I had with some of the employees that were in the company from the beginning, they confessed that they were happier, more motivated, and more productive.

The reason behind this is they could instantly communicate amongst themselves for every need. They also had a great time because they filled their break-time with quality, social time full of laughter.

But this does not mean that all of you should be in a big office for some quality time and social support. Firstly, because it’s impossible if you are in a large company and secondly remote working has too many pros.

But how can you build social support and interaction if your employees are working remotely? Equip them with the right tools. Get together on a virtual call to get things done. Have fun Fridays. Basically, pour a glass of whisky, chat, and play games for an hour.

Final thoughts

Coming back to the conversation with my friend. As I rounded up my conversation with my old friend, we both felt that we learned valuable lessons from one another. We said our goodbyes with a promise to strive to do better at our jobs and for ourselves.

Now that I’m reminiscing about this, I think I should call my friend and see how things are at his end.

–

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 Employee burnout is real and why it needs to be taken seriously appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based WasteX, an agricultural processing waste startup, has announced its launch with an initial investment of US$525,000 from Wavemaker Impact.

Founded by CEO Pawel Kuznicki, WasteX helps Southeast Asia’s agricultural producers convert waste into higher-value products that fight climate change. The startup looks to tackle the problem of 3.5 billion tons of agricultural processing waste globally — dumped, burnt, or sold cheaply — by converting it to upgraded products with major financial, operational, and carbon benefits.

Also Read: Singapore startup EcoWorth Tech converts highly contaminated waste into reusable products

The company provides an end-to-end solution to agricultural producers – from selecting the right technology, its deployment, and operational support to the certification for carbon credits and facilitation of the sale and application of higher-value products, such as biochar or black soldier flies.

WasteX has already started several pilot projects with clients, including integrated agricultural companies, independent mills, and livestock farms. Over time, it looks to digitise its solution significantly and connect diverse players along the biomass waste value chain to scale this new industry.

The early assessment of the opportunity comes with a potential market of over US$150 billion in GMV for the upgraded products and over 700 million metric tons in GHG reduction potential.

Also Read: Shoes from waste plastic bottles! Neeman’s is going places with its sustainable footwear products

WastX was born out of Wavemaker Impact’s 4-month-long venture-building process. Wavemaker Impact is a climate tech venture builder that co-founds sustainability startups with proven entrepreneurs to reduce 10 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2035. It aims to rally individuals, investors, and businesses that care about the planet and want to make a rapid, material change in reducing carbon emissions.

—

The post WasteX nets US$525K to help agri producers convert waste into higher-value products appeared first on e27.

Today marked the first day of NXC International Summit –the event commonly known as Nexticorn– after a short, pandemic-induced hiatus.

Held in Bali, Indonesia, from August 31 to September 2, Nexticorn is an initiative to streamline the investment process by connecting leading investors from around the world to high-performing tech startups from Indonesia –the region’s most promising digital economy. To build the next Indonesian unicorns, it assists tech startups in securing the “missing” middle-stage investment by tapping into locally and internationally available resources.

The event has brought onboard hundreds of notable tech startup investors who are ready to meet its next potential investments. The following is a handy list of 22 out of those hundreds of investors that startups can meet at the event:

1. IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. They help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. Its notable investments in the region included Voyager Innovations, 2C2P, and RedDoorz.

2. MUFG Innovation Partners
The investor’s most recent moves in the SEA startup ecosystem includes an US$850 million investment in regional tech unicorn Grab, which was raised to support its expansion in the fintech sector.

3. GIC
An example of a recent investment that GIC made in the region is a US$80 million round it led for Bibit which was raised to foster greater financial literacy in Indonesia.

Also Read: These 30 Indonesian startups are ready to meet you at NXC International Summit

4. Saudi Aramco Enterpreneurship
The organisation aims to promote entrepreneurship and help develop local SMEs by encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs to establish or expand SMEs in their respective fields. The Center provides various programmes that offer non-collateralised loans or equity partnerships, along with the guidance and tools that develop and nurture entrepreneurs and their businesses.

5. HALA Ventures
Hailing from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HALA Ventures recently made an investment into Egypt-based SubsBase, and is looking forward to enter Southeast Asia.

6. SoftBank Ventures Asia
As one of the leading investors in the region, one of SoftBank’s investments this year includes Funding Societies’s US$294 million Series C+ round through its Vision Fund 2.

7. Alpha JWC Ventures
This year, Alpha JWC Ventures led a in Filipino parenting e-commerce startup edamama.

8. Sequoia
The firm’s participation in the event is no surprise as it recently announced a US$850 million fund to double down on Southeast Asia.

9. Merak Capital
Merak Capital is an investment firm focused on technology companies across multiple industries, and licensed by the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia. It has recently participated in a seed funding round for Egypt-based Convertedin.

10. Saison Capital
In a recent interview with e27, Chris Sirise of Saison Capital explains how “absolute decentralisation” will never be a panacea for every issues in the market.

11. Sovereign’s Capital
With presence in major tech hubs such as Silicon Valley and Jakarta, the firm invests in two market segments: profitable, lower middle market companies (with US$10 million to US$100 million in revenue, and US$2.5 million to US$10 million in owner earnings) and promising, early-stage technology companies (with US$500,000 to US$5 million in annual recurring revenue).

12. Jungle Ventures

Jungle Ventures recently announced a US$600 million close for its fourth fund, with targets of up to 18 key investments.

Also Read: ‘Indonesia will soon see a proper credit boom for businesses, consumers’: AC Ventures

14. Openspace Ventures
One of the firm’s most recent investments included a US$5 million funding for Indonesian waste treatment startup Octopus.

15. BEENEXT
BEENEXT recently led a US$3 million Pre-Series A funding for RIMM Sustainability.

16. Cornerstone Venture Partners
Based in New York, the firm is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on B2B technology solutions.

17. Insignia Venture Partners
Having raised US$516 million for its fund, Insignia Ventures announced that it will remain bullish about Web3, climate-tech, and healthcare in SEA.

18. 1982 Ventures Partners
A relative newcomer in the space, 1982 Ventures recently closed debut US$20 million seed-stage fintech fund.

19. Vertex Ventures
Only yesterday, the firm announced that it leads Propseller’s US$12 million Series A round.

20. 500 Global
In an interview, Ee Ling Lim, Head of APAC Business Development at 500 Global, explains about the characteristics that the firm looks in a company and how they can help it grow.

—

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: Nexticorn

The post The 20 startup investors that you are going to meet at NXC International Summit appeared first on e27.

Earlier this year, it was predicted that the 2D internet space would be replaced by a 3D virtual space. The metaverse has been introduced repeatedly in fiction throughout history, and VR inventions paved the way for its conceptualisation. 

The first VR machine was invented in 1956 by an inventor named Morton Heilig. The Sensorama Machine simulated a motorcycle ride through the city of Brooklyn. While VR went on to make an impact on the gaming industry with VR arcade games and various gaming equipment, it wasn’t until Web2 did the potential of metaverse fully revealed itself.

The concept of a virtual metaverse

The metaverse is basically a virtual world where people could be presented through avatars and control those avatars through VR gear, though that doesn’t have to be the case for a virtual world to be considered part of the metaverse.

In fact, games such as Minecraft and Second Life are also components of the metaverse. What innovators are hoping to do is to combine the internet into a comprehensive, linear world that will offer users a rich experience that they would not otherwise have in real-life.

In the sci-fi book-turned-movie, Ready Player One, there is a strongly established metaverse which is fully immersive and offers free education to all so that everyone can access the kind of knowledge that their more privileged peers are traditionally more likely to be given.

Also Read: The work in the metaverse is just beginning, where do we stand now?

Aside from information-sharing, the metaverse can also improve the quality of life for any individual as the virtual currencies can be converted into real-world money, which can aid those who are physically disabled or unable to hold down a traditional job.

The potential of the metaverse is exceedingly beneficial, and its advantages have been discovered and implemented in the health industry.

Digital technology encompassing the health industry

Following the COVID-19 outbreaks, countries all over the world implemented their own social distancing protocols and borders were shut, along with schools, shops, and other non-essential services. Healthcare was strained to its maximum capacity, and it was only a matter of time before someone came up with the idea of digitising the healthcare system.

Consultations were soon being done online, and the first AR surgery was done on living patients by neurosurgeons from Johns Hopkins. The sophistication of modern technology will inadvertently hail medical services from all sectors to adopt its practices and take it a step further.

Dentistry has also pioneered the use of metaverse, led by the Dental Design Studio. The dental practice currently has 15 facilities in the United Kingdom and one that exists on the virtual plane of Sandbox. 

Patients may very well one day have dental telehealth conversations regarding their oral health and hygiene. With the right gear, x-rays or 3D imaging may be possible in real-time. Currently, the firm intends to develop interactive surgeries where users will be able to design their own teeth.

A representative from Dental Design Studio explains that they “have always been interested in technology and have tried to innovate in any area that will benefit our patients. As people are increasingly starting to use the metaverse as a form of social interaction, we got the idea to create a group of dental practices in the metaverse – giving patients the chance to experience the dentist differently. ”

The metaverse benefits everyone from the end-user to the service providers. Aside from patients, practising dentists will also be able to join conferences and talks without having to travel in real-time by participating in lectures in the metaverse. 

A startup called Immersive Touch has developed a virtual simulation to help medical students and practising dentists alike rehearse medical procedures before executing them on their living patients. The practice of using technology to practice will inadvertently reduce the risks and enhance patient satisfaction. 

Also Read: Why Singapore is ASEAN’s sandbox for innovation in healthtech

On the other hand, patients can also view procedures beforehand to prepare for their upcoming procedure to alleviate any dental anxiety they may have, stemming from the fear of the unknown. 

The future of dentistry in the metaverse

Marketing is important and will continue to be important in the virtual world. Having a digital presence in the metaverse can help dentistry practices create brand awareness and offer advertising opportunities, as long as risks are taken into account, such as data privacy.

But the purpose of the metaverse isn’t just to feed capitalism or enhance commercialisation. It’s to increase accessibility. With increased accessibility and decreased costs, the metaverse can provide access to medical care to anyone in the world.

Dental booths may be set up in offices or medical sectors with the sole purpose of giving patients extra accessibility to dental services. Just imagine strolling up to a booth and having your needs taken care of, whether it is a consultation or an extraction, immediately.

What may sound like a luxury to first-world individuals would sound like a heaven-sent to underprivileged people living in third-world countries.

–

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 Will your next dentist appointment be in the metaverse? appeared first on e27.