The post What the entrepreneur community says about King Charles III’s visit to WORQ appeared first on e27.

Astra pours US$259M into WeLab-backed digibank Bank Jasa Jakarta
The deal was done through Astra subsidiary SMI; SMI currently has 1.1M shares, or a 49.56% stake, in the local bank; At the same time, WeLab also increased its ownership in Bank Jasa Jakarta to 49.56%.

Shopee lays off hundreds of employees in 3 markets
The e-commerce firm is slashing jobs in Singapore, China, and Indonesia, where 180 employees (3% of the workforce) will be dismissed; In a statement, Shopee Indonesia attributed the decision to efficiency issues and adjustments to changes in business policies.

IDG Ventures Vietnam sues VCCorp for alleged governance lapses
It alleges signs of wrongdoings in VCCorp’s corporate governance process and signs of violating the investment contract with shareholders, causing serious harm to shareholders’ rights and legitimate interests.

Indonesia’s Dana joins unicorn club
This follows investments from local conglomerate Sinar Mas Group and Lazada; The funding puts Dana’s post-money valuation at over US$1.2 billion, said one of the sources.

LinkAja-owned agri P2P lender iGrow faces irate lenders, repayment delays
Retail lenders on its platform complain that they are not earning the investment returns and debt repayment promised; One of the lenders, Rizki, says the company doesn’t pay the margin on time or provide regular updates on the projects.

Singapore’s home appliance startup Prism+ bags US$32M from TNB Aura
The online-focused firm will use the capital to further expand in SEA, especially in the Philippines; Prism+ offers a wide range of electronic appliances, from smart TV to air conditioners.

Singapore’s agritech firm Nutrition completes US$20M round
The investors include Thai oil major PTT, Sumitomo, and ING Sustainable Investments; Nutrition manufactures protein from black soldier fly larvae as a sustainable alternative to fishmeal.

Q-commerce firm Dropezy may have closed all its 20 dark stores in Jakarta
This is part of its strategy to shift to an asset-light model; In an earlier statement to DealStreetAsia, its CEO Nitish Chellaram said the company is keen on becoming asset-light.

Ant Group may see IPO comeback after Shanghai land purchase
Ant said that after the purchase is completed, it will acquire roughly 60K square meters of office space to bolster its presence in the city’s fintech and blockchain landscape.

Indonesia’s B2B marketplace Ralali raises US$2M in Series D+
The investor is Singapore-based ACA Investments; Six months ago, the marketplace raised US$7.95M in equity funding backed by Beenext, SBI Ventures, ICMG Partners, and Arbor Ventures.

Singapore, India fintech regulators sign cross-border sandbox agreement
After the agreement, Singapore startups that have already joined MAS’ regulatory sandbox may be referred to IFSCA’s sandbox to test their use cases in India; Likewise, Indian startups will be able to test their services in Singapore.

Indonesian agritech firm Agridesa raises US$200K pre-seed
The investors are Multifield and Triputra Agro Persada; Agridesa connects land owners and farmers; It uses agricultural loans from banks to kickstart farming projects and divides the profit among all stakeholders when the crops are harvested.

Spin co-founder Derrick Ko announces new football venture
Derrick Ko’s new venture Matchday will focus on European football; While there isn’t a lot known about Matchday right now, it said it aims to deliver “football at its most authentic and personal”.

AirAsia to launch car-hailing in Indonesia
According to AirAsia Super App Indonesia, the service will focus on four-wheeled transportation at its launch, with Bali as its first location; AirAsia Ride has already rolled out in Malaysia, where drivers can be full-time employees.

‘Economic crises become less important when investing with a longer-term mindset’: Qin En Looi
Qin En Looi, Principal at Saison Capital, also says what worked in a capital-rich, low-interest environment (as we were a year ago) does not work in today’s climate.

Animoca Brands to acquire MotoGP developer WePlay Media
The acquisition will allow Animoca Brands to expand on its existing relationship with Dorna Sports as a sponsor, NFT licensor, collectible cards provider, and blockchain game developer and publisher.

Indonesian Web3 brand-retailer enabler SerMorpheus raises US$2.5M
The investors are Intudo Ventures, 500 Global, Febe Ventures, AlphaLab Capital, and BRI Ventures; SerMorpheus empowers brands and creators to develop NFTs and manage utilities, allowing them to engage directly with customers and communities.

Terra co-founder says he is not on the run
Do Kwon has clarified that he is not in hiding following reports that South Korean prosecutors issued arrest warrants for the co-founder and a few others; A recent Reuters article said that the Singapore Police Force has confirmed Kwon is not in the country.

Thailand SEC bars crypto firms from offering lending, staking services
SEC said it made the decision to protect traders and the general public from risks associated with related transactions, such as crypto staking and lending.

While traditional funding penalises a biz at its worst time, Jenfi gives them more leeway
Jenfi offers fast and efficient funding (as quickly as the same day) vs six-nine months, which is typical for VC/PE funding.

Indonesia may have a bright future in Web3 space, but some homework remains
The archipelago has all the elements of a supportive Web3 ecosystem with a close-knit community to forward-looking initiatives.

What the entrepreneur community says about King Charles III’s visit to WORQ
Stephanie Ping, CEO and Co-Founder of WORQ was surprised to see the King portraying that personality, which is rarely captured in the media.

Say no to working in silos
Silos can become a problem for workplace cohesion and employee engagement, don’t dismiss yourself and bring in what you’re good at.

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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon.

The 2022 Echelon edition will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here. 

The post Ecosystem Roundup: Astra invests US$259M in digibank Bank Jasa, Shopee lays off hundreds of staff, IDG Ventures VN sues VCCorp appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based insect protein company Nutrition Technologies has announced the completion of a US$20 million equity funding round led by PTT Ventures, the venture arm of Thai oil major PTT.

Sumitomo Corporation, ING Sustainable Investments, Mandala Capital, and existing investors Openspace Ventures, SEEDs Capital and Hera Capital also participated.

Nutrition Technologies will use these funds to further expand production capacity at its current operating plant in Malaysia and through a new joint-venture project in a soon-to-be-announced second country in Southeast Asia. It also intends to expand its R&D capabilities in Singapore; commence commercial activities in the UK and the EU, and add several new patents to its existing IP portfolio.

Founded in 2015 by two British entrepreneurs Nick Piggott and Tom Berry, Nutrition Technologies manufactures sustainable animal feed ingredients and biofertilisers, using a unique combination of biotechnology and black soldier fly larvae to recycle nutrients from agricultural and food processing byproducts.

Also Read: This Vietnam startup seeks a place in the crowded alternative protein market for its cricket-made food products

Its two-hectare production facility in Johor, Malaysia, bioconverts several hundreds of tonnes of organic waste weekly. The facility produces functional proteins and oils with bioactive compounds that efficiently improve animal growth performance and health outcomes.

Nutrition Technologies plans to build several similar size facilities across Southeast Asia in the next five years.

Nutrition Technologies’s proprietary technologies and vertical insect production system are designed to capitalise on a tropical climate’s low-energy benefits and suitability.

Over the past few years, Nutrition Technologies has conducted multiple trials of their products on fish, shrimp, poultry, piglets and pets, with significant results. Its biofertiliser products improve soil health while naturally increasing plant resistance to disease, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.

“We are increasing production to meet market demand and providing essential ingredients to the domestic agricultural sector as well as boosting exports through shipping our products to Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Chile. We will also commence shipments to the UK and the EU very soon,” said Nick Piggott, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Nutrition Technologies.

“Commercial insect protein production is one of the most important innovations of the past few years, with the potential to disrupt the animal feed and fertiliser sectors and solve multiple issues the world is currently facing,” said Dr Buranin Rattanasombat, Senior Executive Vice President, Innovation and New Ventures, PTT Public Company.

“We believe insect protein is one of the most important recent solutions to protein production, contributing to solving various environmental issues and addressing several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Masahito Uno, GM Life Science Division, Sumitomo Corporation.

The insect sector has gathered increasing attention over the past few years. The global insect protein market is estimated to be worth US$343 million in 2021 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 26.49 per cent to reach US$1.3 billion by 2027.

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Echelon 2022 aims to provide intimate and focused discussions on key topics and business matching services to facilitate business-driven connections during the two-day event. e27will curate and invite key stakeholders of startups, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to drive towards fruitful business outcomes at Echelon.

The 2022 Echelon edition will be co-located with SWITCH at Resorts World Sentosa from 27 to 28 October 2022. Learn more here. 

The post PTT arm leads insect protein firm Nutrition Technologies’s US$20M round appeared first on e27.

The Football War was a war fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. While there were already existing tensions between the two countries, rioting during a 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier held on June 1969 escalated it into a war in July.

But what has football or a war got to do with Co-Founders, you might ask? Well, conflicts can arise due to many things, wars have been fought for way more trivial and petty reasons, and when building a startup, conflict might be the last thing you want distracting you.

“But VCs don’t invest in sole founders,” you say

Yes, VCs and incubators are certainly biased toward sole founders, whether it makes sense or not. For Y-Combinator, only about 10 per cent of the startups they admit into their programme are run by solo founders.

But do you know that less than 0.8 per cent of startups received funding, Co-Founders or not? Also, a research study from Wharton, titled Solo Survivors: Solo Ventures vs Founding Teams, looked at 3,526 startup companies and found that while startups with multiple Co-Founders tend to raise more money, startups with single founders tend to last longer and eventually achieve higher revenue.

“But I don’t understand this or that”

Something I frequently hear from friends. Running a company is a lifelong journey. When you have a company of 10, it is a whole new animal when it is 100 and again when it is 1,000.

Also Read: Turning vision into digital reality: How The Sandbox Co-Founder creates a rich metaverse of creators and gamers

From HR to legal, accounting to marketing, there is much that a founder needs to know, and even if they are already familiar with an area, there are always new things to learn and sometimes simply the need to see things from a new perspective. 

The stress

Running a startup often is not just about the founder. A huge misstep may impact the bottom line and may mean laying off employees who took the risk to join you, believing in you. Yes, running a startup can be exciting with many upsides, but it also means a lot of responsibility.

We may also sometimes second guess our decisions, especially when there is a lot hinging on them, keeping us awake at night. At a 50 per cent higher divorce rate for entrepreneurs, sometimes the sacrifices also go way beyond.

Personally for me, even though my father claims that he is not retiring because he wishes to stay active, deep inside, I know it is because he is worried about our financial status when things are still not taking off for me.

I have sunk everything I got into building the business, feeling guilty each day as my personal choice impacts not just myself but also my family and girlfriend of many years, who shelved her dream of getting a house and settling down so that I can commit myself to this venture. So it’s easy to understand why some want to share the journey with a Co-Founder.

Well, just as that saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But does that village have to be made up of Co-Founders? 

I’m not saying don’t get a Co-Founder. All I’m saying is that Co-Founders that are good for you are hard to come by.

Get allies

Don’t let the lack of someone or some skill hold you up. We spend anything from 40-100 hours a week at work and much less with our loved ones. Besides possessing the right skill sets, your Co-Founder’s personal ethics, work habits, and mission for the company and in life will have a material effect on you and the company.

Also Read: The Indonesian startup ecosystem today is no longer recognisable – and that is a great thing

Despite the huge influence of a Co-Founder and the impact of choosing the wrong one, I still see many aspiring entrepreneurs holding themselves back until they find a Co-Founder. Not to forget, sometimes it is also easier to attract a Co-Founder when you have something going for you.

Frequently, I see someone with an idea looking for a tech person and a tech person looking for someone to help with business development. If you are concerned about coding, a CTO is unlikely to single-handedly code your website anyway. Chances are you will still need to hire developers with him or her, project managing it.

So instead of learning about coding, learn project management skills. As the founder of the company, you have to be always selling the company and its vision. So if you do not know this, then it is something you ought to learn; else, how will you even sell your vision to your Co-Founder?

In the last few months, I have offered some marketing advice to an accounting SaaS startup and sat down with an AI expert to fine-tune the messaging on his website. With that, I know when the time comes when I need their expertise, I can count on them. There are so many unknowns in running a startup, and having access to good advice and opinion is critical.

So instead of a Co-Founder, get allies. It is so much easier to first be a friend to someone than to ask someone to drop whatever he or she is doing and commit to running a startup with you.

And after all, you can only have so many Co-Founders, but you can have an unlimited amount of allies. And if you think there is something we can help each other with, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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At e27, we are kickstarting a new articles series to know startup professionals and their lives beyond working hours.

Samar Sen heads up the Talos business in APAC, delivering institutional-grade digital asset trading systems to customers on the buy-side and sell-side. Over his 20-year career, Sen has worked in various product, strategy and technology leadership roles at capital markets firms across the industry.

Before joining Talos, he served as the Global Head of Digital Products for Securities Services at Deutsche Bank, where he co-led its digital asset strategy and product delivery.

In addition, he has held senior Asia-based roles at BNP Paribas, Barclays, and TradeHero after starting his career at Goldman Sachs in New York.

Sen holds a Degree in Computer Science from Northwestern University and an MBA from INSEAD.

In this candid interview, Sen talks about how his personal and professional life.

How would you explain what you do to a 5-year-old?

Many people are excited about “digital assets” because it’s believed they will change how money and banks work today and improve the whole system. My company Talos sells technology and helps big firms buy and sell these digital assets at “stores” worldwide, safely and at the lowest prices. I am in charge of its activities here in Asia.

What has been the biggest highlight/challenge of your career so far?

Highlight: There are so many highlights to be grateful for, from representing Goldman Sachs in the early 2000s on the NYSE floor and improving the tech used by our market-makers to more recently pitching and convincing Deutsche Bank leadership in Frankfurt on the massive opportunities in Digital Assets.

But I think I’m most proud of helping Talos launch in the APAC region. We’ve come a long way, from one individual to double-digit staff in six months. And now, we’re delivering our world-class digital asset trading platform to the biggest institutional customers based all over Asia.

Challenge: Both of the times I graduated, in 2001 and 2008, happened to be right in the middle of a global recession, which was a massive buzzkill. I struggled to land the “dream job” after my studies, and I quit banking before to join promising startups that ultimately didn’t achieve their potential.

Also Read: What makes Desmond Yong thrive in ambiguous situations

To make ends meet, I’ve had to swallow my pride and return to smaller roles at big corporations again, with my tail between my legs! In retrospect, these experiences taught me important life skills such as patience and resilience, but obviously, I did not realise it at the time.

How do you envision the next five years of your career?

Giving my best to Talos! I genuinely feel like I have the best job in the world right now, and being able to work with Talos is a phenomenal opportunity. All my colleagues and I share a common goal, and that is to be the bridge that connects traditional institutions to digital asset markets. We acknowledge that it will be an arduous journey, and a lot of hard work and effort must be put into scaling the business exponentially.

For the next five years, I plan to serve this platform and our founders’ vision by leveraging all my skills and efforts in any capacity. So, when digital assets proliferate (and they will), our technology becomes a key piece of the new global infrastructure.

What are some of your favourite work tools?

• Asana: They’ve nailed the shared to-do-list concept.
• Miro: Closest online replication of a real-life creative brainstorm.
• Notability on iPad: I’m fully paperless and ultra-organised for my entire history of notes, whether it’s interview notes, meeting minutes, or idea mapping.

Bonus tip: Some of the smartest people at Talos swear by a tool called “Roam Research”. It’s like Evernote, but better!

What’s something about you or your job that would surprise us?

Even though I am considered a senior leader at a technically demanding fintech firm, I also moonlight as a creative professional. I’m super passionate about playing and producing music, painting, photography, and filmmaking and what’s surprising about this multidisciplinary obsession is how often I get to borrow and re-use these creative skills in my daily startup work.

I find it rewarding, and it keeps my brain in balance. Polymath is pretty standard at Talos. Many of my colleagues have unique backstories, from former elite athletes (at the national level) to professional musicians (who have PhDs in Computer Science), etc. I’m inspired every day, and I love it!

Do you prefer WFH or WFO, or hybrid?

My answer is ‘hybrid’, I believe there needs to be a balance between the two.

WFH is great for flexibility (gym/errands), deep work, and getting in the zone, but WFO is irreplaceable for creative brain-storming, spontaneous problem-solving, and building camaraderie and culture.

Talos is a modern and fully decentralised company where remote work is an employee choice. I’ve seen that most people tend to follow the hybrid model as well and have the maturity and autonomy to know what work environment makes sense that day for their productivity.

What would you tell your younger self?

Three things I would tell my younger self:

Regarding your career trajectory: Steve Jobs was spot-on when he said, “you can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them by looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

Also Read: What makes Bee Kheng Tay a remarkable leader

This couldn’t be more true for me. Sometimes you will want to change your current situation, and to achieve this, you will have to make risky decisions, lateral and sometimes backwards moves, and only when you look back in victory will it all make sense. Trust your gut and take some risks! The narrative arc will eventually fall into place.

Regarding success: Everyone’s definition and benchmark of success are different, and these are bound to change over time, especially as you live through new experiences and mature. At some point, you will realise that you simply cannot have it all and that balance is key.

Between career, love, family, friendships, and health, it’s almost impossible to excel in every aspect and give each the full 100 per cent attention at any given moment, so my question to you is, “What are you prepared to sacrifice at each life stage to achieve your goals at that moment in time?”

There’s no obvious answer to this question, and I’ve been in many situations where I’ve had to acknowledge what I gave up to get what I wanted and whether I needed to make some adjustments going forward to re-balance.

But it is crucial to know that comparisons to others are useless. Everyone is running a different race, from their own starting points, facing unique hurdles, and chasing different end goals. What matters most is that you are working towards your own definition and measurement of success and are also open to that changing at various times.

Regarding having fun and making life experiences: All those crazy adventures you’re thinking about doing, like climbing Machu Picchu, Carnivale in Rio, running with the bulls in Pamplona, do them!

You won’t have regrets later on about what you didn’t do, and you’ll have a bunch of stories that make you an interesting person in the room! Be grateful for all those magic moments, interesting connections, and endless summers; time moves fast. Enjoy the ride.

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Multicultural. Creative. Geek.

What are you most likely to be doing if not working?

Aside from my creative hobbies and watching sports (NFL + College American Football and Liverpool FC), I would be exploring restaurants with my wife Eleonora or playing with my cocker-spaniel Gia.

What are you currently listening to/reading/watching?

Listening to: Two albums got me through the COVID-19 pandemic: The first was The Strokes’ comeback album The New Abnormal, and the second was… wait for it… Taylor Swift’s Folklore (made with Aaron Dessner of The National)! Both are amazing. Both are still on repeat.

Reading: Atomic Habits by James Clear

Watching: Any/all Sci-Fi TV shows and movies

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The post What Samar Sen’s life looks like while heading Talos in APAC appeared first on e27.