If you have not heard before about it till now, Zepto is an Indian startup that delivers groceries in 10 minutes. You heard it right they claim (attempt or try and do deliver in some SKUs) to deliver groceries in 10 minutes.

To date, the company raised, US$360 million and is valued at US$900 million.

Firstly, I think the 10-minute delivery of most things is unnecessary. The number of things that you need in less than 10 minutes is far and few in between. This is one of those ideas I might don’t ever want to see in fruition because it’s a waste of a lot of resources.

And most importantly this puts the delivery people at risk of getting into accidents and worsens their quality of life further.

In terms of customer experience over the longer-term Zepto like 10-minute delivery ideas won’t work because of the feeling a customer gets of mistreating a delivery person.

Just looking at the effort it takes for a delivery person to get something to you in 10 minutes makes most people question their beliefs and next time they want to order for a 10-minute delivery they will just walk down to the store in their apartment or select the non-10 minute delivery option which they will have overtime or might already be in place (I haven’t checked).

So how will the 10-minute story end? Is there something that we are not seeing? Why did the Venture arm of Kaiser Permanente (KP) invest in Zepto?

And remember KP is not for profit organisation known for running one of the world’s largest hospital networks.

I can see interesting scenarios play out.

Why pursue such an idea?

The justification for about 10 minutes on the outer surface is often talked about as customer experience. But in my opinion, it is business jujitsu. I am not sure if the founders think the way I do, but here is what I think.

Also Read: The future of social and quick commerce for developing countries

The fact that Zepto offers 10 minutes delivery is a good stunt (stunts are not necessarily bad) to acquire new customers, investors including me love a big idea so the money will flow in, you are putting your competition like Swiggy, NinjaCart, BlinkIt and others in an uncomfortable position.

They have to adapt to the new game set by Zepto and they will now be operating from a position of weakness than strength because you are driving the narrative.

So what will the ending be for Zepto?

I think there are a couple of possibilities:

• Zepto in the process of scaling 10 minutes will create one of the largest grocery chains with a significant user base (and losses) and overtime moves to a regular delivery model. In this case, looking back, the 10-minute delivery is the main go-to-market strategy for creating a new grocery delivery business in India. They will continue to execute the business and over time can exist as an individual company.
• Competitors in the space both food and grocery delivery will try the 10 minutes delivery and realise that it is bleeding their cash reserves. Will stumble multiple times. They will realise the best way to solve the 10-minute delivery problem is by acquiring Zepto and then shutting it down (or slowing it down significantly). One of the unicorns in the space will make an acquisition offer with partial cash + stock deal.
• With VC money becoming hard to come by, Zepto might burn through their recently raised US$200M in 36-42 months. Failing to raise further capital because of macro conditions, they might get sold for less than the overall investment they raised.

In either case, the 10-minute mania will end and remain on the back burner model. Most companies will say they will deliver some of their SKUs in 10 minutes but most deliveries will not be in 10 minutes and the status quo will remain in place.

One lesson aspiring entrepreneurs should take away from Zepto is to swing for the fences even if it might end up seeming ridiculous to others.

Even though I don’t like the fact that Zepto as a business is resource-intensive and as a negative side of modern consumerism, I do admire the confidence of the founders to aim for something big and create a narrative that is making bigger players react.

It takes confidence and skill to pull off what they pulled off till now and I admire the gutsy approach!

This post was originally published on the author’s blog 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: Zepto

The post How will the 10-minute delivery story end for Zepto? appeared first on e27.

Many people forget along the way to think about when, why, and how to sell their business. Even more importantly, they forget to prepare themselves mentally, emotionally, and professionally for what happens AFTER they sell their business.

Jay Myers ran a business for over 20 years before finally selling it, and even though he was prepared in as many ways as possible, he still is learning to deal with what the rest of his life is going to be like.

Myers is currently focused on mentoring, investing, speaking, and publishing books.

In this episode, we specifically discussed:

– How soon should you be thinking about selling your company?
– How to handle acquirers pursuing you when you aren’t interested?
– Did those calls change how you thought about your business?
– What did you do to make your company look sexy?
– How do you determine what your reputation in the market is?
– How do you decrease turnover among employees?
– How do you get yourself onto those fastest-growing lists such as Forbes and Inc?
– What is the most important thing you wish someone had told you about selling a business?
– How did the buyer find you?
– Who from the team knew?
– What kind of legal prep?
– Did they make you an offer, or did you make an ask, and how did the negotiation work?
– Why should you get a personal goodwill audit?
– When should you sell your business?
– What is your plan for the next five years?

If you don’t see the player above, click on the link below to listen directly!

Acast
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher

—

This article about managing wealth for entrepreneurs was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: jomkwan7

The post Selling your business with Jay Myers appeared first on e27.

Like anything else that is digital in nature, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are vulnerable to security and privacy breaches.

Such breaches can happen even if the cryptocurrency itself is highly secure. For example, Bitcoin’s blockchain ledger is designed with robust safeguards that it is practically impossible to counterfeit BTC or make fraudulent transactions.

Instead, the chink in crypto’s armour is more likely to be crypto exchanges and wallets, widely used by individuals to trade and transact with digital money. These third-party platforms are more vulnerable to hacking and fraud than the cryptocurrencies themselves.

What kinds of security risks might professional cryptocurrency investors face, and how can they be managed?

Fraudulent cryptocurrency exchanges

The internet is home to over a thousand crypto exchanges and virtual marketplaces for users to buy, sell, trade and transact with cryptocurrencies.

Although some countries do require exchanges to be registered and comply with local laws, they are, by and large, unregulated. This means investors get little protection from scams, fraud and Ponzi schemes when using crypto exchanges.

As you can imagine, the low barrier to setting up an exchange makes doing so quite lucrative to scammers. Unsuspecting investors may transfer fiat currency to purchase Bitcoin or other altcoins, only to receive nothing in return as the scammers make off with their money.

For professional investors who are used to doing their due diligence before investing, avoiding fake crypto exchanges might be less of an issue.

However, to be on the safe side, investors may want to consider regulated investment products such as a professionally-managed, institutional-grade Bitcoin fund as an alternative to trading on a crypto exchange.

Even the most legitimate of exchanges are still vulnerable to security breaches, as we’ll explain below.

Crypto exchanges being hacked

Although investors should thoroughly research their crypto exchange platforms and weed out anything that looks suspicious, this is not enough to mitigate the risks of investing in an exchange far from it.

Also Read: Cryptocurrency, money laundering and KYC: Why are regulations important?

Even well-established crypto exchanges with excellent track records are vulnerable to hacking. Hacking and data theft are a given on all virtual platforms, but it is especially rampant on crypto exchanges. After all, crypto tokens have become more popular and valuable in recent years, incentivising hackers’ efforts.

According to the website hedgewithcrypto.com, there have been at least 46 major crypto exchange hacks since 2012, with the total value of cryptocurrencies stolen adding up to an estimated US$109 trillion*.

It’s not just small players that get hacked; even the more established exchanges are vulnerable too. Some of the biggest crypto heists in recent history include:

Crypto Exchange	Hacked in	Estimated amount stolen in today’s terms*
Liquid	Aug 2021	US$146 million
KuCoin	Sep 2020	US$1.65 trillion
Upbit	Nov 2019	US$367 million
Binance	May 2019	US$400 million
Coinbene	Mar 2019	US$600 million
Bitgrail	Feb 2018	US$876 million
CoinCheck	Jan 2018	US$2.80 trillion
Bitfinex	Aug 2016	US$62.30 trillion
Mt. Gox	Feb 2014	US$42.46 trillion

*Assumes all stolen cryptocurrency was in the form of Bitcoin and at a Bitcoin price of US$60,000

Crypto exchanges are particularly attractive to thieves because users store their digital money on the platform, in e-wallets known as “hot wallets”, for convenient trading.

Hot wallets are usually locked with private keys auto-generated by the exchange and kept in its custody. Thus, once hackers gain access to a crypto exchange’s record of private keys, they can also use the stolen data to unlock and empty exchange users’ hot wallets.

Of course, any crypto exchange worth its salt would invest heavily in secure data storage to ensure its users’ funds are not stolen. Many established exchanges have beefed up their security, so hacking incidents are not as common in 2021 as they used to be. (That said, one of Japan’s biggest exchanges, Liquid, was compromised in August to the tune of US$97 million.)

In the event of a hack, the odds of victims getting their money back can be extremely slim. Unlike regulated entities like banks, crypto exchanges are not required to ensure users’ deposits.

Investors who use crypto exchanges should avoid storing more than necessary in their exchange wallets. Any excess should be transferred into a separate wallet (ideally one that’s offline) for greater security or to a professionally-managed, institutional-grade Bitcoin fund like Fintonia Group’s Bitcoin Physical Fund.

Crypto wallets being compromised

Given that crypto exchanges are often targeted by criminals, transferring any excess balances to a separate e-wallet seems like a wise thing to do. But even this may not be 100 per cent safe from hackers.

Of the many cryptocurrency wallets available, some are “hot” (online) while others are “cold” (offline). Hot wallets come in mobile or desktop apps and live on internet-connected devices like a smartphone or computers. They are meant to facilitate day-to-day use, such as paying for things with Bitcoin.

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

But because they are connected to the internet, hot wallets remain vulnerable, especially if the user applies lax security practices. Hackers can target individuals’ hot wallets by phishing for passwords, using malicious cookies to obtain personal data, working with hacking devices on public WiFi, etc.

A cold wallet, which is not connected to the internet, is the safer alternative to avoid hacking. This is usually a USB stick-like device (known as “hardware wallets”) or sometimes a secondary, offline computer.

Being completely offline, cold wallets are far less likely to get hacked than hot wallets. However, there are trade-offs for this security level. These devices can be costly, extremely complicated to operate with lengthy passwords, difficult to transfer crypto-assets back, and the USB can be faulty, fake and/or lost.

How can investors safeguard their crypto holdings?

The above is a broad overview of the various security breaches associated with different types of cryptocurrency platforms.

As digital money becomes ever more ingrained in our lives and essential components of our portfolios, investors face a pressing need to overcome such vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, the work-in-progress nature of all things crypto means there is no perfect solution just yet.

Investors should adopt a wary stance even with seemingly legitimate tools and platforms and be prepared to invest significant time and effort into protecting their crypto assets.

Given that there is no one platform without security risks and/or trade-offs, the most feasible option at present may be to invest in a professionally-managed, institutional-grade Bitcoin fund managed by professional and regulated firms. 

–

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 What investors should know about security, hacking and cryptocurrencies appeared first on e27.

Novelship, a Singapore-based online marketplace for limited-edition sneakers, streetwear, and collectibles, today announced that it has raised close to US$10 million in Series A funding round co-led by GSR Ventures and East Ventures, with the participation of K3 Ventures and iGlobe Partners.

In a press statement, the company said that it plans to use the funding to support its further expansion in the Asia Pacific (APAC) market, particularly in countries where they already have a presence. It claimed to already have a “stronghold” in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Novelship also aims to continue to explore metaverse integration and brand partnership in the retail space.

Its entry into the Web3 space began when the company introduced the use of cryptocurrencies as an alternate payment option on its marketplace.

“Since the start of this pilot, Novelship were able to serve more high-value customers thus increasing the average order value per customer. Over US$200,000 worth of sneakers has been bought in digital tokens in this period,” the company said.

Also Read: Kra-Verse Food Hall where cloud kitchen meets metaverse

Founded in 2018, Novelship puts Generation Z as its core target audience as a marketplace. The company said that since its inception, it has been able to serve customers across APAC with the sales volume growing at a staggering rate of 5.3X in 2021.

Its marketplace sells products from leading fashion brands such as Nike, Air Jordan, Yeezy, and Supreme.

“The sneaker and streetwear market has a huge potential globally and Novelship is uniquely positioned to win not just in the region but across the globe: we have cracked the code in Asia and are building on this success to reach a global footprint. Street culture is one of the rare opportunities in retail that has a global community of loyalists and we intend to capitalise on this to fast-track expansion,” explained Novelship CEO Richard Xia.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Novelship

The post Novelship raises close to US$10M in Series A to further expand in APAC, explore metaverse integration appeared first on e27.

Startups in Southeast Asia raised a record $25.7 billion in funding in 2021 alone; this was more than double the previous year. While this means that investors see great potential in businesses in the region, this also means that the competition here is fierce and it is not easy to stand out amidst the competitive landscape. 

As such, in a bustling, highly competitive startup ecosystem like Southeast Asia’s, there is one golden question that haunts all founders and entrepreneurs. What do VCs want? 

To help answer this question, we spoke with Eko Kurniadi, Investment Partner at Alpha JWC — one of the leading VCs in the region. With offices in Indonesia and Singapore, Alpha JWC has a team that brings together some of the region’s pioneer tech investors and experienced serial entrepreneurs.

With companies like Indonesian F&B unicorn Kopi Kenangan, Singapore’s largest AI-driven used car marketplace Carro, and fintech unicorn Ajaib in their portfolio, Alpha JWC is constantly on the lookout for companies and entrepreneurs that have the potential to rise and make a legacy impact.

What do VCs in Southeast Asia want?

First things first, before delving deep into Alpha JWC’s unique expectations and experiences, we first try to understand what VCs and investors look for in companies in Southeast Asia.

Eko shares that VCs, especially international investors, generally have a prerequisite for various forms of validation and proof points before they make the final decision to invest in a company.

Commonly, they look for the following:

• Hockey stick growth patterns (hockey stick refers to sudden and extremely rapid growth after a long period of linear growth. The term is often used to describe what happens when a startup business finds its market niche and market conditions are positive). This means startups are experiencing a positive but unprecedented market reception spurred by unique trends that are favourable to the kind of products or services being offered by those companies.
• Market leadership, which can be evidenced through a solid historical track record in comparison to other similar players in the space, and with a significant preference from users and customers who choose and stick with the product/service.
• The presence of reputable investors in the cap table (A cap table, or capitalisation table, is a chart typically used by startups to show ownership stakes in the business). Through this, investors will be able to pinpoint which startups are entrusted by other legitimate and reputable investors who are likely to share their values.

Eko explains that these are important checkboxes. However the above might not be apparent in the early days, especially in the early-stage rounds. That is where the next segment comes into play too in identifying early-stage startups to invest in.

Fundraising 101: Alpha JWC’s guide

Elaborating on what factors are crucial for Alpha JWC when selecting founders or businesses to invest in, Eko shared that the three most important factors that they consider when looking to invest are founders, market and product, and the “X-factor”.

He explains that the founder should have a vision and should be able to execute plans to achieve that goal while having the acumen to build the right team. “It is important for the founder to have clarity on what they want to build in the long term and have the fortitude to see it to fruition,” Alpha JWC prefers founders who are capable of executing their plans, and demonstrate great leadership qualities — reflected in their ability to build and hire world-class teams, and are inspiring and uplifting.

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

Market & product is another important element, Eko explained.  The company should be targeting a sizable market, addressing the right pain points with the right product-market fit. Here, an important factor worth considering is looking at proven business models in a more mature market. Startups can always learn from the more mature and advanced markets like China or India, to try and understand what works and what doesn’t, while being cognizant of some differences in macroeconomic situation and customer dynamics.

And, last but definitely not least, the “X factor” is what matters a lot to Alpha JWC — it makes visionaries stand out. The “X factor” can be a significant advantage the team has, and this is not limited to things like a strategic backer — this ranges from the founder’s unique expertise to the team’s industry experience and from solid historical traction to various monetisation channels and proprietary networks to an innovative business approach. The X factor is what ultimately sets them apart.

Common missteps by founders: How not to turn off VCs

Indeed, “what do VCs want” is an important question to ponder on, but another question worth contemplating is “what don’t VCs want”. What are some common missteps that founders make at the time of pitching to VCs?

Eko shared that one of the most common challenges is actually a very fundamental one: not being able to articulate the big problem they want to solve, their clear solution, and how it is unique or different from other players in the field, as well as the vision or end-goal of the company.

In fact, according to a CB Insights report, the number one reason why startups fail was “no market need.” Hence, having clarity on what problem you want to solve should be key to startups seeking funds.

One great example of founders displaying clarity of thought and succeeding is Ajaib: an Indonesian fintech startup that allows its users to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. The founders of this online brokerage startup were very focused on serving the underbanked and millennials in the country. And, with a clear objective at the core of the company, the founders were able to deliver a trading platform that is incredibly easy to use and onboard for retail investors. They continued to optimise and reiterate their product offerings for the increased benefit of users. As a result, today, they are one of the leading fintechs in the country and among the fastest to reach unicorn status in less than three years.

Also read: Sentient.io: Empowering businesses in the region by making AI adoption easy and affordable

Another misstep as shared by Eko is the gap between the founders’ expected valuation and the justified fundamentals of the company at that juncture. For example, many founders don’t understand that good early traction might not necessarily warrant a significantly high valuation. “Getting the highest possible valuation should not be the goal for early-stage founders. The priority should be finding the right partner who can help you achieve unicorn or even decacorn status,” says Eko.

Finally, lack of alignment and non-targeted discussions with too many investors is another major misstep. “Founders need to know the investor’s landscape, appetite, and value-adds that are relevant to their business. Talking to too many people will only create a distraction and potentially unnecessary noise in the market, Eko explained.

The ultimate rundown of tips for pitching and fundraising in Southeast Asia

Eko suggests that as long as startup founders focus on planning their cash flow and runway, layout key milestones, and hit each of those to show their execution capabilities, they will have a higher chance of securing funding.

He shared that founders should ask for a reasonable investment amount that can be justified. There is enough evidence to back this — one case in point is the infamous Quibi failure.

And, finally, it is crucial to LISTEN to investors’ feedback and criticisms, address those accordingly and come out stronger in the next meetings with them and/or other investors. This is simply because an investor brings in more strategic thinking where founders might sometimes be bogged down with everyday operations. An investor’s unique perspective with a more commercial inclination and the added advantage of experience from his many other investments is always something that founders can leverage for better decision-making.

Also read: PikoHANA: Helping Singapore startups scale through fractional finance

For acing the pitching game, Eko recommends that founders should kick off with a concise explanation of their mission and solution. “These need to be delivered with clarity and conviction,” he shared. Founders should have a powerful elevator pitch that will make an impression on a busy audience that hears numerous pitches on a daily basis. “To aid in their storytelling, founders should prepare materials to visualise key industry statistics, commercials, and future use of proceeds”, he added.

In a nutshell, fundraising and pitching don’t necessarily have to be painful and tedious. With the right approach and clear goals in mind, startup founders can thrive in a bustling ecosystem like Southeast Asia and eventually grow beyond international boundaries. 

To learn more about fundraising and pitching in Southeast Asia, watch out for the next ‘Alpha JWC Startup Series article.

– –

This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Alpha JWC

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 Alpha JWC Startup Series: pitching & fundraising through the lens of a VC appeared first on e27.

The past four years have been stellar for consumer growth in India, but the next five to 10 years will be even more interesting. This phase will see a slew of insurgents (now being called “challenger brands”) forcing larger incumbents to adapt.

The rise and growth

The rise in the consumer growth story will be supported by millions of first-time rural consumers and guided by the fourth industrial revolution. With increased data penetration, a rise in the per capita e-commerce spending, millennials’ willingness to consume more and the rise of inclusive insurgent brands, the consumer landscape in India will evolve.

A decade ago, insurgent brands were not part of your weekly or monthly shopping list. But, today, these same brands have been able to disrupt industries traditionally dominated by their larger counterparts.

They have done this by capturing a disproportionately high share of growth, delivering value by redefining the costing benchmarks for their category and, in some cases, disrupting the profit pool.

Incumbent (a term derived from politics) brands are established players in their category. They include both large multinationals and Indian corporations that have dominated the domestic consumer landscape for the past 30 years or more (e.g., Dabur, ITC, HUL, P&G, Coca Cola, Pepsi, etc.).

The aggressive pace of growth among the insurgent brands makes us think that these are no less than Davids to the incumbent Goliaths. Furthermore, it is the strategy of nichefication (identifying unserved gaps) of categories and delighting customers that aid these insurgents.

The Indian insurgent brands have two things in common. One, not only are they embedded with millennial culture in their DNA but are also driven by their consumption needs. They understand the needs, wants and problems of India’s rising middle class.

Also Read: How to set up your business processes for scaling your growth

Two, they can inspire consumer advocacy by delivering a competitive consumer proposition using eye-catching consumer-centric marketing campaigns that enhance the recall value of their brands. Their goal is to nudge the consumers to refer to their brand while addressing a product category.

The growth of insurgent brands has been possible due to a host of factors:

• The reliance on contract manufacturing and effective deployment of digital technology for micro-targeting consumers.
• The increased accessibility of venture capital.

These factors have contributed to reducing the barriers to entry and providing young brands with opportunities.

The further rise of insurgents will rest on five key growth drivers:

• India’s rising young middle class gives these brands a large consumer base keen to experiment and explore.
• The growth of the digital natives with increased data consumption and the e-commerce revolution allows brands to expand without relying on large, expensive above-the-line marketing campaigns.
• The behavioural impact of living a life using a smartphone.
• The third digital revolution will primarily be focused on rural India.
• The evolution of consumer attitudes as purchasing power parity and aspirations meet an equilibrium.

Redefining the way Indians consume

Though the rise of insurgent brands will redefine the way Indians consume, they might also be a catalyst for tackling India’s unemployment puzzle. Insurgent brands, with venture funding, tend to attract an experienced talent pool to tackle the incumbents.

Insurgent brands are also paving the way for growth by creating blue-collar jobs and setting the foundation for the development of the gig economy as Indian brands redefine the way they do business and achieve scale.

Also Read: How can design-thinking promote consumer trust in the digital world

Sales, warehouse operations, packaging, customer relationship management and support functions will employ a large section of the labour force that did not have access to these jobs in the past.

This being said, the incumbent brands are here to stay and will create value for their shareholders. But they need to understand and accept changes in the consumer. Being open to digital media, getting focused on e-commerce, stepping away from traditional marketing and achieving localised taste is critical.

Additionally, as insurgent brands emerge and engage consumers over the incumbent ones, the latter could employ mergers and acquisitions (M & M&A) activities to get a stronghold in a segment in which an insurgent might have secured a niche.

The synergy between incumbents and insurgents could be huge as leveraging a larger player’s distribution and marketing know-how could serve the insurgent very well.

However, the key question remains: Will David be able to give Goliath a tough fight in the coming decade? And will the incumbent brands be able to adapt to consumer tastes to retain the market share that the insurgent brands had disrupted?

Coca-Cola’s entry into jal jeera, Danone’s third India stint with the investment in Epigamia and the relaunch of HUL’s ayurvedic brand, Ayush, to counter Patanjali’s growth, along with its acquisition of the Indulekha hair care brand, show us how insurgents and incumbents are innovatively working towards increasing their market share.

The next few years will be a most exciting time in the consumer goods space in India. Entrepreneurs, investors, consumers, insurgents and incumbents will need to adapt and evolve quickly to capture the huge opportunity in rural and urban India.

This article first appeared in Hindustan Times.

–

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 insurgent brands are redefining India’s consumer growth story appeared first on e27.

Indonesia-based digital investment app Bibit today announced that it has raised “more than” US$80 million in a funding round led by GIC, with the participation of Prosus Ventures and other existing investors.

This funding round followed a US$65 million funding round that the company announced in May 2021.

In a press statement, Bibit said that it will use the funding to support the launch of new products and services, develop its tech, acquire top talent from the
Indonesian market, and strengthen its financial education programmes –created to foster greater financial literacy in the country.

As one of the earlier robo-advisory investment apps in Indonesia, Bibit said that it has enabled millions of investors in 500 cities across the archipelago to build
investment portfolios based on their risk profiles and investment goals in a safe, simple and seamless way.

Also Read: Indonesian stock trading platform Stockbit to acquire local brokerage firm

The platform specifically targets mostly millennials and first-time investors.

Prior to launching Bibit in 2019, the company has been known for launching Stockbit, a platform for investors to share stock-investing ideas, news, and
information in real-time.

While the Bibit app focuses more on mutual funds and state securities, the Stockbit app focuses more on stocks.

The company has achieved several milestones in the past year, including the launch of Stockbit Sekuritas, an e-IPO feature that allows users to participate in a 100 per cent online IPO process. It has also launched Stockbit Academy which provides stock market education from experienced financial mentors for free and is appointed by the Ministry of Finance Republic of Indonesia as a Distribution Partner to sell the Government Securities (SBN) in early 2022.

—

Ready to meet new startups to invest in? We have more than hundreds of startups ready to connect with potential investors on our platform. Create or claim your Investor profile today and turn on e27 Connect to receive requests and fundraising information from them.

Image Credit: Bibit

The post Bibit raises US$80M+ led by GIC to foster greater financial literacy in Indonesia appeared first on e27.

Have you recently visited a local automobile workshop to service your car?

Chances are that you may have recently discovered that your friendly local technician now proposes to repair a faulty component, instead of just replacing it with a brand-new OEM part.

Fixing as the only option

In the past decade before the emergence of China as the world’s factory, fixing was the only option available for budget-conscious consumers. Fixing itself is a time-consuming process that requires specific skill sets not available to the less-experienced labour.

These specialists in repair work tend to take the form of senior technicians who have dedicated their whole life to particular machinery and have well adapted to its demanding and uncompromising nature.

The years spent tinkering and troubleshooting with the same type of machinery are just part of the pure devotion given towards a fix. In short, it takes a whole lot of patience to achieve such mastery.

Besides that, machinery used in the past was most likely imported from the UK or US and was long-lasting, durable and obviously more reliable. One could imagine the cost of importing a new part from the UK or US back then, along with the host of communication challenges and extensive non-digital paperwork needed to clear the customs.

Hence, the pricing was kept high as the quality of parts was of a higher grade. Just imagine if a product part manufacturer based in the UK had to factor in returns for faulty goods back in the 80s to Singapore? It surely would take a long time and a whole lot of money just to get these parts replaced under warranty.

Many senior citizens in the present age may well understand the cost implications in the past and perhaps this is why they may tend to always consider repairing something when it breaks down rather than replacing it.

However, the younger generation may assume that such emotions are all pure sentimental or to a certain extent suggest that they are having a borderline hoarder mentality especially when the older generation clings on to broken down machines despite having a new replacement unit at home.

The assumptions based on my research point to their past experiences in purchasing behaviour and after-sales challenges which tend to give them this different approach towards fixes if compared to the current generation.

Also Read: Asia-led global supply chain needs to reinvent itself to address climate change

Even my own parents had just in the past week requested to repair our 10-year-old branded washing machine at home without even knowing that the cost to replace it with a new lesser-known brand was just about the same.

The rise of the world’s factory

Since the dawn of the new millennium, a cheap brand-new OEM part from China has become the best plug-and-play solution that supposedly “fixes” the issue at hand at a relatively affordable pricing point.

Even technicians during the peak of the just-replace-it era when consulted would rather nod their heads in agreement to convince you that you would be better off by just replacing a broken part rather than fixing it.

The winning argument, such parts do come with their own limited warranty which extends your peace of mind, and labour costs for installation would be lesser. Furthermore, such parts were relatively cheap, reliable for a minimum of one to two years and were available instantly due to the proximity of China.

So yes, when your local automobile technician suddenly proposes a fix rather than a replacement, this is a sign of changing times. The reality we are facing as we enter a new norm is that global procurement and also shipping lines are greatly affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such extreme lockdown measures are taken by the world’s factory severely impacts supply chains, causing long delays in the sourcing of new parts and shipping them to your local automobile workshop.

Furthermore, the rise of labour costs in China has also impacted the prices of goods sold which no longer provides the benefit of being cheaper. With such a dilemma in hand, the new breed of technicians is now forced to learn again how to fix things and undertake repair work, thus ditching their just-replace-it mindset, perhaps temporarily until the situation improves.

Embracing the circular economy

The silver lining in the cloud, actual repair work and the awareness of preventive maintenance are on the rise again. The significance of this is that eventually, it will reduce consumption and unnecessary wastage of resources.

The world would see a huge drop in waste production and unnecessary industrial pollution with the reduction in the manufacturing of these cheap OEM goods. The recycling industry would also potentially see lesser volume over time.

Also Read: Base.vn founder’s new SaaS startup True Platform attracts US$3.5M seed funding

In line with the adoption of a new circular economy model being embraced by our current generation, perhaps this shift could mark a new era with the reopening of workshops dedicated to repairing work including consumer electronics, automobiles, fashion ware and even furniture repairs (IKEA 2.0).

No more cheap consumer goods with inferior parts, perhaps signalling the end of fast fashion. Cars that were once meant to last a decade (or a lifetime) would possibly also return back to showrooms. You can read more about the TESLA million-mile battery here.

Increase in higher quality products

By moving away from this just-replace-it mentality, I believe that consumers would demand better quality products in future while corporations are also forced to reduce their huge margins by providing more value in the products sold, but at the same price.

Ideally, businesses that once thrived with brand loyalty by selling overpriced but subpar goods should certainly take the cue in increasing their quality of goods. This includes the replacements for single-use plastics.

As an advocate of fixing and tinkering with machinery since my early childhood and my devotion towards engineering maintenance over the past decade, I gathered some preliminary research on the industry before embarking on launching Rezpon.com as a tool that promotes faster response to maintenance issues.

My endeavours partly stemmed out of curiosity to understand more about cost-cutting measures taken by industries and facility managers in adopting a new preventive maintenance strategy.

This change in approach to prioritise preventive maintenance will ultimately reduce unscheduled breakdowns, predict system malfunction and prevent system outages beforehand to ensure zero downtime in operations.

–

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: syda-productions

The post The end of just-replace-it mindset is here appeared first on e27.

Blockchain has a diversity problem, globally. Women are significantly under-represented in the industry, with few females holding key roles, especially in Asia.

To take this problem head-on, a group of multi-talented individuals with experience in blockchain, fintech, design, banking, and market development came together and launched a non-profit.

Titled Women In Blockchain Asia (WIBA), the Kuala Lumpur-based organisation is led by Ida Mok (President), Poesy Liang (VP), Jasmine Ng, Surina Shukri (former MDEC CEO), Farah Jaafar, Ivy Fung, Chezka Gonzales, Belinda Lim, and George Wong.

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

The WIBA aims to open a new chapter in the development and participation of women in digital technology, with a specific focus on blockchain development, curation of Web3 solutions, and expanding the understanding of distributed ledger technology.

e27 spoke to Jasmine Ng, Co-Founder of the WIBA, Founder of Wahine Capital and the former CRO of iPay88.

Edited Excerpts:

What was the motivation to launch the WIBA? What are the key objectives of the organisation?

There is a “conscious lack” of Asian female talent in the space. We believe there is a lot of misconception about the industry amongst women.

Our vision is to be part of the movement that creates an inclusive new economy with women in Asia as leaders in the blockchain industry and a force for change and social good.

The objective is to raise a generation of Asian female leaders, builders, thought leaders and decision-makers in the space, focusing on talent, skills, education, resource and support. We initiate and deploy this through three pillars — projects, education and skills applications.

Blockchain has a diversity problem and is painfully homogenous. According to a global Quartz survey, of the 378 VCs-backed cryptocurrency startups founded between 2012 and 2018, only 8.5 per cent had a female founder or co-founder. Why so?

Women in technology are already highly under-represented, and the situation is worse in blockchain. We believe this is because women feel the subject matter is too geeky and technical for them.

Many women hold a view that it is a prerequisite to know coding and programming — at the minimum, to be able to script and blog. This misconception is entirely inaccurate and untrue, and we aim to correct and reset it.

Studies show women are more risk-averse than men in behavioural science studies. Is it also a reason for this lack of diversity?

It is a fact that women are generally cautious, which is actually our strength which should be translated and transferred to the blockchain space. The space is so wild west and scammy partly because people are not thinking logically and using proper thought processes in assessing investments.

Do men also play a role in keeping women away from blockchain?

Some men do, but not all.

Indeed, a growing majority of people now realise that diversity and inclusion are a must. At Women In Blockchain Asia, we believe in this, which is why male-allyship is welcomed. The Women in Blockchain Asia has men participating in the founding team. So, while some men may still be misogynistic in their approach, the progressive ones are creating a more inclusive and safe space for greater adoption and acceptance of the technology.

What are the different initiatives taken by WIBA to inspire and encourage more women to come out and embrace blockchain?

1) Enabling through projects: initiating and collaborating on blockchain-related projects where women can participate and work on under the Women In Blockchain Asia.

Also Read: ‘I have seen the future, and it works.’ But is it Web3?

2) Educate: partnering with protocols starting with Algorand and local universities to teach smart contract coding to raise a generation of competent developers in Asia and, from there, build and raise a generation of female developers and coders in the blockchain. Through all these activities, encourage more women thought leaders in the space.

3) Enable with skills application: partnering with blockchain protocol providers and solutions and services through an internship, mentoring and support within the industry.

What is the situation outside of Asia, particularly the west? Does it also have a diversity problem?

It is better in comparison, but the struggle is still the same. Recognition and opportunities are not readily available. Women still need to fight for it. Investing in women is still low, yet adoption of the crypto element is rising amongst female participants.

Who are WIBA’s key partner organisations? What are the roles of the Algorand Foundation and others here?

We partner with protocols, universities, enterprises, VCs, blockchain projects and more to create the community and ecosystem around encouraging women’s participation in the blockchain industry.

We have been very fortunate to have universities ready to explore a training partnership with the Women In Blockchain Asia for more diversity in their students’ learning experiences. One of our early partners, the Algorand Foundation, already runs a programme suited for quick deployment and applicability. It fulfils the second and third pillars that we spoke of earlier.

We will start our Educate pillar initiatives with the deployment of this programme that increases the students’ hire-ability rate.

—

The post Breaking the bro code: How women are taking over the Web3 world in Asia appeared first on e27.

The Taiwan-based Asia Pacific Telecom 5G (APT 5G) Accelerator programme expands towards an international outlook in 2022. APT believes that mutual promotion and international exchanges have long overtaken network competition. In line with this, cross-industry connections and collaborations are vital to creating innovations in industries. The APT 5G Challenge will allow startups from across the globe to observe each other and broaden their network. The programme aims to ultimately create new opportunities for 5G through innovative business models and business ventures. 

Expanding Tech Innovations in the Asia Pacific

By linking up local startups to international investors—and vice versa—the connections built through the Accelerator programme are expected to build up towards a robust 5G industry in the Asia Pacific region. Among the technologies being looked into this year are Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud software, and Big Data, in industries like entertainment, education, and gaming. 

Also read: Sentient.io: Empowering businesses in the region by making AI adoption easy and affordable

All of these technologies are based on 5G innovative application services which move across and challenge traditional knowledge of tech and how it can operate in businesses and in our daily lives. The range of the selected startups will hopefully diversify the tech landscape in the region and introduce new technologies that will generate even more innovation. 

Introducing the startup Participants 

Here are the seven judges for the APT 5G Challenge 2022 — Mark Cheng, APT 5G Startup Project Manager at  APT 5G Accelerator, Melvin Jeffrey C. Chan, VP and Head of Enterprise Innovations and IoT Business Development at PLDT, Bookyung Kim, Associate at KK Fund, Jeremy Soh, Investment Associate at Qualgro VC, Kevin Wu, Chief Operations Officer at NuMiner, Jack Yang, Business Development Director of Greater China at TMY Technology Inc. and Jeff Chuang, Investment Manager at AVA Angels.

On the demo day, May 26, 2022, the following startups will be pitching to these top Telcos and Venture Capitals in the region. 

• Asiania – This startup offers a quick one-stop shop for all event organising-related matters. The platform is able to host events and guide organisers through the process, with a long-term goal of becoming more integrated with digital through VR/AR in the future.
• MyWay Tech – The company offers a number of services to improve business decision-making and system integration. Among these include thermal devices, AI line bot integration, app development, and face recognition technology. Easily customisable, MyWay Tech’s offerings offer seamless integration for users and clients.
• Tenderdigi – Inspired by the use of brainwaves in technology, Tenderdigi’s founders seek to help regulate emotional and psychological troubles in children and adults alike, including children with hyperactivity, and adults having difficulty with sleep.
• Findcompany – T-Leap offers technology that allows telepresence. Even if you’re geographically far from clients or your businesses, stay connected through this technology. Composed of a speaker, microphone, and a 360-degree camera, T-Leap allows users to stay present despite the distance.
• Mishkan Limited – Focusing on handling and managing artists’ image in the digital age, Mishkan provides a data-driven approach that cuts across multiple online platforms. Apart from sentiment analysis and social listening, the company also allows artists or their managers to promote organically overseas through all-in-one campaign management. However, at the moment, this function is still only available to Chinese-speaking regions.

Also read: PikoHANA: Helping Singapore startups scale through fractional finance

• It’s Alive Studio – This CGI studio and IT research team aims to produce diverse and high-quality animated digital humans and clothing. It’s Alive Studio is bridging the gap between reality and the metaverse by introducing realistic AI-generated images in a more cost-effective manner. The startup eyes gaming, advertising and art, and B2C communication among its target markets.
• Fantopy – Established in 2013, Fantopy promotes itself as the only multi-league fantasy game in Southeast Asia, and the first blockchain-powered football fantasy game in the region. The play-to-earn game provides a simple step-by-step overview of how to get started, mainly focusing on Thai and Indonesian Football Leagues at first, but aims to expand to the rest of Southeast Asia later on.
• Quest Edtech – At the heart of Quest Edtech/duPhonics is the concept of providing telenannies for children in the new normal. The startup acknowledges the hectic lives of new normal parents and provides them with some space to both care for their child and themselves through a telenanny. Through its goal of empowering parenthood in Southeast Asia, duPhonics’ goal is to see revenue of USD3 million by 2023.
• Seashore Networks – With IoT expanding at increasing speed, companies need to keep up. Seashore Networks provides a solution through increased connectivity and security in its services. Their software is also easily upgradeable and has a larger coverage area than WiFi. Through this, the company has penetrated the Top 30 spot in the India 5G Hackathon.

To know more information about the APT 5G Challenge 2022, visit the official website here.

– –

This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Asia IOA

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 Get to know the startups in the 2022 APT 5G Challenge appeared first on e27.