The significance of intellectual property (IP) has grown tremendously in today’s business environment, especially during high-profile mergers, acquisitions, and legal disputes. However, the true value of IP is often not fully understood, particularly in the context of knowledge-based economies.

In Malaysia, where both the encouragement of domestic innovation and the protection and commercialisation of IP are essential to realising the country’s goal of becoming a developed nation, understanding the value of IP is more critical than ever.

Despite the significant expansion of the Malaysian economy in recent years, with an average annual GDP growth rate of 5.3 per cent between 1994 and 2014, many businesses still struggle to leverage their IP assets to grow their business and stay ahead of the competition. It is crucial to recognise that protecting IP alone is not enough. Businesses must also understand the value of their IP assets and leverage them to stay ahead of the competition.

However, many companies reach a bottleneck as they fail to realise the true worth of their IP. Thus, it is crucial to develop an IP policy that considers the needs and priorities of various economic stakeholders, given the diversity of Malaysia’s economy.

That is why I decided to develop Valuing IP, for companies to make their intangibles tangible by placing values on their IP assets.

Started from awareness to accessibility

When I began my career in IP in 2006, there was a notable lack of awareness among clients about the importance of IP. Even with consultations, clients were often confused and uncertain about the different types of IP rights. As a result, I encountered numerous challenges in those early stages of my career as people struggled to understand the true meaning and value of IP valuation.

Also Read: How tech startups should protect their intellectual property assets

It is evident that intellectual property has transitioned from being perceived as a luxury to a necessity for most businesses today. However, there are still crucial gaps within the industry that require attention, particularly in the realm of securing accurate valuations for a company’s IP assets. The optimal approach for obtaining and determining an accurate valuation significantly relies on the sector and type of firm.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of access to reliable and precise IP valuation, these companies face limited prospects of securing funds. We can effectively address these challenges and make IP valuation more accessible, flexible, and affordable for businesses.

While our focus on Valuing IP is on democratising and disrupting the IP landscape, our ultimate goal is to facilitate IP financing in the ASEAN region using IP as collateral. I have always wanted to operate in the ASEAN region as there are plenty of opportunities that I would like to pursue and even more solutions to offer. One example would be an alternative financing product that would enable businesses to access funding beyond the traditional method of using company shares and or equity.

My goal is to make Valuing IP’s solutions a part of the few digital options accessible to a wider range of businesses. However, for IP financing to become a reality, a strong IP valuation ecosystem is essential.

Navigating challenges and opportunities

As we grow to be one of the leaders in the intellectual property valuation industry, I recognize that educating key stakeholders, professionals, clients, financial institutions, ecosystems, and industry partners in the ASEAN region is a considerable challenge.

However, I remain motivated and dedicated to providing a different perspective on how their intellectual property assets can enhance corporate value and increase the chances of business growth or exit strategy.

Despite the initial difficulties, we have made substantial progress in raising awareness about IP valuation and financing. Our efforts have been rewarded by the support of IP practitioners, lawyers, accountants, and IT companies from across the ASEAN region, including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and India. In collaboration with IP firms in Malaysia, we are working to foster IP valuation and financing to encourage expansion and growth for the IP industry as a whole.

Even so, we continue to face new challenges as we seek to expand our software and digital platform offerings, including an IP marketplace portal for IP trading, and broaden our presence in the ASEAN region.

To achieve these goals, we require significant capital investment, and I am proud to say that our first round of funding in 2022 was a success, raising almost MYR 990,000 through PitchIn, with additional support from the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund and Cradle Fund‘s CIP Spark Grant Programme.

Moving forward, we remain committed to driving growth and innovation in the IP valuation industry and providing valuable insights and services to businesses and organisations across the ASEAN region.

Staying afloat in the shifting landscape of IP valuation

The most challenging aspect of staying ahead in the intellectual property industry is educating businesses about the value of their IP assets. To achieve success in this area, companies need to adopt a broader view of their business and its role within the wider commercial landscape. While IP protection is vital, it is IP valuation that distinguishes a business’s corporate value from its competitors.

As a leader, I believe that it is essential to facilitate conversations, discussions, and engagements between different groups in the intellectual property community. Our approach should be to educate and provide a different perspective on how intellectual property assets can enhance corporate value and increase the chances of business growth or exit strategy rather than simply trying to convince businesses of their value.

Also Read: This is how you can protect your online intellectual property

In order to completely understand IP valuation, it is crucial for firms to seek expert IP guidance to determine whether they are operating correctly. Understanding the potential and perceived value of a company’s IP portfolio is essential if the business is considering expansion, evaluating an M&A bid, or putting the company up for sale to prospective investors.

Raising the profile of IP valuation and financing is critical to unlocking the value of IP within businesses and encouraging the financial system to make better use of this value in financing decisions. In the upcoming years, I will continue to work tirelessly to achieve this goal, using various efforts to help educate and raise awareness about the importance of IP valuation and financing.

A path forward into the future

As we look to the future, we are committed to enhancing and expanding our software and digital platform offerings. Our plans include the development of an IP marketplace portal for IP trading and expanding our presence in the ASEAN region. Our team remains dedicated to providing software demonstrations to interested companies, and we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Our target for 2023 is to raise more funds, and we are continuously engaging in conversations with IP stakeholders, financial institutions, and the Malaysian government to achieve this goal. Our determination to expand regionally to countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and India remains strong, and we are currently in talks with a few companies to make this a reality.

For aspiring entrepreneurs in the field of IP, we offer a piece of advice: the IP market has massive potential. To succeed, it’s crucial to look beyond traditional practices and focus on solving industry pain points to help clients improve or strengthen their IP value.

Together with the IP community, let us facilitate the growth and refinement of the IP ecosystem in ASEAN.

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Through my experiences as an entrepreneur, I have learnt that running a sustainable business is not merely the result of good strategy and sound financial management. There is a hidden element that powers the engine of every thriving company — its team.

And in the digital marketing landscape, a substantial part of that team comprises the ambitious and digitally native Generation Z. This vibrant generation has brought a new wave of expectations about work-life balance that are, quite honestly, challenging and transformative.

When I took my first steps into entrepreneurship, my knowledge of Human Resources (HR) was virtually non-existent. Candidly speaking, I held the somewhat dismissive view that HR was a mundane field. However, as I began to navigate the dynamics of managing a team, I realised that HR is not just integral but crucial to any company that aspires to grow. 

Consider the futile cycle of endlessly training new hires because the environment you’ve created lacks opportunities for growth. Or, picture the countless hours invested into the hiring and interviewing process.

I soon grasped the significance of carving out a clear growth pathway within the organisation and fostering a positive company culture. These factors undeniably impact an employee’s sense of contentment.

When employees are fulfilled, their morale skyrockets, enhancing their dedication to their work. Their pleasure in their role shines through when interacting with clients, creating a ripple effect that, more often than not, beneficially impacts the company’s profitability.

Now, let’s demystify this concept of ‘work-life balance’. Often, we tend to equate maximum work with maximum productivity. The belief is the longer the hours, the more work gets done. But through my experience, I believe that there is a productive way to operate that both satisfy Gen Z employees and ensures business success.

Understanding ‘best work’ through a new lens

First, let’s redefine what we understand by ‘best work’. It isn’t about clocking in marathon hours or being the last one to turn off the office lights. It’s about achieving goals efficiently and creatively. It’s about having a clear headspace to innovate and problem-solve. It is important that you encourage your team to produce their best work within their working hours and respect their personal time.

Nurturing efficiency and motivation

A thriving workplace is not merely about productivity but also about prioritising the well-being of employees. Studies indicate that content employees are 20 per cent more productive. This elevated productivity often translates into heightened motivation, unwavering loyalty, enhanced performance, synergistic teamwork, satisfied customers, and, ultimately, a positive impact on the company’s bottom line.

Also Read: Our company culture thrives on creativity and collaboration: Daryl Lim of MetaPals

Instead of simply expecting employees to work long hours, business owners should focus on inspiring and training their teams to be more efficient. By honing their skills and helping them manage their time effectively, businesses can maintain high productivity levels without overburdening their workforce.

At Creative For More, we emphasize communicating clearly to prevent misdirection, daily stand-ups to enable team alignment and improve accountability and task tracking. My team and I also keep meetings short to avoid time wastage before people start checking out. The cumulative of these small habits contribute to fostering efficiency in the workplace.

Motivation also plays a significant role in improving efficiency, recognising good work, providing growth opportunities, and maintaining a positive work environment. All these contribute towards keeping an employee motivated, resulting in increased productivity.

Win-win outcomes

This approach also provides a win-win situation. On one side, it respects the priorities of Gen Z, offering them the work-life balance they seek. On the other hand, it helps businesses in achieving their goals without expecting employees to work beyond their regular hours.

As we reshape our work culture, we aren’t just trying to satisfy our team — we’re also paving the way for a more successful, efficient and respectful business environment. As entrepreneurs, it is our responsibility to build a company culture that not only aligns with our business vision but also respects the evolving expectations of our teams.

This journey of transformation is certainly challenging, but it’s a necessary one, and the lessons I’ve learnt over the years are invaluable. They remind me that the right culture isn’t about squeezing the most hours out of the workforce but about fostering an environment that brings out your team’s best potential – every single day.

And on a personal note, fostering a happy and dynamic workplace doesn’t just boost my team’s morale. It amplifies my own enjoyment of work. I love walking into an office buzzing with animated chatter, brimming with laughter, and witnessing my team passionately engage in discussions.

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affable.ai CTO and Co-Founder Swayam Narain opens an email interview with e27 by sharing about the company’s first client back in 2017-18. It was a men’s fashion and apparel company trying to launch in Singapore through the use of male micro-influencers with a predominantly male following.

The client attempted to accomplish this manually and worked with various agencies but could never find the most suitable influencers until they began using affable.ai products.

“Using affable.ai, they had access to sieve through the data for every influencer in Singapore and were able to shortlist influencers in an hour! We were the only solution in Singapore with rich insights about any influencer’s followers. They had a successful launch and drove sales on day one through these influencers — a huge validation for us,” says Narain.

affable.ai builds an influencer engine on top of social media data that includes “best-in-class” machine learning models that add several layers of intelligence to raw data that is aggregated and indexed at a massive scale.

According to Narain, beyond saving users’ time, the company’s innovations include deep learning models to profile influencers, brands, audience interests, demographics, authenticity and engagement metrics, and more. It enables marketers to make data-driven decisions when it comes to influencer marketing.

Also Read: How Transparently.AI uses Artificial Intelligence to detect accounting manipulation, fraud

“Rather than relying on vanity metrics like an influencer’s followers or post likes or comments, we used data to suggest the right influencers. Using image analysis, we’ve built a language-agnostic solution that could be scaled to any market speaking any language,” he elaborates.

“Today, we’ve grown 100 per cent YOY while building a cash-efficient business. We continue to evolve by applying the most advanced technologies to solve pain points experienced when running influencer campaigns at scale.”

The company has just launched Skye–what it describes as the world’s first Generative AI (GenAI) companion in influencer marketing.

Empowering brand with magic search

Skye is an AI-powered tool developed by affable.ai in collaboration with Google Cloud to provide advanced capabilities for influencer discovery. The tool leverages cutting-edge GenAI technology, which enables it to analyse visual content and identify the best influencers for a particular campaign.

One of Skye’s key features is magic search, which allows brands to chat with Skye to find the best influencers for their use case. This feature is especially useful for marketers who are looking for influencers in a specific niche or with a particular aesthetic.

Also Read: These Artificial Intelligence startups are proving to be industry game-changers

For example, if a client is looking for pet influencers for their latest campaign, they can upload a moodboard to Skye, and the tool will analyse the images to find the perfect influencers.

Skye not only identifies that the marketer is looking for pet influencers, but it also identifies that the pet must be a small dog breed, wearing cute accessories and featuring multiple dogs. This capability is an industry first and is made possible thanks to the advancement in generative AI.

Skye also allows users to talk to it conversationally to refine the search results. For example, a user might say “10-50K followers, living in the US, min. one per cent engagement,” and Skye automatically applies these filters to the search results.

This feature helps marketers find in-context lookalikes, which are influencers who have a similar aesthetic or content style to the brand.

“We have received stellar feedback from marketers that have used this product, simplifying their workflow and significantly reducing the time it takes to find the ideal influencers. These are game-changing product features, and affable.ai is proud to be the first company in our industry to introduce them to influencer marketers. Importantly, these are not thin wrappers over GenAI APIs. We leaned in on our AI DNA and innovated both the user experience and the machine learning data services,” Narain explains.

Also Read: RevComm’s MiiTel, Cloud IP phone powered by artificial intelligence, is changing how businesses engage customers

“We’re talking about several hours of trying to find the right creator all boiled down to searching using simple text or mood board uploads. A rigorous recommendation system suggests lookalike creators users can collaborate with. Using Skye to help send out personalised emails to creators at scale and even helping markets keep tabs on brand risk monitoring. This launch is a game-changer in the industry as we reimage how efficient the use of a platform like affable.ai can be.”

Narain says that affable.ai works with over 150 brands and agencies. The company is seeing a high level of interest in the adoption of Skye as it rolls it out.

“With our speed of execution, we aim to build upon Skye to offer a truly differentiated and reliable offering that brings delight to influencer marketers in their everyday tasks. Our early adopters see higher ROI through their Skye-recommended influencers already,” he stresses.

Influencing through data and insights

As a company that helps brands run their Influencer Marketing in-house with its end-to-end Influencer Marketing Platform, affable.ai works closely with marketers to identify all the manual steps in their workflows and automate them. Then it offers data and insights at every stage of the process which was lacking before.

“Unlike most companies which offer managed services, we offer a B2B SaaS-only subscription that allows marketers to run influencer campaigns at scale and own the relationship with their influencers,” Narain answers when asked about the company’s revenue model.

“We believe that influencer marketing delivers the most ROI when it is viewed as a long-term strategy to build influence around one’s brand. We love working with brands and marketing agencies over long-term influencer strategies to maximise their impact. This is why we only do yearly subscriptions.”

Also Read: Will China lead the Artificial Intelligence game by 2030?

In detail, affable.ai users are influencer marketing, social media and marketing leaders from brands and agencies.

“We run an efficient inbound and outbound system, with community building at the heart of it. Our long-term acquisition models are geared towards higher organic, direct and social models, which are already our major contributors. And for an almost six-year company, it showcases fantastic market interest and PMF,” Narain.

Narain says that in the company’s initial years, the challenge that it faced lay in the effort to drive awareness about why brands should work with micro-influencers and do it in-house. affable.ai tackled this challenge by building successful case studies to show the long-term impact and higher ROI when brands work with micro-influencers at scale.

“Today, as we expand internationally and bring affable.ai to more marketers, the main challenge is the perceived competitiveness of the industry. There are many players that offer campaign services or talent management services. We have put in a lot of effort to position ourselves as a tech player in a crowded agency world of influencer marketing.”

This year, affable.ai plans to lean further into GenAI and work with clients to identify and launch even more copilot use cases.

“Skye’s magic search is live, while the other capabilities are in active development. We aim to release more useful features that supercharge the workflow of our clients, making the platform do most of the heavy lifting so that marketers can achieve maximum ROI with minimum time,” Narain closes.

“We recently set up our US office and are expanding aggressively in this new market.”

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Image Credit: affable.ai

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Working with partners is probably one of the most efficient ways to grow and scale your business, but it can also be a source of frustration for founders. Relationships work well when things are running smoothly, but as soon as one of the people in charge becomes very opinionated, they can turn into a management battle.

This is a common situation, if only because scaling a business is all about managing people. Nevertheless, it is a concern we have to deal with on a regular basis with the entrepreneurs, founders, and top managers we coach.

However, there are some tips that can be used to make things go much smoother. All it takes is a bit of intention and patience with the implementation.

Take a moment to find out how people think

One tip we use systematically is to get founders and their managers to take a moment to find out how they think. I’m talking about personal mindsets and behaviours because these very personal traits have a huge impact on how we work and make decisions.

Some founders are quiet and don’t say much until they’ve come to a logical conclusion that works for them. Others are extremely directive and rarely share how they arrived at a conclusion. And some need to speak out loud to filter ideas and make up their minds.

This can obviously make communication a bit tricky, so it’s important to take a moment to observe everyone’s decision-making patterns. Doing a team profiling exercise also works well.

Learn to listen first and react later

The second leverage tip is that you (as the leader) need to learn to listen first and respond later.

Listening is key because the people around you want to be heard. Even if you decide differently in the end, listening will make them feel that you care — which is the most important part from a team dynamics perspective.

Also Read: How to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in DeFi and Web3

Once you’ve heard what your partners have to say, don’t rush to a decision. Tell the team that you’ll consider all their points and that you’ll take a moment to think and decide. Then tell them what you have decided and move on.

Establish clear roles and responsibilities

To do this, you need to make sure that the roles and responsibilities of the partners are set and clear. There needs to be a captain on board, whose role it is to make the decisions that will keep the ball rolling.

So, accept to be the leader and make the decisions. That’s your job!

Similarly, the other partners must have their own roles, with their own scope and responsibilities. Once these are defined, a RACI matrix is a good way to formalise them. As long as everyone knows who is responsible for what and who makes decisions, team communication tends to run much smoother.

Move on

Last tip: move on.

Your job as captain on board is to steer the boat in a certain direction – which, by the way, should be shared and clear to everyone. This means that while it is your job to consult and decide, it is also your job to keep moving forward with your own agenda.

If people can’t keep up with your pace, discuss the situation with them and find out why they can’t. If they keep blocking, ask why, ask for alternative options, but keep going. If they want to get their ideas through, they need to adapt to your pace, not the other way around.

Communication is key

To cut a long story short, if partners become a little too difficult to manage and make your role a difficult one, remember that communication plays a big part.

Communication can be verbal, but it can also be a matter of behavioural patterns along the way and a matter of role definition in the first place. Make the most of it!

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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The technology industry in Singapore has shown resilience following a period of layoffs. Companies have focused on reimagining their operations, streamlining processes, and leveraging emerging technologies to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

The job market has also witnessed a resurgence in certain areas, with new opportunities arising in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. 

Every year, at Aspire, we launch a salary guide to share what the technology industry is doing in terms of remuneration. It helps us support the businesses and candidates we work with to supply real data on what the industry is paying people in various roles mixed with candidates’ expectations.

Aspire’s Salary Guide looks at roles in technology, sales, marketing and advertising and shares a sliding scale of what someone might earn for various positions here in Singapore. Comparisons are then made with previous years’ reports to give further context.

The technology industry is reassessing its talent needs following layoffs

While the technology sector seems to be at a standstill while they focus on restructuring and readying themselves for the future of the industry, the sector will likely rebound with strength once it sets itself up for the evolution of the industry.

Also Read: Singaporean VC firm Integra Partners backs German cleantech startup CleanHub

Many of the salary brackets remained the same compared to last year, with the least amount of movement in any sector focused on by our salary guide.

With this in mind, companies have been looking at how else they can cut costs so they can continue to invest in talent and the future of their businesses. Some say they are best placed to look at alternative ways of working to reduce spending — such as full-time remote working to remove the major cost of office spaces — as they are built on a culture of innovation.

It’s undeniable the demand for technology products and services will continue to grow as businesses and individuals increasingly rely on digital solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology, leading to increased investments in areas such as remote work tools, e-commerce platforms, and cybersecurity.

The pure nature of the technology industry also fosters innovation and agility, allowing companies to quickly adapt to changing market dynamics. With these elements in mind, we may see technology companies start to bounce back by next year’s salary guide.

A significant increase for certain roles in technology sales

A small number of roles, such as pre-sales engineer and solutions architect, are seeing a significant increase (up to 25 per cent) compared to last year, while many of the other positions we looked at within tech sales remain the same.

The reason for these increases is due to corrections in the marketplace – bringing the salaries up to the same level as other roles with similar experience.

A positive impact on the startup world, large and small

While these larger technology companies are focused on restructuring and resetting themselves for the future, smaller, more agile startup companies will be able to benefit from this pause. We are seeing people from large companies be attracted by smaller growing businesses with the promise of a different kind of culture, the ability to get involved in many more aspects of running a business and the potential to receive pre-IPO share options that could pay off in the future.

Also Read: How G-P aims to redefine the EOR market through its global growth technology

What does the future hold for the tech industry?

While the technology sector’s salaries may be remaining relatively stable for the time being, it is important to recognise the industry’s resilience and potential for a rebound. The demand for technological innovation continues to drive investments and create new opportunities for both large and small companies.

As the industry recovers from recent challenges, it will seek to attract and retain top talent in order to remain competitive in the market. This competition for skilled professionals can lead to salary increases in the future.

With new startups emerging daily, advancements in emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain, are poised to create new avenues for growth. The technology sector’s ability to innovate, coupled with its adaptability and continued investment in research and development, positions it well for a strong future.

If you’d like to read Aspire’s Salary Guide reports in more detail, please download them here.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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