Angel investors play a crucial role in the startup ecosystem. Angels fill the big gap in the pre-seed and seed funding stages usually referred to as the ‘Valley of Death” due to VCs becoming more risk-averse and shifting to later-stage funding.

Whether you are a professional or a self-made entrepreneur, an angel can open doors, and offer wisdom, and mentorship beyond capital. You can offer “smart capital”, and have the patience to wait for a company to mature successfully.

In this article, I hope to share several steps that you should consider before cutting that first cheque as an angel.

Understand the risks involved in startup investing

Startup investing is inherently risky. The truth is most startups fail to achieve their goals and go kaput. In my work as a startup lawyer, high net-worth people I met no doubt have the risk appetite to stomach the capital loss as an angel, but they underestimated the inherent risk of startup investing.

As an angel, there are common challenges that you need to address:

• Failure to understand startup investing as an asset class i.e. liquidity risk
• Limited access to quality deal flow thus lacking in diversification
• No experience to read on current trends and emerging markets
• What to do to invest such as what to look out for in a due diligence
• How to negotiate funding terms
• Failure to familiarise with the local startup ecosystem and regulations

Be sure to consult your advisers including legal counsel, accountant, and financial planner to assess all these challenges.

Find a company to invest

Finding a great startup to invest in is hard. You may need to compete with other prominent investors to get on the startup’s cap table unless you can show how you can add more value than the rest. VCs even hire scouts (eg, usually seasoned founders that they have venture-backed previously) to help them source for hidden or potential deals ahead of the competitor.

You may want to look into and tap on your own network. The common funding sources of seed funding will be ‘Friends and Family’. You may already be related to a founder through blood or friendship. You should leverage that unique connection.

Also Read: Understanding angel investors with Mysty Rusk

Put up your personal email for companies to send their pitch deck. Have an investor profile on e27.

You will need to screen through the pitch decks. Another great way is to join an angel network in your area and co-invest with other angels like AngelCentral to help you screen the deals.

VCs can also be your friend. If you are already invested in a VC fund, you may check if you can co-invest in deals. At times, VCs may pass on a deal as it does not fulfil their ‘investment thesis’.

Agreeing on the valuation

Dealing with valuation can be stressful. If the company is raising funds for the first time, it may get tricky as there is a chance that you need to decide how much the company is actually worth investing and how much stake you should get in exchange for the capital invested.

There is no hard and fast rule on startup valuation. Generally, a startup may be giving up 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the equity in the company for every round. So a pre-money valuation (i.e. the valuation of the company before the new fundraising) is usually based on how much money the founders think they need.

You will get to hear all sorts of valuation methods and tools. As an angel, you will need to decide if the valuation makes sense. To reduce headaches in dealing with valuation, it may be common for angels to co-invest with a lead investor (usually a VC) that may have done the groundwork in negotiating a price.

Another option is to agree for the round to be an unpriced round.  An unpriced round is when investors contribute capital in exchange for a discount on the company’s shares in the succeeding priced round. A priced round is a financing round based on mutually agreed upon company valuation.

Have the correct funding agreements in place

We won’t cover in detail the specifics of the funding documents needed as they will be based on whether you are investing in a priced round or an unpriced round.

Generally, a priced round will include a subscription agreement and a shareholders agreement together with the present shareholders (usually the Co-Founders). An angel usually subscribes to new ordinary shares as opposed to preference shares.

In an unpriced round, you may choose either to use a ‘Simple Agreement for Future Equity’ (SAFE) commonly used by Y Combinator, or a ‘Keep It Simple Security’ (KISS) created by 500 Startups. Like Y Combinator with their SAFE notes, KISS also aims to simplify and standardise seed funding.

Understand the terms “discount rate”, “valuation cap”, “pre-money” or “post-money”, “pro rata rights” and other terminologies and their effect on your investment.

Note that these documents have gone through multiple changes over the years since they were first made available to the public. Be sure to engage a startup lawyer to help you review the funding documents especially if you plan to use a template.

Also Read: Web3 startups: The next big thing investors are flocking to

All founders have signed a shareholders’ agreement

You do not want to inherit a startup’s legal problems and get stuck in a company with a shareholder dispute without any way to exit as a shareholder.

A shareholders agreement (also known as a founders agreement) should contain all the necessary provisions covering topics like shares vesting, assignment of intellectual property ownership, management of the company i.e. board of directors and voting, transfer of shares, non-disclosure clause, and exit and deadlock mechanism provisions.

If a cofounder fails to perform his assigned role, the remaining cofounders can trigger a ‘bad leaver’ scenario. The remaining cofounders will be entitled to re-purchase the shares from the defaulting cofounder (usually at a nominal value). The unvested shares may be offered to a new substitute cofounder in the future or even redistributed among the present shareholders.

Tax incentive

As an angel, you may qualify for tax incentives if you invest in startups depending on where you are domiciled.

To qualify, you usually need to hold your investment for a fixed number of years. Also, not all investee companies may be specified as “qualifying investments” by the tax authority. Consult your tax adviser to check if you can apply for any tax incentive as an angel.

Conclusion

In reality, no one really knows how a startup is going to perform. It is often a mix of luck, preparation, market, and fate. These steps can appear overwhelming if you are planning to go on solo as an angel. I suggest joining an angel network and co-investing with other angels in smaller ticket sizes may best the best way to get started.

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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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Use our special promo code: GO for 75% off your Echelon tickets!

The 2023 Echelon Asia Summit is happening at the Singapore EXPO on 14-15 June 2023. Are you a startup founder, investor, corporate, or tech enthusiast? Don’t miss out on one of the most anticipated tech conferences in the region! For more information, visit the official Echelon page.

Registration for TOP100 is now open and we are looking forward to seeing your startup on the list!

TOP100 Program gives you the one golden chance to connect with hundreds of investors, showcase your startup at Echelon, pitch on the TOP100 stage, and access special programs. Find out what’s new in TOP100 and join here: https://bit.ly/TOP100_2023
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Securing adequate funding is an indispensable aspect for founders to turn their innovative ideas into profitable ventures. Nevertheless, there are persistent debates on whether fundraising should be a core competency of any startup founder. Unfortunately, despite being extremely important for many founders, many lack the expertise and connections to be efficient in their fundraising journey.

It is not just that fundraising is arduous, but it is also a veritable time sink that deflects founders from focusing on their core competencies such as product development or business growth. Founders spend months trying to establish connections with investors, or worse, resorting to prospecting potential investors on platforms like LinkedIn, Google, or Conference Agendas.

Let e27 help you in your fundraising journey

At e27, our mission is to empower founders with the necessary tools and resources to grow their companies. For the past several years, our TOP100 program has been our flagship program, and it has been immensely popular since its inception in 2014. The program is run annually at Echelon Asia Summit and aims to democratise fundraising for startup founders, giving them the opportunity to succeed based on their innovative products, exciting services, and kickass ideas.

We understand that fundraising is a continuous and long-term effort that cannot be condensed into just two days. As such, while our program does enable founders to condense months of investor outreach into 2 days, we have come to acknowledge that they need more than just a couple of days. This realisation led us on a six-month-long journey of customer development, where we aimed to discover the best way to connect startups with relevant investors and corporates year-round.

Also read: Go big or go home: Why young startups need to exhibit on a global platform like 2023 TOP100 APAC

Our efforts have resulted in the creation of e27 Pro, a membership program that provides people with access to an Echelon experience on a year-round basis. This program provides valuable insights, networking platforms, and necessary tools for business growth through one of our most prominent features, e27 Connect, which connects startups with relevant investors and corporates throughout the year.

With e27 Pro, you can rest assured that you’ll have access to the tools and resources you need to succeed in today’s competitive business landscape. Curious about e27 Pro? Find out more here.

Connecting the tech ecosystem

Echelon Asia Summit is coming back this year to help spark impactful conversations and create meaningful connections among startup founders, corporates, investors, and other members of the community. Guided by its theme, “Building towards a sustainable and impactful tech ecosystem”, Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing back its top-notch features to enable a truly connected global startup ecosystem.

Also read: 6 different ways to explore growth at Echelon Asia Summit 2023

With network and connection being at the heart of fundraising, let e27 do the dirty work for you as we bring together active startup investors this 14-15 June 2023. At the Echelon Asia Summit, you can access information on each investor for you to examine, navigate through, and connect with based on relevance to your business.

We ensure that investors actively opt into each session of e27 Connect to guarantee that they are actively looking to source for startups to deploy capital. At Echelon Asia Summit, you have the chance not only to connect and engage with potential investors online; you have the unique opportunity of sharing to them the story of your startup journey — live!

Join us at Echelon Asia Summit 2023 in Singapore this June. Sign up here.

The post We know fundraising sucks, so e27 Connect is here to help you appeared first on e27.

Salary range transparency has become a hot topic in recent months, but it has always held a personal meaning for me.

My first encounter with salary range transparency was back in 2011 when I was looking for a software engineer job in Singapore. I found it odd that no software engineer role on the largest job platform then had a salary bracket. When I did my first HR interview, I asked for the salary range. The recruiter was taken aback by my question, and I too was surprised by her reaction.

Separating the facts from the myth

Since then, I’ve been asking recruiters the reasons they don’t share their salary ranges. The responses I got are the likes of “employees are going to ask for a pay raise and quit”, “competitors will poach our employees with a higher pay”, “candidates will reject the offer if it’s not at the top of the range”, and “candidates will join for the salary and quit as soon as they find a better-paying job”.

Also Read: Who is doing what: Understanding the different job titles in a VC firm

But every time they mention the risk of competitors increasing salaries to hire employees from a company that practises salary range transparency, I can’t get a single real-life example. It seems to be a fear-mongering myth passed down from recruiter to recruiter. 

At this point, I’m convinced the only valid explanation is when a public salary range could upset employees who would realise they were underpaid, similar to findings from a study last year. 

This, however, is not a good excuse to hide the salary range. All the more, because of existing pay discrepancies, companies have a stronger reason to scrutinise their salary review process before publishing salary ranges.

Embracing transparent salary conversations

When I was given the opportunity to build an engineering team at Wise in 2018, I knew this was the point where I could make a difference. 

One of the first things I did was to ask the recruiter to include salary ranges in the roles I was hiring for. She agreed and we never looked back. Today, all tech roles for Singapore and most positions worldwide at Wise have this information.

Publishing the salary ranges was not only a way to attract more candidates, but it was also to prove that, contrary to what most recruiters fear, nothing bad happens when you share the salary ranges if your employees are being paid fairly. 

I’m proud to say that out of the 15 engineers I’ve hired at the organisation in the past five years, no one left. There are companies that pay more than Wise, and it’s simply not true that salary range transparency increases flight risk. Studies like The Josh Bersin Company’s pay equity research show it helps in retention and I believe that’s because it enables honest and transparent conversations around salary.

Career maps were also another initiative we had in Wise to help with salary conversations. In 2019, we shared detailed career maps with our teams and published them externally a year later. Last year, I pushed to add salary ranges to the engineering career map for clarity into pay and career progression. I see these career maps as an example that every midsize and large company should follow to retain and grow their employees.

Also Read: How to combat burnout and boost your productivity

Pushing for salary range transparency in a bigger world

In 2018 when I started JobWiz as a fun job portal project because my wife was looking for a job, I made salary ranges and perks compulsory on our platform. 

The more I spoke with job seekers and employers, the more I realised there is a very serious problem to solve: a lack of salary range transparency.

I heard stories of people leaving their jobs when they learnt their pay was half of their teammates’ for the same role, just because they asked for a lower expected salary at the beginning. Something needs to be done.

In 2023, I decided to quit my job at Wise to focus full-time on JobWiz, with the mission of making salary ranges transparent and public. 

A lot of recruiters are telling me that it’s not going to happen. But I disagree. They might have dozens of years of experience but I have five years of experience in salary range transparency while they don’t have any. They just never tried.

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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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Singapore-based early-stage venture fintech investor Integra Partners has announced the final close of its second fund at US$90 million. This brings the total committed capital managed by the firm to over US$140 million.

Integra Partners Fund II is anchored by global institutional investors, including Germany’s development finance institution DEG, the US International Development Finance Corporation, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries Norfund, European alternative asset management group Tikehau Capital, and includes participation from strategic corporates and family offices globally.

The new fund targets fintech, insurtech and digital health opportunities that leverage synergies across sectors to drive financial and healthcare inclusion in Southeast and South Asia. It invests in pre-Series A to Series B stages.

“We included digital health in the mandate for Fund II as we see it as a test case to prove our thesis that fintech is becoming a horizontal layer across all sectors and is embedded in all industries,” said Chris Kaptein, Managing Partner at Integra. “For example, in emerging markets across Southeast Asia, access to healthcare is often a financial problem as medical inflation becomes a pressing concern. Similarly, we see applications of fintech in almost every sector – e-commerce, AI, climate, logistics, education and beyond.”

Also Read: We know fundraising sucks, so e27 Connect is here to help you

Across Integra’s two funds, the firm has invested in 27 companies, comprising mostly B2B and B2B2C businesses. Integra’s portfolio companies include regional e-commerce aggregator, graas (Southeast Asia and India), earned wage access providers wagely (Indonesia and Bangladesh) and GIMO (Vietnam), open finance provider Brankas (Southeast Asia regional), institutional FX platform, Spark Systems (Asia regional), cybersecurity reinsurer, Envelop Risk (Global), and cybersecurity platform ReaQta (Global), which fully exited to IBM in 2021.

With a team of 17, Integra Partners has a footprint in the Philippines, India, and Pakistan. It recently announced the launch of the Win With Women Venture Partner Program, which will add boots on the ground in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Integra intends to continue expanding regionally, building out its venture partner network and in-country teams.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post Integra Partners closes US$90M Fund II to invest in fintech, insurtech, digital health in Asia appeared first on e27.

Recently, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) announced proptech startup Skyland Innovation as the overall champion of the 7th Elevator Pitch Competition (EPiC), beating over 610 startups from 55 economies around the world.

This competition is just one of the initiatives that HKSTP is doing to support the local–and global–startup ecosystem, in a way. For over 20 years, the organisation is committed to building up Hong Kong as a global innovation and technology hub to propel success for local and global startups through facilities such as Hong Kong Science Park in Shatin, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern INNOPARKs in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long.

It has established a thriving I&T ecosystem that is home to two unicorns and Hong Kong’s leading R&D hub with over 13,000 research professionals and over 1,300 technology companies focused on healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies.

In the midst of EPiC 2023, e27 speaks to HKSTP Head of Partnerships Eric Or about the challenges faced by local and global startups in growing in the region–and what opportunities are available to seize.

Beyond innovation, there is commercialisation

Hong Kong is a hub for startups in Asia, with a thriving ecosystem that is constantly evolving. However, like any startup ecosystem, there are a number of challenges that entrepreneurs face when trying to build and grow their businesses in Hong Kong.

Also Read: Opportunities abound for Hong Kong’s largest I&T Career Expo

According to Or, one of the biggest challenges that startups face in Hong Kong is commercialisation.

“Many startups have great ideas and innovative solutions but struggle to find customers who are willing to buy their products or services. This is partly due to the fact that Hong Kong is a very competitive market, with many established companies and startups vying for the same customers,” he says.

Like many other regions, the startup ecosystem in Hong Kong is also struggling to find the right talent. While there are many talented individuals in Hong Kong, there is also a lot of competition for the best talent. Many startups struggle to attract and retain top talent, which can make it difficult to build a strong team that can help the company grow and succeed.

There is also another challenge of COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Despite opening itself up to international and regional visitors, the pandemic has made it more difficult to network and build relationships with potential customers and partners.

This is why HKSTP offers a range of programs and services to help startups grow and succeed, including incubation and acceleration programmes, funding opportunities, and access to a network of mentors and advisors.

There are also a number of events in Hong Kong that bring together startups, investors, and corporate partners. For example, the StartmeupHK Festival is an annual event that showcases the latest trends and innovations in the startup ecosystem. The event features keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, and is an excellent way for startups to connect with potential partners and investors.

Also Read: Hong Kong introduces regulatory measures for crypto trading platforms to enhance security

What it takes to build a global tech hub

One of the key strengths of Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem is its global outlook and rock-solid regulations. Hong Kong is a gateway to China and the wider Asia Pacific region, and startups in Hong Kong are well-positioned to expand into these markets. In addition, Hong Kong has a strong legal and regulatory framework, which provides startups with a stable and predictable environment in which to operate.

“Many startups in Hong Kong are also looking to take advantage of the opportunities presented by China’s rapidly growing economy,” Or explains.

“While China can be a challenging market to navigate, Hong Kong provides a safer approach for startups looking to expand into China. Hong Kong’s proximity to China, its cultural and linguistic similarities, and its well-established business networks make it an attractive option for startups looking to tap into the Chinese market.”

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here.

Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

The post How HKSTP can help international startups in the next stage of their expansion journey appeared first on e27.

Coldspace, an Indonesian integrated cold chain solutions provider, today announced the completion of a US$3.8 million seed funding round led by Intudo Ventures, PT Adi Sarana Armada Tbk (ASSA) via its subsidiary PT Adi Sarana Investindo (ASI), and Triputra Group with participation from MKA dan ITS.

This marks the company’s first external funding round.

With this funding, Coldspace plans to expand its service capacity, including greater capacity for cold storage, reefer trucks, fulfilment, and geographic expansions; launch a suite of management solutions for customers to help manage and track products, including its Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Transportation Management System (TMS) and provided to customers as a free value-add service to perform analytics, offer training and improve service quality.

“We appreciate our investors’ trust in Coldspace, as we are building the first end-to-end cold chain service provider in Indonesia catering for both B2B and B2C customers, allowing businesses to expand quickly and achieve agility in their distribution coverage,” said Arnold Giovanni, co-founder and CEO of Coldspace.

“Building more than 15 distribution points within three months of launch has demonstrated our ability to scale quickly, and we will accelerate this process by leveraging our strategic investors’ logistics ecosystem to provide best-in-class operational excellence and competitive pricing.”

Also Read: 5 smart ways to decarbonise supply chains and logistics with AI

The company offers businesses and consumers cold storage facilities and reefer trucks through its own inventory as well as a third-party aggregated marketplace of cold chain partners empowered through the company’s tech stack. Through its marketplace, Coldspace aims to provide a superior pricing scheme for customers, while improving utilisation for partners through supply and demand matching.

Coldspace also provides cold fulfilment solutions designed to enable quick commerce services, through a hub-and-spoke model that ensures rapid delivery of temperature-sensitive products. Coldspace works with importers, exporters, distributors, food & beverage producers, logistics companies, and other businesses to provide transparent and efficient storage and transportation of temperature-sensitive products.

Within the food & beverage category, Coldspace offers services for fisheries, meat & poultry producers, pre-packaged meals and beverages, dairy, fruit and vegetable vendors, as well as pharmaceutical products with prudent SLA and product management.

Coldspace is led by Arnold Giovanni (CEO), Ivan Liadi (Head of Business Development & Product), David Loei (Head of Sales), and Jan Sunaryanto (Head of Finance).

It is currently operating in the Greater Jakarta Region (Jabodetabek), Surabaya, Malang, Bali, and Medan, with plans to expand throughout the country.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here.

Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: Coldspace

Anisa Menur Maulani also contributed to this story.

 

The post Coldspace raises US$3.8M in seed round led by Intudo Ventures appeared first on e27.

Insights are the lifeblood of many businesses today, and large companies have bolstered their operations with so-called ‘insights engines’: dedicated analyst teams leaving no data point unseen. Conversely, startups and SMEs lack the time and resources to organise and extract learnings from their data.

The question is: Do smaller businesses need to care about insights? How can overstretched founding teams balance resources to produce a healthy amount of data-driven decision-making?

Before 2020 became a swear word, a global study called insights2020 surveyed over 10,000 business professionals and established a tight correlation between customer-centric insights activities and product adoption. It might seem obvious, but knowing your customers as intimately as possible is once and for all proven a surefire way to win over hearts and wallets. 

Today’s commercial world looks different. Some business models thrived, and others forfeited. Timing, adaptability, and luck were core success factors during the worst of the pandemic. The most insightful firms that knew their internal processes, company values, customer needs, and markets sufficiently to make tactical cutbacks or investments fared the best. 

Identifying and explaining friction, advantages, or fluctuations in any area of the business is what I refer to as insights. 

Deconstructing the insights engine

I have managed the insights engine for a consumer goods company for several years. Similarly to other big manufacturers like Unilever and P&G, we relied heavily on data to reach customers.

Our insights department was a golden example of a well-oiled insights engine built to feed actionable learnings from consumer research and performance analysis into operational and marketing decision-making.

As Insights Manager, my role was to be the voice of our consumers within the business discourse, backed by research and sales figures. In this capacity, I was involved in all areas of decision-making, guiding pricing decisions, branding, marketing, and distribution.

Also Read: From crunching numbers to transforming data: How I made a career switch from accounting to tech

I had a front-row seat to our business, with access to leadership discussions and fixed attendance in operational and sales meetings. Not only did I represent the customer, but I was also a fly on the wall in every room – the company know-it-all.

I am here to tell you that contrary to the complex image of the insights engine as a turbo motor to be feared and revered, our insights practices were not outputs of complex machinery. Instead, our day-to-day work was an exercise in listening to consumers, taking an honest look at our performance, and compiling learnings into easily digestible soundbites for decision-makers in our organisation. 

From the vantage point of a fly on the wall and consumer connoisseur, voicing the needs of our customers and stakeholders became second nature to our team. Our team’s omnipresence gave us an aerial view of the business that helped us draw conclusions where others saw none. 

Only for big companies?

The Insights 2020 study discussed building insights engines to keep businesses running faster as a strategic and operational upgrade. Every year, Nerdwallet publishes the Small-Business Opportunity Index combining elements from different economic and business trends data. 

In December 2022, the Index had declined from its base of 100 in September 2021 to 78.1 in just a year, reflecting a weakening environment for starting small businesses. 2023 has seen an acceleration of this weakening, with high pressure on tech companies in particular. Their advice was for startups and SMEs to reevaluate certain business practices.

While most smaller companies will not be able to build insights turbo engines, I propose companies of all sizes can, and should, implement a business insights mindset. Instead of complex machinery with specialised parts and roles, a more suitable and equitable metaphor is the humble sail of a sailboat, where every person in the sailing crew plays a role in adapting to new conditions with all hands on deck. 

A new definition of data

Incorporating lessons from running a regional insights team, I set up a consulting business to help SME founders and owners augment performance and create new opportunities with simple insights practices. A key takeaway is that many SMEs lack overview and awareness of the data on hand.

The traditional view of data is often limited to quantifiable or measurable metrics like financials, volume, and market shares but the work involved in generating the learnings is often time-consuming and requires specialised analytical skills. 

I advocate for a broader definition of data as any information that can reveal friction, advantages, or changes in the business. This stance opens abundant opportunities for insights to sprout at every layer in the spirit of our all-hands-on-deck sailing analogy. In smaller teams, all staff become subject-matter experts with valuable information to harness. 

Pulling in data and viewpoints from all layers of the business can feed into a comprehensive picture of the company that can reveal critical takeaways.

A healthy insights-led mindset grounds on instilling company-wide curiosity that encourages teams to spot patterns and anomalies in structured and unstructured everyday business operations: Where is there misalignment? What are the knowledge gaps? Which parts of the company are exceptionally well-ordered? Where is there chaos? 

Also Read: Revolutionising fintech in Southeast Asia: AI and ML empower businesses with data

Giving every role a seat at the table, listening, and having conversations with all layers and players is a cornerstone insights practice that small companies can adopt. 

Transparency breeds insights

Another simple yet crucial step to achieve an insights-led approach is the transparency of financials and performance metrics across the organisation. Having a policy of transparency and openness about business financial health, high-level figures, values of customer segments, and accounts can have almost therapeutic value for firms and their teams. 

With one client, the sales team was unaware of their shared progress, company performance, and value of account growth. Sales staff were investing a disproportionate amount of time closing lower-value sales while missing opportunities with higher revenue segments and big brands. The realisation led to adjustments to their sales strategy, and we included financials on the agenda for weekly sales meetings. 

The sales staff knowing their numbers helped them generate insights within their team. Providing a high-level snapshot overview of company financials and performance can be a simple way to stimulate critical thought, self-assessment, and team evaluation of available data that can lead to insights-driven business wins. 

A practice I maintain with clients is to save all insights work in one document. A living, breathing, and evolving pulse of an organisation, such an insights document can offer an aerial view of the business to aid data-driven conversations, especially when made available to all teams and employees. With more eyes on the data, smaller businesses can stimulate curiosity and encourage better-informed firmwide interactions. 

Adopting an all-hands-on-deck insights attitude, SMEs can reach new horizons with sails as effective as insights engines. At the bare minimum, transparency of numbers, learnings, and results can foster more cohesive dialogue and understanding across teams and layers of the business.

With a broader view of data and an insights mindset embedded in the organisation, actionable learnings and insights are achievable for any size company straightaway.

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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

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Canva Pro

The post A new insights attitude for SMEs in the era of the ‘insights engine’ appeared first on e27.

Singapore-based AI company Advance Intelligence Group today announced it has raised US$80 million from an investor consortium led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group.

The fundraising follows its previous Series D funding round of over US$400 million in 2021.

In total, the company has raised over US$700 million and has secured capital in excess of US$1 billion supporting its credit book.

Jefferson Chen, Co-Founder, Group Chairman and CEO of Advance Intelligence Group, said in a statement: “Since our previous raise in 2021, we have taken a disciplined approach and made good progress in fulfilling our vision of advancing tomorrow’s digital ecosystem across the region. This new investment will help accelerate our programme of using AI technology to streamline consumer transactions and enable greater and fairer access to credit and financial products and services. We appreciate our investors’ continued faith and confidence in us.”

e27 has reached out to Advance Intelligence Group to find out more details about its plan with the new funding.

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

Founded in 2016, Advance Intelligence Group is headquartered in Singapore with operations across Asia. It provides an ecosystem of AI-powered, credit-enabled financial products and services that include buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform Atome; Indonesian lending platform Kredit Pintar; SaaS provider of enterprise digital identity, compliance and risk management solutions ADVANCE.AI; and omnichannel e-commerce merchant services platform Ginee.

The company said that it serves over 500 enterprise clients, 235,000 merchants and 40 million individual consumers. Since its inception, it has disbursed over US$4 billion in loans.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here.

Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: Nick Chong on Unsplash

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This Means Business is a new series by the e27 Content team that aims to showcase how startups in Southeast Asia (SEA) are making their revenue, with the hope of providing insights and lessons for their peers. If you would like to participate in this series, please reach out to writers@e27.co.

Earlier in March, game developer company Virtuos announced the launch of Glass Egg – a Virtuos Studio, its 2D and 3D art production studio in Dalat, Vietnam. This announcement followed an acquisition by the company in May 2022, marking the opening of its second studio in the country.

This is a part of Virtuos’s journey to becoming the largest game developer in Vietnam with 1,500 employees by the end of 2024.

To get an understanding of how Virtuos aims to reach its goals, e27 gets connected to the company to talk about its revenue model–a crucial part of any company’s journey to becoming sustainable and stronger in this day of age. In an email interview, Virtuos CEO Gilles Langourieux explains the business model that the company is implementing.

“The core of Virtuos’ business as an external developer is providing high-quality game production services across all platforms — PC, console, and mobile — and disciplines to video game developers and publishers. Our ability to scale production capacity (with over 3,700 full-time employees) and manage projects (with know-how from having worked on over 1,500 game titles) allows us to deliver greater cost efficiency and facilitate shorter time-to-market for our clients,” he says.

“What we bring to clients is especially valuable in a market where demand for content and a desire for player engagement has seen an exponential increase.”

Also Read: ‘There is strong reaction against the P2E gaming genre’: BITKRAFT Asia Partner Jin Oh

The following is an edited excerpt of the conversation:

Does the co-development industry generally follow the model that you are implementing, or did Virtuos go through a process before arriving at the most optimal one for itself? Could you share what that experience was like?

Virtuos provides an end-to-end service model, which means we support clients across every function of game production, creating greater efficiency in the process. Other service providers may specialise in a discipline (such as asset production) or a platform (such as PC). The games industry is dynamic and shifts with player demands, but co-development is fundamentally about accelerating game creation with the best team to deliver high-quality games.

In 2004, I founded Virtuos in China as I saw the opportunity to help game companies make bigger games for the new generation of consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox360) then while maintaining operational efficiency. As an external developer, Virtuos provides a global talent pool of artists and engineers to help our partners achieve greater flexibility in production capacities and on large projects. This approach is scalable and also less risky than the traditional game creation model, which is driven by hits. It is also an approach that has worked exceptionally well for us, as evidenced by our consistent growth year-on-year.

Let us talk about the clients that you are working with, i.e. publishers. How do they differ here in SEA and elsewhere, and how do the business model and strategy manage that difference?

We see two main categories of clients at the moment: the bullish and the conservative. For bullish clients, the value Virtuos brings lies in our end-to-end solutions that enables them to create content and ship games on as many platforms as possible. For conservative clients, we help manage risks by introducing flexibility in resourcing and increasing ROI with effective game development solutions.

Also Read: The future of gaming is female and mobile

SEA is a region of vastly disparate cultures, regulatory requirements, levels of tech adoption, and economic development. Its markets, however, share some attributes, most prominently their young and digital-savvy populations, which explains why the region is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies.

Younger players drive demand for localised content, changes in media consumption, and in-game spending, all of which affect how video games are produced.

With a large proportion of our workforce based in Vietnam and Malaysia, our proximity and understanding of the nuances of local markets enable us to effectively support our clients and address market needs, while our global network of studios provides the kind of cross-pollination that enables the expansion of blockbuster games.

What are some significant differences in the markets you’re operating in?

Asian markets tend to be more focused on mobile platforms and the free-to-play content model while Western markets and, to a certain extent, Japan, still rely on larger PC and console games.

What is the toughest business challenge Virtuos has faced in entering this region, and how did it manage to resolve it?

As SEA has very dynamic economies, employees are presented with a multitude of opportunities to grow, making retention of employees challenging at times.

Also Read: 7 trends changing the reality of immersive gaming

Having said that, we strive to be the best employers in the region, providing excellent training, a conducive work environment for creativity and growth and sustained long-term career development. This seems to resonate with our global talents, as evidenced by our Glassdoor rating and multiple ‘best workplace’ awards over the years, including, most recently, a Great Place To Work® certification and an HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia Award for – Sparx* – a Virtuos Studio in Vietnam.

What are some other opportunities Virtuos has identified in the region and APAC as a whole? How does Virtuos plan to seize them?

SEA is one of the fastest-growing e-sports markets in the world and in turn, there is a significant demand for live service games such as Call of Duty and League of Legends — essentially games that are continuously updated with new content to keep players engaged. Virtuos is uniquely positioned to support clients with the ideation and creation of suitably localised content to help them remain top of mind in a saturated and fast-paced market while delivering a more effective monetisation model.

The mobile-first population in SEA also drives the global trend of cross-platform gaming. Having adapted multiple AAA games such as Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (from Oculus Rift to Quest 2) and Dying Light: Platinum Edition (PC to Nintendo Switch), we are well-positioned to help game creators bring their titles to more platforms and expand their audiences.

Specifically relating to its revenue and business model, what are some of Virtuos’ plans this year? Do you have specific targets to achieve?

Despite talk of a global recession and a slump in global gaming, we aim to beat the pessimism by putting innovative solutions front and centre with the goal of continued growth for our clients, business and teams.

This year, we also have plans to further expand our global footprint through the launch of new studios and acquisitions in at least two new countries, underpinning our commitment to continuously support our clients through a global network of high-quality game production service providers.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is bringing together APAC’s leading startups, corporates, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to Singapore this June 14-15. Learn more and get tickets here. Echelon also features the TOP100 stage, where startups get the chance to pitch to 5000+ delegates, among other benefits like a chance to connect with investors, visibility through e27 platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

Image Credit: Virtuos

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Payments play a critical role in the success of any business, and this is especially true today. As consumers become increasingly reliant on digital payments and contactless technology, businesses must keep up with the times to ensure their customers have access to convenient payment options.

This shift towards digital payments has enabled companies to grow more quickly than ever before by expanding into new markets without having to worry about traditional brick-and-mortar infrastructure costs. 

With the global Internet penetration rate reaching a record high of nearly 65%, and 5.44 billion people or 68% of the global population having access to mobile devices, the global market value for digital payment was estimated at USD 81.03 billion in 2022 and is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20.8% throughout 2023 – 2030. In Southeast Asia, although cash is still widely used, the digital payment adoption rate is particularly strong, with the use of online wallets accounting for 17% of payment methods followed by online cards (16%), contactless cards (11%), QR codes (10%), and mobile contactless options (7%). 

The evolution journey of digital technologies

The evolution of digital payments has been a remarkable journey, and it continues to shape consumer behaviour when it comes to making payments. In the early days of online commerce, credit cards were one of the most common forms of digital payment. This was followed by e-wallet services such as PayPal which allowed users to store and transfer funds securely online so they could make purchases without having to enter their card details every time they made an online purchase. 

With continuous improvements, digital payments have become much faster, safer, and more convenient. These systems are often backed up with fraud protection measures which can give people peace of mind when conducting transactions digitally. Additionally, thanks to the recent breakthroughs in big data, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, digital payment services have become increasingly personalised, catering specifically to each customer’s needs, preferences, and buying behaviours.

Also read: 6 different ways to explore growth at Echelon Asia Summit 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the sudden surge in demands for online retailing and contactless payments, innovations in this space emerged rapidly, enabling companies to streamline customer experiences while increasing security standards across all types of transactions. The period also witnessed the boom in mobile-first digital economies, making cashless relevant and further cementing the trend toward digital payments.

Alin Dobrea, the head of marketing solutions and brand partnerships at ZALORA, shared “Over at ZALORA, the trajectory is evident. Within a year, we can see how digital payment options have sustainably grown from 74.61 per cent in 2020 to 81.20 per cent in 2022. Inversely, conventional cash transactions simmered down from 25.39 per cent in 2020 to 18.80 per cent in 2022. Zooming in, we see this decline a little clearer: from the months beginning September 2021, cash transactions had steadily declined from 21.22 per cent to 14.98 per cent in September 2022.”

This same trend is felt by Malaysian B2B marketplace, Dropee, which services local retailers (sundry stores, mom & pop stores) to handle their inventories, credits & operations. “The pandemic somewhat accelerated the growth of digital adoption/acceptance amongst these clients as ours, as they were operating manually/offline all this while. We’ve seen an average increase of 70%+ monthly during the pandemic years. This has also trickled down to their behaviour, allowing them as business owners to be more receptive & inclined to pay online,” explained Aizat Rahim, Managing Director at Dropee.

Benefits of safe and secure payment technologies for businesses

Investing in proper payment technology can be an invaluable asset for businesses. The right system can save time, reduce costs, and help to create a better customer experience. Specifically, digital payments enable businesses to gather customers’ payment data more conveniently and extensively, generating around 90% of banks’ most useful insights such as who is purchasing what, when they do their shopping, and the most effective incentives. Hence, digital payment service providers such as PayPal often come with powerful analytics tools that allow their clients to track sales patterns over time so they can adjust their pricing and promotional strategies accordingly.

Nonetheless, consumers cited security and privacy concerns as the biggest deterrent when using digital payments. Aizat Rahim of Dropee elaborates that, “one of the critical challenges we have been facing is that the average order value (AOV) tends to be much larger than consumer purchases. Most of them are unbankable in which they do not even have a company’s current account, and due to that, anything above RM 5,000 (USD 1,100/SGD 1,500) would be a hassle for them to make those purchases online. Some businesses may prefer to pay for their goods and inventories through traditional channels such as bank transfers or cheques, which they may perceive as more secure and reliable.”

Also read: Effective customer retention strategies from top Philippine founders

However, the biggest challenge when it comes to traditional channels of payment is that they often take a long time to process. “Cross-border transfer takes days and even weeks sometimes,” shared Bell Beh, Co-Founder & CEO at BuzzAR.

This is what sets trusted payment service providers like PayPal apart: their ability to create an efficient, swift, and secure payment service. In fact, cross-border payments made through PayPal are capable of being processed within minutes. Moreover, by choosing a reputable digital payment service provider, businesses can build trust with their customers, alleviating their worries about identity theft or data breaches. This added layer of security gives consumers more confidence when shopping online, increasing sales volume as well as improving customer loyalty over time due to their positive experiences with the company’s payment process. For instance, research showed that just by adding PayPal as a payment option, companies can increase their conversion rate to 18%, and lower marketing expenses by 10%.

Such innovations show that it is possible to streamline payment processes that make them swift while still retaining security and privacy.

How digital payment technologies enable businesses to remain resilient

When the pandemic hit, many businesses had to pivot to offering their products and services online. This means in order to stay resilient amid market disruptions and economic headwinds, businesses needed a robust payment platform that offers a secure and reliable way to process payments, allowing business owners to maintain their operations despite the challenges posed by economic, world health, or environmental factors.

Over at ZALORA, one of their key features is to create different ways to pay for their customers. Their solution is “Offering a variety of payment methods that are convenient, secure, and flexible for customers, such as cash on delivery, digital wallets, cards, installment plans, etc.,” explained Alin Dobrea.

Moreover, another example of how payment platforms can help businesses stay resilient is through improved customer experience. With a wide range of options available for customers when it comes to making payments—whether it’s via credit card processing or online wallets—businesses can provide more convenient experiences for their customers. This allows them to not only retain existing customers but also attract new ones from different markets who may have been previously deterred due to the lack of access to digital payment.

Also read: Introducing the industry giants helping us make Echelon Asia Summit 2023 possible

Besides, digital payments increase efficiency in billing cycles which helps businesses save time and money on administrative costs associated with manual processes. Payment automation solutions empower organisations to streamline billing processes, reducing overhead costs significantly over time while still providing accurate records quickly and without any human error, thus keeping operations running smoothly. PayPal tools such as invoicing and recurring payments enable users to seamlessly transact with different businesses without subjecting business owners to the burden of manual processing.

In sum, the recent global pandemic has highlighted the importance of having a secure and reliable payment platform to ensure business resiliency during disruptive times. Investing in the right payment platform is instrumental for any business looking to survive, let alone thrive, in such an unpredictable environment. This is why many reputable businesses have turned to reliable payment partners to create convenient, secure, and flexible payment options for their customers.

“PayPal has been one of ZALORA’s key payment partners throughout the years. This partnership allows our customers to pay online securely and conveniently. Our experience working with PayPal has been very rewarding and collaborative. ZALORA and PayPal have an ongoing collaboration based on leveraging co-marketing campaigns, promotions and cashback such as ZALORA Birthday, and Singles’ Day, as well as PayPal’s own initiatives such as the GiveBack campaign. By partnering with PayPal, ZALORA has enhanced its customer experience and loyalty, as well as its online presence and reach,” shared Alin Dobrea of ZALORA. Aizat Rahim of Dropee added, “It is one of the easiest/fastest ways to set up these local/micro businesses to make payments online.”

To explore reliable partnerships in digital payment that can help boost your business, click here.

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Photo by Karolina Grabowska via Pexels

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by PayPal

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