An Italian living in Singapore goes to California…sounds like the start of a joke, but I promise it’s not! I visited Silicon Valley to learn about the startup ecosystem and meet potential partners for the Storya project.

Storya has, like many startups fundraising in H2 2022, struggled to find a lead investor for its seed round. As a result, I recently found myself taking a hard look at the receptiveness of investors in Asia toward a creator economy/AI/diversity-focused project like Storya.

I came to the conclusion that sometimes we may need to test our ideas with an entirely different audience to see where the problem really lies.

Tech and hype

• AI: I can confirm generative AI is the flavour of the month. That being said, I have also been told things move pretty fast here in terms of trends, so the hype may not last. Probably for the best, as we saw how things turned out with Web3.
• Web3: Talking about Web3, that has been a difficult narrative to weave into my pitches. At Storya, we always took a “web2.5” view of where we were headed strategically, but it looks like in the short term, it is just too complex to ask investors in the US or Asia to connect the dots across seemingly disconnected fields like generative AI, blockchain, and even metaverse. Lesson for founders: we gotta keep it tight and focused. There is always time to pivot, test and expand later on.

Fundraising

• Pitching: US investors are very direct with their feedback and make pitches much more conversational, which is awesome for founders that want to test and iterate. This is something that I feel is missing in my experience pitching to investors across Asia. There seems to be a lot more focus on presenting “formally” through slide decks and keeping a tight lid on any feedback from the listeners.

Also Read: Founders Academy: Empowering women entrepreneurs to bridge the gender gap

• Revenue goals: toward the end of last year, facing like many a shutting down of funding, we reduced our round size. Coming here, I now realise that was a mistake: not because bigger is better, but because with smaller tickets come smaller milestones (at least if we want to keep projections somewhat logical!). The investor conversations I have had so far have been clear: raise more but deliver even more, and fast if possible. “Cockroach mode” is a helpful internal strategy to survive, but it should not be a mindset used in fundraising.
• VCs: It is often said that finding the right VC is like getting married. One investor was even more specific, telling me you need at least three dates before getting married! Translation for founders: it’s never too early to start building that relationship, and it will take time to get to the altar…send that email!
• Funding rounds: A very successful founder I met shared that every single round is a hustle game. The ease of raising a first round is not indicative of future success at all, or vice versa. Companies here can raise tens of millions in early rounds and still need to go through hundred-plus investors to find a lead for their next round. It may sound depressing, but it isn’t! It just means founders need to stay in the pocket, focus on the now, and iterate that narrative to find the match that works.

The ecosystem challenge

Silicon Valley has taken a hit from COVID-19 and recent tech layoffs, but that has somehow added to the dynamism of what is happening, perhaps a wake-up call for a very powerful ecosystem that had perhaps gotten a bit complacent. But the opportunities and networks to be built are world-class now as much as ever.

Infrastructure in SF leaves a lot to be desired compared to Singapore/Hong Kong. I frequently found myself in areas without proper internet coverage, and public transportation is lacking and slow (although the San Francisco trams are gorgeous!). A sustainable ecosystem for a new generation of entrepreneurs, especially in a wealthy part of the world like California, should not let this continue to be the case.

More lessons on running a startup for founders

• Metrics, metrics, metrics. Silicon Valley investors are direct and brutal in their feedback, and how well your “product” connects with the “business” part of your startup story is crucial. To that end, be ready to dive deep.
• Storytelling: Founders, be ready for your story to evolve rapidly. Storya will be pivoting soon, building on the incredible wealth of experience we have accumulated in the past year and building an incredible team, vision, product, and community. But also thanks to the engaging and tough conversations of the last 10 days in the US. It makes me so grateful to have come here to learn, connect, and evolve.
• Pivoting feels scary, but a recession is upon us (making fundraising tougher than ever), the creator economy, publishing, and generative AI spaces are evolving very rapidly, and founders need to embrace change, as challenging as it might be.
• I have found on this trip that there can be a route where the initial vision remains and the values are not compromised, but you can learn that the right direction may not be the starting point. For us, it will mean a pivot from a pure B2C play towards a more edutech and B2G-focused approach. More to come on that!

Also Read: Founder’s 3 year journey: Ground up to Tiger Global-backed multimillion-dollar startup

Some broader “life lessons” for founders

On failure

I have had too much fear around the failure of ideas and business models. Perhaps a remnant of my corporate career, or perhaps just an individual trait, where we are willing to put ourselves on the line with a startup, but we are not being efficient enough in acknowledging when it’s time to pivot.

The case study: For us, this issue has taken the monstrous shape of a revenue model (subscriptions for our awesome Storya app readers) that has struggled to take off since we launched it in late November 2022.

The reason was staring at us in the face since day 1: our value proposition is misaligned. As the first AI-backed, end-to-end publishing platform in the world, it is truly authors that get the most value out of Storya, but we were trying to generate revenue from the readers.

The mission to support more diverse and under-represented authors with the best publishing platform in the world does not necessarily mean we cannot ask them to contribute to making our business sustainable.

Embrace failure and the changes that come with that.

On listening

Six months of fundraising will do a (nasty) number on a founders’ focus. I had reached a point before my San Francisco trip where one pitch call blended into the next, and I struggled to extract worthy insights from those conversations. The answer was simple: I had to change the audience.

As founders, we need to be aware of the hub for whatever it is we are trying to build and go there. Physically or virtually. Connect with people you believe are most relevant to you, don’t be afraid, and just pitch. Pitch, pitch, pitch.

There is an audience out there that will speak your “language” and that will start providing feedback that truly makes a difference. This is not about the shortest route to investment. This is about the fastest route to learning. It is worth 100x on any cheque in the long run.

On writing

I am still finding mine. I have worked on Storya for 15 months with a fully remote team, largely relying on Zoom and Slack tools. It has been great, but it is also limiting. Meeting people in person does add a layer of humanity to the process, but it is not always possible. So I am embracing writing for the amazing tool it has always been. A way to organise thought, share a story and connect with people.

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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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(L-R) Broom Co-Founders Andreas Sutanto (CFO) and Pandu Adi Laras (CEO) with COO Claussen Sindhuwinata

Broom, an all-in-one automotive SME solutions startup in Indonesia, has secured US$10 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Openspace Ventures.

MUFG Innovation Partners, BRI Ventures, and existing investors AC Ventures and Quona Capital also joined.

Jakarta-headquartered Broom will use the money to diversify its product offerings and further accelerate dealer inventory turnover.

Established in 2021, Broom provides an end-to-end financial solution for auto dealer inventories. Its flagship service, Buyback, provides dealers short-term working capital through a temporary car sale service with a repurchasing option. This scheme allows dealers to optimise inventory, accelerate turnover, and eliminate non-performing loans.

Over the past year, the company claims to have transacted over US$300 million in inventory through its Buyback scheme and onboarded over 5,000 used car dealers. The gross merchandise value has increased 16x year-on-year.

In addition, it also offers a digital showroom management platform for dealers.

Also Read: Broom nets US$3M to provide financing, digitalisation solutions for Indonesia’s auto dealers

By applying the latest technology to the sector, Broom also plans to develop an intelligence model for assessing car quality and, more effectively, appraising the fair value of vehicles. This cutting-edge approach will provide customers with greater transparency.

Since its inception, Broom has established six branches across Greater Jakarta, Surabaya, and Yogyakarta.

The company also said it aims to double its credit facility from external lenders, building on its US$12 million raise of debt facilities from DBS Indonesia and BRI in 2022.

In February last year, Broom secured US$3 million in pre-seed funding led by AC Ventures. Quona Capital and several angel investors, including Kopi Kenangan’s and Lummo’s co-founders, joined it.

To date, the opportunities provided by the used car industry have remained largely untapped. While Indonesia contributes approximately 30.6 per cent of new car sales in ASEAN, the country’s used-car market is even more substantial.

Used car transactions contribute up to 6x that of new car sales, resulting in a sizable US$65 billion industry. This market is primarily underpinned by the country’s 50,000+ dealerships, which are involved in at least 85 per cent of used-car transactions.

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Singapore-headquartered agritech startup Agros has raised US$2.7 million in pre-Series A funding.

Gaia Impact Fund and Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia led the round.

Seed round investor Wavemaker Impact, Silverstrand Capital, Circle Capital, and PropertyGuru Founder and impact investor Steve Melhuish also participated.

Agros will use the fresh funds to scale in its existing markets, open a third country, strengthen its leadership team and develop an app streamlining the value chain. This will allow it to transform the lives of thousands of farmers while abating millions of tons of carbon emission.

Also Read: Betterhalf nets US$8.5M Series A from Finsight Ventures, Instagram and Dropbox co-founders, others

Founded in 2019, Agros provides sustainable farming solutions for 18 million horticulture farmers across Asia. The company is helping horticulture farmers to decarbonise while doubling their profit through a full-stack solution.

The company’s first two products, Agrosolar and Agrosoil, solve major agricultural problems like fuel dependency and soil degradation. After switching to Agros’s ecosystem, farmers can double their profits from reduced input costs, improved yields, and higher prices from better-quality crops.

The startup enjoys a tailwind from rising fuel and fertiliser prices, encouraging farmers to switch to more sustainable and efficient practices. This resulted in 4x year-on-year revenue growth in 2022.

The company currently works with 1,500 farmers across two Asian countries and has increased farmers’ profits by more than US$1.5 million and decreased up to 5,000 tons of CO2 emission.

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The Web3 panel at Echelon 2022

Last year, at Echelon 2022, a panel discussion on Web3 featuring notable speakers in the industry discussed the direction that Web3 and Web2 companies should take in the future.

“Many years ago, in the tech industry, there was this persistent belief that e-commerce would destroy and replace retail in the heart of customers. But fast forward to 2022, and despite the prevalence of e-commerce and the challenges that retail continues to face, the two industries continue to co-exist. Instead of competing, they ended up complementing and supporting each other,” according to an e27 coverage of the event.

Even back then, we understood that before they can fully embrace and implement Web3 technologies and business models, there are misconceptions to clear and challenges to tackle.

Today, in 2023, we have seen many interesting developments in the Web3 industry. Certainly, we would like to know if our pre-existing ideas about the industry would still be relevant. There are also many new questions regarding the future of DeFi and cryptocurrency, use cases of blockchain, and most interestingly, the rising popularity of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

To help answer these questions, Echelon Asia Summit returns this year on June 14-15 to Singapore EXPO to build towards a sustainable and impactful tech ecosystem.

Also Read: DEFED and DeFi: Making it easier to migrate from Web2 to Web3

The event will feature six key themes and tracks:

• Soonicorns and the Future Change-makers of SEA
• Future Sectors and Investment Trends
• Growth and Scaling
• Investments and M&A
• Sustainable Growth and Climate
• Web3

We are now on the lookout for the right speakers for the Web3 key theme and tracks.

An ideal speaker should be a founder of a startup or an investor in the Web3 industry who would share their insights about the future of the industry, and how we can navigate the challenges that we are facing today.

We would also like to hear from Web2 companies who are exploring opportunities in the Web3 field. What have you done so far? What lessons have you learn from it? What kind of support are you looking for? How do you see Web3 benefiting your business?

So, if you are the right person to speak about this key theme and track, or know someone who does, we would like to hear from you. Register HERE and we will get in touch soon.

This is going to be exciting!

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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.

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GHARAGE APAC Head Darren Soh (L) with Co-Founder and MD Lennard Niemann

Today, Hamburg (Germany)-headquartered GHARAGE, which works in foresight and intelligence, venture building and venture investing, announced its expansion into Asia. Based in Singapore, Gharage APAC will invest and innovate with early-stage travel and retail startups.

The firm is backed by leading global travel retailer and wholesaler Gebr. Heinemann. It has a portfolio of diverse ventures, including an on-demand airport delivery platform, a web3 community for whisky collectibles and a new luxury retail experience for airports.

e27 spoke with GHARAGE APAC Head Darren Soh about its plans in Asia.

Edited excerpts:

What inspired GHARAGE to expand into the Asia Pacific region, and what are your primary goals for this expansion?

Since 2020, we have primarily been venture-building and investing from Hamburg into Europe alongside Gebr. Heinemann’s headquarters. The group Gebr. Heinemann is operating in global travel retail with a global target group.

In Asia, we note that consumers have diverse and unique needs alongside a different brand environment and tech environment with the fast adoption of tech and innovation. Throughout the last few years, founders in Asia have built some of the fastest-growing and most innovative companies in the travel and retail ecosystem.

Also Read: How travel apps are stirring up wanderlust among youngsters in Asia

Our launch in Asia Pacific allows us to tap and invest in the region’s innovation and bring it to our customers globally. The backing of Gebr. Heinemann may also provide strategic levers for GHARAGE and the founders we work with.

What specific qualities do you look for in the Asian tech startups you invest in, and how do these differ from the startups you invest in within travel and retail in Europe?

The fields, technology, diligence lens and process we apply will not differ fundamentally from the startups we invest in within travel and retail in Europe. However, we expect to see more tech/digital solutions catering to the Asian markets than European markets, where consumer brands are more prevalent.

What are the average ticket size and the number of investments you plan to make in Asia? Do you target any specific markets in Asia?

The average ticket size will vary depending on the stage of the target company; we intend to take non-associate positions with our first cheque in pre-Seed to Series A companies.

We will initially target Southeast Asia and Australia, given the resources that we currently have, but we are open to working with innovative companies in any Asian markets.

How does GHARAGE approach due diligence when evaluating potential investment opportunities in Asia Pacific?

As mentioned, our diligence lens and process will stay within what we use for our European startups. We will evaluate opportunities by conducting diligence on its core fundamentals, founding team, potential return profile and our ability to add value to the company with GHARAGE’s and Gebr. Heinemann’s network and resources.

Also Read: How KKday saved for a rainy day when many travel startups called it a day during COVID-19

We also see that the current landscape is being weighed down by macroeconomic conditions such as rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, making many investors, including us, more cautious. Instead of purely focusing on growth, we will spend more time assessing the companies’ fundamentals and ability to grow sustainably or become profitable in the long run.

How do you see the Asian tech startup ecosystem evolving in the next few years, and what impact do you expect GHARAGE to have on this ecosystem?

We believe that the Asian tech startup ecosystem will continue to mature and churn out more interesting, innovative solutions and technology in the future. We note that an increasingly diverse set of investors have established themselves in Asia to provide capital and support to the startup ecosystem.

With a relatively increasing availability of investors for startups to pick from, the value-add beyond capital that investors bring will become a strong differentiating factor. Our ability to potentially open doors for startups to access a robust global network and ecosystem within travel and retail can help accelerate growth for startups in the relevant verticals and hopefully further spur innovation in the ecosystem.

What sets the firm apart from other venture capital firms in the Asia Pacific region, and how do you leverage your unique strengths to create value for your portfolio companies?

GHARGE is a standalone vehicle that is backed by Gebr. Heinemann. This allows us to make fast and independent decisions for any opportunity. Beyond capital, we also have the ability as a strategic partner to potentially open doors for startups to access a strong global network and ecosystem within travel and retail can help accelerate growth for startups in the relevant verticals.

How does GHARAGE work with its portfolio companies in the Asia Pacific region to help them grow and achieve their goals?

We will support our portfolio companies with our network in Asia and Europe. On a case-by-case basis, we will facilitate potential partnership discussions with our parent company depending on the needs of both parties. We thoroughly understand the difficulties and challenges of startups trying to navigate partnership discussions with large corporates and of corporates trying to work with startups. In these cases, we can function as an enabler to help accelerate adoption and resultant growth.

Also Read: What travel tech can look like for the travel industry’s revival

Given our network and operations across both regions, we possess a significant advantage in being able to help travel and retail companies in the Asia region that are looking to enter European markets (and vice versa).

How do you see GHARAGE’s investments in the Asia Pacific region contributing to the company’s overall growth and success over the next several years?

Travel retail has been a rarer, less disrupted industry in the last few years, but we see more and more innovation. Change in travel and retail is accelerating. We are starting to see brands and companies, especially in Asia, that did not exist ten years ago becoming global champions in their category. Looking at this evolution, we think change and innovation adoption is inevitable.

GHARAGE seeks to bring external innovation to Gebr. Heinemann with the mission to turn travel time into valuable time for global travellers.
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I have been an avid mountain biker for years, but up until 2021, I never experienced how painful a biking emergency could be. But it wasn’t just the pain that I remember most. A year after the accident, I still recall the bitter frustration of being ripped off at a time when I needed help the most.

The beginning of the journey

It all began during one of my regular cycling rides with a friend on a trail in the Bukit Timah area.

For some reason, I messed up a simple roll-down on some rocks, causing me to fall from my bicycle. I dove headfirst into a rock, and the resulting impact cracked my helmet and gave me what was arguably the worst headache of my life.

Both of us were well aware that we were in the middle of nowhere. Since the only way out was down the hill, my friend carried both our bikes while I called the ambulance and walked alongside him.

Also Read: Founders Academy: Empowering women entrepreneurs to bridge the gender gap

But as I arrived at the rest area and waited for the ambulance, a sudden realisation hit me.

Despite the size of an ambulance, I knew that I could not bring my bicycle on board with me. If I left my bicycle without supervision, it may get stolen, and there were no bicycle racks in this wilderness for me to chain my bicycle to. My family was also overseas then and could not help me pick it up. There was no way my friend could push two bicycles several kilometres back to his place in Yew Tee.

A pressing challenge

As such, I started searching online for a bicycle transportation service to courier it home.

With my head still aching from the collision, I managed to send 12 messages to 12 different accounts on Facebook and Carousell. For an hour, I waited for someone to reply, deciding to hold off on calling for an ambulance until I could guarantee that my ride would be safe. Only one company replied.

The person from the transportation company quoted me SG$35 to ferry my bicycle from Dairy Farm to my friend’s place in Yew Tee, which was seven kilometres away. When I told him over the telephone that I was injured and waiting for the ambulance, he decided to charge me an extra SG$20 for this urgent request. This is despite the listing stating that he could come anytime and anywhere at short notice, 24 hours a day.

Given the state that I was in, I agreed, as I had few options if I wanted prompt medical treatment, as well as the assurance that my bicycle would be kept safely.

But less than five minutes later, I got another text from the company stating that they would further increase the rate by SG$15, as my request was “super urgent”. The total cost came to about SG$70. For what would be a short 10-minute trip to transport a bicycle, I would be paying a premium.

I was seeing red, not because of the blood from my wounds but because of the ridiculous price I was quoted.

Despite being in pain, I texted the driver who was assigned to my request. I argued that the rates were not transparent and unfair. He replied curtly: “If you can do better, next time do (it) yourself.”

In some twisted way, his uncaring words served as an inspiration and continue to drive me towards doing things better. I cancelled the pickup order with the transport company immediately.

When the ambulance arrived, and the paramedics patched me up with a bandage around my forehead and a cast for my wrist, I declined their offer to be taken to the hospital.

I signed a form to indemnify the paramedics from any liability. Then, with my functioning right hand, I cycled to my friend’s home while he supported me with his hands on my back.

A doctor later said this was an ill-advised move as I had suffered internal bleeding, which was causing the headaches. I was warded for three days at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and had to undergo multiple scans as well as an operation as, apparently, I had a head injury and suffered from internal bleeding. Despite not remembering much due to the medication, the driver’s text message kept ringing in my head.

Also Read: How to launch collaborations that grow communities: A guide for Web3 founders

Even as a full-time Republic Polytechnic student studying for a business diploma, I believed that I could do better than anything out there.

The becoming of a startup

On my second night in the hospital, I decided to create a bicycle transport service from scratch.

I created a Telegram group of cycling enthusiasts about my idea and my experiences, enlisting from among them a pool of drivers, including my friends.

Through word-of-mouth and sharing amongst cycling enthusiasts, I managed to gain more than 100 members within the first week. I pitched myself to new members as a transport service to connect drivers to cyclists in need via Telegram.

Earning a small commission for this service, I managed to rake in about SG$1,200 in revenue in the first month, which was a morale-boosting sum of money for a polytechnic student like me at the time.

It was also where I first sensed there was a huge unmet demand for bicycle transport in Singapore as it heads towards a car-lite future.

The sheer number of orders to fulfil meant many sleepless nights, and for months, I had been manually connecting drivers to cyclists and vice versa.

So, I learnt the Python programming language and created a Telegram bot called GoBot! to automate the work.

By August 2021, I was already running a bonafide startup, which I named GoBike, that hired three part-timers to help out with my startup.

I also joined the Alibaba Cloud–Singapore University of Social Sciences Entrepreneurship Programme and also received an SG Founder Grant of SG$50,000 to help jumpstart my fledgling business. Through the programme, I learned how to overcome the complexities of bringing my startup to the next level.

With the grant and working with my mentors from the entrepreneurship programme, I am able to use it for the development and hiring of staff to bring my startup to the next level and prepare it for funding in future.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t always an easy ride to start a business in Singapore, especially in the midst of my studies. Like many young, budding entrepreneurs who started their businesses as a student, I had to split my attention between school and work, so learning how to manage my time to juggle both were critical.

The business world is also never idle, and I had to adapt to the needs of consumers whose behaviour and preferences are always changing. But each time I hit a snag with the company, I would remember the frustration I felt on the fateful day that I took a tumble on the rocks.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who had his fair share of bicycle accidents over the years, once said: “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and by falling over.”

Perhaps that was the lesson that the driver was trying to teach me that day when he told me to “do it yourself”.

Sometimes you just need that kickstart to get yourself going.

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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

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As the world continues to evolve with technological advancements and automation, the concept of a smart world is becoming a reality. With the advent of the Internet of Things, we can now see everything from smartphones to household appliances is now interconnected, including robotics.

Malaysia has quickly recognised the potential of this technology and is rapidly growing its robotics industry across multiple industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, and education. 

Recent research predicts that Malaysia’s robotics market will witness remarkable growth, and by 2027, the market is forecast to produce over 4,742 units of robots at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.77 per cent.

The projected growth is largely driven by advancements in hardware and software development, application development, sensors, and a host of other interfaces. As ardent supporters of robotics, we believe that this technology, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI), will usher in the next industrial revolution in Malaysia.

Robotics has become an essential tool for extending human capabilities while reducing waste and boosting industrial productivity. The integration of technology and automation should be seamless, akin to human actions – but faster, more efficient, and safer.

Also Read: Why robotics is just entering its prime phase

As stated by Don Norman in his book The Design of Everyday Things, “A good design is actually a lot harder to notice than a poorly designed product.”

It is with this motivation that we launched our brand, Advanced Intelligent Robotics (AiR). We inspire to make robots a natural part of our daily lives, just like the air around us, often unnoticed but ever-present. 

The beginning of everything

Starting a new business is never easy, and our startup was no exception. During the early stages, we faced several challenges that threatened to derail our progress, the biggest one was finding the right talent to join our team. As a hardtech startup focused on robotics, we needed skilled engineers and designers to help us create a product that would meet the high expectations of the market.

Among other major challenges we had to face was competition from larger, more established companies in the industry that had more resources and experience, making it difficult to gain traction and build a customer base.

However, we remained dedicated and motivated, strongly believing that with perseverance and innovative solutions, we could make a significant impact in the robotics industry and emerge a leader in our field.

Despite our passion and drive, we also encountered financial challenges that threatened our ability to grow and scale up the business. As a hardtech startup, the capital required for research and development was significantly higher compared to other software products like applications and websites. To bootstrap our business, we had to bank on several other projects to generate income and reinvest the profits generated from them back into product development.

We took on projects to assist other companies in prototyping their designs as well as developing machine and automation systems. Unlike other software startups, we needed significant capital to fund our research and development in order to manufacture and test our products.

This period was undoubtedly difficult for our team, but through perseverance and dedication, we were able to overcome these challenges and secure funding from investors and grant programmes like Cradle Fund via CIP Spark, which came in at the right time.

Staying afloat as a team in the competitive market

As the robotics industry evolves, it is essential to stay on top of emerging trends and technologies. We have observed a shift in robotics from industrial equipment to more accessible household machines, making them more readily available to the public.

However, current trends in mobile robot products have made the application process less straightforward. Mobile robots are essentially moving platforms with limited capabilities, and users must choose from a variety of accessories, upgrades, and modules to meet their specific application requirements. This can make the process of employing mobile robots time-consuming, difficult, costly, and inefficient.

In addition to the complexity of customisation, the currently available products require frequent modifications to the factory layout, which can be quite difficult and time-consuming. As a result, we believe that creating products that are functional right out-of-the-box requiring minimal setup, is critical to stand out in a competitive market.

For instance, one of our products includes functional modules that eliminate the need for lengthy and laborious setups. Similar to smartphones, our products require no assembly and are ready for use. By providing a streamlined and simplified solution, we hope to provide our customers with an unmatched experience and distinguish ourselves from larger competitors in the industry. 

Also Read: Southeast Asia paves the way for new value in robotics

Our team recognises that perseverance and resilience are essential not only for surviving in a competitive environment but also for overcoming the difficulties associated with launching a robotics startup. The journey has been challenging, given the numerous setbacks and obstacles we have encountered along the way. However, we are firm believers in the value of persevering through difficult times by keeping our eyes on the prize, changing strategies as required, and never giving up.

We recognise that setbacks and failures are inevitable in any startup, but we acknowledge them as opportunities for our teams’ growth and learning. We are constantly evaluating and enhancing our business strategies, pivoting when necessary, and taking on calculated risks to advance.

The future of us

In conclusion, we are highly optimistic about the future prospects of our robotics startup, and we remain committed to driving innovation and growth within and beyond the industry. Our commitment to creating cutting-edge hardware and software solutions for mobile robots has positioned us for continued success, and we are enthusiastic about the opportunities that lie ahead.

Looking to the future, we plan to expand our reach into new industries and applications, leveraging our expertise to meet the evolving needs of our customers. As a startup, we recognise the value of agility and flexibility, and we are committed to adjusting our strategy as necessary to stay ahead of the curve. We believe that with hard work, dedication, an open mindset and the willingness to embrace change, we can achieve our goals and make a meaningful impact in the world of robotics. 

To our fellow entrepreneurs, we advise you to never lose sight of your vision but be willing and ready to pivot when necessary. Business is a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns, and the key to success is staying flexible and open-minded. With persistence and an openness to accept change, all things are definitely possible.

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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

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Justin Chin spearheads the business development team and sales at e27, where he expertly manages revenue and key clients.

Chin is an accomplished business professional with over a decade of experience in partnership and sponsorship sales. He has a proven track record of successfully closing deals with Fortune 500 companies and collaborating with various organisations such as governments, startups, corporate accelerators, and trade embassies.

He specialises in leading strategic partnerships and driving revenue growth in highly dynamic and rapidly changing environments. Chin is an NTU graduate and holder of an accelerated Honours degree in Economics and a double minor in Business and Entrepreneurship.

Chin regularly contributes articles for e27 (you can read his thought leadership articles here).

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

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

At e27, my team and I help companies achieve their goals, and they would pay us for our time and effort. Simply put, if an ice cream shop owner likes more customers to come to his/her shop, we make it famous and bring customers.

What has been the biggest highlight/challenge of your career so far at e27?

The biggest highlight would be the opportunity to head the revenue team at e27. That’s where I meet and engage some of the largest fortune 500 companies worldwide to work and partner with us. Challenge and breakthrough would be negotiating and “closing a six-figure deal with a customer”.

Also Read: The journey is as enjoyable as the destination: Adrian Chng of Fintonia Group

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

I would love to close mega deals using automation while sipping a glass of pineapple malibu in Hawaii (half joking)! Ideally, I want to drive e27 to be APAC’s leading tech media company. I would lead a team of ten passionate business development personnel to achieve eight-figure revenue numbers!

What are some of your favourite work tools?

Asana and Pipedrive, or any tools that enable automation and make our lives easier and more productive.

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

Every call I have is an opportunity to make friends, make money and enjoy cups of coffee/beer.

Do you prefer WFH or WFO, or hybrid?

WFH is great, with travelling time being saved! But hybrid would be wonderful, too, with an opportunity to mingle. It’s fantastic to meet all the partners f2f too, and that’s where we get to know them much better on a level.

Also Read: Continue to push boundaries and create value: Jolene Lum of Nurasa

What would you tell your younger self?

Experience and embrace life to its fullest. Along this angle, aim to go out to experience the world, whether you would like to work at Starbucks or Mcdonald’s or even travel to Morocco or hike to Everest. We can always earn money but never bring back our youth.

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Making things happen!

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

Playing tennis with Roger Federer, pool with Efren Reyes, and soccer with Steven Gerrard (I wish)!

What are you currently reading/listening to/watching?

How I Built This with Guy Raz, or any podcasts sharing about investments and growing companies.

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The Betterhalf team

In 2016, Rahul Namdev and Pawan Gupta discussed corporate employees’ challenges in finding their life partners. They concluded that the traditional Indian methods of finding a soulmate (through friends and relatives, etc.) were challenging and imperfect.

The MIT graduate duo felt there should be a way to simplify the matchmaking process.

“While the industry talked about marriage, the last step of the partner search journey, it didn’t discuss the entire search process, which is way more volatile, uncertain, frustrating and anxiety driven,” says Gupta. “We felt we could build a process that brings delight and certainty to users during their partner search. We realised this could be done through lots of data. That was how the idea of Betterhalf was born.”

Also Read: Betterhalf nets US$8.5M Series A from Finsight Ventures, Instagram and Dropbox co-founders, others

Founded in 2019, Betterhalf is a new-age matrimony super app that provides full-stack tech-enabled wedding planning services to urban Indians. 

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup aims to break the old approach of matchmaking apps in India with its advanced compatibility algorithm powered by Artificial Intelligence. It has integrated online matchmaking services assisted with human matchmaking, background verification, astrology, horoscope matching and wedding planning services that help users across all phases of their marriage.

“Our product is live across all three phases of marriage-matchmaking, courtship and wedding — all under one super app,” shares Gupta, who previously co-founded Spirit Continues, an educational software company.

With the app, Betterhalf targets users in the age group of 24 and 45 years. The startup claims the app has over 500,000 users and a million connections. 

Its services are available in 30-40 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. 

The role of AI

The users get up to seven to ten matches daily. Betterhalf then sorts these recommendations per their predicted preferences and compatibility. While picking the matches, the app also considers other deep layers besides keeping the mutual likes and dislikes in mind (about 60 per cent of its users need matching on religion, language and community, which is in-built into the product).

“Once you go through a profile and like it, you can send or accept connection requests. After connecting, you can start the conversation to see if you have found your soulmate,” Gupta explains. 

“Our unique AI algorithm has studied and processed over 500,000 compatibility use cases and weddings worldwide. With this much data and the personality quiz that analyses your 16 demographic and behavioural traits, it is easier to predict your preferences of age, height, salary, language, location and universally-accepted compatible grounds for people based on their social activities. It can match the grounds and land you a compatible partner,” he elaborates.

Rahul Namdev and Pawan Gupta (R)

India’s matrimony and wedding market is a US$130-billion opportunity. The whopping market size can be attributed to the fact that Indians take tying the knot seriously, making matrimony and wedding services a growth-oriented business. 

India has many popular matrimonial sites, including the leaders, such as Bharat Matrimony, Jeevansathi, and Shaadi.com. 

Also Read: AI has the potential to perpetuate harmful biases, says Inmagine CEO

Betterhalf recently raised US$8.5 million from investors, including FinSight Ventures (which has previously invested in dating app Bumble), Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger, and Dropbox Co-Founder Arash Ferdowsi. Rebel Fund, Nurture Ventures, Leonis Investissement, Derek Callow (ex-CMO of Bumble), Scott Belsky (Founder of Behance), Brendan O’Driscoll (ex-Product Head of Spotify), Manik Gupta (ex-CPO of Uber), Punit Soni (ex-CPO of Flipkart), and Ravish Naresh (Co-Founder & CEO of Khatabook) also joined.

The startup plans to utilise the capital to strengthen its vision to become a marriage super app unicorn.

“We are the defacto Operating System for marriages and weddings in India. We work with customers and vendors/suppliers by plugging them into this OS to drive transactions and revenue for various categories like matchmaking, verification, astrology, gifting, venue booking, photographers, decorators, bridal makeup, and mehendi. The lifetime value of a Betterhalf customer grows thousands of dollars with a series of products, and inefficiencies in the market are high to be disrupted through tech,” he concludes.

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Echelon Asia Summit 2023 brings 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 can 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 AI-powered Betterhalf aims to make online matchmaking easy for urban Indians appeared first on e27.

The Green Li-ion team

Green Li-ion, a lithium-ion battery recycling technology company based in Singapore, has raised US$20.5 million in pre-Series B funding.

Singapore-based decarbonisation VC firm TRIREC, Thailand’s Smart Energy Solutions provider Banpu NEXT, and Equinor Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Norway’s Equinor, participated.

The other investors in the round are EDP (Portugal), Envisioning Partners (Korea), SOSV (US), ER-V (UK), DPI Energy Ventures (Singapore/Japan), Entrepreneur First (UK), TES (Singapore), LINICO (US), Decarbonisation Consortium (US), ISDonseo (Korea), MBEP (US), and GS (Korea).

“This is an important first step in delivering the first US-made cathode material from battery waste and closing a crucial loop for the battery industry. The new funding will help us scale our manufacturing to deliver 50 Green Li-ion modular units per year for recyclers eager to launch commercially viable lithium-ion battery re-manufacturing operations,” said CEO and Co-Founder Leon Farrant.

Also Read: Green Li-ion closes US$11.6M Series A for European expansion, R&D

Green Li-ion has developed a novel technology that processes 100 per cent of all used lithium batteries. It recycles and reuses all metals to directly re-manufacture battery-grade cathode material ready for reuse in new batteries.

Its technology will be among the first in the US to produce battery-grade precursor cathode active material (pCAM), graphite, and lithium carbonate from spent lithium-ion batteries.

Green Li-ion has developed and prototyped its GLMC technology in Singapore. The Green Li-ion units, manufactured in Houston, Texas, are the size of a small house and can be shipped on flat-bed trucks in modules.

Once installed, they can process four to six metric tons of end-of-life batteries per day (up to 20 EV batteries or 70,000 iPhones) to instantly produce precursor cathode active material at battery grade, which satisfies US domestic supply requirements for the purposes of the US IRA legislation.

The first working commercial operation is slated to start production in H1 2023 at a plant operated by Aleon in Oklahoma.

“Battery rejuvenation technology is a crucial part of the electrification journey as it solves a critical battery material supply crunch problem by reintroducing raw materials into the manufacturing process. This lowers the cost of producing new batteries and reduces emissions related to battery raw materials logistics,” Melvyn Yeo, Managing Partner at TRIREC, said.

In April 2022, Green Li-ion closed its US$11.55 million Series A funding round, led by Energy Revolution Ventures. Over a year earlier, it raised US$3.45 million in seed funding. The greentech startup, with a presence in the US, Europe, and Australia, has raised approximately US$36 million to date.

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