We have launched a new series for founders to share their failure stories with our readers. If you want to get featured, please write to writers@e27.co.

Inspired by Dhirubhai Ambani, Kerala, India-based seafood veteran Mathew Joseph dived into the uncertain world of entrepreneurship in his early 20’s to become a well-known businessman. He started a seafood exporting company in the 90s but the journey was hard and he eventually had to shut down the business.

Then in 2012, when digitalisation was accelerating in India, he tried his luck again by launching an e-commerce platform for seafood in India. But that too nearly failed before one “good samaritan” came to his rescue.

In this post, Joseph recounts his roller-coaster journey in a first-person account as the founder of SeaToHome (now FreshToHome).

A big dream

I am passionate about fish, and my childhood ambition had been to become a well-known seafood businessman like Dhirubhai Ambani.

I started as an accountant in a seafood exporting company in my hometown at Cherathala in Kerala, South India. While my job didn’t require me to deal with fish/catch directly, I would still go to the seashore to see and enjoy the shoal daily and leave for home only after 2 am.

Seeing my love for fish, the company manager promoted me to Assistant Manager (Purchase). That’s how I officially entered the fish and seafood industry.

I now have almost 25 years of working experience in the industry.

There is a story behind my dream of becoming a businessman. There was only one car in our whole village, and it was owned by the only businessman in the area.

When I went to school, I saw this businessman enjoying his ride in the car and my fellow villagers thronging to have a glimpse of him. He drew all the attention and commanded more respect than our village government officials and professionals. I also wanted to be like him and be respected by my fellow villagers.

Starting with seafood export

Years later, I left the company as Manager (Operations). It was in the late ’90s. Then I started my own business with the INR 15,000 (US$180 now) money I had saved all those years.

There were over a hundred seafood companies and over 200 exporters at Cherthala, and I started by providing them with the raw materials. I started with clam meat. Over a period, I became a good seafood supplier. However, collecting money from these exporters was hard. This affected our daily operations.

That’s when I thought of starting my own exporting business. However, it required huge capital, which I lacked. This was when my friend told me about a massive market opportunity for fresh (not frozen) fish in Dubai. Soon, I flew to Dubai and stayed there for over two weeks to study the market.

Also Read: How a loyal customer saved this startup from a sea of problems and gave it a breath of fresh air

I returned to Kerala and started exporting raw fish to Dubai via the Kochi International Airport. It was a one-person show. I did everything myself, including cutting the fish, packing, and the logistics. It was hard, but I still didn’t compromise on the quality of my products and the packaging. But it was a success, and my customer base continued to grow because of the quality of the products. We then expanded into Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Taipei within three months of starting it.

The business grew until 2008 when the economic recession struck the world. While my company wasn’t hit immediately, I started feeling the pinch by 2010. This was because the crisis started affecting the countries to which we exported.

Not to mention, we incurred massive losses, and eventually, the business collapsed. To repay my debts, I had to sell all my properties, including trucks, land, and ornaments. I was heartbroken. It was back in 2011.

One night, I told my wife over dinner that my dream of becoming a Dhirubhai Ambani (the billionaire businessman and the father of Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani) was over and that I would have to take up a job to make a living.

This was when my wife asked me why I should not export to various places in India instead of to foreign countries. That question struck me, and that was a turning point in my life.

Then I started studying the Indian market. The results of my research left me awestruck; the country’s seafood market was a whopping US$50 billion, which was US$2 billion more than the mighty Bollywood industry!

I then decided to open a few most modern retail seafood outlets in Delhi, Bangalore, Kochi, and Trivandrum to understand the market and the customers. But soon, I realised it would not be a viable proposition in the long term, and we dropped the idea.

Launching an e-commerce platform

The concept of an online platform for fresh seafood occurred to me towards the end of 2011. When I discussed this with my younger brother, he liked the idea and asked me to meet a software developer in Kochi to develop the portal. I met the developer and described all my requirements, and asked him to design a cool e-commerce platform.

A few months later, the software guy called me to say that he could not design the site because he couldn’t find a similar e-commerce site on the internet to take a cue from. He also said I needed to sit with his team for six months and share every minute detail, such as the pricing of each fish/seafood item, to design a site from scratch.

Long story short, we hired two interns, taught them about fish and the market and worked with them to develop a site with essential details, and then we tested it. Six months later, we launched the site for the public in 2012. That was the beginning of SeatoHome.

However, we didn’t have the money to do the branding, which was crucial in the early days. Anyway, we started with four cities — Delhi, Bangalore, Kochi, and Trivandrum. Our fish “travelled the fastest” and reached the customer’s table within three-four hours of the catch landing on the seashore.

To our surprise, the business grew on its own and without us spending a single dime on marketing. It was mainly word-of-mouth marketing.

As the word spread, I started getting calls not only from our consumers but also from the media because Seatohome was the first online fish market in India. We were the first online brand to bring fresh seafood to the market.

I had no looking back after that, and we were covered by multiple media outlets. SeaToHome was thriving.

Our “problems” started when a vernacular daily covered us. After our story was published, thousands of local people thronged on our e-commerce portal. The site went down because of the heavy traffic, and I learnt my first lesson as a founder:

You should not do what you don’t know.

I was not a techie and had no idea how to fix this problem. Nor did I have a tech team to fix it. While I knew how to cut, pack, sell, and export fish, I was a big zero when it came to tech and software. I didn’t even have the basic knowledge that the website would go down when thousands of people visited it at a time.

Since SeaToHome was a one-man show — I was the sole owner, the manager, and the one who cut the fish and packed it — I had no one to turn to for help. There was no team. I realised I could have addressed this problem earlier if I had formed a team.

So that was my second lesson:

The lack of the right team could break your business.

When the website was down, customers would call me. I was fed up with the calls. So I decided to shut down the site until I hired a tech guy. It was back in 2014.

After three months of shutting it down, I received a call from one Shan Kadavil (then the Zynga India Head). Based in Bangalore, he was one of our regular customers. He called me to ask why the site was down. I explained the reason to him.

A few days later, he flew to Kerala to meet me. I shared the whole story with him. He then returned to Bangalore.

Also Read: Being prudent in spending should be at the heart of every management conversation: Aerodyne CEO

Two days later, he called me again to invite me to Zynga’s office in Bangalore. We discussed the way forward for SeaToHome, and he offered to help upgrade the site. With the help of his team, we relaunched the site under a new brand name, FreshToHome.

Then Kadavil and some other people joined me as co-founders of FreshToHome, and he wrote our first cheque. The site was back up again, and we bagged over 330,0000 registered customer base within two years of relaunching it.

Then came demonetisation. On November 16, 2016, the government announced the withdrawal of the banknotes of 500 and 1,000 denominations from circulation. It was a heavy blow for us, as nearly 65 per cent of our customers paid in cash, and only 35 per cent paid online. We were in trouble.

FreshToHome’s number of orders started declining in the following days. It occurred to us that if we didn’t find a way out of the cash crisis, 65 per cent of our customers would go away, and we would be left only with 35 per cent of customers. And it would be the end of the business. We knew FreshToHome wouldn’t last more than two months.

This is when one of our team members put forward an idea: let the customers purchase fish/seafood on credit.

Taking an enormous risk

It was a massive risk, but we were willing to take it because the business was falling anyway. So we sent a message to all our customers saying they could buy our products on credit and pay for them only when the effects of the demonetisation were over.

But that risk was worth it. Our credit scheme clicked, and the customer base soon doubled to 650,000 without spending a single penny on marketing. What’s more, the cost of our last-mile delivery came down to INR 33 from INR 46.

One challenge still remained: how to make the customers pay for their purchases.

After the effects of the note ban were over, we reached out to the customers again with a request to pay for their orders. To our astonishment, 99.8 per cent of our customers paid.

So demonetisation was a blessing in disguise for FreshToHome.

FreshToHome now operates in 162 cities, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The next big challenge in front of us was the COVID-19 outbreak. By the time the pandemic hit, almost 65 per cent of our customers were making payments online. But when the pandemic hit, the number of orders started dropping. It was tough to find delivery boys as well.

Customers were concerned about the hygiene of delivery boys. After a few weeks of total lockdown, the government introduced social distancing norms. This was when FreshToHome launched something called contactless delivery, starting with Dubai. But a risk still remained: 35 per cent of our customers paid cash on delivery, wherein our delivery executives delivered the products to customers without making direct contact.

This was also a success; our business thrived in Dubai and India. From this experience came my third lesson:

No business can survive without adding the tech element to their product.

FreshToHome is now the leader in the seafood and meat e-commerce space. FreshToHome has raised US$256.1 million from 27 investors, which helped us scale the business and grow fast. We also acquired Doodhwala.com and rebranded it as F2H Daily, which delivers milk, groceries and vegetables.

Looking back, I feel satisfied that I have fulfilled my dream of becoming a businessman.

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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 connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

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Singapore-based social networking platform WeGoWhere has secured US$1.2 million in a seed funding round led by 500 Global.

Goodwater Capital, Wing Vasiksiri, Monk’s Hill Ventures Co-Founder and Managing Partner Peng T. Ong, and existing investor Antler also joined.

The new funding will help WeGoWhere drive product innovation, enhance user experience, and expand into new markets across Southeast Asia.

Founded in 2020 by Ty Lertwichaiworawit and Mint Leung, WeGoWhere helps people build, manage and nurture in-person relationships. It helps users find out what friends are planning ahead of time, discover nearby and trending meetups curated to their interests, and allow them to organise in-person gatherings.

WeGoWhere has a community of over 300,000 users in Thailand.

Also Read: Being prudent in spending should be at the heart of every management conversation: Aerodyne CEO

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok were designed based on a past-tense paradigm: users capture photos and videos to share with their network during or after the event. This leads to a missed opportunity for friends in their online community to connect with them in person on these occasions.

WeGoWhere believes that a more satisfying and meaningful way to nurture human relationships is to connect through real-life shared experiences rather than tagging social media posts or passively watching reels. The app is an intuitive social platform that helps people share their plans in advance with friends and makes it easy for friends to join.

The WeGoWhere app also streamlines the logistics of organising meetups that would have taken multiple apps to complete, from deciding on a common date/time, discovering an activity, splitting the bill, and sharing high-resolution photos and videos.

Its users spend, on average, 28 minutes a day on the app (in comparison to Meta’s apps, the average daily time spent on Facebook is 33 minutes, Instagram is 29 minutes, and WhatsApp is 28 minutes.) It also claims to have 79 per cent retention rate by day 30 and 9X growth in monthly active users in the last 12 months.

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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.

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Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company Amili has secured an undisclosed amount in funding led by East Ventures.

The fresh capital will be used to expand its operations into Indonesia, with a primary focus on addressing common gut health problems using scientifically-based approaches tailored to the Indonesian context.

Established in 2019 by CEO Jeremy Lim, along with David Ong and Jonathan Lee, Amili conducts advanced gut microbe research and translates it into practical products and services.

(The gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in the digestive tract. It plays a key role in almost every aspect of human health, including digestion, immune function, mental health, and disease prevention.)

At present, Amili provides gut microbiome sequencing services, aiding healthcare professionals in improving patient care and developing probiotic formulations tailored specifically for Asian consumers. It also hosts a microbiome transplant bank.

Through its collaborations with regional research partners, Amili has created a multi-ethnic microbiome database that enables the development of offerings, such as Singapore’s first at-home gut microbiome testing service and the region’s first probiotic blend that includes prebiotics and postbiotics.

Also Read: MoneyHero to go public via a merger with Peter Thiel’s SPAC Bridgetown

The company has three fundamental assets:

• A multi-ethnic Asia microbiome database
• A microbiome bank with samples stored for metagenomic and metabolomic analysis
• Amili Prime, a set of proprietary analytical tools, informatics pipelines, and discovery engines

“Beyond medicine, the microbiome is important in food and agritech. Amili also looks forward to contributing to innovations in this space, particularly in health-enhancing foods and addressing stunting and malnutrition,” said CEO Lim.

“By conducting localised studies and understanding the specific intricacies of the Asian gut microbiome, we can discover insights and develop health interventions tailored to the needs and challenges of the Asian population, ultimately improving the health and well-being of individuals in the region,” said Willson Cuaca, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures.

In June 2022, Amili secured US$10.5 million in Series A funding led by Vulcan Capital (now Cercano Ventures), the investment arm of the late Microsoft Corp Co-Founder Paul Allen. Pruksa Group, TVM Capital Healthcare, Emtek Group, Capital Code, Pureland Group, Blue7, GK Goh, and SEEDS Capital also participated.

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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 connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

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Indonesia’s digital investment platform Stockbit and Singapore-based investment specialist Fullerton have jointly acquired Ayers Asia Asset Management, a Jakarta-headquartered asset management firm.

With this acquisition, the three firms will collaborate to manufacture and distribute “quality investment solutions” for a broad spectrum of investors across retail, intermediaries and institutions in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s large population and strong growth prospects drive financial product and service demand. Although the number of investors in Indonesia grew by 38 per cent year-on-year in 2022, the asset management market remains underpenetrated when compared to neighbours in the region. Indonesia’s mutual fund’s asset under management is still less than 4.0 per cent of the GDP — far below Malaysia (35.8 per cent), Thailand (30.3 per cent), and India (15.8 per cent).

“We believe Fullerton’s strong track record in delivering quality investment solutions will benefit investors in Indonesia,” said Sigit Kouwagam, CEO and Co-Founder of Stockbit.

Also Read: Being prudent in spending should be at the heart of every management conversation: Aerodyne CEO

“Fullerton is excited to enter the Indonesian market with Stockbit, a fast-growing fintech player with a prominent brand and deep understanding of the diverse needs of investors in Indonesia. Their ambition to make investment solutions widely accessible complements our commitment to design quality offerings to meet the needs of this rapidly expanding and dynamic market,” said Fullerton Fund Management CEO Jenny Sofian.

Stockbit’s digital-first approach enables investors to build portfolios according to their risk profile and investment goals simply and optimally. Its products and services cover various asset classes, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Fullerton has 20 years of experience investing across asset classes, markets, sectors and geographies. It has a strong focus on risk management, and its clients include sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, family offices, private wealth and retail channels across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

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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.

The post Stockbit, Fullerton jointly acquire asset management firm Ayers Asia appeared first on e27.

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.

As the entire Southeast Asian tech ecosystem moves towards a new phase of sustainable growth, e27‘s role must evolve as well on our platforms available for our community to join us in this journey. Echelon is by far the largest gathering of our community, partners, supporters, and stakeholders. Thus for this edition, we have created the e27 Ecosystem booth, where we will highlight members of our community, focusing on our 2022/23 programs and events to showcase the new platforms available to fulfil the ever-changing needs of the tech landscape.

The booth will have its own agenda for 2 days, comprising of our Pro members and the platform, celebrating outcomes and success of individuals or teams that have benefitted, deep diving into Southeast Asian cities, and conversing about practical advice and guidance in navigating this complex ecosystem.

Also read: Echelon: Bridging the Korean and Southeast Asia startup ecosystem

What to expect at the Echelon Ecosystem booth

Here is a snippet of the agenda that we will be discussing with our selected guests at the Ecosystem booth:

1. “e27 Contributor Program Workshop: How to become a thought leader in the startup ecosystem”
2. “Introduction on e27 Programs & Consulting | Fireside Chat with Prudence Foundation”
3. “Introduction on e27 Roadshow | Fireside Chat with CleverTap”
4. “What’s next: e27 Regional Plans and Programs”
5. “Building Strong Relationships Between Venture Capitalists and Startups: Strategies for Effective Fundraising”
6. “Innovating on the Acceleration Model with Communities, Meet the Leaders and Hear their Impact Stories”

Through these discussions and networking sessions, e27 hopes to achieve higher visibility on our newest platforms, showcase upcoming Southeast Asia projects, celebrate successes, and meet up with partners and supporters.

Invited guests can expect intimate discussions and conversations at the Ecosystem booth where e27 team members are available onsite to discuss further on your innovation ideas and plans for Southeast Asia.

Echelon Asia Summit 2023

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is happening on 14-15 June, at the Singapore EXPO. Featuring a slew of speakers, exhibitors, business matching sessions, pitching stages, and more, the event enables participants to connect, network, and engage with the larger tech startup ecosystem.

Also read: Seeking to bridge Korea and Southeast Asia at Echelon is NFC

At the Echelon Asia Summit, participants get the chance to attend a diverse range of sessions, including keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops, all exploring exciting topics like AI, blockchain, e-commerce, fintech, and marketing. You’ll also have the opportunity to join networking sessions and meet-ups where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders.

To learn more about Echelon Asia Summit 2023 and sign up for the event, visit the official page here.

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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto via Pexels

 

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Sustainability-focused deep-tech venture builder Singapore Deep-Tech Alliance (SDTA) has launched its revamped programme for its third cohort (STDA24).

This venture-building programme helps entrepreneurs bring advanced technologies to market in three phases, each structured with deliverables based on founder team formation, technology commercialisation, customer validation, product development and business building.

The nine-month programme will be segmented by new venture tracks, mentorship from SDTA’s senior advisory board, and access to the market through key Alliance Partners.

Participating ventures will have a greater and deeper access to a more vibrant ecosystem and connect with key research institutions through technology matching. They will also receive additional guidance from industry experts for their proof-of-concept project scoping and business-building activities.

SDTA will address societal challenges by building deep-tech ventures in Singapore. SDTA is launching five new venture tracks: manufacturing, semiconductor, healthcare, and energy verticals, with the climate tech horizontal spanning across the four verticals. This includes enhancing partnerships with entrepreneurs within these tracks and achieving a greater level of understanding of industry business needs, best practices and competitive advantages.

Also Read: Stockbit, Fullerton jointly acquire asset management firm Ayers Asia

SDTA will launch four key collaboration models with Alliance Partners to enable tangible and results-driven collaborations to further enhance public-private partnership models. These four collaboration models include:

New venture creation: A novel idea or opportunity area is identified by SDTA and its Alliance Partner, from which scope a use case that founders will build into a new venture.

Joint go-to-market: Leverage Alliance Partner’s existing technology stack to build novel solutions and jointly go to market with a new venture.

Be the exclusive launch customer: Co-develop prototypes or productise with a new venture and be the first in the industry to adopt novel solutions to improve operational efficiency and gain a competitive edge.

IP licensing: Licensing and commercialising Alliance Partner’s protected technologies to a new venture in exchange for royalties, licensing fees or equity in the venture.

Across all four models, SDTA ventures will have the opportunity to receive investment from Alliance Partners and be guided through the end-to-end process of taking advanced technology from lab to market.

The new Alliance Partners include Allnex, Dentsu Singapore, Micron Technology, Norgren, Zuellig Pharma and Panasonic R&D Center Singapore. Current partnerships have already been established by SDTA with TÜV SÜD, OMRON Asia Pacific, Lenovo Singapore, Avnet and Sunningdale Technologies.

Corporations interested in collaborating across the new SDTA24 venture tracks can reach out to join our industry network as an Alliance Partner and adopt one of the collaboration models.

Entrepreneurs passionate about climate tech in manufacturing, semiconductor, healthcare and energy industries can also submit their applications by 1 Aug 2023 to be a part of the SDTA24 Cohort.

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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.

The post SDTA revamps venture building programme for deep-tech startups in Singapore appeared first on e27.

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.

The Next Challenge Foundation (NCF) is a global startup accelerator foundation accredited by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups. NCF focuses on building, connecting and reinventing sustainable global startup ecosystems on a city level towards the goal of nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs who continue to initiate, create, and challenge the big questions of the future.

The main business areas of NCF include entrepreneurship education, startup investment and acceleration, startup builders network, coworking space design and development, and global expansion of incubating startups through connecting 9 countries’ startup ecosystems.

Also read: Echelon: Get to know our programs at the Ecosystem booth

At this year’s Echelon Asia Summit, NCF will be bringing with them 15 diverse and innovative startups from Korea to the Southeast Asian tech startup community! Echelon is a great opportunity for founders, investors, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and other ecosystem stakeholders to connect and potentially strike meaningful partnerships. These 15 startups are ready to meet you there!

Without further ado, here are the 15 startups from Korea who will be joining Echelon Asia Summit 2023 with the help of NCF!

15 Korean startups to watch out for at Echelon

1. AILO Corp. – “We are operating a Digital Goods All-In-One C2E Platform, ‘HAPL’ to innovate the originally complicated process of purchasing and using digital goods and ultimately create a Create to Earn (C2E) ecosystem where anyone can easily become a creator.”
2. ColorLoverLab Co., Ltd. – “Colour styling curation service based on colour data.”
3. FROMtheRED Inc. – “FROMtheRED is a game platform startup company and we have launched a project called ‘’Zempie’’. We want to make the biggest space for all game creators where they can freely share, collaborate, and create. We believe that everyone has unique ideas that can sprout into a big project.”
4. Funnkyvine Inc. – “PC/Mobile Game Developer and Blockchain/P2E game Developer”
5. JJAANN Company – “JJAANN Company is a startup servicing the next-gen social networking app, JJAANN, where users can find and hang out with their community and celebrities alike through group video chat and build meaningful relationships.”
6. Letitu – “Letitu is developing ‘The Pond’, a data/AI-based curriculum builder for high school students who can’t receive college counselling to achieve individual goals and successful college admission.”
7. LOYQU Inc. – “What makes LOYQU’s service different from its traditional taxi tour? In the case of traditional taxi tours, the company allocates the driver after the customer books the journey. Since the company is the one allocating the car and driver, it is hard for customers to find out the vehicle and driver information before the trip. With LOYQU, users can choose the time when they want to meet the driver. Secondly, they can plan their own route and third, users can freely check the vehicle type, condition and drivers based on other users’ reviews. Based on these strengths, LOYQU has been successfully operating services in 17 cities in Korea, including Jeju and Busan.”
8. LXNA GLOBAL – “LXNA GLOBAL is operating ‘Luxury & All’, the first non-face-to-face luxury repair and care platform in South Korea”
9. Mayoube – “We are currently running and developing an app, ‘Beluv’, for parents who have trouble finding safe baby products. Beluv analyses the chemicals in childcare products and provides an easy-to-read rating of their hazards. And based on that analysis, we also provide a chance to purchase safe products at the lowest possible price.”
10. Puzzle Monsters Inc – “Puzzle Monsters is a game development company that provides a leading P2E mobile game in Korea, specialising in ‘Idle Ninja Online’. Our goal is to be the top in the market through flexible adaptation with the latest trends, and the power to drive that idea.”
11. RATEL Games Inc. – “Ratel Games is a group of professional developers who have directly participated in the development of commercialised games from the beginning to the launch. Ratel Games consists of nine members who developed Nine Dragons, King’s Raid, Dungeon, and Fighter. From the 15th year to the 1st year, various seniors and juniors are showing their teamwork based on their actual collaboration experience. We are developing games with three titles which are Square Puzzle, Square Master, and Square Hearts, utilising the puzzle rules of Symmetry Puzzle.”
12. Roubit Inc. – “Roubit Inc. is a company that operates a gamified self-mental care app, called ‘Roubit’. We are creating a sustainable mental care solution through scientifically proven methods such as behaviour activation (BA) and character development games. With a user base of 250,000 in the United States and South Korea, we have been selected as Google Play’s Best App of 2021 on Self-care.”
13. SWITCHWON – “Switchwon is a financial technology startup that operates an online currency exchange and forex trading service.”
14. TRAVUT – “TRAVUT is a peer-to-peer based travel platform which offers mobile-based, efficient service that enables travellers to overcome language barriers, enhance mobility, and access local experiences that were previously challenging to attain.”
15. Zackdang Company – “Zackdang Company, is a South Korea-based company that revolutionise the beauty industry with Zamface, its flagship product. Zamface is a cutting-edge beauty application that utilises AI/AR technologies to provide personalised beauty tips and recommends tailored cosmetics by recognising facial problems (Personal Color, Skin Type, and Face Shape).”

Also read: Echelon: Bridging the Korean and Southeast Asia startup ecosystem

Echelon Asia Summit 2023

Get to know these unique startups and more at this year’s Echelon!

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is happening on 14-15 June, at the Singapore Expo. Featuring a slew of speakers, exhibitors, business matching sessions, pitching stages, and more, the event enables participants to connect, network, and engage with the larger tech startup ecosystem.

To learn more about Echelon Asia Summit 2023 and sign up for the event, visit the official page here.

– –

Photo by Pixabay via Pexels

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in crypto is a complex issue. 

Despite the utilitarian and democratic aspects of crypto, for example, it is still thought of as a space dominated by white males. Research backs this up: an estimated 62 per cent of cryptocurrency investors are still white, and 67 per cent are still men. This domination of white males in the crypto space is a stark contradiction to the reality of who actually uses crypto—countries such as Nigeria, Turkey, and the Philippines. 

The good news is that there is progress in making crypto a much more DEI-friendly space. 

In the article below, we’ll look at how DEI is slowly becoming a bigger priority among crypto startups, exchanges, and more. 

An increasing number of women in the field

While it is true that there is a disproportionate representation of men in the blockchain and crypto industry, there has been a notable increase in the number of women working and participating in the field. 

Also Read: How Funding Societies implement diversification strategy to push for growth and sustainability

Globally, about 21 per cent of crypto owners are women. Although the number of women crypto entrepreneurs comes in slightly lower, at just less than five per cent, there are initiatives to increase this number in the coming years steadily. 

For instance, non-profits such as Women in Blockchain and the Black Women Blockchain Council are steadily working to provide women with the funding and resources they need to succeed in crypto/blockchain.

In 2021, the latter collaborated with the renowned Ethereum software firm ConsenSys, and a new online program has been launched to train 500,000 Black women worldwide to become blockchain developers by 2030.

It is crucial for women to be part of crypto’s rapid growth and the new opportunities it brings. By breaking down barriers and promoting diversity in the industry, women can bring fresh perspectives and ideas, creating more inclusive and accessible products and services.

Furthermore, as women are underrepresented in the tech industry as a whole, their involvement in crypto can help to bridge this gender gap and encourage more women to pursue careers in technology.

Continuing this progress is important not only to make crypto a DEI-friendly space but also to ensure more people can maximise crypto opportunities. 

Using crypto’s worldwide appeal

Crypto by itself is already arguably an inclusive space. Take the fact that one of its most popular selling points is the ability to decentralise transactions: people first flocked to Bitcoin because it erased the need for a traditional middleman (like banks) and their transaction fees. 

Crypto’s promise of cheap, real-time peer-to-peer transactions especially holds weight in developing countries. Crypto has been increasingly used for remittances, which refers to the transfer of money from one country to another by migrant workers to support their families back home. In times of crisis, crypto remittances have proven to be a valuable resource for people living in countries with unstable currencies.

Also Read: Why it’s time to hit ‘refresh’ when it comes to addressing the gender diversity gap in the IT sector

There are several DEI initiatives in the crypto space that focus on developing countries.

For example, there are several programs to support DEI in crypto, including the Asia Crypto Alliance and the African Blockchain Alliance. These programs provide education and training to women and people of colour to help them enter and succeed in the industry.

In addition, some crypto companies have launched initiatives that aim to promote financial inclusion in developing countries. For instance, Pundi X has developed the XPOS payment system, which enables merchants in developing countries to accept cryptocurrencies as payment. This can help people who may not have access to traditional banking services to participate in the global economy.

Ensuring space for developing countries in the crypto space is crucial for several reasons. First, crypto empowers people to complete financial transactions and participate economically. Second, the decentralised nature of cryptocurrency offers a way to circumvent corrupt or unstable financial systems.

This can help promote financial stability and reduce the impact of economic crises—such as rampant inflation—on vulnerable populations. Finally, the development of crypto and blockchain will generate crucial jobs that can drive economic growth. 

Just as people in developing countries benefit from crypto, crypto as a whole also benefits when their innovations and perspectives are included. It is these people that can tell where crypto is most useful, how well it holds up under economic pressure, and what day-to-day usage might look like. 

Overall, DEI initiatives in crypto must build off the foundations that are already there. There must be a space for women, people of colour, and people from developing countries to be heard. This diversity brings with it a wide range of perspectives and ideas, leading to more creativity and innovation in the industry. 

Crypto has always been touted as a great tool for democratising the financial space. With DEI, the sector can truly live up to that promise.

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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.

Building a company is hard. It takes an effective business model, a viable product or service, a strong team, the right connections, and lots and lots of capital. But building an impactful, world-changing company that offers meaningful solutions to real-world problems? That is so much harder.

The development of groundbreaking companies has the potential to reshape industries, solve complex problems, and drive economic growth. However, creating these world-changing enterprises requires more than just groundbreaking ideas; it demands a nurturing ecosystem of community and capital.

Entrepreneurs, often described as the architects of the future, possess the vision, passion, and drive to transform societies. They are the catalysts that challenge the status quo, disrupt conventional thinking, and introduce groundbreaking technologies and solutions. But their journey is not a solitary one. To truly flourish and make a lasting impact, entrepreneurs require an ecosystem that cultivates their potential and provides the necessary resources to turn their visions into reality.

Also read: Echelon: Achieving a sustainable model according to Kumu

Community forms the bedrock upon which these exceptional ventures can thrive. By fostering a supportive environment, entrepreneurs gain access to networks, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities. Within a robust community, ideas are formed, refined, and expanded through meaningful interactions with like-minded individuals who share a common goal of effecting positive change. Thus, founders need both community and capital in often equal measures to thrive — and not only thrive but to create lasting and meaningful impact.

From day zero to greatness

A strong entrepreneurial community allows for the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and best practices. Seasoned entrepreneurs can provide guidance and valuable insights to help emerging talents navigate the challenges of building a successful company. Similarly, emerging entrepreneurs bring fresh perspectives and ideas that invigorate the community, fostering an atmosphere of continuous learning and growth.

While community plays a vital role in nurturing entrepreneurship, the availability of capital is equally critical. Capital acts as the lifeblood of any enterprise, enabling entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into tangible products and services. It fuels research and development, supports operational expansion, and empowers companies to scale their impact.

This has always been the ethos of Antler: A better future will not happen automatically—the world needs determined, ambitious, and resilient founders to build it. As such, Antler has committed itself to support those people and helping them pursue their vision of making progress inevitable — through both community and capital.

Antler is the investor backing the world’s most driven founders, from day zero to greatness. Spanning a diverse range of verticals that include sustainable tech, carbon information transparency, real estate financing solutions, Edutech, and AI, among others, Antler has backed some of the most impactful global startups today.

Also read: 10 more exciting startups to compete at this year’s TOP100

Founded on the belief that people innovating is the key to building a better future, Antler partners with people across six continents to launch and scale high-potential startups that address meaningful opportunities and challenges. Knowing that exceptional founders can come from anywhere with any background, Antler has offices in 25 cities, including Austin, New York, London, Berlin, Stockholm, Bangalore, Jakarta, Portugal, Singapore, Seoul, Spain, Tokyo, and Sydney. 

Their global community backs people from the beginning with co-founder matching, deep business model validation, initial capital, expansion support, and follow-on funding. Fueled by a personal passion that goes beyond traditional investing, Antler has helped create and invested in more than 600 startups across a wide range of industries and technologies, with the goal of backing more than 6,000 by 2030.

Antler’s support operates under three prongs: helping startups build their team, from finding exceptional co-founders to sourcing developers and experts; enabling access to a global community of founders, operators, investors, experts, and partner organisations that can help startups grow and scale faster; and provide access to capital so that startups can maximise their success for the entire life cycle of their business journeys.

With its solid support system that assists in the formation of the company, in connecting that company to a broader network, and in supercharging that company with much-needed capital, Antler is well-positioned to develop the next generation of world-changing companies.

Steering the ship

Of course, Antler’s success wouldn’t be possible without the stewardship of credible and reputable industry leaders. One such leader is Jussi Salovaara, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Antler.

As co-founder and Managing Partner Asia of Antler, Jussi works with a global team dedicated to developing the next generation of world-changing companies and creating a global pipeline for top talents to pursue a career in entrepreneurship and innovation. Apart from his extensive experience at Antler, he also serves as a Board Member for both Volopay and Staffinc Group, and as an Investor for XanPool, Airalo, Reebelo, Metatheory Inc., and Sama.

His industry expertise does not end there. While his extensive track record as an investor where he juggles many hats as a mentor, an advisor, and a growth leader, all prove beneficial for startup founders, it is Jussi’s equally impressive background as the former Vice President for Global Services Commercial Management arm at the globally recognised mobile technology giant, Nokia, that proves he has the operational knowledge to guide startups when it comes to the ins and outs of running a successful company from an operational standpoint.

Also read: Zendesk: Customer experience leader will be at Echelon!

This means not only has Jussi proven successful in the field of investment, but he also has the insider knowledge and experience to assist startups when it comes to the administrative aspects of a business. With his level of expertise and passion for developing world-changing companies, Jussi will be at the 2023 Echelon Asia Summit to share his unique insights in a fireside chat with the theme: “Developing the Next Generation of World-Changing Companies through Community and Capital”.

The session will be moderated by Prahlad Jaya, Co-Founder of Kurate.

Echelon Asia Summit 2023

Get to know these experts and more at this year’s Echelon!

Echelon Asia Summit 2023 is happening on 14-15 June, at the Singapore EXPO. Featuring a slew of speakers, exhibitors, business matching sessions, pitching stages, and more, the event enables participants to connect, network, and engage with the larger tech startup ecosystem.

At the Echelon Asia Summit, participants get the chance to attend a diverse range of sessions, including keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops, all exploring exciting topics like AI, blockchain, e-commerce, fintech, and marketing. You’ll also have the opportunity to join networking sessions and meet-ups where you can connect with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders.

To learn more about Echelon Asia Summit 2023 and sign up for the event, visit the official page here.

The post Echelon: Developing the next generation of world-changing companies appeared first on e27.

Hyphen Group or CompareAsia Group, a financial products platform headquartered in Singapore and Hong Kong, has rebranded to MoneyHero Group.

MoneyHero has also agreed to merge with Bridgetown Holdings Limited, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) established through a partnership between Pacific Century Group and Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital.

Following the completion of the transaction, the merged entity, MoneyHero Limited (PubCo), is anticipated to commence trading on the NASDAQ in ticker symbols MNY and MNYWW.

The combined company will have an enterprise value of approximately US$342 million post-money, including up to approximately US$154 million of cash held in Bridgetown’s trust account.

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2023.

The listing will enable MoneyHero to capitalise on the rapidly expanding market potential in the Greater Southeast Asia region, specifically in the digital distribution of financial products.

Also Read: Co-Founder Tan Hooi Ling to step down from her active role at Grab

Prashant Aggarwal, CEO of MoneyHero Group, said, “We believe in harnessing the power of innovation to create better futures for our customers, our people, and our partners. This process of becoming a public company will enable us to enhance our platform further and continue our journey of transforming lives through accessible and innovative financial solutions.”

Founded in 2014, MoneyHero Group is a personal finance aggregation and comparison company in Greater Southeast Asia. MoneyHero primarily operates online financial comparison platforms and related services for credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, insurance and other financial products, connecting consumers, financial product providers and content and channel partners.

Its main business pillars are (i) online financial comparison platforms and (ii) B2B business (Creatory. It operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia with respective local market brands.

MoneyHero had approximately 3.7 million MoneyHero Group members as of March 31, 2023, approximately 9.8 million monthly unique users in March 2023 and over 270 commercial partner relationships as of March 31, 2023.

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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 connecting with investors, visibility through the platform, and other prizes. Join TOP100 here.

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