Niv Della Beauty Innovations, the Filipino startup that operates D2C beauty and skincare brands Colourette and Fresh Formula, recently completed a US$2 million investment round from DSG Consumer Partners and Foxmont Capital Partners.

Established in 2015 by entrepreneur-turned-content creator Nina Dizon-Cabrera, Niv Della plans to use the proceeds from this round for product development and launching new campaigns.

e27 spoke with Dizon-Cabrera to learn more about the company, its brands, and its growth plans.

Edited excerpts:

Can you share more about how this funding will be allocated across various strategic initiatives? Are there any new products or lines in the pipeline?

Our high priorities for this would be accelerating product innovation, building up our team, and strategic marketing efforts to reach new customers.

We are doubling down on our future core, our complexion products. This month, we’ll be releasing the second instalment to our Face Base line—Second Base, an everyday concealer that complements First Base, our everyday skin tint.

Also Read: Foxmont backs Filipino D2C cosmetics startup Niv Della’s seed round

In addition to this, we’re working on other product categories that will elevate Colourette into a full-face makeup brand.

How does Niv Della plan to continue innovating and staying ahead of beauty trends in the Filipino market?

Staying true to our Filipino roots is a core part of Colourette’s DNA, and this is seen in all aspects of the brand, from product development and visual merchandising to our marketing campaigns.

As such, we consistently engage with our community to deeply understand their day-to-day lives and preferences regarding the products they use. This allows us to anticipate better and respond to our customers’ needs.

With products now available in 80 physical stores and a partnership with 7-Eleven, what are the next steps in expanding your retail presence?

Retail will be a core growth accelerator for us, especially in the next two to three years. We aim to pilot new formats in offline retail to offer our customers a refreshing online-to-offline omnichannel experience.

How do you plan to enhance your market presence both locally and potentially in other Southeast Asian countries?

We focus on making our mark in the Philippine market in the short to medium term. Our unique brand identity and ramp-up in new product development will allow us to unlock exponential growth locally.

Colourette and Fresh Formula are known for their inclusivity. How do you ensure your products cater to diverse skin tones and preferences?

We create products for Filipinos by Filipinos—this is a core ethos for the company, which is translated into our product range and formulations. Specifically for our First Baseline, which is now the most inclusive local skin tint on the market, we have thoroughly studied the spectrum of Filipino skin tones, even going as far as shade matching over 1,000 faces to ensure that we have a true colour match for everyone.

Also Read: How technology can influence the beauty and cosmetics industry

During the formula testing phase, we conducted various torture tests on our products by partaking in our consumers’ daily activities, such as commuting, exposure to the sun, extreme humidity, and other activities that are part of the day-to-day Filipino experience.

Can you share more about your diverse marketing campaigns and how they contribute to the inclusivity and empowerment of the Filipino community?

We acknowledge the lack of representation in most beauty campaigns recently, so we started an annual Colourette Go-See initiative where everyone is welcome—all ages (18 and up), all shapes, all sizes, and all genders. This 2024 Go-See had almost a thousand attendees, most of whom were our community members who felt empowered to become part of our campaigns. This gives everyone an equal shot and a platform to be seen and feel seen.

What are your long-term goals for Niv Della, and how do you plan to achieve them while maintaining your core values of excellence, innovation, and inclusivity?

Our core values drive everything we do, and leaning on this as our North Star always allows us to stay true to what we believe in while unlocking our company’s growth potential. We envision Niv Della as one of the market leaders in the beauty category as we gear towards 10x growth in the medium term.

What are some of the biggest challenges Niv Della faces in the beauty and skincare industry, and how are you addressing them?

Of course, the landscape is becoming increasingly cluttered and competitive, as is the same trend globally. We respond to these challenges by staying true to our brand DNA, which is creating products for Filipinos by Filipinos because this resonates with our market and what we believe will allow us to grow continually.

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Image Credit: Niv Della

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Asia’s leading live-streaming company, 17LIVE Group, has promoted Jiang Honghui to CEO and Executive Director.

He succeeds incumbent Joseph Phua, who will continue as the Non-Executive Non-Independent Chairman.

Honghui, who has been working closely with Phua as an advisor since the second quarter of 2024, will be responsible for the company’s overall operations and strategic direction.

With an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, Honghui comes with over 12 years of experience in VC investment, including over seven years at the Vertex Group.

Also Read: ‘SEA’s podcast market is ripe for adoption; we just need to educate the public’: Joseph Phua of M17

He first joined the Vertex Group in January 2009 and was responsible for investment activities in technology, consumer internet, healthcare, and cleantech in Southeast Asia and Greater China until March 2013.

Later, he joined as a director on the board of Vertex portfolio Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences for four years until 2013. He also served on the boards of several other technologies and information technology companies.

Honghui returned to Vertex Group in March 2021 to focus on growth-stage investment opportunities. From January 2022 to December 2023, he was the CEO and Executive Director of Vertex Technology Acquisition Corporation, the first special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. In December 2023, he led the business combination with 17LIVE.

Also Read: How 5-year-old live-streaming app 17LIVE acquired 60M users globally

From January 2024, he has been MD (Investment) at Vertex Holdings, focusing on growth-stage investment opportunities and portfolio management in China and Japan.

Prior to this, he held various roles in Whispir China Software Company, EDBI, and Fosun International.

Headquartered in Tokyo, 17LIVE is a pure-play live-streaming platform in Japan and Taiwan with a presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, the Philippines, India, and Malaysia. It connects users with live streamers who generate content of interest through AI-powered personalised search and recommendation. According to Frost & Sullivan, 17LIVE commanded a market share (by revenue) of 20.8 per cent in Japan and 26.9 per cent in Taiwan as of 2022.

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In June, Japan-based digital marketing and measurement consulting agency Ayudante announced its acquisition of Sparkline, an independent digital marketing company headquartered in Singapore with an established presence in the Philippines. With this acquisition, Sparkline will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayudante.

Sparkline is known as one of the first certified partners and resellers of Google Marketing Platform (GMP) in Asia, establishing a reputation for its industry-leading expertise in data utilisation consulting.

In this interview with e27, Aleetza Senn, CEO and Founder of Sparkline, speaks about her experience in leading her team through the company’s exit and the lessons that she gains from it. This includes the factors that founders must consider when planning their exit strategy and how to prepare their team for the process.

This is an edited excerpt of the conversation.

How should a tech company analyse current market trends and conditions to determine the optimal timing for an exit strategy in 2024?

Analysing trends to determine exit strategies and approaches is a complex process. It involves considering numerous factors, such as market growth rates—whether they are trending upward or downward—and potential technological advancements that could disrupt your business.

Regulation also plays a critical role in shaping opportunities for tech companies. Additionally, assessing the competitive landscape and investor sentiment is crucial in gauging the right timing for an exit, as well as estimating potential valuations and acquisition interest.

Also Read: How to hack product growth and user acquisition in Thailand

What are the key factors a tech company should consider when determining its valuation, and how can it prepare for due diligence processes during an acquisition or IPO?

Someone once told me that your valuation is simply what someone is willing to pay, and that could not be more accurate. Companies only achieve high multiples when people believe in the business model and are willing to invest accordingly.

Valuing a business can be complex, with many different approaches and perspectives, which can be confusing for business owners. Different business models attract different types of valuations. For instance, a product company with a strong ARR might command a better multiple than a product still in its MVP stages. Most valuation factors tend to be financial, including revenue and profit growth year over year, as well as market positioning and reputation.

People and culture also play a significant role, particularly the talents and strengths of the leadership team. Lesser-known considerations might include growth potential—perhaps investors see substantial future growth—or unique aspects of your products or services that could be valuable in other markets. The net is wide because different companies prioritise different aspects when evaluating acquisition targets.

Due diligence can be extremely stressful, so I strongly recommend preparing well in advance. I learned this the hard way, losing most of the Christmas period last year to stress over an acquisition that was finally completed a few months ago. Beyond maintaining clean financial records—which can feel like the easy part, especially with the right software—it is crucial to set up data rooms that include all contracts, employee agreements, IP and trademarks, relevant disputes, business processes, and operations.

It is far easier to keep these updated over time than to scramble to put everything together when interest arises. That would be my key piece of advice.

What are the different exit options available for tech companies in 2024, such as mergers, acquisitions, or IPOs, and how can a company choose the best strategy?

Mergers and acquisitions are perhaps the most talked-about strategic moves in the business world. Acquisitions involve a complete buyout, typically of a smaller company, to be integrated into a larger one. Mergers, on the other hand, occur when two companies join forces to create a new entity, leveraging their combined strengths and enhancing competitive positioning.

Also Read: SEA startup surge: Major funding wins and strategic acquisitions across SEA

These strategies offer several advantages, including opportunities for founders and teams to take on larger roles within a bigger organisation, immediate liquidity for shareholders, and the potential for competitive bidding if multiple parties are interested. However, a significant downside is the loss of control, along with the potential for talent layoffs.

IPOs represent another route, where a company offers its shares to the public on a stock exchange. While IPOs carry risks (we have all heard of challenging IPO stories), they provide access to a larger pool of capital, which can accelerate growth and boost the company’s visibility and profile. However, going public invites intense regulatory scrutiny and pressure to meet quarterly earnings targets, which can divert focus from long-term business strategy.

Other options include joint ventures (JVs), where two companies collaborate and pool resources for a specific project or market entry, and private equity sales, where shares are sold to private equity firms, either as a minority or majority stake.

JVs can be a great way to scale and benefit both companies before an eventual sale, but they may face cultural clashes and don’t provide immediate liquidity.

Private equity can offer significant growth potential through cash infusion, but it also often comes with a loss of control.

Each option has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The right choice depends on the company’s vision, objectives, and specific circumstances, with business owners carefully navigating these factors to determine the best outcome.

Also Read: Hiring in the fast lane: The startup revolution in talent acquisition

What are the critical legal and regulatory challenges tech companies may face when planning an exit, and how can they ensure compliance and mitigate risks?

Tech companies are navigating an increasingly complex landscape of regulatory challenges, particularly as laws evolve rapidly across the globe. Issues such as data privacy and security can be especially tricky, depending on your product or service.

Beyond these, there are more universal legal challenges, such as taxation, employment laws, contractual obligations, and risk mitigation, all of which hinge on the specific terms of your agreements.

Investing in expert legal counsel is crucial for addressing these challenges and safeguarding your business. Additionally, having a strong CFO or financial advisor can ensure your company remains compliant and well-prepared to understand and communicate any potential risks to stakeholders with confidence.

How can a tech company effectively communicate its exit strategy to stakeholders, including employees, investors, and customers, to maintain trust and support?

It all comes down to trust, transparency, and clear, concise communication.

Involving your team in the strategy and planning process early on is crucial—not just for your benefit but so that they understand the goals and feel confident that a solid plan is in place, even if all the details aren’t finalised yet.

Transparency is equally important for your customers, allowing them to understand any potential changes and how these may affect them. This requires thoughtful preparation to address their questions and concerns with confidence.

Also Read: Weekly roundup: Roojai’s acquisition, Automera’s funding, Bright Money’s success, and more

Lastly, honest and concise communication ensures that your team is aligned with the plan and helps ease any fears or misconceptions customers may have.

What are the best practices for managing the post-exit transition, including integration with the acquiring company or managing the shift to a public company structure?

The approach varies depending on the type of partnership or deal structure, but some key elements are essential across the board. First and foremost, aligning on a shared vision and ensuring the leadership team embraces a unified narrative is crucial. It is important to understand how the partnership will benefit your existing business while also ensuring that your offering enhances the other party’s business. This mutual benefit prevents one side from dominating and helps teams recognise their interdependent strengths.

Additionally, maintaining open dialogue and clear communication with staff and teams is vital. They should feel supported and have a direct line for questions or concerns.

Finally, cultural alignment is critical. We prioritized ensuring our team could thrive and see the potential for their own career growth through the partnership, all while preserving the elements that make working for us enjoyable
and fulfilling.

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Image Credit: Sparkline

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Generative AI is making significant strides across various sectors, particularly in enhancing productivity, efficiency, and customer experience. In this interview with e27, Dipen Mehta, APAC Head of Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), SoftServe, speaks about the common use cases of AI in Singapore today and the challenges that businesses face in adopting the technology and maximising its potential.

In Singapore and globally, businesses are leveraging this technology to streamline operations and improve service delivery. The first major application is increasing productivity by automating tasks and processes, allowing businesses to achieve more with less.

Secondly, AI drives efficiency by reducing customer service costs and optimising business processes. Lastly, AI enhances customer experiences by offering more personalised and responsive interactions.

“You may have heard this term in marketing, but this is used broadly in most industries around hyper-segmentation. Generative AI is one of the technologies that really allow us to do micro-segmentation [of our users and customers],” Mehta says.

“I can now say, here are the characteristics we know about our customers and what might drive a certain behaviour. So you can generate more than just customised text; you can also generate imagery, colour, and the whole template. You can evoke an emotion. This space has a lot of experimentation, but we are seeing that across industries.”

Also Read: How AI enhances market forecasting for tech startups

Remaining challenges in AI adoption for businesses

However, adopting AI technology in businesses presents several challenges. The first of which is the rapid pace of technological advancement. As generative AI evolves quickly, keeping up with the necessary skills within an organisation becomes difficult.

“It is not because the technology is too hard for anyone to understand. But it is moving at a rapid pace; the pace of innovation in Generative AI is very, very fast. There are always new models coming out. The way you interact with the models is changing.”

The second challenge revolves around data readiness. While businesses can quickly develop a proof of concept using AI with their own data, moving beyond this stage to full production is challenging.

“We could work with the customer and get that done in days, showing them a proof of concept with their real data and its use case, but to get them into production and have it integrated across the entire organisation–with production data and all that–is a very difficult proposition,” Mehta says.

Unlike generic consumer AI applications, businesses require AI to work with their specific data, which must be well-managed, up-to-date, and compliant with industry regulations. Many organisations lack the data infrastructure and maturity needed to ensure their data is consistently accessible and secure, which poses a substantial obstacle to AI adoption.

The third barrier is organisational readiness and acceptance of AI technology. Even though AI tools are often user-friendly, they can significantly alter existing workflows, leading to employee resistance.

Consequently, businesses often underestimate the importance of change management in AI adoption. Ensuring the organisation is prepared for these changes and addressing concerns about job security are crucial steps in successfully integrating AI into business operations.

Also Read: Building resilience against cyber attacks in ASEAN through data

Tackling barriers to adoption

So what can businesses do to tackle these barriers to AI adoption?

Education is certainly a key part of it, but Mehta stresses that businesses must take a specific approach. According to him, companies that have successfully adopted AI technologies educate their employees about its usage in a way that fosters innovation instead of simply saying that this technology will make them better employees.

“Some people might feel reluctant and say, ‘Am I not a good employee now?’” he says. “You can educate [them about the] better use of AI. It takes away 30-40 per cent of the stuff you do not want to do anyway, the low-value stuff. You can focus on the higher value things.”

Businesses can also encourage their employees to be creative about it. “Instead of releasing the technology into the operations team of an organisation and giving them some instructional videos and training, we can make it more like a hackathon. Come back in a month’s time with some ideas [about how you want to use the technology].”

Other ways to encourage the use of AI, which is already commonly used by global tech giants, are to integrate the technology into existing products, services, or systems. A well-known example of this approach is Microsoft Copilot.

“Most people already use Microsoft Office. Releasing Copilot was a very innovative way to get people’s exposure to Generative AI without attacking everything you do,” Mehta says.

Also Read: How blockchain can enhance sustainability in fashion

“It is a good example of exposing the technology as an innovation tool rather than a prescriptive of ‘This is going to do your task or your job today.’”

Last but not least, businesses can encourage the adoption of AI by learning from existing use cases.

“We are happy to spend an hour showcasing some demos and things we have seen for your team to get inspired. Then we can go down the route that I said, which is to ask the teams to come up with ideas [of how they want to use this technology].”

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Image Credit: SoftServe

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Businesses and investors should keep their eyes on China’s actions after the Third Plenum concluded without surprises. Perhaps the most telling sign is that the party specified a timeline to achieve the reforms.

The Third Plenum of China’s Communist Party (CCP) concluded in July without new stimulus or deep reforms, but that does not mean there isn’t welcoming news.

While the communique released after the closed-door meeting led by President Xi Jinping contained few surprises, it could also be viewed as maintaining stability and certainty. In a major election year for many countries where we have already seen drastic changes or uncertainties in governments, the less-than-surprising outcome may provide what the market seeks in an uncertain world.

The broad goals emphasised in the plenum have not changed — economic recovery, technological innovation, and market reforms.

Despite its economic challenges, China seems more cognisant that any drastic measures may introduce volatility and potentially derail plans in achieving its 5 per cent growth target for 2024.

Long-term shift vs short-term stimulus

A long-term shift is what the world’s second-largest economy is gunning for, when the drivers of its meteoric rise have been slowing down.

Before the plenum, official data showed the Chinese economy expanded by just 4.7 per cent in the second quarter this year, among its slowest growth in recent years. When combined with the first quarter data of 5.3 per cent growth, China may still be on track to its year-end target.

But for the market, it may be cutting too close for comfort, given the short-term challenges ahead. This may explain why the plenum has focused on the long term, and placed emphasis on enhancing people’s quality of life as one of the means to boost overall consumption which some economists have been urging for, among others.

Also Read: Succeeding in e-commerce in China: Building AI-powered chatbots that know how to close a sale

Still, the plenum offered some positive signals for businesses.

One of the most notable aspects of the communique was the emphasis on giving “fuller play to the role of market mechanisms”, which could increase efficiency and competition, reduce bureaucracy and regulatory hurdles, and enhance the role of the private sector.

Businesses could have more freedom to innovate and compete. Better products and services for consumers could be a more reliable way of addressing sluggish domestic consumption and shift to consumption-led growth.

In addition, the aim of unleashing the consumption power of people in rural areas and giving them access to urban public services may have a trickle effect on boosting overall consumer demand in the country.

Fewer regulatory hurdles could allow quicker adaptation to market demands, crucial in tech-heavy sectors that Beijing is targeting as “future industries” for more innovation-led growth.

That said, China also aims to “build a high-level socialist market economy system”, so the pace of reform and growth may not be at the same pace that other markets are accustomed to.  The silver lining is that the plenum affirmed the need to address market inefficiencies, which can be taken as a sign that the country acknowledges there is work to be done to bridge the expectations gaps.

Uncertainty in implementation

But the lack of detailed implementation plans creates uncertainty for businesses at a time when foreign direct investment shrank 29.1 per cent year-on-year to US$49.9 billion in June 2024.

For tech companies, the emphasis on innovation and self-reliance is a double-edged sword: It opens up opportunities for growth, but the absence of detailed policies on funding and regulatory support needed to make informed investment decisions can hinder long-term planning.

Similarly, financial institutions are left guessing about the specifics of financial market reforms and regulatory changes, which are crucial for future investments and risk management.

The property market, already facing a significant slump, remains volatile without clear policies to stabilise prices and address debt issues. Similarly, infrastructure projects depend heavily on local government funding and stability. Suggestions of local government tax reforms may sound intuitive, but the lack of concrete policies or directives at this stage may complicate long-term planning and investment in public projects, affecting sectors reliant on local incentives and infrastructure development.

Consumer goods companies involved in export-import activities face uncertainty regarding tariffs, trade agreements, and market access, impacting their global operations.

Watch what China does, not just what it says

That said, businesses and investors should watch what China does, not just what it says.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: US VCs’ exodus from China; JALA completes US$13.1M funding round

The plenum stated that it is focused on creating a “beautiful China”, by accelerating green transformation and pursuing green, low-carbon development, among others. This alone may not say much.

But if taken together with its directions of improving the mechanism for modern infrastructure construction and the resilience and security of industrial supply chains, the opportunities in environmental sustainability could be vast.

For instance, the plenum proposed deeper reforms of its railway system and further develop the “low-altitude economy” (such as drones and flying cars). This means demand for renewable energy will likely increase. The need to secure the supply chain in the production of these assets would be critical.

Perhaps the most telling sign that businesses should keep their eyes on China’s actions is that the plenum specified a timeline to achieve the reforms. In past plenums, the CCP has not set such timelines.

This time, unusually, Beijing has given clear indication of a 2029 deadline – an important year as the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 80^th anniversary. Some analysts see this as an effort to focus the CCP on implementing the reforms.

This in a way provides a direction for businesses and markets on China’s roadmap.

While the road ahead is fraught with challenges, businesses that can navigate these complexities and leverage emerging opportunities will be well-positioned to thrive.

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