The world is moving at breakneck speed. For perspective, the last 100 years of science and technology have transformed it like never before. Now, digital transformation is disrupting every industry, cluster, and ecosystem. However, there is one area that’s been quiet for centuries, and it seems no one has turned their attention toward it.

Broken payroll, outdated pay cycle

The concept of monthly payment of salary has remained the same for centuries. The practice of a fixed, regular payment at the end of the month started supposedly in 10,000 BC during the first agricultural revolution. It still holds today! Although there have been many technological interventions around payroll calculation and disbursements, the pay cycle frequency has not changed in the last 30-50 years.  

At the end of the month, the paycheck-to-paycheck system leaves the financially vulnerable with extremely limited options to prepare for the future. With little awareness and support, employees can break this vicious cycle of debt and take a step towards financial security.

Earned wage access to the rescue

EWA is a concept where employees can get rid of their everyday financial pressure, access their earned wages, and avail of funds when needed. It works wonders for employee benefits as, unlike payday loans, or personal salary loans, earned wage access involves little to no cost and is not a loan. Earned wage access platforms have the potential to eradicate predatory lenders and their inherent risks. 

Also Read: How payment networks are crucial to the rising fintech movement

With the proliferation of mobile connectivity, fintech innovation, and the gig economy, the solutions provided by earned wage access platforms are creating a future where every worker has on-demand financial access that is fair and transparent. According to a report by EY, in India, 81 per cent of employees face a liquidity crunch between pay cycles and close to 60 per cent said they would consider earned wage access as a deciding factor for their next job.

Running successfully across the US and Europe

Over the last decade, earned wage access has gained mainstream attention in the US and Europe. In the US and 36 other developed countries, more than US$1 trillion of accrued salaries are stuck in the employer payroll on any given day. With payroll and benefits innovations like earned wage access, hourly and temporary workers now have access to their earned wages between the two or four-week pay cycles.

Five years ago, Uber rolled out earned wage access for its drivers. Sometime later, Lyft too introduced a similar feature in partnership with Mastercard. Two years later, to reduce worker stress and increase productivity, America’s largest payroll provider ADP started offering earned wage access as part of its benefit programs. The act was swiftly followed by Sage Group, UK’s largest payroll provider.       

As momentum around earned wage access has grown globally, pioneers like DailyPay, PayActiv and Wagestream are leading the march towards faster, on-demand employee payouts. Global payment companies like PayPal, Visa and Revolut have also come forward to support their employers in enabling faster access to earned wages to the frontline workers.

Enroute Asia: Earned wage access is transforming lives

In the last 24 months, the earned wage access revolution has found strong roots across Asia too. In this region, a large number of frontline workers are desperate for faster, more flexible and inclusive financial services to meet their short-term needs. Earned wage access is proving to be a boon for millions of low to middle-income employees who are desperate to escape the vicious grip of predatory lenders and improve their financial well-being. 

Also Read: GajiGesa raises US$6.6M pre-Series A to provide earned wage access to underserved workers, SMEs

In India, a mid-month cash crunch causes an acute financial crisis among marginal workers. The unbanked and underbanked working population have no choice but to turn to high-interest payday loans, which lead to debt traps. To address these pain points, the earned wage access platform Refyne has emerged as a leading solution that claims to serve over 700,000 workers. The company recently announced an US$82 million Series A led by Tiger Global.

Over in Southeast Asia, GajiGesa is reshaping how employers think about employee benefits and financial wellness. Founded in 2020 by Martyna Malinowska and former Stripe and Uber executive Vidit Agarwal, the company has firmly established itself as the market-leading financial wellness platform at the intersection of fintech and HRtech.

It leads the effort to bring financial integrity and security into every workplace across Southeast Asia. Today, the GajiGesa platform empowers over 250 employers and serves over 750,000 workers and MSMEs across Indonesia.

As the pioneer and fastest-growing earned wage access platform in the region, the company has been quick to innovate and ship additional features like bill payment, mobile top-ups, and rewards in its quest to become the holistic employee benefits solution designed to improve financial well-being. Interestingly the company counts global EWA pioneer and leader Wagestream amongst its investors. 

The success of GajiGesa has also spawned several copycats too. Across the other SEA markets, smaller players like Circopay, Nano, Paywatch and others have popped up to capitalise on the growing momentum around earned wage access.

Coincidentally, two of the newer ones have also been founded by ex-Uber executives. It’s not hard to see why. Uber was ahead of the curve in redefining pay cycles for gig-economy workers, with weekly and bi-weekly payouts the norm since it was introduced in 2014. 

Barely a decade on, thousands of enterprises around the world, and especially across emerging markets, are actively embracing new technologies that offer a better and more inclusive financial system that works for their employees instead of against them.

EWA has a unique opportunity to not only define the future of pay but lead the effort to accelerate financial inclusion in economies around the world too.

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

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Singapore-headquartered Glife Technologies, a B2B marketplace to connect restaurants with farmers, has extended its Series round with a US$3 million investment from Tin Men Capital.

This is a follow-up to the US$4.96 million Glife Techologies raised during its Series A in November 2021 and the subsequent US$2.9 million funding injected by existing investors in May 2022.

Tin Men Capital joins previous Series A investors Heliconia Capital (a wholly owned investment subsidiary of Temasek) and Hibiscus Fund (a fund managed by Malaysia’s RHL Ventures and South Korea’s KB Investment).

Since its inception, Glife has raised US$13 million in funding to support its operations across regional markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Also Read: Agritech startup Glife secures US$1.18M seed funding for farm-to-table logistics service

Glife will use the fresh funds to accelerate the launch and operations of its digital marketplace for F&B suppliers and merchants in Q42022 and enlarge its market share in the Indonesian market.

Founded in 2018, Glife connects farmers in the region with F&B businesses through its full-stack solutions for restaurants.  The B2B marketplace aggregates demand for food produce from restaurants and match it with suppliers, giving restaurants better access to a variety of products as well as better prices.

The capital will also be used to strengthen its technology infrastructure to build an end-to-end digital supply chain solution.

Caleb Wu, Co-Founder and Deputy CEO of Glife Technologies, said: “We aim to continue building efficiency and transparency across the food supply chain and create solutions to uplift smallholder farmers across the region.”

“The ongoing pandemic has exposed the brittleness of our supply chain. Disruptions have impacted the flow of produce from farms to customers and venture capital must support industry efforts to embrace innovation and integrate sustainability goals.”

Singapore-based venture capital firm Tin Men Capital recently announced the first close of its second enterprise technology fund. Fund II will continue to invest in B2B technology startups in Southeast Asia. It looks to invest in approximately 10 to 12 enterprises.

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Playground, a new platform dedicated to Web3 gaming and NFT discovery, has announced the completion of its oversubscribed pre-seed funding, co-led by East Ventures and Mirana Ventures.

Also joined the round were Arc Capital ( crypto fund affiliated with Pintu), James Z (Founder of Jambo), Adam Levinson, Murali Abburi (Graticule Asset Management, and Benjamin Zhu (Azure Tide, a digital asset specialist firm), and unnamed senior executives from leading blockchain firms.

Playground was founded to address the ‘Web3 information problem’ — the massive gap in the discovery process for both new and seasoned users.

This stems from the rapid growth of blockchain-enabled entertainment projects and the accompanying fragmentation of information – often subjective, outdated or unreliable – over disparate sources and channels.

Targeting this central problem, Playground has developed a platform to bridge the information gap for all users in Web3 entertainment, with a laser focus on legitimacy and experiences.

On Playground, users can interactively discover all aspects of trusted Web3 entertainment projects and be kept abreast of updates and milestones for new and existing projects.

Also Read: We’re still in the dot-com phase of Web3: Steven Suhadi of Standard Alpha

Users will also be able to engage with ecosystems and communities in debate and discourse on a neutral battleground in a burgeoning and rapidly evolving space where experimentation and new ideas abound.

The founding team of Playground has extensive experience, having worked in companies including Binance, Classpass, and Tencent. Founder Clinton Teh (CEO) previously led several strategic initiatives in Web3 gaming and NFTs for Binance’s decentralised chain and was also part of the investment team.

Teh shared: “Despite being experienced blockchain users, our excitement for the new paradigm of digital ownership and decentralisation in Web3 entertainment has been tempered by frustration in the discovery process, where we have met with great difficulty in sourcing, verifying, and aggregating information on Web3 gaming and NFT projects. We believe all users should have a seamless experience learning about projects in the space, from factual information to the actual ‘feel’ of a particular game or interactive experience.”

David Toh, Partner at Mirana Ventures, said, “We believe Playground’s focus on users, experiences, and legitimacy will be a key lever in growing Web3 entertainment adoption in the future.”

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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routines and forced us to reassess life as we know it. Now, hybrid working has become the new norm. Our education system needs to see the same change. Edutech is making it happen.

The pandemic threw us into disarray. We embraced hybrid working and fluctuated between impassioned proclamations that it would destroy the world or push us into a new era of explosive productivity.

For all its highs and lows, the majority has spoken. Hybrid working is the new norm. People found what they needed to boost their mental well-being, productivity and motivation.

Our current education system has been struggling to nurture curious and self-directed learners. It is time we look for solutions outside the school walls.

Here’s why I think the hybrid model makes sense for our education system; and how edutech is making it happen.

Learning goes beyond school

In a world full of possibilities, distilling the world and its wonders into a handful of subjects in our curriculum is inadequate.

Diverse experiences will make our children better learners. Heuristic problem-solving exists in our school curriculum but it lacks consideration for real-world elements. Issues such as climate change are discussed in classrooms without the nuances of real-world conflicts and inequalities.

In short, the four walls of the school obscure and unintentionally prejudice perspectives.

Schools of the future

Just as varied models of hybrid Wwrk address the different needs of our workforce, hybrid schooling will need to offer various flexible options.

Also Read: In this age of digitalisation, is edutech a bane or boon for educators?

Hybrid schooling will be an important step toward letting kids decide what, when and how they want to learn. Realistically, it’s not practical to let learners decide entirely.

The key here is to give kids agency, giving them a sense of ownership over their learning. Research has shown that children are more motivated to learn when they feel in control of what and how they are learning.

• LingoTalk is an exciting edutech that offers personalised language learning with AI
• Padlet is a beautiful interactive space for anyone to mindmap and pins a wide range of multimedia
• Doyobi offers student-led experiences online, so students all over the world can meet and collaborate

The Skills Advantage Report by LinkedIn highlighted that employers these days are increasingly prioritising transferable skills in their hiring practices rather than academic qualifications. In tandem, the education we give our kids has to shift similarly.

An inclusive experience

Critics will be quick to claim that hybrid schooling puts students from families that lack resources and knowledge at a massive disadvantage. In actual fact, we only have to look within the communities that we live in. It just takes a little thinking out of the box.

From pet-sitting to volunteering, helping out with a small local business, exploring a passion project, to initiatives to rejuvenate the neighbourhood, the world is interconnected, interdependent and nuanced.

School, on the other hand, is a safe space governed by routine and timetables. I have no doubt that parents feel peace when their child is safe within the four walls of a school, but balancing that with a recognition of the reality that our children will face is equally important.

If you’re in tech, you would know just how interconnected and globalised the real world has become.

Interactions between people lead to greater empathy. Children who develop empathy have stronger relationships with other children and educators, which helps them become better learners.

Freedom in unstructured time

A huge part of why hybrid working resulted in greater productivity was its freedom. Workers were free to work in settings they deemed the most comfortable, invest time in hobbies that were both therapeutic and reinvigorating, and spend more time with their families and loved ones.

Also Read: Edutech in a post-pandemic world: Where do we go from here?

Children need the same freedom to develop their imagination and ability to manage themselves without external stimulation.

• DesignContest challenges designers all over the world to compete and express their creativity
• Masterclass gives you access to experts from anywhere in the world.

With more time and space to explore their interests and passions, children will also discover more about themselves. With greater self-awareness, children develop better decision-making skills and are more purpose-driven.

In a rapidly evolving world, we need to give our children a supportive environment for self-discovery.

Let them fail!

One thing is clear, hybrid schooling will not be neat, tidy or perfect.

Children, with all the optimism and enthusiasm in their hearts, will have ambitions that may not be practicable in the real world. Let them fail. Encourage risk-taking! Let them learn from their mistakes and overcome their fear of failure.

Failure is not the be-all and end-all in life (another issue I have with standardised testing).

In the real world, your value is not determined by standardised testing. Most of our young workers these days struggle with that reality. They believe that to win approval, they should constrain their actions within KPIs that are set for them.

If everyone gave up at the prospect of failure, we would have zero successful startups. Zero!

Our privilege disconnects us

We are privileged. We are digitally literate, we have access to the basic necessities of life. The schools we send our children to also give them “invisible” privileges that disconnect them from life.

Ultimately, if we coddle them, restrain them and teach them that uncertainty and the pursuit of new discoveries are not worth the time, they will be at a massive disadvantage in ambiguous, real-world situations.

School, or our concept of it, needs an overhaul. Parents, educators and the community must participate and invest meaningfully in their education.

Only then can we nurture a generation that we couldn’t be prouder of.

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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: Doyobi

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Charged Indonesia, a new electric motorcycle startup, has secured a US$4.5 million (approximately IDR 68 billion) investment led by Singapore-headquartered DeClout Ventures.

Charged Indonesia intends to launch a range of “affordable and practical” e-motorcycles for commercial fleets and individuals in the archipelago in Q4 2022.

Founded in 2022, Charged Indonesia is a direct-to-user e-motorcycle manufacturer and distributor.

The firm is currently rolling out a 16,000-square metre zero energy facility in Greater Jakarta to house its experiential centre and R&D and production engineering teams.

The firm starts with three models to cover varying needs, including personal transportation, logistics, corporate fleets, and ride-hailing services. The firm aims to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to mitigate air pollution and improve the overall mobility experience in Indonesia.

Also Read: Oben Electric wants to RORR past other e-motorcycles in India with its ICE-comparable model

Stephanus Widi, Chief Commercial Officer at Charged Indonesia, said: “Carbon emissions from traditional combustion motorcycles are one of the main sources of air pollution in Indonesia. Charged Indonesia aims to improve this by leading the transition of combustion motorcycle users towards sustainable mobility. We see ourselves as part of the sustainability movement in Indonesia with the government, state-owned enterprises, NGOs, supply chain partners and other ecosystem members to create a future with cleaner air, reduced pollution and better health for our future generations and environment.”

“This investment is a strategic one for us as we see strong alignment and synergies between Charged Indonesia’s business and our portfolio companies in the smart city infrastructure, IoT, and cleantech space,” said DeClout CEO Lim Swee Yong.

Indonesia’s EV sector is still in its infancy. According to a Gaikindo’s report, only 705 total EV sales were recorded in 2019. As of June 2021, the number of EV sales in the country totaled 1,900 units. When viewed from the total sales of cars in Indonesia in the first semester of 2021, the interest in the EV market is at 0.5 per cent of total cars sold.

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After two years of extensive lockdowns, online webinars, video calls, and very few opportunities to engage with the community in-person, we’re finally bringing you Echelon! APAC’s leading tech, startup, and investment Platform organised by e27, is returning this year with the goal of building stronger collaboration between ecosystem players.

What makes this year’s Echelon different from its past version is that Echelon 2022 is a curated event that focused on connecting key decision-makers from the region’s startups, investors, corporates, governments, and ecosystem enablers.

The event is invite-only and aims to facilitate favourable business outcomes through meet-ups, discussions, and other activities that could help participants connect with and discover potential partners to move their business forward.

With a focus on sustainability and an eye to the future, together, we find out how you can apply principles of sustainability with the newest technologies in today’s business environment to take your business operations to the next level.

Echelon 2022: Exciting things ahead

Echelon 2022 will feature a slew of opportunities for learning, connection, and growth. Here’s a quick rundown on the things you can expect from Echelon 2022!

The event features the Main Stage where participants can learn firsthand from Asia’s experts and thought leaders. Guest speakers will be discussing a variety of topics including fundraising and growth experiences, tips and insights on how to grow and scale, as well as exciting new trends on what to expect in 2022 and beyond!

Another key feature of Echelon 2022 is the Corporate to Startup Business Matching. This feature will bring together corporates that are looking to innovate their businesses together with proof of concept-ready startups, forging partnerships between established enterprises and innovative startups.

Also read: Accelerating Indonesia’s rural economy through social commerce

Complementing such a feature, Echelon 2022 will also be hosting an Investor to Startup Business Matching which introduces investors to highly relevant and investment-ready startups and facilitate potential deals and partnerships geared towards mutual growth.

Bringing back one of Echelon’s most exciting features, the 2022 edition of the programme will also showcase a special Exhibition. Here, participants get to meet Echelon 2022 sponsors and partners to explore opportunities for future business collaborations and partnerships, among others.

If you’ve been itching to discuss your exciting new ideas with experts, the exclusive event will also be introducing Open Networking Session. With Echelon 2022’s dedicated business matching section, participants that take part in the Open Networking Sessions will get access and exposure to relevant decision-makers in the tech industry where they can do in-depth discussions that could help move their company forward.

Apart from the open sessions, participants can also explore unique Roundtable Sessions. Through this feature, you can access closed-door, exclusively themed events dedicated to exploring new opportunities, initiating discussions and knowledge sharing, and fostering collaborative programmes among attendees.

Lastly but certainly not least, the event will be showcasing an exclusive Private Luncheon. This invite-only luncheon for Echelon partners aims to facilitate discovery and discussion with select attendees.

Connect, discover, and learn

Through this revitalised effort to bring the community together after two years, Echelon 2022 attendees have the opportunity to connect and meet in person with investors, corporates, governments, and entrepreneurs who are shaping APAC.

You also stand the chance to discover partners to collaborate with and build productive relationships, with 500 of the most influential decision-makers and industry leaders from the Southeast Asia tech and startup ecosystem.

Also read: Kristal.AI expands to ESOP liquidity offerings

Moreover, attendees can learn and gain insight through discussion sessions featuring veteran and upcoming entrepreneurs and ecosystem enablers who will be shedding the light on today’s tech landscape and the future of startups in the region.

“The Echelon conferences for us is a really big deal, regionally because it brings together all the people in the ecosystem we live and breathe in,” shared Ardent Capital on their experience of having been part of past Echelon editions.

Want to experience what it’s like to marvel at today’s leading entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers? Register your interest to join Echelon 2022.

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Starboard, a platform for founders to start and run their companies globally, announced today a US$3.5 million pre-Series A funding round led by Monkʼs Hill Ventures.

Other investors include Actium Partners, Iterative Capital, Bruno Poh (General Counsel, Lyte Ventures), Lelaina Lim (CFO, Eu Yang Sang International Limited), Michael Tor (Executive Director, UOB), Soh Gin Wee, Sulyana Binte Abdul Aziz, and Terrence Hoon.

The funds will be used to expand engineering, operations and customer success teams, supporting users in Singapore, Southeast Asia and the US.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Melvin Yuan (CEO), Starboard is a one-stop corporate services platform for business incorporation, compliance, accounting, and financial management. It helps global businesses set up, manage and run their US/Singapore companies from a cloud-based platform.

Also Read: Lanturn secures US$3M to provide online corporate services to organisations in Singapore

In other words, the firm is building a company OS (Operating System). It provides access to various corporate services, including accounting and bookkeeping, compliance, payroll, visa applications, company formation and structuring, ESOP advisory, and fractional-CFO services.

The company has onboarded many clients — from startups to SMEs and asset managers — and is currently rolling out its proprietary client portal as a web app, iOS and Android App.

“Founders often have to pull information from multiple sources about their business. Starboard is the ʻone place and one teamʼ solution for founders to manage their businesses efficiently,” said Melvin Yuan, Founder and CEO.

Starboard has also set up operations in Silicon Valley to enable clients from Singapore and Southeast Asia to manage their US subsidiaries. Yuan, a three-time founder, believes that US-based companies can quickly expand into Asia through Starboard, tapping into the market and talent pool with Singapore as regional headquarters.

Despite rapid digitisation, the market still sees many traditional corporate service providers (CSPs) that rely on pen-and-paper processes, limiting efficiency and scalability. In Singapore alone, 2,000 such providers are servicing over 290,000 SMEs.

Starboardʼs platform automates corporate entity management and governance workflow to increase productivity and reduce errors by CSPs. There is a huge opportunity to consolidate this massive fragmented industry.

In 2020, Lanturn, another Singapore-based one-stop online corporate services startup, raised US$3 million in a seed funding round from several investors, including East Ventures and CoCoon Ignite Ventures.

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Apeiron Bioenergy, a Singapore-based bioenergy products company, has announced closing an equity financing round from Mitsui Chemicals.

The amount remains undisclosed.

The funds will support Apeiron Bioenergy in increasing its collection capacity for waste-based feedstocks across Asian markets. It will also equip the company for exponential growth amidst growing demand for renewable feedstock for advanced biofuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel.

According to the International Energy Agency, global demand for renewable diesel is set to more than double, or by 11 billion litres, over the next five years. It mainly stems from government regulations in the US and the EU as established in the decarbonisation targets byCOP26.

However, the planned capacity is set to outpace domestic feedstock supply significantly, and production must keep up with the climate emergency.

Apeiron Bioenergy collects and processes a range of renewable feedstocks, including used cooking oil (UCO) and palm oil mill effluent (POME), and acts as a critical exporter across the Asian market.

Over the past 15 years, Apeiron Bioenergy has built its presence in over ten countries and collected more than 500 million litres of UCO between 2017-2021, offsetting an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

Also Read: Singapore startup EcoWorth Tech converts highly contaminated waste into reusable products

“Zero Carbon emissions is one of our strategic targets by 2050. As one of Japan’s leading chemical companies, our investment in Apeiron is our way of contributing to solving the world’s future environmental issues,” said Tadashi Yoshino, Representative Director, Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui Chemicals.

Apeiron Bioenergy’s access to diversified sources and networks of feedstock and relationships with downstream customers means it is in an excellent position to access and supply downstream by-products for Mitsui Chemicals to help achieve its net zero targets.

Mitsui’s strategic investment will help Apeiron meet the substantial rise in biofuel demand by ramping up its capacity of collection points and processing facilities through both organic and inorganic growth.

The company actively seeks to acquire or collaborate with local collectors of sustainable feedstocks in the Asian markets.

“Tackling supply chain issues in bioenergy across Asia requires a community-focused, collaborative approach,” said Chris Chen, Managing Director of Apeiron Bioenergy. “We will ramp up our collection capability, collaborating closely with our downstream partners to resolve the wider sustainability problem of reducing carbon emissions across the land, sea and air transportation spaces.”

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Ivan Yeo stepped down as the CEO of EVOS ESports, a leading e-sports startup he co-founded, in 2021 to focus on his health and handed over its rein to a new generation of leaders. During this time, he started in-depth research about Web3, one of the most talked-about sectors globally.

As he dug deeper, Yeo realised the enormous potential Web3 presents and the disruptive capability across multiple industries it carries.

This landed him on the idea of Avium.

“Avium is building a network of studios by leveraging Web3 infrastructure,” Yeo says. “We are building an entertainment brand to greenlight original content by the Southeast Asian studios behind Marvel Comics, Valve, Netflix, Prime Video, and Tencent.”

Yeo believes that one of the key ingredients of building a successful brand is to capture attention. Avium is doing this by establishing multiple channels.

Also Read: Web3 games should aim to have sustainable tokenomics, ecosystems: Froyo Games’s Douglas Gan

“Our first channel is creating our original content, characters and stories, and we’re supported by hundreds of artists and creators from top Southeast Asia studios working on this. This will eventually be distributed across various social media and content platforms in multiple formats, such as audio, comics, and animation,” he shares.

The second channel is via Avium Esports, which Yeo claims to be the first ever decentralised e-sports team. It allows the startup to establish its presence and gain attention in the gaming sector, drawing eyeballs and creating legions of diehard fans.

“So building Avium as a brand means continually building these avenues for us to capture attention and further develop them,” adds Yeo, who successfully turned EVOS into an organisation with a presence in four countries. EVOS has raised over US$16 million across several rounds and employs over 60 full-time professional gamers and 300 exclusive talents under its brand.

The Founders’ Pass collection — an NFT designed to incentivise the creatives and studios building Avium’s brand — is at the centre of Avium’s ecosystem. It is an all-access pass to the Avium ecosystem. It means the Founders’ Pass holders get auto-access to a curated community, direct access to the project core team, exclusive events, creative resources and subsequent collections by Avium, including the upcoming Origins collection. The pass holders are also considered Avium’s founding members, with rights to build with studios and producers while leveraging the brand.

The benefits for studios

Every artist dreams of creating their original IP and being recognised for the brilliant work they produce. However, bringing original content to fruition and mass distribution remains difficult because Southeast Asia lacks a supporting ecosystem (seen in Hollywood) to enable this.

As a result, much of the work undertaken by Southeast Asian studios is only seen as “outsourced”. While they may be working on blockbuster Hollywood titles, they are minimally recognised, have no claims to the art they produce, and do not participate in the value created downstream (distribution, merchandising, etc.).

“Using the collaborative and community-driven culture of Web3, Avium works with studios to produce original content and intellectual property (IP). Together with our ecosystem partners, we assist them with community building, marketing, NFT technology and smart contract deployment. That’s the unique thing about Web3. The community backing the project is ultimately the same fans who can enjoy their creations,” he elaborates.

Avium and EVOS

Yeo believes there is an opportunity for collaboration between Avium and e-sports, specifically EVOS. For now, the Web3 startup is endorsing and supporting Slate Esports, a decentralised e-sports organisation owned by the players and the community.

Slate was formed by SEA Games Bronze Medalist duo Akihiro’ JPL’ Furusawa and Daryl ‘Youngin’ Ng after EVOS released them in late July. Both are Founders’ Pass holders. With the endorsement, Slate will leverage Avium’s ecosystem and represent the brand through the decentralised ownership model by utilising the pass.

“The decentralised ownership model is one of the first use cases of Founders’ Pass, allowing community members to utilise the Avium brand. Ownership by the players and fans aligns incentives better and allows them to participate in brand value growth, compared to Web2 business model,” Yeo explains.

Also Read: EVOS Esports Founder’s new Web3 media startup Avium lands US$2M funding

Avium has also onboarded two renowned regional art and animation companies — Caravan Studios and Circle Studios. Caravan has developed entertainment IP for household brands, including Marvel Comics, Netflix, Prime Video, Lego, Legends of Runterra, and Clash Royale. Circle Studios is the company behind Valve, Tencent, Dota, and Mobile Legends.

“For us, Caravan and Circle are not just teams of people we outsource to or just there to get the work done. We acknowledge and work with them as ecosystem partners, symbolising a deeper relationship between the creators and what’s created. Ecosystem partners are active participants in the Avium ecosystem. The more they succeed, the stronger the Avium ecosystem becomes. So it was important to find partners aligned with the vision of what we are building,” Yeo says as he shares the reasoning behind the partnerships.

Last week, Avium received US$2 million in a pre-seed round led by Saison Capital and joined by East Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Ricky Ow (ex-Warner Media), and Hepmil Media Group. The fund will be deployed to build the brand and IP in line with its vision to become the most prominent Web3 media and entertainment company.

“We will deploy the capital to fund the costs of creating original content and characters in the Avium world, publishing stories in the media, and establishing our content creator network and presence in e-sports,” Yeo concludes.

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It’s not very often that I receive phone calls from ex-colleagues. So, I was surprised when my phone’s screen flashed with an ex-colleague’s number when I was ready to sign off after a busy week. The strange thing was that we hadn’t spoken for nearly two decades, except for the occasional greetings and wishes on WhatsApp.

I must say, it was a long conversation. We chatted about family and our jobs. Lo and behold, he informed me that he has been with the same company for the past 35 years.

He went on to express that for some time now, he was overcome with emptiness. Unfair treatment from his manager, lack of support, and unmanageable workload. A couple of times, he voiced his intent to quit, but he never could follow through with it. I felt for him at this point.

A lot of questions floated in my head instantly. Would I have been in the same boat if I was still working there? Had he been stuck at the same company for too long? How can companies value long-serving employees?

I’ve been reading about burnout, roadblocks at work, and mental health. As I continued listening to him, I realised that this was what he was experiencing.

As we navigate the new normal, we are constantly faced with new crises every now and then. Businesses have to transform to suit the different needs of customers. Employees have to re-skill and up-skill constantly to keep up with the new technology tools to prevent burnout. Customers have a variety of channels to cater to their needs and wants.

But business leaders are not addressing complex issues such as stress, mental well-being, exhaustion, and burnout. There is no emotional support given at the workplace.

Working on core company culture to prevent burnout

We must understand how important it is for an employee to feel good, happy, and motivated at work. From having one-on-one conversations to checking how they are doing, managing their workloads, or even giving them time away from work.

Also Read: How startup leaders can delegate to prevent burnout 

However, employees need to be shown that they are valued before burnouts even occur, which can lead to an even bigger mental health problem. This is why I would like to share the best ways to support an employee emotionally.

Give feedback

We all wish to have constructive and timely feedback on our performance. Giving balanced feedback can help in shaping an employee’s work. Employees working remotely or in a hybrid setup could request a monthly evaluation from their supervisors. You could even seek guidance from trusted peers, mentors, or even your managers.

Healthy criticism and feedback will have a positive effect on your employees for many reasons. Among some of the reasons, we can mention that it helps to build a relationship between the higher-ups and the employees. Their work will feel more important and valuable if you show that you care.

Equip your employees with the right tools

Ensuring your employees have the right tools to do their job well can benefit productivity and satisfaction. Whether on-site or remote, there must be a collaborative synergy between teams. Some examples of tools are collaboration platforms, CRM, customer engagement platforms, and project management.

One of the most frustrating things that I have experienced as an employee myself was when the company tried to save money by not purchasing the tools that I needed to the point that it was impossible to do a decent job.

Unclear job expectations

One of the biggest aspects of why your employees procrastinate or get to the point of burnout is the lack of clarity on what, how, and for what amount of time they need to do a certain job. You won’t likely feel at ease if you’re unsure about your level of authority or what your boss or other colleagues expect from you.

That is why you as a manager should develop an excellent hierarchy structure and a detailed plan for your employees. This way, they would know what they need to do and to whom they should go for help and advice.

Dysfunctional workplace dynamics

Nothing screams “toxic” more than an unwelcome job environment. I know that the saying “we are one big, happy family” is misused and should not describe a company because you are mainly there to purely profit from one another but to be honest, you are spending a big chunk of your day at work, with your co-workers. That is why you should at least have a friendly interaction with them.

Like just imagine this scenery: Perhaps you are the target of an office bully, feel undercut by coworkers, or have your job micromanaged by your employer. This may increase work-related stress and make the whole working experience not enjoyable.

Work-life imbalance

You risk burning out rapidly if your work consumes so much of your time and energy that you lack the energy to spend time with your loved ones.

Also Read: 6 leadership lessons I learned after we raised our seed round

That is why ever since people started working from home during the quarantine, they understood how important it was to be near their loved ones more. You can see a lot of employees all around the world requesting or even demanding that they be allowed to work from home permanently.

Lack of social support

I once worked for a company that went from 10 employees to 150 in less than five years. In a conversation that I had with some of the employees that were in the company from the beginning, they confessed that they were happier, more motivated, and more productive.

The reason behind this is they could instantly communicate amongst themselves for every need. They also had a great time because they filled their break-time with quality, social time full of laughter.

But this does not mean that all of you should be in a big office for some quality time and social support. Firstly, because it’s impossible if you are in a large company and secondly remote working has too many pros.

But how can you build social support and interaction if your employees are working remotely? Equip them with the right tools. Get together on a virtual call to get things done. Have fun Fridays. Basically, pour a glass of whisky, chat, and play games for an hour.

Final thoughts

Coming back to the conversation with my friend. As I rounded up my conversation with my old friend, we both felt that we learned valuable lessons from one another. We said our goodbyes with a promise to strive to do better at our jobs and for ourselves.

Now that I’m reminiscing about this, I think I should call my friend and see how things are at his end.

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