A war is raging on the Australian media scene. At the behest of the Oz government, Google has agreed to pay publishers for their content – which the search engine in effect sells advertising against.

Facebook, on the other hand, has decided to remove any media companies that employ professional journalists from its platform in Australia; thereby avoiding having to pay said publishers for their content (which Facebook also used to sell advertising against) under the proposed new rules.

Two very different responses to increased government regulation. No doubt other countries will follow with their own versions of this legislation, which is yet to be officially ratified by the way. It will be fascinating to see how things play out globally. There is already talk of the UK and European Union adopting similar laws.

However, the whole episode got me thinking about the immense power the Goo-book duopoly now has. At this stage, the internet is a public utility. And yet it’s real estate is owned by private sector companies who the critics say are willing to wield power in whichever way they see fit, in order to protect their business models. Even, it seems, if there is a negative effect on the citizens/customers and businesses that helped build the platforms in the first place.

There is an age-old theory that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The trouble with Google and Facebook is that they are swimming in so much cash and high-level influence that many fear they have become real-world practical examples, sadly proving the theory to be true.

The platform earthquake in Australia is just one case. For me personally, even though I disliked Donald Trump intensely, I thought it was wrong that social networks could in effect cancel a US president.

It sets an awful precedent for the future and will no doubt leave the 75 million Americans who voted for him seething (even more so than when in their natural combative state).

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Investors are cautious but confident and optimistic about SEA, says Google e-Conomy SEA report

We don’t even need to get into Cambridge Analytica territory or the many other public relations disasters Facebook has been forced to apologise for.

Let’s not forget, Google has had its own fair share of scandals too. And while, as a ‘user’ (who, yes, realises I am the product), I love using both Google and Facebook– it does all leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Speaking of which, anyone who has been to their offices will tell you how the space, luxury and design is reminiscent of the 2017 tech dystopia movie The Circle. It’s not quite a cult, but it feels a little strange inside their buildings– to say the least.

Added to that, both companies are not that willing to share the pie when it comes to media and marketing partners, hence the possible law change in Australia. Try getting event sponsorship or advertising spend out of either, if you’re a media company. The somewhat arrogant response is usually along the lines of ‘we don’t pay, as we have the brand already so really you should be paying us to participate’.

You feel like saying: “Yeah, but you do realise people are starting to dislike your brand greatly, right?” Added to that, if you’re brave enough to let a Googler or Facebooker speak at one of your events, you will quickly feel the arm of an overzealous PR handler on your shoulder.

They will politely tell you which topics have to be avoided, and how there must be strictly no questions from the audience. Stage-management, as a dark art, at its finest.

And while neither Google nor Facebook is responsible for the programmatic ad fraud that now runs into billions of dollars every year, they are certainly part of the ecosystem that enables it. Vanity metrics are also somewhat of a poison in both business and societal terms.

As are down-the-rabbit-hole misinformation, trolling, narcissistic image obsession and behavioural economics techniques that provide the dopamine hit which creates device addiction in all of us.

There’s a lot to dislike. However, and here’s the paradox, at the same time the products are so great that they have benefitted billions of people and businesses. Search engines are kind enough to give you any knowledge you happen to be curious about within a millisecond. Social networks enable you to connect with friends, families, groups and businesses around the world with a simple tap.

You don’t expect all that for free, do you? Come on people, there is of course a price to pay. To be fair, it’s abundantly clear that we are all willing to become the product in order to add the convenience, learning and joy to our lives.

Also Read: Ecosystem Roundup: Google invests in Tokopedia; Alodokter raises Series C+; Singapore’s new visa to attract top tech talents

For the truth is, the world would be a poorer place without Google and Facebook. But the reality, however, is that they can’t go on unchecked without causing long-lasting damage to society. Politicians have to get ahead of the curve somehow and start regulating untrammelled big tech before these masters of the universe enter politics themselves.

Anyone else out there suspects that Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have designs on the White House? At that point, it becomes too late. You just wouldn’t be able to put the genie back in the bottle.

It will no doubt be difficult, given the lack of technical expertise in the political corridors of power. But if nothing else, rightly or wrongly the Australian intervention has at least proved that it’s possible to assert some sort of control. So let’s not sleepwalk into a world whereby the worst elements of Goo-book outbalance all the good stuff. Nobody wants that, Silicon Valley aside.

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RateS, a social commerce platform operating in Indonesia, announced today it has closed an undisclosed amount in Series A round, co-led by Vertex Ventures and Genesis Alternative Ventures.

The fresh capital will go towards bankrolling RateS’s expansion into tier 2 and 3 markets in Indonesia by expanding the “density” of its reseller membership network, which the company claims to have surpassed half a million.

Besides, the funds will be used to improve product catalogues as part of future product and platform development.

Launched in 2016, RateS enables small businesses and individuals to start their online business through social channels. By using technology to modernise sourcing, distribution and credit, RateS helps resellers solve inefficiencies faced by resellers.

RateS claims that it has since expanded to over 400 cities across Indonesia and has more than tripled its growth in 2020 alone, with the bulk of its revenue stemming from tier 2 and 3 cities within Indonesia.

“For us, the true measure of RateS’s success will be in how much we can improve our resellers’ livelihood and businesses. We have already seen our resellers’ incomes increasing by up to 50 per cent since joining our platform,” said Jake Goh, co-founder and CEO of RateS.

Also Read: A look at the future of social commerce

“Our collective vision is to revolutionise social commerce through technology, creating digital entrepreneurs and empowering them with tools to conduct their business seamlessly and more profitably,” he added.

Social commerce in Indonesia has witnessed strong growth. A McKinsey report forecast that social commerce is expected to grow into a US$25 billion dollar industry by 2022, driven by the growing number of merchant bases.

“As with many other models we have seen, e-commerce marketplaces in Southeast Asia have long evolved into a race-to-the-bottom with cash serving as the only standing moat,” said Chua Joo Hock, Managing Partner at Vertex Ventures.

“RateS, on the other hand, has unearthed an efficient acquisition playbook to access Tier 2 and 3 cities in Indonesia that is not only cost-effective and sustainable but more importantly has huge untapped market potential,” he added.

Last month, Indonesia-based micro-retail e-commerce platform Ula raised US$20 million in Series A round co-led by Quona Capital and B Capital Group to expand its services within Indonesia.

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Image Credit: RateS

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While COVID-19 has accelerated the disruption in traditional banking and payments, with fintech introducing viable operating models and services or better experiences, the disruption in the industry has, in actual fact, been taking place for several years now.

Though relatively nascent, the digital wealth management space has also come to the fore during the pandemic, and there is no reason why it won’t soon become as ingrained in our lives as, say, mobile banking.

I would like to share three learnings from my journey so far as a founding member of digital wealth management platform Syfe, which I hope will inspire anyone with aspirations to start their own venture in the space as we move into a post-COVID world.

Understand unmet needs

In an environment where the value of savings in a bank account gets eroded over time because of rising inflation and low-interest rates, placing a part of your income into investments – which deliver higher returns over the long-run – has become a necessity.

While “having enough for the future” is a major financial need for everyone, traditional wealth management services have always been geared toward serving the high-net-worth – or approximately only five per cent of the population.

For those that do not qualify for services such as premier or private banking, they are often left with the option of lower-grade investment solutions when they approach traditional banks.

This problem is felt by those that have a sizeable amount of savings, a part of which they are willing to put into investments, and yet are unable to enjoy the same solutions that are offered to the premier or private banking clients.

Having identified this as a pain point for the remaining 95 per cent of the population, which includes the emerging affluent population, digital wealth managers have designed technology-driven operating models and automated platforms to allow anyone to start investing at any amount while offering much lower and affordable annual fees.

Also Read: Digital wealth management startup StashAway raises US$16M Series C led by Square Peg

Interestingly, better off individuals who have access to sophisticated solutions are also finding value in such platforms. We witnessed high-net-worth individuals seeing merits in our digital approach towards wealth management, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of such wealth management experience, which provides the convenience of digital services and significantly lower fees.

Design your model or products to account for human emotions

In the course of developing your model, you should acknowledge that the ‘purchasing decisions’ of your prospective customers are often emotionally-driven. We believe that by carefully addressing these emotional intricacies and having a solution that responds to them, we’ve been able to grow Syfe’s platform users by more than 10 times in the first nine months of 2020.

According to research we conducted in 2019, 62 per cent of Singaporeans, for instance, do not invest enough because they feel that investing is too complicated.

For newer investors, fear of loss when there are wild market swings can often lead to panic selling. In the same vein, investors who are excited by the prospect of day traders’ returns from stock picking might feel compelled to do likewise, while being unaware of the saying that 90 per cent of such traders actually lose money.

To address this, we ensure that our content for market education is as jargon-free as possible. Our investment strategy focuses on diversification.

We, therefore, design, monitor and rebalance individuals’ portfolios based on each person’s risk appetite to minimise losses during market swings, so they avoid panic selling but instead remain well-positioned to capture the gains when the market inevitably bounces back. Anxious investors might sometimes need a listening ear, so unlike pure-play robo-advisors, we have human wealth experts available to speak.

Secondly, the emotions of your frontline employees must likewise be considered and built into your servicing model. Traditional wealth managers have commission-based fee structures. Syfe has steered clear of a commission-based fee structure when remunerating our wealth experts, and therefore ensuring that they have no interest other than their clients.

Be honest with yourself about what you know, and what you do not know

Finally, if you’ve dreamed up a business idea to disrupt a specific sector, it’s highly probable that you already have a good amount of expertise and experience in that field. That said, it always helps to surround yourself with experts in the skills you do not possess or other individuals in your field who can constructively play the role of a devil’s advocate.

The idea of Syfe came up when Dhruv, our CEO, was an exchange traded fund portfolio trader at UBS almost a decade ago. He knew that the success of Syfe would require a team’s effort, and started recruiting talent to help him realise his vision.

Also Read: Wealth management need not be complex, if WeInvest can help it

I joined Dhruv a few months before Syfe launched to lead distribution. We have a fully in-house, dedicated team of software engineers to build the actual digital wealth management platform from scratch. Our PhDs and portfolio construction experts – who used to work at prominent investment banks – were responsible for developing the algorithms and strategic investment approaches that underpin each product.

Our first few years as a team, running Syfe, have been as challenging as they have been rewarding, and 2020 has been especially tough. What continues to motivate us though is that, despite significant growth in the volume of assets managed by digital wealth managers, it still represents only a fraction of what traditional wealth managers hold. The digital wealth space has huge potential, and we’re excited about what 2021 will hold for us, and the wider industry.

As COVID-19 continues to change the way we live, work and play, and as industries’ operational rulebooks get thrown out the window, I am excited about a new generation of high-growth businesses emerging to both challenge and collaborate with established players, so that industries can be reshaped to fully cater to our new behaviours and preferences.

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Indonesian investment and personal finance management platform FUNDtastic today announced that it has raised US$7.7 million in Series A funding round in January. The funding round is led by Ascend Capital Group, with the participation of Indivara Group and other investors.

In a press statement, FUNDtastic CEO Harry Hartono explained that the funding will be used to support expansion and product development.

“This funding will enable us to continue developing an investment product that is easily accessible, even for beginner investors. We will use this new funding to expand market reach and to enrich our products and features offerings to help serve our customers’ needs better,” Hartono said.

In August 2020, FUNDtastic acquired 100 per cent of mutual funds and securities platform Invisee for US$6.5 million. As detailed in a report by The Jakarta Post, the acquisition was meant to support the startup’s product development effort.

Since then, Invisee had rebranded itself to FUNDtastic+.

Also Read: Philippine fintech startup Ayannah seeks Series B funding to fuel its expansion into Vietnam, India

Despite the ongoing pandemic, FUNDtastic said that their platform experienced growth in both the number of users and funds that they managed in 2020. The company has acquired a total of 110,000 users and managed a total of IDR200 billion (US$14 million).

FUNDtastic CIO and co-founder Franky Chandra credited this growth to several factors including a partnership with organisations such as Indonesia Fintech Association (AFTECH) and government agencies such as the Financial Services Authority (OJK). The pandemic has also encouraged digital transformation and pushed users to reconsider their finance management.

Founded in 2019 by Hartono, Chandra, and Medwin Susilo, the startup is currently based in Jakarta.

Other fintech startups in Indonesia that have raised funding in recent times include PasarPolis, GajiGesa, and ALAMI. Popular segments in the local fintech ecosystem includes P2P lending for SMEs, personal finance management platforms, insurtech, and e-wallet.

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Image Credit: Muhammad Raufan Yusup on Unsplash

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We know that 90 per cent of all startups fail, and failure is most common in years two to five. It is a no brainer that startups are risky businesses. But we were keen to find out what the perceptions of risks are from the people on the ground running startups.

We recently ran a poll to find out what keeps businesses owners up at night and what they are looking out for to ensure they stay on track of their plans for the year.

The results are in. Tied in first place are fundraising and execution risks. Talent risks came in third place. Let’s explore what these risks entail and what founders need to look out for.

Perhaps it was no surprise that fundraising risks topped the list. A lot of founders spend a lot of time fundraising. Fundraising usually becomes a big part of a CEO or founder’s job every one to two years and is crucial to keep the business afloat with runway in order to keep operating. Understandably, once funding runs out, the business reaches a grinding halt; a massive risk to the company.

There is so much involved with fundraising, and many areas where things can go pear shaped. Founders need to learn to anticipate the length of time it takes from fundraising to actually getting the money in the bank. That timing is crucial to take the company to the next milestone to live another day so to speak.

Founders also need to learn how to pitch to investors, how to master the art of storytelling through their pitch deck. That’s the first step to opening the conversation with potential investors.

Fundraising is a time-consuming task that can be mentally draining. Some liken it to dating where you need to cast your net far and wide and spend a lot of time getting to know the potential partner on whether it will be a good match. The 30-10-2 rule is a good example of this.

Also Read: TRIVE Ventures launches US$2M venture philanthropy fund to support cash-strapped founders in Singapore

According to this rule, you need to find 30 potential investors who are willing to invest in the business. Only 10 out of the 30 investors will show interest in your business proposal, and only two out of the 10 will actually invest. It’s a numbers game and emotions will go up and down during this period. You need nerves of steel and the ability to move on to the next investor when you face rejection.

As startups move up the chain in the stages of pre-seed, seed to series A, B and beyond, the types of investors change from family and friends, angel investors, to accelerators, VCs and other institutional investors. There are different expectations and demands by investors as there becomes more at stake. Founders need to show existing and potential investors that they are proving their worth. This comes all down to execution, and perhaps interestingly why execution risk was voted in a tie at first place.

The value of a startup is an important factor in its success. The definition of success can be anything from the ability to raise more funds to continue on, creating a great product or service that addresses a market need or pain point, to having happy customers. Whatever the definition of success is to the founders, it mostly relies on the company executing on its goals.

Execution is a pretty big word as it can encompass the product strategy, the people strategy, fundraising strategy, customer service strategy and so forth. I understand execution as ‘doing-what-you-say-you-are-going-to-do’. There are many factors that can derail companies from achieving what they say they are going to do. Some of this is external and out of your control.

Take COVID-19 for example which has basically grounded international leisure travel. That would be a huge element for many companies in the travel industry in being able to execute on their strategies. Companies have had to pivot and find a new way forward to continue executing with headwinds.

I can imagine that the challenges COVID-19 has thrown at everyone might have been a factor to execution risk being ranked in the top spot. Startups don’t have the luxury to take their time to test out new ideas. If something is not working, they need to find another way.

That could mean iterating or pivoting and getting a minimum viable product out into the market to retest. The risk of not finding another way to execute your vision could be detrimental. It requires being agile, thinking on your feet and not resting on your laurels.

Talent risks were voted as the third highest risk for startup founders. This is a risk that can also be linked to execution. One can argue that if you don’t have the right talent in place you can’t execute on your strategy. Attracting talent can be difficult for startups. Whilst the proposition of addressing a big pain point and working with passionate founders can be an attractive proposition to candidates, for young startups, prospective candidates may be concerned about the long-term sustainability of the company.

Also Read: The concerns, risks and success factors of any startup

Startups don’t have the luxury to get talent acquisition wrong. The cost of poor recruitment can be extremely high not only from a financial standpoint, but if the candidate is not the right fit, they can potentially slow the company down or take the company in a different route which is possibly even more detrimental. Understanding your employer value proposition and defining a clear employer branding message can help attract the right candidates.

There is also a risk associated with the founding core team. Disagreements between founders over topics such as finances or the direction of the business can be very destructive and affect the longevity of the company. Having a founders’ agreement can help minimise the probability of disputes about ownership and responsibilities and providing equity that vests over time can potentially reduce the risk of losing the founding team.

Whilst this was not brought up during our poll, I believe that the mental health risks of founders need to be taken into consideration too. There is so much riding on the shoulders of founders and there is only so many hours in the day. Not only are they overseeing business activities to ensure they stay afloat, but they are also planning for growth and have many stakeholders to manage. I think it’s important for all founders to ask themselves whether they have the support they need.

Building up a support network whether it is within the company, or looking for external help such as a mentor, coach or even an advisory board can help tremendously to provide direction on how to balance your time as the company grows. There are so many things that can go wrong and weigh down founders. It’s all about prioritising the risks and making sure you have a risk management plan in place.

At Anapi, we’re on a mission to help founders transfer some risks to insurers so that you can continue building an awesome business that transform the world around us. We collaborate with many insurers to offer innovative insurance products that are purpose built for startups.

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Data-centred services have been on the rise in Singapore and around the Asia Pacific over the past few years. Clubbed together with machine learning and artificial intelligence, big data has risen to become one of the most promising sectors in the region. Businesses today are able to leverage data analytics for growth and scalability.

One of the most crucial and biggest aspects of data is audio, and automatic speech recognition solutions based on AI and machine learning plus data analytics are changing the audio data industry in the 4.0 era. On a global level, the speech and voice recognition market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2019 to 2025 to reach $26.8 billion by 2025.

Also read: How this Tokyo-based startup is protecting e-Commerce merchants against fraudulent orders

However, when it comes to enterprise ASR solutions, there are still some major gaps and scope for improvement. AI-based ASR transcription in the enterprise has an accuracy of just 60 to 70 per cent as compared to 80 to 90 per cent in consumer applications like Alexa and Siri. Furthermore, the processing speed of the ASR engines tends to be a lot slower than what is required in enterprise use cases where large volumes of audio data need to be transcribed and long turnaround times make it inefficient. Data privacy and integrity is yet another problem faced by the enterprise ASR sector where there is a lack of clarity on segregation, storage, usage, and security of data.

As such, Singapore-based AI Communis is helping address these three core challenges so businesses can benefit from their audio data and increase productivity.

Addressing the core challenges faced by the enterprise ASR industry

AI Communis provides customised engines that provide better accuracy that can go as high as up to 85+ per cent. They are able to achieve this because each ASR engine is custom made to suit the need of the specific client enterprise in that engine learns from the client’s unique audio data, understands the industry and company jargon, and thus is able to provide a more accurate transcription. They do not follow a one-size-fits-all model.

“When I first met with my co-founder, we spoke about the future of AI and ASR. We quickly understood that to realise our vision, we need to have proprietary technology and that is why we are very focused on our core technology,” shares Nobuhiko Suzuki founder and CEO of AI Communis who comes with over 18 years of experience in banking as well as corporate strategy.

Furthermore, AI Communis’s engines are much faster by up to 20 times, transcribing a one-hour file in just 60 seconds. Big tech and legacy companies take about an average of 1200 seconds to transcribe a one-hour audio file.

Another key highlight is that the startup has full ownership of the entire technology life cycle and thus complete control of the data, which ensures that there is no cross-contamination of data plus the enterprise has complete visibility into the data’s storage, access, and control.

Also read: Why a robust digital insurance distribution system is the future in APAC

Data privacy and security is one of the major challenges faced by startups, SMEs and big corporations alike in Singapore. This is even more pertinent today amidst a dramatic shift towards digitalisation following the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. While businesses are being encouraged to leverage big data and embrace digital transformation for survival, growth, and scalability, the risks of cybersecurity is one of the main threats faced by companies. With AI Communis, businesses need not worry about data contamination and other risks because they have dedicated virtual private clouds ensuring maximum data integrity and security.

“We own the underlying AI technology and that is what separates us from the rest of the players — having the ownership of the entire tech stack. This also helps us ensure maximum data integrity and privacy,” says Devanjan Sinha, VP of Operations at AI Communis who comes with 12+ years of experience in equity research and investments.

Additionally, AI Communis’s ASR engines are able to support three different languages, including English (UK, US, and Japanese. Singapore Standard English and Bahasa are under development. They offer real-time transcription and are able to offer on-premise support.

Improving efficiency in compliance monitoring at Financial Institutions and other sectors

Financial institutions, such as banks and fintech startups make sales calls all day long and they have to comply with a host of regulations and guidelines. It can be tedious for a small team of compliance professionals to monitor all sales conversations which can be around 100 to 200 hours per day. A single slip can lead to risks of fines, lengthy customer remediation processes and loss of brand credibility. This is where AI Communis’s ASR engines can help: they transcribe the conversations, then run their algorithm to pick up problematic keywords and flag them, reducing time and effort, and increasing productivity.

In addition to the finance sector, the core technology of AI Communis’s ASR solution has a wide range of use cases. They can help enterprises in different sectors, including real estate, logistics, education, governments, as well as corporates.

Also read: How this Tokyo-based IoT startup seeks to revolutionise healthcare

Startups and SMEs looking to enhance productivity by making the most of their audio data can engage AI Communis’s SaaS model via APIs to leverage their customized ASR solutions. Whereas, for large enterprises that have more robust tech infrastructure, AI Communis can to license their core engines.

With a keen focus on banks and financial institutions, such as insurance companies and fintech startups, AI Communis is looking to onboard clients and collaborate with partners in Singapore and across Southeast Asia. To learn more about them or to connect with them, visit https://e27.co/startups/ai-communis-pte-ltd/

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

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The pandemic has affected many businesses. Some businesses went bankrupt, while others could change their business models and adapt to the situation. The year 2020 was a transformational year for technology, and it has changed the way we live.

Many of us stopped commuting, dining at restaurants, and started using online platforms for attending meetings at work or school. Technology changed the way we shop and the way we workout. We were able to adapt to the digital lifestyle during the lockdown.

Proptech is one of the businesses that has been affected by the pandemic. Proptech is a combination of real estate, construction, and finance startups. Even though the economy has restarted, the demand for properties remains subdued. People are still actively searching for homes, co-working spaces, and offices.

But how has the price and their behaviour been affected by the pandemic? According to asean.org, unemployment expecting to increase in South East Asia due to the impact of COVID-19. The Philippines has an all-time high of 17.7 per cent from a 5.1 per cent in the corresponding 2019 period.

While people are concerned more about the uncertain economy, real estate professionals are left wondering how they can continue to persuade people to buy houses during this difficult time. Nonetheless, as we enter 2021, three predict technology trends that real estate professionals will adapt to use during the pandemic.

Virtual meetings on the rise

Many real estate professionals use technology like virtual viewings and live walk- through videos to make tenants feel like they are visiting the property without setting the foot inside the space.

Also Read: Proptech is changing the face of real estate in Asia Pacific

This year, the prediction could be the quality improvement of virtual viewings, including 3D video tours and 360° virtual viewings, which would increase the experience of viewing and experience of interacting with real estate agents and tenants.

AI and data analytics

Statistical data science study has proved to help humans understand the pattern of problems regarding generalisation and prediction. The big data and massive computation power on the cloud have unleashed its full potential of AI and machine learning.

The McKinsey Global Survey 2020 showed that 22 per cent of respondents report at least 5 per cent of EBIT attributes to AI. They have become the mainstream adoption for most businesses, especially in marketing and sales.

As we witnessed, it has already played a significant role in property management and asset management services. We also use data to predict the behaviour of people who have interacted with a property. Another fair use case is the pricing prediction powered by AI to help property management professionals with profit optimisation.

AI also helps our clients and tenants make better decisions as we can mitigate risks by providing accurate predictions. Many real estate professionals use AI or space-planning or create new spaces to increase landlords’ revenues and understand market demand.

Ageing population

Seniors spend more time at home during the pandemic, so improving resident experience is something that real estate professionals should focus on. Senior living is a blend of healthcare and hospitality.

Real estate professionals are improving the experience of living for seniors, including making them feel more connected with the community, including offering zoom happy hours, video chats, wearable smart technology, voice assistants, tele health, and GPS tracker. Technology plays a significant role in helping seniors stay connected.

As COVID-19 forces us to change our lifestyles and business models, businesses are striving to survive. There are many areas where technology can help the real estate sector.

We will not be able to replace human interaction, but technology allows discover a range of useful selling and marketing tools to utilise during this pandemic. To the pandemic, these above technologies can help agents in a wide range of activities.

This article is co-authored by Sorakrit Phruthanontachai.

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Have you tried Clubhouse yet? Well, I am still waiting to be invited. It sort of reminds me the time in college when we waited to get on a guest list of the city’s elite clubs.

Speaking of ageing, one of our contributors shares his excellent view on why mid-career professionals make good entrepreneurs. And there’s more on fintech, remote work culture, etc.

Have a good week!

How sailing as a teenager prepared me for a career in tech and gaming by Najwa Jumali UX/UI Designer at Tribe

“At the age of nine, my parents enrolled me and my sister in sailing lessons at the Singapore Armed Forces Yacht Club (SAFYC) and since that day, my sailing pursuit took me to many places around the world including, but not limited to Italy, France and Croatia.

While I haven’t sailed in years, I still look back at the ups and downs of my sailing career as some of the most formative years of my life that still help me today in my tech journey.

Here are some of the skills sailing taught me that I still lean on today”

Of lifestyle apps

Clubhouse: Hype-fuelled gimmick or the future of events and podcasting? by Dean Carroll, founder of C-suite

“Clubhouse is the first audio app. Twitter and Facebook, meanwhile, are already building their own versions. As is the tech entrepreneur and Shark Tank television star Mark Cuban, with Fireside. Not to mention the myriad equivalents in mainland China, where Clubhouse has already been blocked by the Great Firewall. Note to Silicon Valley, freeform dissent against the country’s communist regime cannot be tolerated.

So then, is Clubhouse a hype-fuelled gimmick or a new model that will disrupt the tired events and podcasting industries? It certainly has the potential to become the latter. Then again, it could also quickly morph into the former.”

To bumble or not to bumble: Does Asia need its own dating apps? by Arick Wierson, political and business columnist

“In addition to empowering women to take the lead in kicking off possible romantic connections, Bumble has been leaning in on scores of other matchstick issues ranging from banning profile pics that show men (or women) posing with firearms to her recent fight against fat-shaming on the Bumble app.

But how exactly Bumble will be received across the globe—heavy investment in global expansion is one of the purported uses of the funds raised in the forthcoming IPO—in cultures where gender roles and scores of other cultural nuances are quite different from those in the US, is still very much an open question.”

Founders take note

Note to entrepreneurs: This too shall pass by Carmen Yuen, VC at Vertex Ventures

“With 2020 behind us, and yet the end of the COVID-19 tunnel remaining elusive, I sense some of us in Singapore are getting somewhat careless in how we handle COVID-19.

This resulted in our government imposing rules on gatherings — which is somewhat of an annoyance given Lunar New Year catch-ups is what we do during the festive period.

Thankful as I am that the COVID-19 community spread cases are kind of under control, we should not be “..too excited nor too happy”, and throw caution to the wind because there could be super-spreaders and we could be miserable when more tightening measures are introduced as a result.”

Legal matters: What is the most important business agreement for your startup? by Izwan Zakaria, corporate, tech, venture, and startup lawyer

“After being involved as a corporate lawyer for over a decade on a wide range of legal work for bootstrapped startups to venture-backed companies, I believe there is one single most crucial agreement that every business owner, entrepreneur, and a founder should have is an agreement covering the following items below.

These agreements are usually known as a shareholders agreement, stockholder agreement, founders agreement, and also known as a partnership agreement in some places. Although they may be called by different names, entrepreneurs and founders should ensure that they cover the following issues in such an agreement.”

What is keeping founders up at night? by Ruth Haller, Anapi

“We recently ran a poll to find out what keeps businesses owners up at night and what they are looking out for to ensure they stay on track of their plans for the year.

The results are in. Tied in first place are fundraising and execution risks. Talent risks came in third place. Let’s explore what these risks entail and what founders need to look out for.

Perhaps it was no surprise that fundraising risks topped the list. A lot of founders spend a lot of time fundraising. Fundraising usually becomes a big part of a CEO or founder’s job every one to two years and is crucial to keep the business afloat with runway in order to keep operating. Understandably, once funding runs out, the business reaches a grinding halt; a massive risk to the company.”

Why it is never too late for mid-career professionals to be an entrepreneur by Dr Alex Lin, interim CEO of NTUitive

“According to Harvard Business Review, for the top 0.1 per cent of startups based on growth in their first five years, the founders of these startups had started their companies, on average, when they were 45 years old.

Mid-career professionals have the resilience and experience to weather the stress and variables arising from being an entrepreneur. Even if they do fail and wish to return to employment, the skillsets and networks built during the entrepreneurship journey will make them highly employable.”

Life after COVID

The world of proptech and its fate in a post-pandemic world by early employee of Plug and Play Tech Center in Bangkok, Alex Chatpaitoon

“Proptech is one of the businesses that has been affected by the pandemic. Proptech is a combination of real estate, construction, and finance startups. Even though the economy has restarted, the demand for properties remains subdued. People are still actively searching for homes, co-working spaces, and offices.

But how has the price and their behaviour been affected by the pandemic? According to asean.org, unemployment expecting to increase in South East Asia due to the impact of COVID-19. The Philippines has an all-time high of 17.7 per cent from a 5.1 per cent in the corresponding 2019 period.”

How the tech industry is redefining the remote work culture by Sabrina Zolkifi, Indeed Employer Brand Program Manager

“You should also look at how you structure and communicate your employee benefits in light of changed work practices. Some benefits, like on-site gyms and catering, will need to be reconsidered. Others may need to be deployed in a way that makes them able to be enjoyed asynchronously for employees in different time zones.

You can’t install a ping-pong table in people’s home offices or buffets in their kitchens. Delivering these kinds of on-site experiences in a remote work environment requires a creative and fresh approach. When examining work culture incentives, look to desired outcomes rather than specific initiatives to determine what will be appropriate for a hybrid or remote work future.”

5 fintech trends to watch out for in 2021 by Josh Luna, Research Associate

“A 2020 study reported that fintech firms in digital asset exchanges, payments, savings, and wealth management saw a 13 per cent growth in transaction numbers and 11 per cent increase in transaction volumes in the previous year.

Around 831 of the 1,385 fintech companies surveyed launched new products and services in response to the pandemic.

With many people opting to conduct their financial transactions online amidst the global crisis, it came to no surprise that demand for fintech offerings has grown as well.”

The post From our community: All the Clubhouse hype, words of solace from Vertex VC and more…. appeared first on e27.

“We believe the movement against plastic is now firmly entrenched worldwide, with many governments acting to reduce or ban the consumption of single-use plastics and businesses committing to reduce their plastic footprint,” says Zhaotan Xiao, President (Asia Pacific) at RWDC.

An increasing awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic and a ban/ restriction on its use in many countries has opened enormous opportunities for startups as well as venture capitalists to develop and promote environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Singapore- and US-based RWDC Industries is one such startup that has long been working on developing a biodegradable alternative. The company, which has secured nearly US$168 million over its six years of existence from renowned VCs such as Vickers Venture Partners as well as the ‘Iron Man’ star Robert Downey Jr., produces medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) biopolymers that are designed for use across a broad range of applications.

In this interview, Xiao, discusses RWDC’s association with Downey, the company’s products and future plans.

Edited excerpts:

Since inception, RWDC has raised US$168 million from about seven investors. Why does the company need this much capital? How much of this capital is going into R&D?

There is no lack of investor interest and financial support for our mission to replace single-use plastics.

Almost all funding raised by us is going towards capacity construction, as there is no lack of demand for PHA. We need to build physical factories that are first of its kind in the world; we are not building apps.

Also Read: Biodegradable plastic startup RWDC Industries raises US$22M in fresh funding

We cannot disclose the exact amount going into R&D. RWDC firmly believes in the importance of investing to maintain our technological advantage, and we are constantly innovating both in our production processes and in the utilisation of PHA in novel end-product applications.

How much did you raise from Robert Downey’s fund FootPrint Coalition? How did this deal come in? How will this partnership mutually benefit?

We cannot disclose the amount raised from FootPrint Coalition (a US-based coalition of investors which invest in high-growth, sustainability-focused companies including in Asia).

We were introduced to FootPrint Coalition (FC) through one of our institutional investors. FC really intrigued and excited about our technology, and completely aligned with our vision of transitioning the world towards bio-based and natural materials that are in harmony with Nature’s regenerative cycles.

Aside from capital investment, FC will be an extremely helpful resource for educating the world about the benefits of PHA. They recently did an excellent short video on this topic, and the recent press coverage about their investment into RWDC has greatly elevated our profile.

You’ve been working on the biodegradable alternative since 2015. However, as per your site, your products haven’t hit the market yet. Why is it taking a long time for the commercialisation of the product?

PHA has been known to mankind for more than 100 years, but nobody had found a way to produce the material on an industrial scale. We have gotten to where we are due to the decades of work put in by our Founders. Again, we are not building an app.

The road to commercialising new materials is typically very long (think Goretex, Teflon etc.). The reason is because everything fails at the weakest link, and we need to have solved every single problem from our clients’ perspective for them to adopt the material.

We are very confident that we are now at the cusp of transitioning the world away from plastics towards this much more logical choice of material, as our clients are now able to successfully run our PHA material on their existing equipment as a “drop-in” replacement of the plastics they currently use.

The fruits of successfully commercialising new materials are also typically very big (think Goretex, Teflon etc).

As per your website, you will target the Singapore market in the first phase by introducing a drinking straw. How are you going to price the product? Will it be cheaper than traditional plastic straws?

RWDC is a B2B business. We do not make the end products (bottles, cutlery, straws, coated paper, etc.) ourselves. We provide PHA in the form of a resin or dispersion, and this would be used to produce the end-products on our clients’ existing machines. Our go-to-market strategy is therefore largely determined together with our clients.

Our straws will be more expensive than traditional plastic only if the negative externalities to the environment posed by plastic straws are not taken into account. We know that our pricing is acceptable to clients because we have already signed deals with large MNC clients.

Additionally, a ban on single-use plastic items including straws has been or will be imposed in many countries.

Even in places where plastic straws are not (yet) banned, businesses would like to show their environmental consciousness by replacing plastic straws with other environmentally friendly alternatives. Straws make up a tiny part of overall costs for businesses, so higher pricing is generally acceptable.

Our PHA straws are competitive to other alternatives, including paper and polylactic acid (PLA) straws. In addition, they have several advantages compared to other alternatives.

Also Read: This Indian startup makes cutlery using sugarcane waste

For example, our straws are more functional than paper straws (they don’t turn soggy after a while). They are also biodegradable in the truest sense (i.e., in nature), whereas PLA is only compostable (i.e., only degrades under certain conditions), and will take the same time as regular plastic to degrade if leaked into nature.

When will your other products (cutlery, cups, bags, etc.) will be available in the market? Which are your other key target markets?

We target to launch bottles, cutlery and straws in 2021. In addition, we have made great progress with clients on areas such as coated paper, PHA fibres, injection-moulded articles and so on. We have also demonstrated our ability to make PHA films and foam products.

Is there awareness among businesses, especially F&B ones, about the dangers of plastic in Singapore?

There is definitely increasing awareness about the dangers of plastic in Singapore. We believe the movement against plastic is now firmly entrenched worldwide, with many governments acting to reduce or ban consumption of single-use plastics and businesses committing to reduce their plastic footprint.

Do you also work with the Singapore government in its drive against single-use plastics?

We have had discussions with the Singapore government about the benefits of PHA and the limitations of the three ‘R’s to change the growth trajectory of plastic pollution.

Having said that, concerns about plastic pollution in the Singapore government appear to be less pressing due to the fact that the country incinerates our waste and leverages on the waste-to-energy conversion for power.

RWDC is actively engaged with the European Commission on their Single-Use Plastics Directive. As a natural polymer that is not chemically-modified, we believe PHA should not even be considered a plastic.

Singapore is much smaller than many other markets in the world. Why does RWDC want to introduce its first products in this country?

We are going to commercialise our first products globally, in collaboration with global brand owners.

How big is your total addressable market (TAM) in Southeast Asia?

PHA is a viable alternative to plastic (in terms of functionality, versatility and price), so our TAM is at least the market for single-use plastics.

In reality, adoption (especially in certain applications) will be slowed down by several factors, including the need for extensive product trials to ensure feasibility, our ability to increase production capacity to catch up with demand, and pricing.

We have very aggressive and ambitious plans for scaling up. This is a very long journey, and our partners are all fully aligned with us in terms of values and vision.

Do you have plans to secure additional investments soon?

We expect to raise a new round in the second half of 2021 or early 2022, to unlock funding for our next phase of growth — building the first wave of full-scale production modules in the US and Asia.

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Image Credit: RWDC Industries

The post Why ‘Iron Man’ star Robert Downey Jr. placed a bet on Singapore’s biodegradable plastic startup RWDC Industries appeared first on e27.

AppMan, a Thailand-based insurtech startup, announced today it has raised US$4.6 million in a Series A funding round.

Investors include Siam Alpha Equity (SAE), Krungsri Finnovate, Casmatt, KTBST Group, and POEMS Ventures.

The startup will use the capital to expand its services across Asia Pacific and further develop its technology. 

AppMan was born in 2011 after Thanapoom Chareonsiri gathered co-founders Amarit Franssen, Pak Ratthidham and Nuttapon Kongkitimanon to build a software solution that would help digitise the insurance sector. 

Since all the co-founders were already working in the insurance sector, the opportunity to serve the market became even greater.

AppMan’s aim is to enable insurers to mobilise their sales agents digitally and shift from paper-based work to an automated process. Its flagship product is AgentMate, which seeks to provide seamless sales process solutions for insurance companies wanting to digitise their sale process.

Also Read: Singapore’s insurtech startup Axinan rebrands to Igloo; closes Series A-plus funding

The company has raised a total of US$5 million since its inception from undisclosed founders which went into creating new products.

Additionally, AppMan has also expanded its reach and established offices outside of Thailand in markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. 

“AppMan has strong expertise in several technologies such as OCR (a technology to read words from documents) or chatbot, which allows seamless experience insurance transactions for clients. We believe that strategic investment in AppMan will not only grow our invested capital but also would raise digital adoption readiness and awareness to KTBST Group as well,” Kitiwat Akrangsi, a representative from KTBST Group said.

“The insurance space is ripe for digital disruption. As an insurtech SaaS solutions business that targets the B2B2C space, AppMan is well-positioned to capture this market. It has achieved strong traction and buy-in with the existing market players, and has a strong pipeline of new products which we expect will drive further traction,” said Luke Lim, a representative of PhillipCapital Group. 

As per a study, the insurance penetration rate in the ASEAN region remains low at approximately 3.6 per cent. According to Chareonsiri, there is a real opportunity for insurtech companies in SEA Markets as Thailand alone marks a market worth US$26 billion. 

Some notable startups in the insurtech sector in Southeast Asia are Igloo, PasarPolis, Sunday, and PolicyStreet.

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Image Credit: AppMan

The post Thai startup AppMan raises US$4.6M to help insurers in APAC automate sales process appeared first on e27.