In today’s fast-paced world, do corporations have sufficient time to make a digital transformation?

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Solutions to data privacy are not going to be easy since how flawed current anonymisation practices are.

A paper published last month raises deep concerns about the way that user data is currently anonymised, and suggests that no complex dataset can be successfully anonymised using standard techniques.

The research has some pretty terrifying consequences.

It suggests that the data held by hospitals, credit agencies, and tech firms can never be protected sufficiently.

Even new technologies like AI and Blockchain rely on effective anonymisation in order to be secure, and this supposed anonymity is one of the factors driving Blockchain adoption in Asia.

Also Read: Implications and solutions for Big Data in insurance

Anonymity and identification

Anonymised datasets are supposed to allow researchers to work with data without being able to uniquely identify individuals.

A hospital, for instance, might remove names and dates of birth from patient data, and then release this to health researchers. 

The problem is that if this data contains enough data points, it can be reverse-engineered in order to identify individuals.

A number of high-profile examples of this have occurred in the past few years. 

In 2008, for instance, a publicly available Netflix dataset of film ratings was de-anonymized by comparing the ratings with public scores on the IMDb film website in 2014.

The home addresses of New York taxi drivers were revealed in a similar way, and in Australia, even health records were identified by comparing basic facts about patients. 

The recent research was carried out by Belgium’s Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) and Imperial College London and aims to work out how many data sets like this can be re-identified.

Their conclusions are striking: a dataset that contains 15 demographic attributes, for instance, “would render 99.98 per cent of people in Massachusetts unique”. 

The problem gets even worse when the set of data is smaller. 

If town-level location data is included, for instance, “it would not take much to reidentify people living in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, a city of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants”.

Also Read: What you need to know about data privacy in China

The scale of the problem

These might seem like abstract concerns, but they are not.

The problem is that plenty of companies release ‘anonymous’ data sets as a core part of their business.

In many cases, in fact, selling this data provides the core income for these companies, and the larger the amount of data on each individual, the more the data sells for.

This gives companies an incentive to release huge, detailed data sets that can easily be de-anonymised.

The researchers of the recent report highlight a few examples of this.

They draw particular attention, for instance, to one set of data sold to the computer software firm Alteryx, which contained 248 attributes per household for 120 million Americans.

The concerns raised by this research will affect companies and consumers differently.

Many companies work with a ‘anonymise, release, and forget’ attitude. The research suggests that this practice might have to change because it proves that supposedly secure data sets are anything but.

It also raises a question about whether anonymisation is enough for companies to comply with relevant legislation like the GDPR. 

For consumers, this research merely confirms a long-term concern about how private data is used by companies.

In many cases, users have given their permission for their data to be released by accident, because the relevant clause is hidden so deep in terms of use policy that it is not read by the average user. 

Even where users do not give explicit permission, plenty of companies release supposedly anonymous data by accident.

Gary Stevens, CISO at the community research group, HostingCanada, org, is one of a growing number of voices that have repeatedly raised concerns about the logging policies of supposedly secure VPN and email providers.

Stevens points out that even VPNs can leak data – and they often do – meaning that privacy applications which are supposed to protect us actually do the opposite. 

The solutions

Novel solutions to the problems raised by the research are in development, and several large companies have already taken measures to reduce the risk of re-identification.

Differential privacy is one such approach and is used by companies such as Apple and Uber.

Both of these companies release data sets from time to time, and these sets contain huge numbers of data points for each (anonymous) individual.

To avoid the risk of re-identification, though, differential privacy deliberately makes each data point ‘fuzzy’: each point is expressed as a range rather than a definite number.

These ranges are calculated in such a way that they average out over the whole data set, defeating attempts to uniquely identify each user.

Another approach is homomorphic encryption, which allows data to remain encrypted but still is manipulated by researchers. In the near future, it is also likely that AIs will provide a more exotic solution to the problem.

AI’s can be trained to work with large data sets, and then produce anonymous data that is statistically identical but contains different values. 

Protect yourself

Users, however, are unlikely to wait for these technologies to be implemented.

In fact, data from recent years suggests that users are more concerned than ever about their online privacy, and are increasingly turning to privacy tools to protect themselves against data leaks.

Whilst these tools might provide an extra level of defence against accidental releases of information, they do not protect consumers against the kind of releases covered in recent research.

Also Read: What role does big data play in the insurance industry?

In these cases, users had (knowingly or not) given consent for ‘anonymous’ data to be released. They – and the companies who released this information – were simply unaware that it could be re-identified.

Solutions to this issue are not going to be easy but rely on increased consciousness, both among users and tech companies themselves, about just how flawed current anonymisation practices are. 

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The pace is changing in the marketplace, so entrepreneurs have to improve their ability to deal with change

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers.

Maybe it’s time to look harder at the mantra of a new breed of gurus and successful entrepreneurs, including Steve Blank and Eric Ries, called “nail it then scale it” (NISI).

You can review all the specifics of this approach in the classic book by Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom, appropriately titled “Nail It Then Scale It: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating and Managing Breakthrough Innovation,” but I will net it out here.

I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups:

Also Read: How to work with the right technology to tackle organisation problems for your business

• Nail the pain. Great companies begin with a customer problem that has a significant and monetizable pain point. Avoid the three big mistakes. Guessing but not testing the problem on customers, selecting a low customer problem, or selecting a problem only a small number of customers are willing to pay).
• Nail the solution. Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Success demands to test the solution early and quickly in the market, then iterating to get it right.
• Nail the go-to-market strategy. In parallel with nailing the solution, you need an in-depth understanding of your target customer’s buying process, the job they are trying to get done, the market infrastructure, and a stable of serious pilot customers. Do real tests with real pricing to see if customers will pay you, without being pushed.
• Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even.
• Scale it. Don’t attempt to scale it until you have a proven, repeatable business model that predictably generates revenue. Only then is it time to focus on the get-big-fast strategy, and the transformation of three critical areas from startup to a managed growth company. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

These pragmatics and points of focus can effectively counter three core myths which trap too many enterprising and capable entrepreneurs today:

• Hero myth: Why believing in your product leads to failure. All too often, founders fall in love with their products or technology, ignore negative feedback from customers, and spend years building a product based on a vision that no one else shares.
• Process myth: Why building a product leads to failure. Conventional wisdom is that after a great idea, the next steps are raising some money, build a product, then sell the product. This doesn’t work when attacking unknown problems with untested solutions.
• Money myth: Why having too much money leads to failure. The old saying that “it takes money to make money” isn’t so simple. Money allows entrepreneurs to execute a flawed business plan far too long, rather than stay focused on the market and adapt.

At the heart of it, to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be customer-centric, and learn to change and adapt as fast as the market.

Also Read: 7 strategies for beating startup burnout

At the same time, more entrepreneurs are jumping into the fray, and less money is available from investors.

It’s time for a new startup model. In my view, savvy “super angel” investors such as Mike Maples, Jr., and leading incubators such as Y Combinator, are already on this one.

How far behind is your startup?

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All you need to know about Litecoin the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of more than US$12 billion dollars

What is Litecoin? Litecoin is a blockchain-based decentralized digital cryptocurrency same as Bitcoin. Lіtесоіn is an Open source global payment network and рееr-tо-рееr сrурtосurrеnсу software project released under MIT/X11 lісеnѕеѕ which allows non-zero-cost payments in a globe.

Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin having the same encryption technology to create and transfer funds to authorize the transaction.

In Litecoin, ledgers store all information and once its transaction is confirmed, it can’t be deleted or even modified.

People who are interested in cryptocurrency investment other than Bitcoin and Ethereum, Litecoin will be a popular choice.

Due to availability and lesser price, it is called as “Silver” cryptocurrency and Bitcoin is “Gold” cryptocurrency.

“If Bitcoin is Gold then Litecoin is Silver”

Also Read: What Is Bitcoin And How It Works

Birth of Litecoin

Bitcoin is created by an Ex-Google employee Charlie Lee on October 7, 2011, and was launched in a network on October 13, 2011, with the vision of creating a lighter version of Bitcoin.

Charlie Lee is one of the top active people on different social media’s and blogs.

Benefits of Litecoin

Litecoin has fast processing speed likely every block is processed in 2.5 minutes means 4x faster than bitcoin and this is the main goal, to reduce the timing of block confirmation so that more transactions can take place.

It clearly means that in a single day 14, 400 Litecoins are being mined. Its algorithm is difficult to crack.

Litecoin is having huge market growth. On December 18, 2017, Litecoin touched too high and it was almost US$360.93.

As compared to the price in the year 2016, it was US$4.40 it means almost 8200 per cent growth in one year.

The Scrypt Algorithm used by Litecoin is difficult to crack due to its proof-of-work model. It confirms a secure and faster transaction.

Litecoin is a digital cryptocurrency if we compared the processing fees of Litecoin that is lesser than other bank transfer and credit card.

Also Read: Singapore a honeypot for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects, data shows

Litecoin works on Blockchain Technology, so it records all the information and stores it permanently and also confirms the information is distributed to all peers in the network.

Litecoin works in p2p connections as a result of no need of middle person or server due to this it reduces the cost of the transaction. The transaction speed of Litecoin is faster as compared to Bitcoin.

As a result, a transaction takes lesser time and is secure that is why transaction fees are less and cheaper.

The difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin

Algorithm:

Both Bitcoin and Litecoin work on the proof-of-work algorithm.

The difference is, Bitcoin uses the SHA256 algorithm whereas Litecoin works on a newer Scrypt Hashing algorithm.

The number of Coins each cryptocurrency can produce:

In Bitcoin, one transaction added in the ledger takes 10 minutes where Litecoin, having the fastest speed to confirm one transaction in 2.5 minutes.

A total of 84 million Litecoins will be created and presently 61 million Litecoin is created in Litecoin’s Algorithm and it has a 4-times max capacity than Bitcoin.

Due to the faster speed, Litecoin produces max coins as compared to Bitcoin.

A Bitcoin network will exceed a maximum of 21 million coins, whereas Litecoin can billet up to 84 million coins.

The real-world importance of these algorithms is impacted by the process of mining new coins.

Both cryptocurrencies need substantial computing power to confirm transactions. SHA-256 is usually reflected to be a complex algorithm than Scrypt, while at the same time allowing a greater degree of parallel processing.

Market Capital:

Bitcoin’s market capitalization is more than US$67 billion, whereas Litecoin’s market capitalization is below US$3 billion.

Future of Litecoin in the crypto market:

Litecoin is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of more than US$12 billion dollars.

The price of Litecoin was always higher in the crypto market

The value of Litecoin saw a committed and increasing dangerous run at the start of 2019.

The market capital of Litecoin in the year 2019 originated with 200 per cent higher and that also in only 6 months.

Investors who want to trade for longterm in cryptocurrency are having a choice of Litecoin with the goal to acquire max profit.

Litecoin’s price was US$4 in March 2017 to a high of US$320 in less than a year, providing 80x returns to its investors.

Also Read: The correlation between Bitcoin, social networks and “sense of community”

How to Buy or Purchase LTC:

Step 1: Create an account (From any official Website)

Step 2: Verify your identity

Step 3: Get a Litecoin wallet

Step 4: Find an exchange that sells Litecoin

Step 5: Deposit money and make the trade

Step 6: Withdraw the Litecoins to your wallet

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It may seem trivial, but to reap the maximum benefits of your fundraising round, making a public announcement on it requires some strategy

I’ve noticed a trend in Southeast Asia: As soon as the founders sign the term sheet with their investors, they run off to the media, eager to announce their funding news to the world. Their excitement is not without reason: with a simple press release about their raise, their startup can get front and centre with millions of tech readers, including potential customers, employees, partners, co-founders, and even future investors.

In the age of TechCrunch and VentureBeat, successful fundraising is as much about communications as it is about capital: it can legitimize you – fairly or not – with key stakeholders in your startup and tech ecosystem. Announce a large enough deal in a niche vertical of tech and you can even dissuade investors from backing current or future competitors. In the tech world – perhaps more than anywhere else – money talks.

Fundraising, like every strategic decision in a startup, beginning from what you call your company and who you hire all the way down to where you chose to locate your office, has to have an element of external communications.

In this era where every business move is a potential signal, I would like to advise founders in Southeast Asia to think about their venture capital-related comms more strategically, as I myself had to learn. Late last month, we finally announced our first fundraising for our Manila-based, HR-tech company, Sprout Solutions.

Over the course of a few hours on an April afternoon, publication after publication shared that we had raised a “US$1.6 million in seed funding” or a “US$1.6 million seed round,” but the particulars of this announcement were months in the making. Most would assume that we went back and forth on sharing the amount we raised, as many startups are increasingly opting for a poker-style, close-to-the-vest “undisclosed” when pressed for numbers.

In our case, however, we were undecided on what to even call the round. Since there are no official guidelines for what constitutes a seed round versus a Series A, we could have fairly called it one or the other.

The relative fluidity between round categories made me realize that we at Sprout – and indeed other founders in Southeast Asia – need to view funding news much more strategically. To tackle this problem, I assembled Sprout co-founder Alex Gentry, our head of digital marketing (and social media guru) Nix Eniego, and marketing communications executive Lisanne Tumang. We agreed that the implications were significant either way.

Also Read: 3 ways the Startup Stack is powering up entrepreneurship in Singapore

If we called our US$1.6 million fundraise a “seed round”, we would typecast Sprout with the average seed stage venture in Southeast Asia. This average venture would likely still be figuring out product-market fit, have a handful of customers and some revenue, and look to scale only much further down the line.

Against this profile, Sprout was a round peg in a square hole: We had more than 200 paying clients, including some from the Fortune 100, had achieved profitability, and were optimizing processes to scale in the enterprise market in the short-term.

Sprout did not fit perfectly into the “Series A” profile either. The average Series A venture in Southeast Asia would have a product-market fit and a substantial amount of clients, significant revenue, and be in the process of scaling. While Sprout checked off all those boxes, the US$1.6 million would put us on the lower end of a Series A’s in the region. And if this is our Series A, it would exert enormous pressure on our next round, a Series B.

After careful consideration and a few discussions with our mentors, our investors, and our team members, we ultimately decided on calling it a seed round on the strength of a simple reason: It was better to be an ahead-of-the-curve seed-stage startup than an undersized Series A company. With the former, you were positioning yourself to lead, while with the latter, you were forcing yourself to recover ground.

Were we over-thinking the semantics of our fundraise? Sometimes even we felt that way, up until a week after local and regional outlets covered our “seed round.” As the coverage died down, inquiries from both HR heads and managing directors picked up. Most had legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) products from international companies, but they were eager to see how our newly-launched solutions – Sprout Insight and Sprout Recruit – could leverage artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to solve their attrition and recruitment issues.

One particularly enthusiastic HR manager even asked us who is at risk from leaving his company, referring to Insight’s stated ability to predict employees who may resign in the next three months through a combination of different metrics, such as demographics, compensation and attendance patterns.

When we asked them why they felt comfortable approaching us with their HR concerns, nearly all mentioned both our track record and our potential: we had not only achieved substantial traction as a startup but were also poised to innovate in our space even further.

Also Read: 3 ways the Startup Stack is powering up entrepreneurship in SingaporeThe org chart is broken, and we need to hack away at corporate hierarchy

Clearly, then, our focus on our fundraising terminology paid off, and I think the same will apply to other founders in Southeast Asia. Your fundraising news is – at its heart – a story, and you need to think about how each element will impact your audience of potential customers, users, partners, investors, and everyone in between. In other words, while money may indeed talk, you really need to do your due diligence on what you want it to say.
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This article was first published on e27 on August 1, 2018

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Every week, we will be featuring five fantastic articles written by our community contributors that will make for some light weekend reading!

Here at e27, our guest contributors form an indispensable part of our platform. Thanks to their deep insights and thought leadership, our platform today is an authoritative source of information and resource for all stakeholders in the Southeast Asia ecosystem.

As a form of gratitude to them, every week we will highlight five fantastic guest posts, for your leisurely reading over the weekend.

Enjoy!

Contrary to popular belief, speed reading isn’t really helpful

On the topic of reading, many blogs and publications seem to espouse the benefits of speed reading. They claim that it helps you to absorb more information in a shorter period of time — which, in turn, will help you to devour more books and become more ‘learned’.

I don’t know about you but I approach reading the way I attack a plate of ravioli pasta: I chew slowly, savouring every last bit of its delicious grounded meat fillings, letting the taste linger in my mouth.

So it was to my delight when I found out that one of our star contributors, Aytekin Tank of JotForm, thought the same way.

In his opinion editorial, he explains why speed reading isn’t just not fun at all but scientifically fallacious.

Tank cites the studies of professor and eye tracking researcher Keith Rayner, who found that  “techniques like simultaneously reading large segments of the page aren’t biologically or psychologically possible, due to the limitation of our foveal viewing area.”

“According to UCLA psychologist Patricia Greenfield, when the brain skims, less attention and time is allocated to slower, more time-consuming processes, like inference, critical analysis and empathy,” writes Tank.

In short, only speed read if you are really desperate (like if you want to impress your next date).

Why timing is critical for the success of your startup

It cannot be overstated how important timing is for success. Many important battles in history have been won not because of sheer numerical advantage, but because of timing.

The same goes for building your startup.

In this op-ed by Maliekah Harjani, an investor at Convergence Ventures, she explains why building a good product is not enough, you need to launch it at the right time to ensure success.

“Often, tech entrepreneurs have ideas so advanced that consumers are not ready to adopt it…Sometimes, the current infrastructure that a product would need to rely on is not strong enough.”

“We also see companies that enter the market too late, with established and well-financed incumbents that have already created strong customer loyalty.”

The importance of company culture

Ever received an email from your HR director cautioning against “having sex in a stairwell”?

Well, neither didn’t I.

Unfortunately, the people who found in this email in their inbox were employees of Zenefits, a US$600 million US-based HR solutions company.

Andy Chan, Co-Founder and CEO of Collab, in his op-ed about toxic company cultures, cites Zenefits as an example of hyper-scale gone wrong. In its quest for market dominance, it had neglected to build a healthy company culture.

Zenefits scale-at-all-cause culture also meant that they eventually found themselves mired in legal woes.

“With the claws of legalities on their back, what was regularly exposed was the fraternity-like, alcohol-riddled culture at the company,” writes Chan.

And of course, when alcohol flows freely like a gushing river, well, I live it to your imagination.

Workplace mentoring can help employees achieve their goals

And on the topic of company culture, here is something more positive: workplace mentoring.

Singapore-based performance management company Synergita explains succinctly why it is important to create a conducive environment where employees can seek mentorship from their peers or managers.

“Employee goal management is essential as it provides a guide to employees to achieve their desired outcomes. It also motivates them to strive for something higher. But it is also important that managers offer their support to help employees achieve their goals.”

“Managers must not confine themselves with providing employees with goals, they must also introduce some mentoring programs so that employees are able to achieve those goals.”  

How to avoid SEO disasters

In the online media space, knowing your way around Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) would allow you to optimize your content maximum reach.

But there are caveats to take note of.

In his guest post, Neha Khan, a marketing analyst, says that one of the common mistakes writes make is that stuff their post with too many keywords.

Well, the bad news is that Google has already caught on to that act a long time ago so you can’t game the system.

At the end of the day, it is really about creating valuable content.

Contribute to us!

At e27, we strive for a diversity of thought leadership and opinions. They are no ‘wrong’ thoughts — we welcome them all, even if it is incendiary or controversial (of course, within reasonable boundaries).

If you have something you want to let off your chest, feel free to submit your content here or email us at writers@e27.co to discuss your ideas.

You can also join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Look forward to hearing from you!

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By offshoring QA testing you can make sure your team will follow the procedures you set out for it ahead of time

Quality assurance (QA) testing allows companies to analyse their code over time and make sure the processes are in place for a successful product.

Companies need to make sure that the product is heading in the right direction during development.

Thus, having proper documentation and processes in place can alleviate headaches later.

It gives a fresh set of eyes on procedures already in place and allows critical assessment of product development.

Also Read: 3 experts share challenges and opportunities in offshoring tech development in Vietnam

Effective QA testing includes being able to check for security issues the software may have to make sure user data is safeguarded.

It also includes making sure the product is compatible across various devices, operating systems and browsers so that the experience is the same for all users.

Stress and speed tests for performance are also necessary.

By outsourcing such testing, companies can focus on their strengths rather than have to continually fine-tune operations and development to meet market needs.

They can focus on marketing and actual product development, rather than all the nuances involved with testing.

A global market, a global workforce

The nice thing about today’s market is that it is a global one.

Thus, companies can hire remote teams with offshore or nearshore modalities, to outsource various operations they have no time for in-house.

QA testing is a perfect example.

Imagine the efficiency gains of having your developers wake up in the morning and realize debugging or stress tests were completed the previous night by a remote team with suggested changes ready for implementation.

Such coordination is possible.

By hiring nearshore QA testing groups, companies can also benefit from collaboration and often a non-existent language barrier: think of a California-based company working with QA testers in South America.

Even offshoring just some of the QA testing operations is worthwhile for the simple fact alone that it will open up your product design to a fresh set of eyes.

Also Read: Is cryptocurrency trading still a financial wild west?

These testers can give suggestions on how products are designed and offer suggestions for processes that may work better for you. It also means that the product has a higher chance of success once it is released globally.

A fresh set of eyes helps

There are many different product development cultures worldwide, and by offering a multinational force of testers, your development project can gain great insight.

However, it all comes down to efficiency productivity.

The more testers you have at your disposal, the more varied tests you can run periodically.

This also improves your chances of predicting errors before they occur.

A larger pool of testers also ensures greater productivity and obtaining a higher quality end product.

Buggy product launch equals bad PR & lost sales

You do not want to be panicking in the end because of a broken software or glitches caused last-minute as the product is shipping.

This does happen. Gaming is an industry that is ripe with such product launches.

Many gaming software houses still fail with buggy releases. 

This is an example of a highly competitive industry that relies on getting software into the market as soon as possible.

However, gaming isn’t the only industry suffering from bad releases and buggy code at launch.

Nowadays, we can run software updates to alleviate such problems, but the bad PR will still be there at product launch causing you lost customers.

Also Read: Heres why millennial female consumers will dominate the e-commerce market

You would not want to make promises and not follow suit with them, such as operating system compatibility or moderate system requirements.

Consider outsourcing some of your QA testing processes to make the best software product you can in the end.

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Join our e27 Telegram group here, or our e27 contributor Facebook page here.

Image Credit: Tirza van Dijk

 

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A detailed morning till night time routine of StashAway’s co-founder

My name is Michele, and I am one of the co-founders at StashAway.

I spent half of my career in financial institutions, and the other half building consumer-centric internet companies.

I am originally from Italy, and I have been spending the last seven years in Singapore with my wonderful family; my wife Ludo who works 24/7 for our family, and our son Matteo (5) and daughter Agnese (3) who make sure that nobody is ever bored.

I used to play soccer (an avid AC Milan fan!), and I also ran for the New York marathon 12 years ago (and 8 Kilos ago).

Professionally, I started my career at McKinsey, where I advised large banks and insurance companies, before moving on to be a private equity investor.

Six years ago, I found the Italian and Pakistani office of Rocket Internet, where I was responsible for launching and scaling the leading regional e-commerce company.

Before StashAway, I was the Group CEO of ZALORA and sometimes wonder when I will stop being called the ex-CEO of Zalora.

In StashAway, as the CEO of the company, my daily activities mostly revolve around people.

This was something that I was always passionate about (in fact, my MBA application essay was on the importance of people in decision making).

I feel lucky that what I am doing today allows me to build relationships every day, not just with clients, but with my incredibly talented team at StashAway.

I see my job as making sure that

(i) we hire the best talent available and that

(ii) the people that join are in the best position to succeed and have fun in the process.

 

630am: Wake up

 

630am-7am: I spend time with my kids before my wife takes them to their school.

If we have time, Matteo, my son, and I briefly play lego, or I get to read him a book and Agnese, my daughter loves to pretend she’s cooking me breakfast.

I need to order something from her and taste it before she leaves.

We always have a “hugging contest” to see who can hug more forcefully and she usually tells me that I won.

 

7am-8am: I finally get breakfast. My wife Ludo, who is amazing prepares handmade croissants for me (yes!) and I drink tea. I’m an unusual Italian.

 

8 am: Ride my bicycle to the MRT station

 

8:05 am: (Yes, I am fast! or maybe it’s just a few hundred meters from the MRT to the office)

 

8:45 am: I am finally in the office!

I start my workday by clearing up my email and Slack (the application we use for internal communications).

I  like Slack because one can create multiple channels to manage projects and share interesting thoughts and ideas!

We have channels like “reading compilation” and “fin-market articles” where we share general interest and financial articles with the team.

Also, as part of my slack backlog, I read all customers comments in our “NPS Survey” Slack Channel.

This is a channel that every member of the company is in.

We make it a point to have everyone, from the technology to the product and marketing teams, read customer feedback and comments.

We do this to ensure that we are always aware of customer pain points and feedback. It’s also good for everyone to read comments that praise the product and service!

I always drink a cup of warm water throughout the day. 10 years ago it was coffee, then it became green tea, and after I moved to Asia, it’s warm water.

Not sure what could be next!

 

10 am: I interview a candidate for our Client Engagement Team

We give lots of attention to hiring, and all full-time hires are interviewed by two co-founders, while at least one Co-Founder interviews the interns.

I spend a few hours a week interviewing candidates (we are planning to hire 29 more team members in the next six months), and I enjoy understanding people’s motivations and building a point of view from their perspective!

Also Read: Singapore-based robo-financial manager StashAway is now available in Malaysia

10:30 am: Send in monthly investor updates to StashAway’s shareholders

This is an email with a deck attached.

The slides are mostly prepared by a few of my colleagues, and it only takes me less than 30 minutes to review, edit some of the commentaries and send it to our shareholders.

 

11 am: Meet with the team to discuss the details of a new investment product we have been working on which we plan on launching soon. 

This meeting will probably have 5-6 participants, including two of the co-founders, a member of the product team, and a representative from the marketing team.

 

12:30 pm: Team Lunch!

Every Thursday, the StashAway team has lunch together in our office pantry.

I usually get myself a mixed bowl of salad with brown rice, chicken, avocado which I love but am unsure why they charge me an extra dollar for it) along with tomatoes and the flavour of the day.

During team lunch, I usually have multiple conversations with various groups.

It’s 35 of us now, so I am not able to engage with everyone but I try my best to make sure I know people’s upcoming weekend plans.

 

2 pm: This is the two hour time where I work independently.

Today, I am working on filing for a license in a new country.

This means reviewing (and responding) the comments from lawyers and making sure the material is ready for filing. ASAP.

I block 2 hours of independent work slot in my schedule three times a week.

 

4 pm: Meeting with the Business Intelligence team to review the latest KPIs, including client acquisition number, cohort behaviour and the results of the most recent tests.

 

5 pm: Call with our Malaysia Country Manager Wai Ken, to catch up on how things have been going and brainstorm new ideas to serve our Malaysian clients better

 

Also Read: Singapore fintech startup StashAway raises US$2.15M to roll out robo-advisory platform

6 pm: Coffee with one of our newcomers.

I meet all newcomers for a 30-minute coffee during their first 2 weeks at StashAway.

This is something that I do to make sure I get to know everyone. There is no agenda to the meeting, just a light-hearted chat for me to know my colleagues better.

And you are definitely right; I drink warm water during the coffee-conversations. 

 

6:30 pm: Prepare for my StashAway Academy Seminar.

StashAway Academy is the educational arm of StashAway where we host free seminars every week on topics ranging from personal finance to investing. 

 

7 pm: Today’s seminar is on How to Plan for your Retirement.

I talk about Central Provident Fund (CPF), Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), and how one should go about saving for retirement.

 

9 pm: Take the MRT back home and cycle uphill for the last hundred metres

 

9:30pm:  Dinner.

My wife is usually asleep by the time I get home (she wakes up at 5 am to cook breakfast for everyone!) and she would have left a (fabulous) dinner ready for me.

I usually watch Netflix while enjoying my dinner. I’m watching Narcos right now. Comment below if you have any good Netflix recommendations!

When I don’t have seminars or late meetings, I try to be back home by 8 pm so that I can chat with my wife before the day ends.

My day is hectic from the moment I get in the office.

So, when I get home, I try to unwind by either by spending time with my wife or, if she is asleep, watching Netflix or YouTube.

It is my way of taking a “mental break” before the next day allows me to look at things with a fresh perspective.

 

 

10:30 pm: Typically, I work on emails, Slack backlog and other ad hoc work. 

Today, I am making some edits to StashAway Workplace’s Financial Wellness Presentation we have at a global technology firm at lunchtime tomorrow.

 

 

11:30 pm: Time to sleep. Goodnight! I am an excellent sleeper, and I sleep like a rock until the alarm goes off the next day!

If you’ve made it this far, we have an exclusive promotion for all e27 readers that entitles you to 50% off your fees (for the first SGD 50,000 of AUM) for the first six months if you sign up via this link.

Also Read:  A peek inside the culture at Stashaway

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Given the trend leading toward decentralisation, a blockchain approach will mean better efficiency, security, and incentivization

 

Since the advent of Bitcoin a decade ago, the technology behind the cryptography-driven decentralised ledger has undergone a lot of innovations.

Blockchain technology was originally intended as a means to execute, verify, and record transactions through a decentralized ledger.

While its most popular applications have been in cryptocurrency and payments, smart contracts are now leading in terms of impact in real-world applications.

Smart contracts enable the automated negotiation, fulfilment, and execution of agreements done through blockchain programming.

Also Read: 5 companies set to drive blockchain adoption in Asia

Smart contracts can negotiate the terms of an agreement, verify whether these terms have been fulfilled, and then execute the agreed terms – usually through an exchange of token or cryptocurrency ownership.

This is done without the use of a centralised organisation or authority, meaning lawyers, agents, notaries, and other intermediaries will no longer be necessary for the enforcement of such agreements.

Challenges with decentralisation

However, the decentralised and trustless nature of smart contracts does come with problems.

For one, in the real world, notaries exist as trusted authorities that verify and keep a record of contracts.

These confirm the actual existence of the parties involved and the contracts they enter in. In a blockchain setting, such execution of contracts is done through a decentralised consensus mechanism.

But if it involves specific parameters like location, there needs to be a means of verifying such details without necessarily putting users’ privacy and data at risk.

One glaring example of this is in e-commerce fulfilment.

Till date, there are already several e-commerce sellers and major establishments accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment for their goods or services, including Shopify sellers and even Microsoft.

This comes with even more challenges.

Crypto payment does not provide a chargeback mechanism, which makes it a potential target for fraudulent transactions.

In the case of e-commerce, there is value in executing the transactions through smart contracts.

For one, funds will only be transferred from a wallet to the seller’s once the item is received – somewhat akin to the “cash-on-delivery” option still popular in most Southeast Asia markets.

There is a location-based aspect to such execution of smart contracts, which means that a person or item needs to be at a given place at a given time in order for the parameters of the smart contract to be valid.

Such location-specificity is viable not only in the e-commerce setting. It is also essential in other industries.

As another example, in augmented reality (AR), a user’s exact location and orientation will play a big part in the effectiveness of the technology.

Also Read: 3 of your most important assets may soon have tokenised counterparts in the Blockchain

Games like Pokémon Go come into mind, but there are more severe and mundane applications, such as in tourism and geographic information systems. 

Without verifying location, it is easy to game the system through fake reviews – wherein fake reviews can flood the review mechanism to increase or decrease the rating of an establishment like a restaurant, hotel or a tourist spot.

In banking and finance, location can be a vital component of the Know Your Customer or KYC process.

Here, service can be provided (or denied) based on their location.

While the essence of blockchain and crypto intends users to be able to transact without borders, there are specific regulations that might prevent users in certain countries or regions from doing so. Here, location-awareness will also play a big part in ensuring such rules and regulations are met.

Automation and IoT to the rescue

In the context of smart contracts and decentralised infrastructure, the challenge of verifying locations can be addressed by instituting some form of validation.

Here, it will be necessary to automate the process, since relying on using human-driven verification means there needs to be a trust-based system, which can be easily cheated.

This traditionally involved establishing location through GPS triangulation, but this is fast becoming displaced through other mechanisms.

“Centralized authorities are susceptible to interference, attacks, and failure, and are thus not a viable source of data for smart contracts,” shares Arie Trouw, Co-Founder and CEO of XYO.

He stresses that in a decentralized context, “there is a need for a consensus-based network of interconnected devices that records and verifies real-world events in order to make the resulting data available in a distributed, trustless, and secure manner.” 

Also Read: How blockchain is using decentralised ID verification for seamless user onboarding

For this purpose, a trustless system of validation will essentially involve the internet-of-things – devices that automatically talk to each other in order to derive, confirm, and share location information all without unnecessarily risking other personal information and without relying on a centralized authority.

Here is where blockchain can potentially make a big impact on the real world. In the case of Trouw’s XY Oracle Network, X and Y refer to coordinates, and “oracle” refers to how location data can be specifically and securely recorded through interaction among location-gathering oracle devices, verified through a cryptographic proof of origin chain. 

The result is real-world impact by enabling smart contracts to be executed upon actual delivery or transfer of goods or simply present in any given location. Participation in the location network incentivizes participants in the network, too, for verifying location data.

The future is bright with IoT, blockchain and automation

As with most technologies, the long-term success of blockchain-driven solutions will be in how widely it is adopted and how well-integrated it will be into our daily lives. 

One marker of success is when things are so ubiquitous that we are no longer aware they are there in the first place. As Google’s Eric Schmidt told at a World Economic Forum panel on IoT.

“There will be … so many devices, sensors, things that you are wearing, things that you are interacting with, that you won’t even sense it.” 

Location-awareness has already gained full acceptance and application, especially given the ubiquity of smartphones and apps that utilise device location such as mapping, tracking, finance, and even gaming.

And this is how blockchain tech will have a meaningful impact in the real and physical world, even if we don’t necessarily feel it is there.

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Image Credit: Aleksi Räisä

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At the latest edition of Xero Community, investors and startup founders discuss the ins and outs of fundraising

For startups in need of funds, securing external investment is a popular option. But it’s not for everyone.

This is one of the many nuggets of wisdom shared during the second edition of Xero Community, which took place in Singapore on 23 July. Xero, a global small business platform offering cloud accounting software, established the quarterly event series to share industry- and business-critical knowledge with SMEs and startups, and in doing so, cultivate a community of successful digital-first businesses.

This edition shed light on the nuances of fundraising that startup founders may fail to understand. Fundraising is crucial to growing and building a business, but there are other factors to consider aside from the amount of cash raised.

For instance, it’s important to outline an investor’s role in the startup and understand how a company might fit into a venture capital firm’s mandate. Businesses need to learn about the investor’s reputation, while the latter need to see that founders are focusing on their businesses and understand their financial numbers.

Breaking the silence on fundraising

Fundraising is a quest for financial support as you grow your company. While news reports like to celebrate successful fundraises, they don’t often reflect the process behind it.

In fact, trying to understand the how and why of fundraising can be especially daunting because despite the endless discussion of money in the tech world, it sometimes feels like everyone just talks around the actual realities of how money is raised rather than directly confronting the complexities of the process.

Also read: Early stage fundraising: What it takes to win over investors that best fit your team

To help fill in this knowledge gap, Xero Community invited an expert panel representing the investment and business community. Panelists were Sam Gibb, a partner at Endeavour Ventures and Junxian Lee, CEO and co-founder of logistics startup Moovaz. They were joined by moderator Graham Brown—himself also an entrepreneur—and Xero’s Asia Managing Director, Kevin Fitzgerald.

Throughout the event, the speakers covered a number of areas on how startups and mature businesses go about the fundraising process from beginning to end. The panelists discussed the etiquette of fundraising, how and what to look for in potential investors, financial literacy for founders, and what happens after you’ve raised the money you need.

Building relationships takes real work

One key takeaway from the event was that at the heart of each successful fundraising round is hours of conversation and discussion between potential investors and founders. Good communication is fundamental to strong investor-founder relationships, and strong relationships are foundational for the success of any fundraising efforts. Whether you start a conversation through an e-newsletter or a face-to-face conversation, ultimately the goal is to establish a strong relationship that puts the mission rather than the money first.

After all, the money being invested in a company is almost always going to be a huge bet by investors, so it’s important that everyone involved knows and trusts who they are getting into bed with.

These conversations should start long before the targeted month for closing the fundraise. Gibb noted that he tends to take three to six months to build a real relationship with the founders to ensure there is a mutual understanding of the company’s goals and needs, as well as the role (if any) the investor can actively play in its growth.

Also read: Understanding the culture of relationship-building in Asia

Moovaz’s Lee added that it’s not enough to “spray and pray” when it comes to fundraising, and that founders need to really take an interest in potential investors’ portfolios and how all their goals align.

He also suggested that businesses talk to investors about their venture capital firm’s mandate. By understanding where and how a startup fits into this mandate, VCs and founders can build a strong foundation for their relationship.

“Investors and startups should be one team working together, not adversaries sitting on opposite sides of the table,” shared Brown in a post-event write-up. “Don’t approach an investor like applying for a bank loan. They are not ATMs distributing cash. They want to be part of something.”

Knowing the financial numbers

The cost of venture capital has been well-documented to be potentially more trouble than it’s worth, especially if investors and businesses fail to align their goals, build trust, and agree on how to work together.
For that reason, Lee cautioned against taking venture capital money simply because the opportunity to do so is there. In fact, taking venture capital could be a huge mistake if the business model and the company’s term sheet don’t show the need for it.

That’s why it’s important for founders to have their business’ financial vitals at their fingertips.
In fact, Gibb suggests that not enough businesses are paying attention to their numbers. This often leads to a failure to recognise that the funds they have raised are not enough to help them reach their next milestone, which they would need to achieve in order to raise the next round.

This is only one of several blind spots that founders may have regarding their business. To shed light on these blind spots, Fitzgerald recommends having people around who can offer a different perspective and call out oversights or missed opportunities. Technology can also help business owners keep an eye on their financial position in real-time.

“By having your numbers at your fingertips and tracking your dashboard, you will start to ask the right questions and educate yourself about the finances of your business,” he said.

Also read: What founders need to understand about fundraising from Angels

For Brown, it was only when he began to monitor his financials that he realised how important it was to map out his business’ burn rate—the rate at which a business is losing money. This data can tell a business when and how much to raise. It’s also important because investors can smell desperation—so businesses shouldn’t wait until they are hard up on cash to raise funds.

Having a strong understanding of your company’s financial reality can be invaluable for charting business growth, identifying gaps, and tapping on opportunities. In today’s saturated landscape, it’s not enough to simply have a great product to secure funding. What can truly tip the scales is a keen understanding of the business model and value proposition, and how that feeds into the startup’s strategy and revenue growth.

Moovaz’s Lee added that for his company, profitability is important, which is why they work closely with their accountants to plot revenue and growth, and to determine when and where they can turn a profit.

Looking for a great investor-founder fit

However, at the end of the day, Lee also stressed that founders should not rely on venture capital as the only source of fundraising. This is a mistaken assumption that many founders make, sometimes to the detriment of their businesses.

All panelists agreed it’s crucial for founders have to establish clarity on when and how to take on venture money, and that this decision has to be backed up with data. While it’s quite common—and legally necessary—for investors to conduct due diligence on their potential investee, founders don’t always take the effort to research on VCs’ reputation.

Brown added that founders should take the initiative to do some due diligence on their potential investors, with the aim of finding the right fit.

Gibb suggested that networking can be a great form of due diligence, thanks to the relatively compact nature of the investor community. Founders can get a feel of potential investors’ reputations and their suitability through simple conversations with their peers—and doing so could make a huge difference between a success and a mistake.
What if you’re not feeling like you should take venture capital? Always consider alternative ways to generate funding. The panel suggested looking to other types of loans, such as invoice factoring and government grant programmes.

To tune in to more industry trends, check out Xero on Air podcasts here as they deep-dive with industry leaders on key topics that drive business success.

Digital transformation can be a daunting task and Xero has taken a step to ease technology adoption for startups with the introduction of Xero for Startups bundle comprising exclusive promotions for Xero’s cloud accounting and complementary app partners. Sign up here to lay a strong and scalable foundation for your startup today.

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