In the second edition of Xero community, a panel of experts will shine light on the lifeblood of all businesses – funds

When it comes to fundraising, every startup founder has a basic understanding of these realities: the process is not a walk in the park, their impressive idea doesn’t guarantee immediate funding, and repeated rejection by investors is not an uncommon story.

For early stage startups, gaining access to funds is twice as hard. Not only are VCs looking at current trends suitability and several factors, they are also typically considering some 100 other companies at any given period.

So how do early stage startups get the attention of investors?

The first bump on the road: the fundraising pitch

Crucial to any investor meetup is the fundraising pitch. Remember, these investors can only allocate so much time, so they naturally expect your deck to pack a punch.

Due diligence is the key to your fundraising experience. In preparing for your pitch, you should do your homework on the ins and outs of your product and team. Also, know your numbers like the back of your hand and be sure to give accurate reports pertaining to your cash flow, financial plans, assumptions, and sales projections.

Also read: How to win on Shark Tank and survive the ‘Valley of Death’ 

At the end of the day, potential investors would like to know where their money is going, how it will be utilised, and who will take responsibility for its growth.

Beyond the pitch: other key factors investors weigh in on

It goes without saying that investors will first consider what business problem you’re solving and who your target market is. These two factors encapsulate the existence of every startup.

Next, investors would want to know more about your team. Who is making important decisions alongside you? Who is handling the books? Who is steering the ship? How is your team moving in terms of your initial vision as the founder? These questions may vary with each investor, but the underlying fact is the same: team dynamics is highly considered in every funding evaluation.

Furthermore, investors would scrutinise the financial aspect of your early stage startup. While their methods may vary, it’s apparent that how they value your startup has a major impact on your funding round.

In a nutshell, know your numbers, learn how to determine your valuation, and study how you can strengthen and communicate your value proposition.

Selecting the best fit for your team: not all investors are created equal

On the one hand, investors can catalyse a startup’s growth by providing much-needed funds and sharing their network and experience. On the other, they can destroy a founder’s dream. Getting access to cash isn’t the entire picture in one’s fundraising process. Founders must consider potential consequences that may arise as a result of their investor choice. For instance, expectations between founders and investors could be mismatched, or their core values differ from each other.

Startup founders should do their homework before getting an investor on-board their journey. As others have put it, signing an agreement with an investor is akin to getting married.

Also read: Digitalising cashflow management and what it means for businesses

Be equipped with the right knowledge by hearing from the experts

Learning about the entire fundraising process is important to every startup founder, especially when the startup is in its early stages.

On 23 July, in the second edition of Xero Community, a panel of experts will shine light on the lifeblood of all businesses – funds, and decipher the ins and outs of fundraising to help SMEs and startups build a successful and sustainable business amidst economic uncertainties.

Check out the panel highlights:

• Fundraising dos and don’ts
• Is money the answer to scale your business? What else should you look for in a potential investor?
• Post fund-raise – What’s next?
• Beyond fundraising – Building a culture that withstands the test of time

Learn from these distinguished panellists:

• Graham Brown – Founder, Pitch Media Asia
• Sam Gibb – Partner, Endeavour Ventures
• Junxian Lee – CEO & Co-Founder, Moovaz
• Kevin Fitzgerald – Managing Director Asia, Xero

The Xero Community – Startup Fundraising Edition is happening on 23 July from 9:30 am to 12 pm. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to network with fellow entrepreneurs and gain insights into fundraising strategies. RSVP today! https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/xero-community-startup-fundraising-edition-tickets-63464621391

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image credit: 123rf.com / ID 22105594

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These five startups have proved to the world  growth-stage funding can still be accessed with strong fundamentals and long-term plans

A major challenge facing growth-stage startups in Malaysia is lack of funding. While there are quite a few early-stage venue funds to cut cheques for startups in the seed stage, there are not many who are willing to inject money in their growth stages. This often discourages startups from aggressively pursuing scaling and expansion plans.

In a recent interview with e27, Raja Hamzah, Managing Partner of RHL Ventures, an active VC in Malaysia, admitted that there is still a big funding gap in the growth-stage startup space. Even though the previous government had set up a RM 1 billion fund to bridge this gap, it failed to materialise. The good thing is that many VCs including RHL Ventures are now seriously considering to launch funds to invest in growth-stage firms.

While many tech companies are struggling to raise growth funding, there’re a few who have bucked the trend and weathered all the odds to become a brand name in their respective industries.

Below is the list of five such startups in Malaysia.

Jirnexu

Founded in 2012, Jirnexu is a fintech startup that enables banks, insurance companies, and service providers to think mobile-first and innovate the way they generate leads online, turn those leads into customers, handle their fulfilment and keep them loyal. Jirnexu’s financial comparison tools enable consumers to save money and make better decisions.

The company was started in Kuala Lumpur when its co-founders met and realised that they share a mutual passion for giving individuals the financial advice and tools they needed to spend money wisely. In the Malaysian market, more and more people were applying for credit cards and loans than ever before, which was a boon for the financial services industry (FSI). What was missing for the banks and insurance companies was a way to move this application process online to expand the reach of their campaigns, reduce high acquisition costs, and differentiate themselves by offering customers a brand new level of convenience. Security was a concern and very few banks had a digital strategy at that point.

The Jirnexu co-founders identified this gap in the online market and set about creating a solution that would allow financial services providers to leverage the power of a digital acquisition channel, while simultaneously giving consumers an accessible system for keeping more money for themselves from each online financial service transaction they make.

Since inception, the startup has raised US$48 million over multiple rounds of funding, which include a US$11 million in Series B in December 2018 led by Experian and Japan-based SBI Group. Its other backers are Gobi Partners, Cento Ventures, SIG China, and Celebes Capital, among others.

Kaodim

Founded in November 2014 by Cheong and Choong Fui-Yu (Group CEO), Kaodim is an online platform to hire local services professionals such as house cleaners, home renovators and photographers. The firm operates as Kaodim in Malaysia and Singapore, Gawin in the Philippines, and Beres in Indonesia. It is currently operating in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Metro Manila, Singapore and Jakarta.

Since launch, the group has focused on expanding its presence in the Southeast Asian region. On the product front, the group introduced a new product called Kaodim Direct, which is aimed at providing an enhanced experience for selected services such as cleaning or air-condition servicing. Users are matched instantly to a highly rated service provider at a competitive fixed packaged price.

To date, the group has raised a total of US$11.6 million in funding over three rounds, including a US$7 million led by Square Peg Capital and an affiliate of SIG Asia Investment in November 2017. Its other invests include Venturra Capital, Beenext, 500 Startups, East Ventures and KK Fund.

Carsome

Established in 2015 by Eric Cheng and Jiun Ee Teoh, Carsome enables customers to sell their vehicles directly to dealers nationwide through an online bidding portal. It facilitates the car-selling process from inspection, valuation, bidding, payment and logistics, allowing customers to sell their cars within 24 hours. The company claims that a user can potentially get up to 20 per cent higher than average trade-in price via its proprietary nationwide bidding platform.

Since January 2017, Carsome claims to have experienced more than four-fold growth in total transaction value, with the number of car sales facilitated on the platform grew more than quadrupled with more than 70 per cent of the transactions being done inter-city.

In addition to Malaysia, it has operations in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

So far, Carsome has raised US$27.4 million in funding over several rounds. This includes a US$19 million Series B funding round led by Burda Principal Investments in March 2018. Its other investors are Indogen Capital, InnoVen Capital, Lumia Capital, Burda Principal Investments, Gobi Partners and 500 Startups.

iflix

In 2014, Catcha Group and Evolution Media Capital joined together to launch iflix, an entertainment service for emerging markets. The firm offers a wide selection of TV shows, movies, hyper local originals, premium live sports and up-to-the-minute news from around the world, to stream or download, on any internet connected device.

Created specifically for the more than one billion consumers in emerging markets, iflix now offers users two experiences through its iflixFREE and iflixVIP offerings.

iflix is currently available to consumers in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Maldives, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Cambodia, Nigeria, Nepal, Bangladesh and Morocco.

To date, the company has raised US$298 million over several rounds, including an undisclosed sum in corporate round from Yoshimoto Kogyo in April this year. Its other investors include Hearst Communications, Kwese, Jungle Ventures and K3 Ventures.

TheLorry

Founded in September 2014, The Lorry focusses offers a logistics platform that connects both individuals and corporate clients to lorry, truck, and van owners in their database across Southeast Asia.

Using the platform, individual customers can do, what it claims to be a house moving and furniture transport. TheLorry highlights that it also serves multinational corporations in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, industrial, and e-commerce sectors with technology-enabled distribution and long haul transport solutions.

The company has raised US$7.4 million over several rounds, including a US$5.85 million Series B led by FirstFloor Capital in April this year.

Its other investors include Unilever Ventures, Cradle Ventures, SPH Ventures, Axiata, KK Fund.

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Photo by Deva Darshan on Unsplash

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In Taiwan, Uber hasn’t been able to make themselves indispensable enough to get by local regulators.

I’ve just finished the second week of my summer internship at AppWorks in Taipei and I’m loving it so far! Living in Taipei has been just as I imagined and I’m really going to enjoy it before going back to New York in the fall.

One of the biggest lifestyle differences I’ve noticed between being in New York City and Taipei is: I’ve found myself using traditional taxis in Taipei, yet I can’t think of a single time I’ve hailed a cab in New York, instead opting for ride-hailing services like Uber or Via.

In fact, Taipei is probably the only place I’ve used a traditional taxi in the last five years (except in Mainland China, where I wasn’t able to use Didi without a Chinese bank account).

And it just so happens that Taiwan has been a giant headache for Uber, who will have to rethink its operations in Taiwan entirely after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications re-affirmed that Uber, as it is currently licensed, must operate as a rental car company and charge passengers by the hour (or day), regardless of the length of their trip.

Furthermore, as rental car drivers, Uber drivers would not be allowed to drive around waiting for the next ride — they would have to drive back to the rental car lot before initiating another ride. This, clearly, would render Uber’s business model inoperable. Uber has four months to comply before the fines start rolling in.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Taiwan has been a place where I haven’t missed ride-hailing apps at all and is also a place where Uber is having such difficulty.

Also Read: Today’s top tech news, May 10: Uber sets IPO at US$45 per share

In other markets, Uber and other ride-hailing apps went in and became essential before local regulators could react. By the time regulators wanted to step in, ride-hailing companies had mobilized users into their own political base, making it politically difficult for regulators to protect local taxi companies and stamp out ride-hailing companies.

Why hasn’t the same thing happened in Taiwan? I’ll make some observations and compare them to the US:

1. Public transportation is convenient, non-stigmatized, and pleasant.

This is not the case in many US cities. Where I spent most of my life in Columbus, Ohio, public buses were avoided as dangerous and “for poor people”. I would say at least 95 per cent of my college classmates had never ridden the bus before, despite it being free for students.

The same applies for my classmates at Columbia (which is in Harlem), where in my experience the buses are mostly used by low-income, African-American riders. The New York subway, while used by most, is dirty, old, and unpleasant compared to most other subway systems. Some of my classmates avoid it at night for safety reasons.

2. Cabs are plentiful.

It has been so easy to find an empty cab at all times of the day and night in Taipei that I was actually concerned about their occupancy rates (it’s a decent 68.4 per cent). Contrast this with pre-Uber New York, where illegal “gypsy cabs” were rampant because traditional cabs were often frustratingly hard to get.

3. The lack of competition in ride-hailing services led to higher fares.

Interestingly,  Uber is the only major ride-hailing company operating in Taiwan. Didi made an attempt before leaving last year after being deemed an illegal service. I conjecture that the price wars and driver/rider subsidies which had produced artificially low fares in other cities did not materialize in Taipei, so ride-hailing fares were not so low that enough people developed the habit of calling an Uber instead of looking for a cab. I still remember five years ago when Uber and Lyft were giving away ride credits left and right, on top of already-low fares.

4. Taiwan cabbies have more integrity compared to cabbies in other countries.

The last time I took a cab in the US was in Las Vegas, getting from the airport to our hotel. The conversation was pleasant, and the car was clean enough, but unfortunately, the driver took the “scenic route”. After I declined to tip the driver, the driver called me out and I told him I didn’t appreciate being long-hauled. He could only look down in shame.

Also Read: Will Uber’s global alliances help or hurt its future as a public company?

This is, of course, common treatment towards outsiders in many places. Most cabbies are not like this, but one experience had me swear off traditional cabs and made me a loyal Uber user. Before starting my internship I spent a week as a tourist in Taipei with family and we took plenty of cabs and this never happened. Drivers were pleasant, helpful, considerate, and honest. In other words, how Uber drivers behave in the US.

5. Tipping is not part of the culture in Taiwan.

Honestly, tipping is my least favorite thing about America. It is mostly uncomfortable, forced, and insincere. Although ride-hailing apps have now added tipping functionality, the experience is cashless and tipping happens through the app after the ride ends. No awkward face-to-face tipping. This has never been an issue in Taiwan, where you only might be inclined to round up to the nearest NT$10 (US$0.30) as a form of appreciation.

Conclusion

So although Uber in Taiwan has offered a useful service at a cheaper price, I believe the factors above have contributed to the political feasibility of Taiwanese regulators blocking Uber from operating as they do in other countries. The Taiwanese people haven’t protested regulations to the same degree as other countries because a life in Taiwan without Uber is still pretty convenient, which is something you can’t say about the US.

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e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

 

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Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) freelancers can work up to 12 months in the country

The government’s digital arm Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) announced that it has partnered with the Singapore blockchain-based non-profit organisation NEM Foundation and the Estonian cross-border job marketplace Jobbatical. The partnership will set up an up to 12-months work visa programme for tech and distributed ledger technology (DLT) talents, as reported by The Star Online.

Malaysia has seen a growing demand for blockchain technology talents, which prompted MDEC to launch mentioned programme.

MDEC’s collaborators, NEM Foundation, is a Singapore-based non-profit organization in charge of the NEM (XEM) blockchain project, and Jobbatical is an Estonian startup that connects tech professionals around the globe with firms in need of their services.

The roles of the collaborators will be NEM Foundation to specify the type of talents needed, and Jobbatical on scouting for them via its platform.

According to the vice president of MDEC growth ecosystem, Norhizam Abdul Kadir, proposals have already been sent to the country’s Immigration Department and the Home Ministry, to support the Digital Freelancer Programme and approve the selected talents.

Also Read: Funding news is not public relations: Building your startup’s story world

The program, Kadir said, will ride on the existing Professional Visit Pass, which enables foreign workers with the relevant professional qualification or skills to migrate to Malaysia to work as expatriates for up to 12 months. Besides working, the ones qualified can also undergo practical training with a local company on behalf of an overseas firm.

As of now, MDEC confirms that the programme will be focussed mainly on blockchain experts, even with the country’s interest in attracting talents with skills in new technologies such as AI and IoT.

“The number of Visas to be issued depends on the projects that will be run by DLT companies in Malaysia,“ said Kadir.

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With devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home seeing widespread adoption, more customers are relying on voice commands to purchase items online

Voice recognition devices are quickly becoming the driving force behind a shift in consumer behaviour. People no longer want to waste time typing out a query into Google, they want to simply be able to speak it aloud and find the answers they’re looking for.

In fact, according to a recent survey, around 71 per cent of smart technology users would prefer to use a voice search assistant than actually types out their search. Given that just five years ago this technology was still in its infancy, it’s incredible to see how far it’s come in such a short space of time. It’s already the norm in many people’s lives.

Thanks to the developments in technology pioneered by the major players like Apple and Google, it is now easier than ever to ask a question from the comfort of your own sofa or while you’re in the car.

Because of this dramatic shift in the way we use the internet, it’s only wise for businesses to adapt in order to keep up. Brands need to take voice search into consideration when preparing content for their website. So, what do you need to do to meet such requirements? And who is leading the way when it comes to voice search?

Where did it all begin?

In the beginning, voice search used to consist of calling a number from your phone and speaking your search term down the phone. And for much time, that seemed to be what voice search was going to be. In 2011, Google announced it would be rolling out voice search through Google.com. At first, it was only accessible in English, and now it’s available in 60 different languages. However, since then, it’s come on leaps and bounds.

Also Read: Why we need to rethink how we measure SEO

The hummingbird update came in 2013, changing the concept of what it means to search via your voice through your phone. What if you didn’t need to call a number or search a site just to ask your query? What if you could simply speak to your phone and it could search instantly? This updated algorithm focused on natural language, taking the user’s way of speaking into consideration, as well as the context of the question being asked.

How are voice recognition devices currently being used?

Now, over tens of millions of Amazon Echo devices have been sold, with app developersintroducing a staggering 70,000 skills for Alexa. Having a personal assistant in the home is a completely common occurrence in many countries around the world.

It’s only natural that consumers are curious, as they always are when it comes to innovative, potentially life-changing technology. This curiosity has led to sales, and consequently, a change in the way we do things. Because where more devices are being sold, it’s an indication that consumers are also searching the internet in a new way.

Businesses are being thrown in the deep end when it comes to meeting consumer demand, having to create suitable content that’s going to be easy to find when they search with their voice.

Gearing content towards voice search

Currently, a great deal of content available on the web is keyword-focused, meaning that it’s aiming to target customers through the keywords that they’re searching Google for. This could be anything from ‘printed t-shirts’ to ‘best restaurants in Shoreditch’. However, when a user starts asking Google a question using their voice instead of typing it into the search bar, the way it’s worded will inevitably be different.

To try and target their audience asking such questions, businesses may try adding more FAQ’s to their website. That way, they can word them using LSI keywords which will seem more natural, emulating the way a person may actually ask the question. The idea is that this will capture both long-tail and voice search traffic, effectively preparing for the switch in searching methods before it’s begun.

Another way businesses may try to tailor their content towards voice search is to have clear, concise content that’ll serve as a rich snippet for when consumers ask questions. This will mean there is a short, effective reply for any query.

Furthermore, page speed is also a big factor when it comes to voice search. This also influences whether or not your page will appear in the voice search results.

Considering the person using voice search is likely to be on-the-go or in a hurry, your page speed optimisation should be a high priority. If you fail to ensure your page loads quickly, you risk losing out on a potential customer if they visit a competitor instead.

It’s crucial that companies stay ahead of the game when it comes to this shift in voice search. If they don’t, they risk losing out to competitors who were quick to roll out these changes to the content.

Setbacks with voice search

One of the main things holding voice search back is people’s lack of willingness to do it public. At home, searching via your voice on a device is fine, nobody’s around to hear you talking to a device. But in public, people are still little reserved when it comes to voice recognition helpers like Siri or Cortana. Over time, as the popularity of this way of searching grows, the hope is it will become more normalised.

With increased use should come increased accuracy, a problem that users have recently been experiencing with their voice recognition devices. Often, their queries are met with an ‘I’m sorry, I do not understand the question’ response.

In addition to this, people do still needa physical search result in some cases where the information simply can’t be digested. For example, if you’re looking for things to do in London, seeing a block of information is a lot more helpful than information being read out to you. As a reader, you’re a lot more in control.

Voice search and the IoT

Another element to voice search is the Internet of Things (IoT). Voice search is superior now, capable of doing more things far beyond just answering your search queries. The IoT refers to smart appliances and machines, geared to work with voice recognition devices. These smart devices aim to help people with tasks all around the home, such as controlling the heating, turning on the lights, picking a TV programme and using entertainment systems.

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

The smart sensors in the devices gather information from the user, before actioning it into a task. When it comes to voice recognition ready appliances, all commands can be done via the voice. This isn’t just for use around the home, either. It can be used across a number of industries such as healthcare, agriculture and retail.

What the future of voice search could bring

It’s predicted that by 2020, around 30 per cent of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen. At the rate that Amazon’s Alexa devices are flying off the shelves, it’s not hard to imagine this prediction becoming a reality.

It’s likely that it will become even more seamlessly integrated with the Internet of Things, meaning the whole home will become voice-recognition ready. It’s an exciting time for both voice search developers and the public alike, as we look forward to a futuristic world.

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e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

Image Credit : Karsten Neglia

The post Why businesses need to start optimising content for voice search appeared first on e27.

All startups had received funding in the past year and have been hailed as one of the respective country’s achievements

When it comes to funding, these startups and their countries are on a fast-track and catching up to its neighboring countries like Singapore and Indonesia. Remember their names because it might be the next big thing coming out of the frontier market tech ecosystem.

Groupin, Cambodia: The Buzzfeed of Cambodia and Myanmar

Based in Cambodia, Groupin is the holding company of e-commerce Little Fashion and digital media firm Mediaload. It has raised a Series A funding of US$5 million from Mekong-focused private equity firm Belt Road Capital Management (BRCM).

The company can lay claim to have raised the largest public funding round in the Cambodian tech startup scene. Groupin is set to expand its footprints by investing in mobile technology, logistics chains, product vertical expansion, and customer support.

Groupin was founded by siblings Vichet In, Vichea In, Visal In, and Mayan In. Managing companies from two vastly different sectors seems to be working in their favor.

Little Fashion, its fashion and lifestyle brand, was launched as an informal Facebook retailer distributing fashion apparel from China/Thailand into Cambodia in late 2010. It slowly grew into a low-cost online fashion platform called L192.

Mediaload, on the other hand, is a digital media firm boasting 8 million monthly users and 20 million social media followers.  It focusses on a content generation of local information with topics ranging from entertainment to sports. It is best known under the brands Khmerload in Cambodia and Myanmarload in Myanmar.

2019 is showing some signs that the Cambodian startup scene is beginning to burgeon. The country saw its first startup conference called Cambodia Outlook conference being held in March and the launch of a US$5 million USD startup fund by Smart Axiata.

Cambodia is sprinting, and Groupin is its first of many success stories.

Honorable mention: Food delivery Meal Temple, edutech SALA, mobile gaming GoGames, and more here

Leflair, Vietnam: The flash-sale model, branded goods e-commerce platform

Leflair is a Vietnam-based e-commerce platform that sources branded goods and becomes the official distributors to Vietnamese customers. In January, it raised a total of US$7 million in series B funding, with US$3 million from South Korean TV home shopping company GS Shop, and US$4 million from Cambodia-based Belt Road Capital Management, as reported by Tuoi Tre News.

Just a year before that, the startup raised US$3 million in series A fundin.  In total the company has raised almost US$12 million.

Loic Gautier, the co-founder, and CEO at Leflair, said that the company is optimistic that cross-border is the future of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. Founded in December 2015, Leflair follows the flash-sales model that has proven successful in Europe.

Also Read: This co-working space tackles the number one problem working moms face: Guilt

In a recent development, Vietnam has seen multiple deals from prominent investors that have committed to bankrolling the country’s startup industry.

Just a week ago, an agreement at the Vietnam Venture Summit that saw Golden Gate Ventures, Access Ventures, Burda Principal Investments, 500 Startups, Jungle Ventures, and Cyberagent Ventures, among others will see them committed VND10 trillion (US$425 million) investment in Vietnamese startups for the next three years.

The country’s top VC Vina Capital also entered into an agreement with Mirae-Naver Asia Growth Fund in which Mirae Asset invested an undisclosed amount in VinaCapital Ventures. Naver will provide access to its portfolio companies to facilitate their expansion plans.

Honorable mentions: e-Wallet service startup MoMo, travel accommodation platform Luxstay

Rent 2 Own Myanmar: Motorcycle access for the rural population

Launched in January 2016, Rent to Own (R2O) provides an affordable motorcycle contract for rural users. R2O managed to cover a massive portion of central Myanmar — spanning the Ayerwaddy delta area to Shan State mountains. The startup says it means they are serving 70,000 clients.

Last year in November, it received a US$6 million investment from Germany’s development finance institution DEG and agRIF, an impact focused fund which provides funding to financial intermediaries targeting farmers and the rural population.

Joining the German investors was Daiwa PI Partners, an investment arm of a major Japanese securities firm who purchased shares from one of the existing shareholders, as reported by The Myanmar Times.

This move signified the growing attention towards Myanmar as an emerging startup scene by the international investors. Interest in Myanmar’s startups has been on the rise as investors scour the region for potential returns.

Partnering over 400 motorcycle dealers in the country, R2O allows their clients access to a fully insured bike, as well as maintenance, for a monthly fee, said R2O CEO Philippe Lenain.

Looking at what R2O does, Myanmar has been showing time and time again the knack for having fully-adjusted, innovative startups that provide the very solution for the country and its population. Myanmar recorded an 80 percent smartphone penetration rate that leaves room for similar startups to catch up.

Honorable mentions: Logistic tech Kargo, fintech Daung Capital.

First Circle, Philippines: Tapping into the GDP’s main contributor with friendly loan terms

First Circle was founded by CEO Patrick Lynch and CTO Tony Ennis with the goal of offering short-term, friendly loan for small businesses to scale. SMEs account for 99.6 percent in the country’s business, and First Circle provides a formal credit scoring system and reliable loan coverage.

In the investment led by Venturra Capital, with participation from Insignia Ventures Partners, Hong Kong’s Silverhorn Investment Advisors, and Tryb Group, Philippine-based SME-lending service First Circle raised US$26 million just nine months ago, as reported by TechCrunch.

Realising that emerging markets are not capital-developed, First Circle’s business model is to use third parties for capital-sourcing, including asset managers and family offices, who take half of the loan book.

From the Philippines, the most recent game-changing fund would be the one by JG Summit Holdings, a conglomerate in the Philippines. The conglomerate launched a US$50 million fund to back startups in Series A or Series B rounds that either supplement or disrupt its current holdings — such as real estate, retail, and airlines as well as targeting finance, consumer services, new media, logistics, and healthcare.

Honorable mentions: Healthtech startup MariaHealth, edutech Edukasyon, trucking logistic tech Inteluck, insurtech Saphron.

Sindabad, Bangladesh: a B2B, direct-to-office e-commerce service

Sindabad.com provides a B2B e-commerce service that supplements businesses like offices and factories with a platform for manufacturing and consumption purchases, all direct-to-office deliveries.

Just last month, Dhaka-based e-commerce company Sindabad.com raised a US$4.15 million in a Series A funding round from Aavishkaar Frontier Fund, which is managed by impact investment firm Aavishkaar, as reported by Business Standard.

Also Read: 5 growth stage startups that are leaders in Thailand’s ecosystem

Before this funding, Sindabad had received investment from Frontier Fund – a Bangladesh-focussed private equity fund managed by Brummer & Partners Bangladesh.

In one of our contributor pieces, it is stated that Bangladesh has around 90.501 million internet users, as of August 2018, which creates a huge opportunity for e-Commerce to grow. The startup environment in Bangladesh is nascent but very active, with 200 startups slated to launch every year, most of which are in e-commerce and software development, in a country of 170 million people.

Bangladesh’s tech scene is opening up, with a few local accelerators springing up training first-time founders, and the government set to add three more high-tech parks by 2020.

Honorable mentions: Ride-sharing platform Shohoz, P2P solar electricity trading SOLShare, Facebook shop platform ShopUp.

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Photo by Peter Hershey on Unsplash

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Tiket.com co-founder Natali Ardianto is now leading Indopasifik Teknologi Medika Indonesia as CEO and Co-Founder. However, its focus and branding remain a secret

Last year, Catcha Group released three predictions related to the future of Indonesian startup industry up to the year 2020. One of them was about the next unicorn company to come from the market, which was predicted to be from the fintech and healthtech sectors.

There might be some truths in the prediction. Indonesian healthcare market valuation is predicted to reach US$363 billion by 2025, up 18 times from the US$20 billion in 2010. This rapid increase is driven by the booming demand for healthcare services.

Behind this great potential, several challenges continue to haunt the local healthcare service industry, such as the limited number of medical professionals in rural areas and uneven distribution of healthcare facilities. There is even a belief that healthcare is something that is only accessible for upper class society

Having been known as the co-founder of Indonesian traveltech startup Tiket.com, Natali Ardianto jumps into the healthtech sector with a new startup that is set to be launched by the end of the year. After dabbling with fintech startup EmasDigi, Ardianto confirms that he had exited from the startup and is dedicating his time to develop the new healthtech company.

“Personally I enjoy starting over something from zero. The total addressable market (TAM) for healthcare industry [in Indonesia] is huge, but we still have not found any success story in this market. The same goes with online travel agencies; when Tiket.com was released in 2011, it was also due to a large TAM and lack of outstanding player,” he explains to DailySocial.

Also Read: Natali Ardianto joins EmasDigi as CTO

Ardianto considers the Indonesian healthtech industry to be in its infancy –this means many players have just realised its true potential and are now competing to be the biggest. He has no worries about this matter as he sees many opportunities to explore with his new company.

The man is now the Co-Founder and CEO of Indopasifik Teknologi Medika Indonesia (ITMI) as well as Advisor for Indopasifik Medika Investama (IMI). IMI is a holding company behind pharmacist PharmaPlus, homecare service platform Homecare24, general practitioner and specialist clinic PrimeCare Clinic.

IMI is affiliated with the Kwari family, who has been working in the healthcare sector for 40 years.

ITMI will be a healthtech startup under IMI that offers two services, set to be launched by the end of the year. Due to several considerations, Ardianto is unable to share further details about the startup, such as its name and sector.

“We are still unable to disclose what the service will be about, but we are building two digital products that are going to be launched by end of the year,” he says.

ITMI will be the fifth startup that Ardianto is working on. His first startup was city directory platform Urbanesia, which had been acquired leading news platform Kompas. He had also worked on golf course booking site Golfnesia, online travel agency Tiket.com (which was acquired by Djarum Group through BliBli), and gold trading platform EmasDigi.

Also Read: Indonesia’s Tiket.com co-founder, CTO Natali Ardianto has left the company

Optimism in ITMI

Despite his unwillingness to share any detail about ITMI, Ardianto expresses his optimism for the company. He projects that it will be able to make profit and grab 0.07 per cent of market share in Indonesia within just two years.

Ardianto believes that this is feasible as the concept has been proven successful in other countries. ITMI is merely replicating and modifying it for the Indonesian market; he also hinted that such service is currently available in the market in offline form.

“It’s the same as Go-Jek. They digitised the long-existing service of motorbike taxis; it is basically what we are doing at the moment. If you are trying to digitise a product, you need to know how to convert it into an online form. This is our task as engineers, while the experts are looking at the industry itself,” he says.

Currently on development stage, ITMI product will complement those of the sister companies within IMI ecosystem.

The company is run by a team of 11, which had only begun working on June 17. Ardianto serves as a co-founder with four other people; all of them happened to have worked at Tiket.com.

Ardianto expects to recruit engineers to accelerate the development of ITMI to 52 people by the end of the year. ITMI has also been supported by a pre-Series A funding round from its holding.

“As a CEO, I get to run the company the way I really want it to be. So the key here is execution; this is why we cannot say much at the moment. I hope that my experience [from the previous companies] will enable us to get it right,” he closes.

Ardianto’s entry to the healthtech sector is the latest amongst the country’s existing companies such as Alodokter, Halodoc, Medigo, HubSehat, Ayomed, Periksa.id, SehatQ, and Medi-Call.

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The article Optimisme Natali Ardianto Seriusi Segmen Healthtech was written in Bahasa Indonesia by Marsya Nabila for DailySocial. English translation and editing by e27.

Image Credit: Natali Ardianto

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See how TAIRA 2019 (Taiwan AI x Robotics Accelerator) bridges the gap between corporates and startups in Southern Taiwan

As far as contemporary history is concerned, Taiwan has emerged to become one of the global leaders in computer hardware manufacturing, pioneering feats in the international tech spectrum by being home to tech giants, Asus and Acer, among many others.

Recently, however, we have seen a paradigm shift in terms of how Taiwan wants to shape its digital future — all as part of the country’s intention to become a global innovation hub. We now see government and non-government efforts in tech put a shared focus between hardware and software development.

Consequently, we’ve witnessed a growth in Taiwan’s startup culture, resulting in two particular areas steadily rising: AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Robotics capabilities.

In 2017, Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) and StarFab Accelerator — two of Taiwan’s leaders in modern tech — came together to come up with an initiative that supports and builds platforms for corporate-startup matchmaking and help startups secure funding. The initiative was prompted because both institutions saw a great potential in bridging the gap between corporations and startups.

The emergence of TAIRA (Taiwan AI x Robotics Accelerator) Programme

By 2018, this initiative led to creating TAIRA (Taiwan AI x Robotics Accelerator), an accelerator programme designed to fast track startups working on AI and robotics solutions.

The programme takes place annually at the Southern Taiwan Science Park, a space that encourages innovation and the cultivation of AI and Robotics related talents.

TAIRA supports startups through equity-free funding, product development resources, and early engagement with possible enterprise clients. The programme seeks to facilitate partnerships and collaborations between startups and big-time corporations to combine domain expertise and innovative tech solutions.

In 2019, TAIRA seeks to expand larger with StarFab’s commitment to funnel more resources to enrich their network of international accelerators and venture capitalists, and ultimately, to embolden Taiwan’s startup ecosystem further.

They’ve added test beds for corporate collaborations, technical platforms, and more funds to further equip and expose AI and Robotics startups with business and fundraising opportunities — pretty much all the tools necessary for market expansion, increasing market shares, and more client acquisition.

Corporate innovation: a marketplace of ideas

 

In order to better examine the positions and preferences of the corporates who are seeking out partnerships from the pool of startups, e27 spoke with three of StarFab’s corporate partners to learn more about their thoughts on tech innovation.

• United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) Smart Manufacturing Division

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced IC production for applications spanning every major sector of the electronics industry.

One of the problems that smart manufacturing division faces is that more and more customers need variety custom products with less amount, so the operation process will be different from traditional ways. They need innovation transformations of cloud computing and machine managements in factories. With big data applications from startups, they are able to analyze more information and improve production capacity.

The programme, therefore, does not only help both parties on each side of the spectrum achieve meaningful, output-based partnerships, but also help create a marketplace of ideas in which both parties can establish a healthy exchange of learnings and insights.

• King’s Town Bank

King’s Town Bank Co., Ltd. provides various personal and corporate banking products and services in Taiwan. The company accepts deposits and virtual accounts, and provides loans and international financing services, among many others.

King’s Town Bank is keen on pursuing new technologies through TAIRA and give startups opportunities to cooperate with them while at the same time, help those startups achieve better successes in the future.

StarFab has helped them bridge startups together to visit their bank and more than that, form effective ways of connecting corporates to those startups.

• Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC)

KRTC, which is responsible for constructing and operating Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System in Taiwan, joins TAIRA in 2019. The rapid transit system is more than just traffic transport for KRTC. It not only brings convenient transportation to people, but is also the source of shaping a modernised urban pattern and is the driving force for a better lifestyle.

Monitoring passenger density, identifying elderly passengers or passengers with disabilities, and real-time behavior analysis and notification are the challenges they would like to be solved this year. Through the co-creation with startups in TAIRA, they expect to contribute to the promotion of high-quality public transport and the development of Kaohsiung City.

Why be part of TAIRA 2019?

At the end of the day, TAIRA is more than just an accelerator programme. It is a holistic online-to-offline innovation platform designed to bolster global AI and Robotics startups through partnerships with local Taiwan corporations.

What the programme ultimately does is foster a culture of collaboration and co-creation. These are things that are bred better in an environment that recognises growing internal demands, advanced business understanding, and a grasp of what it’s like to scale globally — all of which are found in innately among partnerships between corporates and startups.

Calling all AI startups who are interested to work with Taiwan tech corporations and expand their reach to the Taiwan market, TAIRA 2019 will open startup applications until June 30. For more information, check out the TAIRA website at http://www.tairax.com.tw/index.aspx

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Image credit: 123rf.com / ID 115218958

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Feedloop provides the building blocks for marketers to create interactive marketing campaigns such as survey, quizzes and interactive storytelling

Feedloop, a SaaS-based interactive content marketing platform in Indonesia, announced today that it has secured an undisclosed amount of seed investment from early-stage VC fund East Ventures and several unnamed angel investors.

The startup will use the money to build the next-generation interactive content experience to help companies in their brand activation initiatives.

Founded in late 2018, Feedloop aims to disrupt the way brands connect with its customers, especially to appeal to Millenials and Generation Z, for whom traditional one-directional marketing is no longer effective. Feedloop provides the building blocks for marketers to create interactive marketing campaigns such as survey, quizzes and interactive storytelling that drives high user engagements.

Exclusive: Indonesia’s Automo closes seed round; in talks for fresh funding

“This generation of consumers expect a two-way dialogue with their brands, simply delivering message is not enough,” said Ahmad Rizqi Meydiarso, Co-founder and CEO of Feedloop, who also previously co-founded Kata.ai, a conversational AI company in Indonesia. “Showing ads to promote your product or brand is no longer working. You have to invest in building contents that spark dialogue and give value to your audience.”

Within just less than six months of operation, Feedloop had executed pilot projects with multiple brands and digital marketing agencies to test the potential use cases of such technologies. The two campaign examples are for social media engagement and talent acquisition funnel management.

For social media engagement, Feedloop assisted Liga1 (highest professional football division of the Indonesian football league system) and its agency Panenmaya to build a brand engagement campaign on Instagram. Users filled in the survey to find out which Liga1 players were most alike to them and then posted the result on their personal Instagram story. This campaign attracted 20,000 unique user’s posts in just one single day, totaling over 30,000 posts in two consecutive days.

For talent acquisition funnel management, Feedloop assisted Paragon (one of Indonesia’s largest cosmetic producers owning brands of Wardah, Make Over, Emina, IX, dan Putri) in creating interactive campaign builder to improve its talent acquisition funnel. Rather than just clicking through job application pages, applicants’ journey started from checking whether their personality suited to the related position they applied for. For employers, this helps to map suitability of the candidates prior to engaging with them directly.

“By providing the much-needed tools to build immersive interactive experience, Feedloop can dramatically reduce the time-to-market of a creative campaign while reducing the cost if compared to custom vendor-built campaigns,” claimed Ronaldi Kurniawan, Co-founder and CTO of Feedloop. “Thus, we are relieving marketers burden to let them focus on the most important thing: the creative process. We also give them the ability to continuously improve through the feedback loop made possible through our analytics system.”

Feedloop also collaborates with Narasi.tv (an online media platform providing video content with journalistic approach) to create interactive digital media experience that allows viewers of the programme to provide real-time feedback.

According to PwC, Indonesia’s digital media spending is among the fastest growing in the world, with PQ Media estimating its ads spending at USD$12 billion. Despite the large spend, key challenges lie in digital skill or resource gaps for content marketing: how could marketers design a great overall customer experience to improve brand engagement, thus results in higher marketing ROI. Feedloop believes that interactive digital content is the solution.

Melisa Irene, Partner of East Ventures, said: “We believe that with more than 150 million Indonesian consumers already online, personalisation will be key strategy for brands and companies to reach customers more effectively. Feedloop team has the right mindset as they bring product- based approach to help companies innovate on personalized brand experience in multiple use cases.

East Ventures has invested in hundreds of companies in Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Its portfolio companies include Tokopedia, Traveloka, Mercari, Disdus (acquired by Groupon), Kudo (acquired by Grab), TechInAsia, Omise, IDNTimes, Ruangguru, Jurnal, Cermati, MokaPOS, ShopBack, EVHive, Pasar Polis and Loket (acquired by Gojek).

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How do you avoid being part of that 90 per cent of startups that failed?

There’s always a dream behind every startup; loaded with ambitions, desires, and irreplaceable persistence. So – why do startups fail? If entrepreneurs know what they want and are on a mission with total conviction, what stops them from achieving it all?

Are bad ideas the reason that startups fail? No – Google was also considered a bad startup idea when it was proposed. But then, it’s not always the idea that costs your business, sometimes it’s for a  few other reasons, including the A-team.

The personal readiness for the role

Most early entrants into the startup world may find it exhausting. There are cases where entrepreneurs take out equity on their own home. Also, putting themselves and their family members in continuous debt is not new – we often hear of similar cases in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Plunging into a business may leave you in a position where it gets tricky to circumvent such problems.  It is critical you stay prepared. You will be under pressure to balance your emotions as you pursue your startup dream; to move fast in business and still keep good mental and physical health, as well as develop a compassionate mindset.

Ask yourself if you are ready to invest ‘all-in’ of yourself in this new role? Consider consulting your friends, family and the closed ones. Maybe it is just the right time for you and the right version of you as you decide to begin this entrepreneurial (mis)adventure.

What does the market research say?

You have successfully launched a business, but have you researched about the market demand for the product or services you offer? It would be important to conduct such surveys as they help gauge whether your idea will turn out to be a successful one. Also, it helps you to identify existing problems that your potential users are facing and gives a clearer idea of what the solution should look like.

It’s difficult to be fully sure that you are the first one to roll out such offerings as there may be some similar business offerings. Reach out to them or at least read about them to identify whether they have succeeded? If no, why did they fail? You will need answers to these questions and find out a way to differentiate yourself in the market.

It all boils down to how you execute the offerings once the market research is done. Some of the businesses that fail to launch their MVP can attribute it to their lack of execution discipline, as well as a lack of brand to lean on. Some businesses fail because they go all out without conducting adequate market research and they try to peddle products that are not required at all. Sometimes the product may evolve as an experience but then it may also limit the number of re-purchases.

Also Read: How Go-Jek evolved from a startup to a tech unicorn in less than 10 years

But then, what if your market research fails? It may happen that this will have you pushing your products towards the incorrect target market. What if your data on the market size is wrong? The product positioning may cause your business to veer off in the wrong direction even before it is launched.

Keep the answers of these three questions ready before you are ready to launch:

1. Are you clear about your target market and its specific problem?
2. Is your business able to provide the best possible solution to that problem?
3. What is the size of your target market? Is it well-defined? And most of all, is it big enough to sustain your new business?

Inablility to focus – in a single direction

A new business will demand a lot of things from your end, but then sometimes you will need to pause and introspect. You may be multitasking but then you will have to ask if it actually moves the needle. If it doesn’t, stop wasting your efforts.

Most startups will fail due to routine stuff that hampers the growth:

• Networking –. Sure, business partnerships can turn profitable with the right contacts but it is recommended to network wisely so you do not waste time.
• Don’t be in a hurry to form a board of advisors once you get funding
• Stop multiple partnership businesses if you don’t see any revenue in a predetermined time.
• You should not be channelizing your own and your team’s effort on PR and social media unless you are highly confident that you have the right product for your target customer market.

Now, you only have two important things to focus on if you really want to succeed. There is no third way out.

1. Users

Understanding where they come from and what they seek from your offerings is an important aspect of success. User engagement is equally important because after acquiring them, that’s how you will be able to engage them for a longer time and extend the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV).

2. Product

This is the heart of your startup –  always endeavour to improve product offerings. Talk to users, address their issues and enhance their experience by altering your product accordingly. If you really want your startup to be a successful one, you’ll be spending the majority of your time in improving your product.

Optimistic entrepreneurs tend to function as a one-person team

Y-Combinator’s co-founder Paul Graham points three important things that drive a successful startup.

1. A team of genuinely dedicated people;
2. Offering precisely what your target customers want;
3. Reducing outflow of cash as much as possible

From the above-mentioned points, if you want to achieve the latter two, fix the first one. Good people will build a significantly useful product and this will also fix your problem of unnecessary expenses. Make sure you create and retain your A-team for the startup as they will be the ones leading the attack from the front. The research suggests that the average solo founders may take around 3.6x longer to scale their startups no matter how focused they are on growth.

Also Read: The essentials of managing your business financials at 4 stages of its lifecycle

An ideal scenario will involve having at least one person onboard from each department – marketing, development, designing, etcetera. If you have the right team who are experts in their own work you are almost certain to provide customers with what they really need – 100x easier than you’d rather do it alone. As a team, the long hours get more bearable and you’ll have each others’ back through all thick and thin. The perils of being a one-man army are not confined to just inefficiency but could also lead to a failure in the longer run.

Conclusion:

Though 90 per cent of startups fail, some entrepreneurs striving for success may want to settle for average results. But if you truly want to be in the that 10 per cent and hit the jackpot, try to be mindful and avoid making mistakes that are common across all the startups that failed.

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