The funding will be used to expand Jumppoint’s team and enhance the capabilities of its platform, besides strengthening local operations and further expanding its services in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia through a roll-up strategy.
“This funding will allow us to further invest in our technology and bring even more value to our customers,” said Founder and CEO Samson Ho.
Founded in 2020, Jumppoint offers a one-stop platform covering express, warehousing, fulfilment, and cross-border logistics services. It aggregates long-tailed logistics service providers and optimises its partners’ operational efficiency by offering a standardised operating system.
It has also expanded into the cross-border e-commerce logistics market with proprietary international freight forwarding and CBEC logistics network capability.
The company has built a proprietary dynamic route optimisation engine and demand prediction engine, which have increased logistics efficiency and reduced cost by up to 40 per cent.
The firm currently handles over 200,000 orders per month and manages approximately 400,000 sq ft of warehouse space. With year-over-year growth of over 300 per cent, Jumppoint claims it is on track to reach profitability by Q3 2023.
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Raising capital for a crypto project can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it is an essential and crucial step for many projects looking to bring their ideas to life. It can also be a challenge for a team without the necessary experience to independently navigate all the different options and considerations.
In this article, we will explore the fundraising process, including the options available, the key considerations, the steps involved, and why engaging a fundraising consultant can be extremely helpful.
What are the different fundraising methods?
There are several options for fundraising for a crypto project, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the most common options include:
Initial Coin Offering (ICO): An ICO is a crowdfunding campaign where a new cryptocurrency is issued in exchange for funding. Investors can purchase the new coin with an existing cryptocurrency or stablecoin The funds raised through an ICO are used to develop and launch the project.
Initial Exchange Offering (IEO): An IEO is similar to an ICO but is conducted through a cryptocurrency exchange rather than directly through the project. This means that the exchange acts as a middleman and takes a cut of the funds raised. The advantage of an IEO is that the exchange provides credibility and security, as they typically have strict listing requirements.
Venture Capital (VC): Another option for fundraising is to seek funding from venture capital firms or individual investors. This can be a more traditional route and typically involves pitching the project to potential investors and negotiating terms.
The fundraising process
Regardless of the fundraising method chosen, there are several key considerations that projects should keep in mind when seeking funding.
Develop a solid business plan: It is essential to have a clear and well-thought-out plan for how the funds will be used and how the project will generate revenue. This includes identifying the target market, outlining the product or service, and outlining a financial plan.
Build a strong team: Investors want to see that the project has a talented and experienced team to execute the plan. It is important to highlight team members’ relevant skills and experience and demonstrate how they are uniquely qualified to bring the project to fruition.
Have a working prototype: It is helpful to have a working prototype of the product or service to show to potential investors. This can help demonstrate the project’s feasibility and give investors a better understanding of how it will work.
Consider legal and regulatory requirements: Depending on the type of fundraising campaign and the jurisdiction, legal and regulatory requirements may need to be met. It is important to understand these requirements and ensure that the campaign is compliant.
Community Following: Build a community that supports the project and ensures that the project has a strong following. This helps to smoothen the project launch when there is a demand backing it. Investors will also be incentivised to give a higher valuation for the project.
Once these considerations have been addressed, the next step is to start the fundraising process. This typically involves:
Identifying potential investors: This can be done through networking, attending industry events, and using online platforms to connect with potential investors.
Pitching the project: This involves presenting the project to potential investors and explaining why it is a good opportunity. Communicating the value proposition, the market opportunity, and the team’s qualifications is important.
Negotiating terms: If an investor is interested in the project, the next step is to negotiate the terms of the investment. This can include the amount of funding, the percentage of ownership, and any other conditions or restrictions.
Closing the deal: Once the terms have been agreed upon, the final step is to close the deal and secure the funding. This typically involves signing a contract.
Why engage a consultant?
A fundraising consultant is a professional with experience and expertise in raising funds for a project.
There are several benefits to engaging a fundraising consultant for a crypto project:
Expertise and experience: A fundraising consultant has a deep understanding of the different options available for raising funds and the pros and cons of each option. They can provide guidance on which option is the most suitable for the project and help to navigate the process.
Access to a network of investors: Fundraising consultants often have a network of investors and contacts that they can tap into to help secure funding. This can be especially useful for projects that are just starting out and don’t have a strong network.
Time-saving: The fundraising process can be time-consuming, especially for projects just starting out. A fundraising consultant can take on many of the tasks involved, such as identifying potential investors, pitching the project, and negotiating terms, freeing up the team to focus on other aspects of the project.
Increased chances of success: A fundraising consultant can help to increase the chances of success by ensuring that the project is well-prepared and has a strong value proposition. They can also provide guidance on effectively communicating the project to potential investors.
Engaging a fundraising consultant can be a valuable resource for a crypto project looking to raise funds. Their expertise and experience can help streamline and expedite the process, potentially increase the chances of realising the project, and advise the next steps after a successful fundraising, such as the need for treasury management to grow the project.
Fintonia Group is a licensed financial services company specialising in financial services, technology and supporting entrepreneurial companies. The company has focused on fintech since 2014/15 and has seen the rapid development of the crypto ecosystem through its involvement in fintech.
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With over a decade of experience in marketing and technology, Baradhwaj R (aka Brad) is the Director of Marketing at MoEngage, a global leader in martech for Consumer Brands.
At MoEngage, he helps consumer brands identify the right tech to transform marketing automation, customer engagement, and retention to drive their overall business growth.
He is a regular contributor of articles for e27 (you can read his thought leadership articles here).
In this candid interview, he talks about his personal and professional life.
How would you explain what you do to a five-year-old?
I do marketing. I help companies find and use special tools on the computer to make their work easier and more efficient.
Like in your school, you meet new kids with whom you study, play, eat lunch, and some of them become your best friends. In the same way, I help companies find friends (they call them customers) to be happy and be best friends forever.
What has been the biggest highlight/challenge of your career so far?
Consistency is the key, be it marketing or anything in life. When someone is consistent in their actions and words, they are more likely to be seen as dependable and trustworthy. So just having a day as your highlight doesn’t cut it. I recommend and vouch for ensuring you sustain and keep achieving goals consistently. Hence, every day is a highlight.
People are the most challenging part because they have unique personalities, backgrounds, beliefs, likes, dislikes, and emotions. So one must understand and respond to their needs, motivations, and expectations.
The best part is that it constantly evolves, so something that works with one person may not work with others or the same person in a different environment.
How do you envision the next five years of your career?
In the next five years of my career, I plan to continue growing and developing my skills and expertise. I see myself taking on more challenging and complex projects.
Additionally, taking on more mentoring and leadership roles, helping to guide and support the development of the next generation of professionals in my field. I plan to use my experience and knowledge to inspire and empower others to reach their full potential. I want to impact the industry and those around me positively.
What are some of your favourite work tools?
HubSpot: a B2B marketing automation platform. Now the platform has evolved beyond marketing with the addition of sales and customer service software. It offers a range of tools and functionalities to help businesses attract, engage, and delight customers. These include but are not limited to features for email marketing, social media marketing, content management, search engine optimisation, CMS, etc.
OneNote: a digital note-taking and organisation application from Microsoft. It allows users to create, edit, and share notes, including text, images, audio, and other media. You can also organise notes into different notebooks and sections, as well as the ability to collaborate with others on notes.
MoEngage: a customer engagement platform that helps consumer brands increase customer retention and loyalty. It allows marketers and product owners to personalise marketing campaigns, analyse customer behaviour, and improve the customer experience. It also enables users with actionable insights, real-time analytics, AI-powered recommendations, etc.
Slack: a collaboration platform that allows teams to communicate and share information in real time. One can send instant messaging, share files, and integrate with other tools and services. Apart from internal communications, it is used widely by several global communities and helps you connect and network via Slack.
What’s something about you or your job that would surprise us?
Sometimes people assume that I would say no, but often I don’t and instead encourage people to decide things independently or ask them why. Having a healthy debate helps gain different perspectives than blindly executing things.
Often this helps generate ideas, expand the horizons, and find better ways to solve problems rather than repeatedly doing the same thing.
It depends on the situation and the individual’s preferences. Some people prefer working from home (WFH) because it allows for flexibility and a comfortable working environment. Others may prefer working from the office (WFO) because they enjoy the social interaction and the structure of a traditional work setting.
My preference would be a hybrid approach, which can also be beneficial as it allows for a balance between the two. Meeting people in person helps one forge stronger relationships. While WFH has its own set of merits, the one problem I see is the lack of non-verbal cues, which is essential for effective communication. Often people won’t turn their cameras on, making it difficult to gauge the audience, and you can force them to do so.
What would you tell your younger self?
I would tell my younger self nothing. It is all about experiences; the lessons you learn from them and how you incorporate them matter. I am here today because of my choices and experiences, so I wouldn’t do anything to change it. Perpahs, I might talk about everything in the universe or watch anime together.
Can you describe yourself in three words?
Responsible, driven and trusted.
What are you most likely to be doing if not working?
I play Settlers of Catan with my friends and family when I’m not working and practice Lesmills body combat — an MMA (mixed martial art) inspired non-contact exercise.
What are you currently reading/listening to/watching?
I just wrapped up Wednesday on Netflix. Currently watching Naruto, one of the animes on my watch list from back in the day, and listening to the audiobook DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online by Russell Brunson on audible.
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Every year in January, it seems I always get asked for advice by a number of corporate friends that share their aspirations to “leave the nine to five” and “be their own boss.” Many have told me that they want to be the next Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg and that they feel that this is the right time for them to go all in and leave the comforts of a steady paycheck.
As much as an investor and a fellow founder myself, I lace many mentorship sessions like these with much optimism and encouragement, I also balance it out with doses of reality that entrepreneurship is not going to get you more time to hang out on the beach drinking fruity beverages, but it will demand much more of yourself than any job that you’ll have in your life. This is especially true since most venture capital firms, even at the pre-seed stage, require a full-time commitment from founders.
Some context here, I myself am a late bloomer. I decided to start a startup at the tender age of 37. This feels late for many, but in actuality, many founders start companies in their 20s but also in their 30s and 40s.
What is different this time, though, is that I have a wife and kids, and I was well into my corporate life. If leaving an executive role in a financial services company wasn’t enough, it is the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner in the family that created a lot more stakes in this decision as it is not just my life that will be affected but four other individuals that I am responsible for their well-being.
Here are the five questions you must ask yourself before leaving your job:
Do you have a business or just an idea? Is there external validation that people need this?
Fundamentally, are you quitting your job for a hobby or a real business opportunity? When I was in Cisco, we called this the “anyone but your mother rule.” A true test of a business is that someone is paying for your product or your service besides your mother, uncle or friends.
Again, payment is key, as it seems many people start businesses without any commercial validation, often relying on gut instinct or market surveys. The best validation is to have paying customers or, for B2B, commercial agreements to know that you have a real business opportunity worth pursuing.
Are you financially prepared to take on the business? Can your income go to close to zero for six-12 months minimum?
This is probably the toughest to hear. Many of us have dreams of starting a company, but we can’t afford to do so. Not all of us have rich aunties or uncles, so the option of just quitting is predicated on financial savings, particularly asking if you have four-12 months of household expenses that you have saved up.
When we were starting Plentina, I had about four months of household expenses saved up before tossing in the towel, but note that it took me five years to save up that money consciously every month. I called it my personal startup bank account.
Why is this important? Since as much as we see movies or articles that people get funded in a day or a week, the reality typically happens that you should never assume that external funding will come, especially at the earliest stages of a company’s pre-product stage.
Will you have any regret if this business does not become successful?
According to an article in Fast Company, “as many as 75 per cent of venture-backed companies never return cash to investors.” This doesn’t even account for the millions of businesses that do not get past the standards of venture capital. Despite these odds, most founders-to-be start companies not to solve a personal mission or a problem but the dream to build a unicorn and maybe retire early.
The past five years have given a false sense of hope for this generation that founding a company is sexy and is the path towards millions. A critical question you must ask yourself is if you can be happy in the fact that you have a rare chance in your lifetime to try to solve something important to you and perhaps the world.
Can you imagine that in four or five years, the company might not exist, or your startup gets sold for zero dollars, but the mission still continues?
Do you and your family all know the sacrifices needed to give this a shot?
This is because the founder’s life is no easy path, mired in stressful situations, near-death experiences and personal income instability that is almost impossible to shield your family from, unlike a normal nine to five where you can leave your work worries at the door.
Can you have an honest discussion with your loved ones on what this decision to quit means for them and how this will affect them individually?
I had a sit-down with my wife and kids indicating that we might have to cut down a lot from our lifestyle and that dad will be busier but have less time for the first few years. I also had to ask my parents and my in-laws for support as they might need to help my family during this time. Are you having these conversations?
Do you have an unfair advantage in building this business?
The last question is putting the investor’s mind into your business. Will you trust your own money and invest in the business because you and your founders are the right people to pull this business off? Do you have unfair insights, expertise or advantage to make this happen for the world?
Final thoughts
If I had to sum up my advice to many, the simple answer if people should go full-time all comes down to timing. Timing of your readiness as an individual to mentally, emotionally and financially go towards this path, and timing of the market to accept the idea that you have.
Even if this seems gloomy, starting a company and seeing how much impact it has given to hundreds of thousands of individuals has been one of the most rewarding feelings I have had in my lifetime, and I will never regret the day I decided to pack up my suit, and traded it for my startup hoodie.
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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic
We all may have different opinions on whether kids should be on social media (or not), but the fact is that two-thirds of children aged seven to nine in Singapore use smartphones every day and are active on social media. More than 40 per cent of them have their own Facebook accounts, while a quarter is on Instagram, according to a poll by online market research firm Milieu Insight that was conducted in 2021.
The question that remains is how to create a safe environment for children to interact through social media, which contains a multitude of risks, including exposure to inappropriate content and ill-intentioned strangers.
This is why Singapore-based startup myFirst introduced myFirst Circle, which it dubbed the first social community app for children. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 on January 6, the platform includes features that provide children with a safe environment to experience the benefits of social connectivity.
Using the app, children can create posts and share photos with their circle of friends without the need for parents to approve every post. At the same time, parents can monitor and make changes to their child’s activities instantly if found inappropriate, creating a balance between safety and freedom to socialise with friends.
“We created myFirst Circle because there is no platform currently that allows children to have authentic social engagements in a safe and controlled environment. Children can stay in touch with genuine friends even after they leave for other schools, keeping their childhood friendships alive. With myFirst Circle, we want to let children explore the world of social media, while ensuring we are there to guide them along the way,” says G-Jay Yong, Founder and CEO of myFirst, in a press statement.
The myFirst Circle app is now available for Apple and Android devices and is also accessible through the myFirst Fone device.
To use the platform, children under the age of 13 will need their parents to have an account. Parents will also need to whitelist and approve the friend requests received by their children before they are added to the children’s social circle. Once the friend request is accepted, parents can assign the connections into four categories: Family, Besties, Friends, and Acquaintances. These groups create an expanding circle that defines the types of posts a person can see.
Each child will also be attached to a nuclear family, which is also known as a family bubble in myFirst Circle app. This bubble typically consists of parents and their immediate children.
Parents can have control over who sees posts of their children
Research has also shown that receiving less validation on social media, as reflected by the number of “likes”, can affect users’ self-worth negatively, particularly in teenagers.
In addition to providing safety by limiting the people who can access their posts, myFirst also aims to prevent this from happening by replacing the “likes” system with a “ShoutOut”. So, instead of receiving a simple “like” on posts, users are encouraged to send 16-character text messages, an eight-second voice blurb or emoji reactions, building a more meaningful connection.
Building for the children
In an email interview with e27, myFirst details the process they had to go through to develop the products. First, it begins with identifying the underlying problem based on the team member’s own personal experience as parents of young children.
“We all live in a digital social world, but all the social platforms are designed for teenagers and grown-ups. So what about younger ones? Our kids? Unfortunately, they’re exposed to a lot of inappropriate content and dangers on regular social platforms.
So as a team of parents, we’re working towards the digital social world we want our young ones to grow up in,” they explain.
“With the broad problem statement of regular social media not being safe or suitable for kids, we sat down and discussed with kids and parents what functions they needed to stay connected. We built 25 versions of the app, and it is always a continuous process of iteration and improvement. We kept re-designing it to accommodate all their needs, as well as features both kids and parents would like to have.”
The company sees the need to balance the needs and wants of its two sets of customers, which is the kids and the parents. Parents want to keep an eye on their children and ensure their safety and well-being; kids want to have fun.
“We can’t please either side 100 per cent cause if we do, the other side won’t use it. We can please either side 70 to 80 per cent and that’s enough of a balance. Kids will still be able to have fun, and parents can still keep an eye on their kids. The app is cloud-based so that myFirst Circle works for any user across multiple devices. That means a kid can use myFirst Circle on their myFirst Fone (wearable kids smartphone) or their iOS or Android smartphone or tablet,” the company continues.
According to the company, myFirst’s ecosystem users are mostly between three to 12 years old, and the myFirst Circle app is between 5 to 12 years old. When a kid becomes a user of the platform, an average of three other people are onboarded as users as well –as it still requires parents or other family members to help with the setup.
“When building a network, the usual challenge is the cold start problem. Our kids tech ecosystem overcomes this problem because the atomic network that endures as other atomic networks form is the nuclear family for immediate communication needs (mommy, daddy, siblings and grandparents of the kid) of messaging, voice, video calling and geo-location. Practical usage from the need to stay connected,” it explains.
“Eventually, these atomic networks will intersect. Kids with the smartwatch will pair with other kids, and as more and more kids connect, so will these families. It could also be the grown-ups connecting their family network with other grown-ups and their respective family network, so cousins or family friends and all the kids can stay connected. This will form larger and larger networks and eventually spread into one big socially connected mesh. The use case and problems our kids tech ecosystem and myFirst Circle solve are very clear to parents, so our focus is on education that this ecosystem and solution exists.”
Founded in 2017 by Yong, myFirst has been busy with the launch of its products in the recent month. At CES 2023, the company launched its latest kids’ wearable smartphones, the world’s first kid-safe earbuds (myFirst Carebuds), and myFirst Circle.
“Our big goal for 2023 is to grow the myFirst Circle community in Singapore, and enable kids in other markets where myFirst is present such as the US and the rest of Asia to experience all the benefits that come from staying connected, with no ads, no strangers, only real connections,” the company highlights.
“There is a worldwide underserved market where there just simply isn’t a good solution that exists today. We want to define the digital world our own young ones grow up in.”
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Singapore robotics firm LionsBot scores US$17M Series A
The investors are TransLink Capital, Superteam APAC, and Freny Firoze Irani; LionsBot develops cleaning robots for commercial applications; Its main offering LeoBot can vacuum, scrub and interact.
Jack Ma to give up control of Ant Group
Ma controls Ant through his investment arm Hangzhou Yunbo; On Jan 7, he agreed to restructure Hangzhou Yunbo into two separate entities and transferred some of his ownership to other executives of Ant Group and Alibaba.
IDX mulls new rules to facilitate listing of overseas tech giants
Only a company with a legal entity in Indonesia can list on the exchange; Foreign firms can currently list on the IDX either by forming a listed subsidiary or acquiring a locally listed company.
SG healthcare firm Qritive raises US$7.5M funding
The investors include MassMutual Ventures, Seeds Capital, and Exfinity; Qritive uses AI to provide interpretations of whole-slide images used in pathology within seconds, reducing treatment time and increasing cancer care accuracy.
Crypto lender Genesis lays off over 60 employees amid liquidity issues
The US-based firm currently has 145 employees following the layoffs; Genesis is facing “hundreds of millions in losses” from its exposure to Three Arrows Capital and Babel Finance; Genesis’s parent firm is backed by GIC.
Indonesian checkout solution startup Flik bags US$1.1M
The investors are East Ventures, Init 6, GMO Venture Partners, and Saison Capital; Flik helps brands strengthen their direct-to-consumer transactions by unifying the checkout experience across different sales channels.
Tencent-backed WeDoctor may file for IPO by April
The firm tried to list its shares in Hong Kong in 2021; However, the application lapsed due to China’s strict regulatory crackdown on private companies, including those that handle sensitive data such as medical information.
Indonesian manufacturing hub platform Imajin raises funding
The investors are Init-6, East Ventures, and 500 SEA; Imajin connects local manufacturers with potential customers; As of July 2022, the startup had 400+ local factory partners and 80 customers.
Grab inks partnership with ZaloPay in Vietnam
The digital wallet will be available for Grab’s services, including transportation, food, grocery, and parcel delivery; Grab also supports cash and other cashless solutions through its e-wallet Moca and payments through linked cards.
SEA’s IPO market fares relatively well amid global downturn: EY report
There were 137 IPOs that raised US$6.5B in the region in 2022, compared to 134 at US$13.2B in 2021; Indonesia led with 60 listings that raked in US$2.2B, followed by Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
Audi-backed startup Holoride is bringing VR to the car
Holoride, launching in the US at CES 2023, uses AI to analyse the car’s motion in real time, combining that with the head movements of the wearer to smooth out the experience and ensure any barf bags stay in the seat-back pocket.
What are generative art NFTs & are they worth collecting?
Generative art is a term used to refer to art created using software; The programme randomly creates shapes, patterns, and colours arranged into an artistically enjoyable piece of digital art.
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It has not been a good year for the technology sector. At the time of writing, we’re experiencing what we call the tech winter.
Trillions of dollars of value have been erased from publicly listed tech giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon.
Globally, 1003 technology companies laid off over 152,000 employees this year, per data from layoff.fyi, a platform collating data on firings by tech companies. This has surpassed the tech layoffs during the 2008-2009 recession.
I don’t think we are at the bottom of this yet. I expect more startups to lay off and close down due to cash reserves running out.
I have been following this closely since February. It matters to me as I am a tech worker who works in the SaaS sector. I also work with many startups and venture capital firms in my day job. Tech winter impacts both myself and my customers.
In times of crisis, I always think about two things “How can I turn this into an opportunity?” and “How can I set myself up for long-term success?”
This is my game plan.
Have 12-18 months of emergency funds
Many startups have been advised to keep at least 24 months of runway to stay afloat during this period of time. The same applies to employees. We should be thinking, “If I lose my job tomorrow, how many months can I survive?”
During these times, it is important to have emergency funds. Here is how to calculate your emergency funds: Monthly expenses, including income tax, mortgage, insurance, etc. x 12 -18 months.
Emergency funds can be cash or short-term fixed deposits (six months) if the total sum is 12-18 months within a year.
While some have chosen only to have a six-month buffer, I have personally chosen to keep a buffer of 12-18 months.
Firstly, we tend to underestimate how much we might spend. Unpredictable life situations could happen after we get laid off. We want to ensure we have ‘dry powder’ ready for circumstances like these.
Also, it is not wise to rush to get a new job. When you are desperately looking, you are in a worse position to negotiate and may even take a job that does not pay you as well. That may impact your future earnings.
Having 12-18 months of emergency funds has given me a lot of psychological safety. If I were so unfortunate to be laid off, I know I would have a huge buffer to cushion the impact.
雪中送炭: Focus on impact
I pay attention to key trends, anticipate them and constantly ask myself, “How can I 借东风? (Borrow the easterly winds)”.
This mindset is influenced by my Taoist beliefs 無為(wu wei). This means riding the wave of change, moving with it and not against it, and using its tremendous power.
In February 2022, I chanced upon a deck by a growth stage founder. He shared that there has been >50 per cent compression in public SaaS multiples since Nov 2021. This will persist so long as inflation and interest rates remain high. He shared with his leadership team that having a longer horizon for using funds will be key.
I knew a storm was coming and gave a lot of thought about the implications on the industry and how I wanted to position myself.
There is this saying in mandarin 锦上添花易 , 雪中送炭难 which means it is easy to add flowers to a brocade but hard to deliver charcoal in the snow.
I wanted not to be a fair-weathered friend who was only there during good times but rather to be the person who helps others in crisis. So, I started thinking about how to adjust myself to add value and contribute to others during this time.
One of the key risks I took was to leave my previous company after only 10 months and join a new one which will empower me to bring more immediate value during the tech winter.
For the past few months, I’ve been able to deliver a huge impact to many of our customers via my job at Spot.io.
Many startups are doing great work by solving key problems in our society and improving the lives of their customers. If they fail during this winter, it will be a huge loss to the founders and everyone else.
By optimising and automating their cloud infrastructure, saving up to 60 per cent on compute costs, we’ve been able to help them free up budget and manpower, which they can dedicate to their strategic priorities.
Through this experience, I hope to add as much value as possible, save some peoples’ jobs, collect good karma and build lasting relationships.
Please connect with me if you are keen to reduce your SaaS and cloud infrastructure spending.
Deepen and build work relationships
Since February, I have focused on building up existing industry relationships and new ones. This was advice from one of my previous bosses and also a Bazi master, and it has worked out pretty well.
I started being super active in attending conferences, events and dinners. As I tend to do better in small groups, I have also reached out to interesting people on LinkedIn to ask them to meet and organise my events.
I have also made it a point to talk to every recruiter who calls my mobile, even though I am not looking for a new job now. I would try to point them in the right direction by matching them with a friend who is looking. The idea is to build two relationships – with the recruiter and the person I am helping.
Meeting new people and building relationships in the industry is still quite an intimidating process for me. This is especially so in an industry that is so male-dominated.
I still face self-doubt, feel shy at times and wonder if people might sometimes take advantage of my generosity and trusting nature.
However, I gradually learned there is a lot I cannot control, so I can only focus on my attitude. These are the principles I will abide by:
诚信赢天下: There is no direct translation for 诚信, and the idea is to treat others with sincerity, honesty, gratitude and in good faith. A relationship has value only if it is genuine. I try to be vulnerable, show up authentically, give first and open my heart. I hope that others can be real and sincere to me in return.
Think win-win and long term: Try to add value to others by sharing knowledge and budget and making introductions and resources. Sometimes, people may not be kind to us or able to help us at all because of various factors such as level of maturity or that they are going through a bad time in their own lives. Have empathy, extend your hand to help first and think long-term.
Increase your surface area of luck: Each new person you meet expands your luck surface area. Several new connections I made were made through cold emails, and taking the first step to connect at parties and conferences. Like attracts like. If you have similar values as others, they will connect you with other like-minded folks. That is how you build your tribe.
Upskill, upskill, upskill
I listened to a podcast during the COVID-19 period, and one of Zenyum’s Co-Founder shared a quote I still remember today: “When Fishermen cannot go out to sea, they repair their nets”.
The idea here is to double down and focus on your growth and learning.
Here is what I did in 2022:
In my new role, I had to work with many VCs and growth equity companies. I took a venture capital course to learn how they think, speak their language, and add value to the partners I work with.
I also doubled down on my core skill set by learning from one of Salesforce’s top-performing individual contributors.
To prepare for my next step, I also spoke with several SaaS leaders to learn about leadership principles, to hire, running a team, building a GTM strategy, etc.
When I encounter exciting books, concepts and ideas, I share them on my Instagram, LinkedIn and newsletter.
I have yet to define a learning agenda for the first half of 2023. This will involve reflecting on my 2023 priorities and identifying potential gaps.
Invest consistently
Topics like fixed deposits and savings bonds are increasingly popular in personal finance. I see them covered extensively by many creators and publications.
However, if one neglects equities now, it could be a missed opportunity. After all, recessions do not last forever. I’ve been through a bear market in 2018, March 2020 and again in 2022.
Each time when I look back, I wish I had invested more. Thus, I know that the best time to invest is now.
I keep the advice from Warren Buffet and Charlies Munger close to my heart: “Be greedy when other people are fearful” and “The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily”.
As tech stock values plunged throughout the year, private equity firms such as Thoma Bravo began hunting to acquire smaller ones. They saw companies with lots of upsides being vastly undervalued in the brutal market conditions of 2022.
I did not reduce my position during this period and continued to invest consistently in companies in my portfolio, S&P 500, funds and unit trusts.
I also started learning about alternative investments and private markets in late 2022. This is an area I wish to continue learning more about in 2023.
Jeremy Au and Jeraldine Phneah discussing Tech Winter
We cannot change a lot of things which happen. However, we can take steps to prepare ourselves for it. What I feel is important is not just taking steps to prepare ourselves for the crisis but also maintaining conviction in the path we’ve chosen for ourselves.
Despite the winter, I am bullish on the tech sector and Southeast Asia. I believe in the long-term growth of this industry and this market and will continue to build my career on it.
This is not the first bear market or tech winter that the industry can see. Neither will it be our last. There could be worse ones in the future even after we recover from this.
This is an opportunity to build resilience and adaptability and maximise what gains we can get.
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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.
[L-R] Alterpacks Co-Founders Herbin Chia (CFO), Karen Cheah (CEO), and Steven Tan (COO)
During her travels, Karen Cheah witnessed people choking under the weight of food waste and litter from plastic containers. She sniffed a multi-million opportunity there.
“I sensed that we could create eco-friendly food containers that could replace plastic disposables. This way, we can contain this throw-away culture that has become ubiquitous with plastics,” Cheah tells e27.
This was the genesis of Alterpacks.
Established in 2019, Singapore-based Alterpacks was created to combat the problem of single-use plastics.
The team has over 20 years of complementary skillsets in marketing, finance, manufacturing and R&D with global experience. The founding team members Cheah (CEO) and Herbin Chia (CFO) were classmates at Singapore Management University, and Steven Tan (COO) joined them after a distinguished career in the Singapore Navy.
The greentech startup converts food grains into containers that can be moulded into any shape. Thus, it upcycles food loss in manufacturing to create a biodegradable and home-compostable material. Cheah claims that Alterpacks containers are 100 per cent organic.
Alterpacks works with F&B businesses, converters, and manufacturers to create tailor-made, sustainable packaging solutions.
Last year, the company piloted its food containers at the Motor GP Event in Mandalika, Indonesia. It also collaborated with the UN Development Programme to combat plastic pollution in Indonesia.
In Vietnam, Alterpacks piloted its eco-friendly products with the popular F&B brand Pizza 4P’s.
In addition to bio-degradable containers, the startup also creates bio-pellets to replace petroleum-based resins used in standard manufacturing machines and changes the raw material with other forms of agricultural waste. It has also started the production of various cutlery, including coffee cups and cup covers.
Alterpacks products are priced competitively against other similar environmentally friendly solutions. “We target a price point on par with petroleum-based products.”
While there are rigid food containers, other eco-friendly alternatives, and bio-plastics, the mass usage of such products is yet to pick up the pace. Their mass pickup primarily depends on the price and performance of the products.
“Eco-containers compete with plastics that have had a head-start of over 100 years in production processes and economies of scale. Moreover, the current eco-containers in the market have been challenged with dents and leaks,” Cheah shares.
“What sets Alterpacks apart from competitors is the performance of our material made using side streams from food manufacturing. We create products that meet the performance specifications of business at a competitive price point,” she adds.
In terms of performance, Alterpacks containers can go from freezer to microwave, hold wet and oily foods, and keep their shape and form. “Addressing the price points and performance expectations are the two areas for the mass take-up. Because our containers are also home-compostable, they have become the go-to alternative in countries that have already started looking at banning the use of virgin pulp and plastic coatings in paper products as well.”
In her view, government legislation and increasing consumer awareness about eco-alternatives could take bio-degradable products to the next level.
Last week, Alterpacks closed its US$1 million pre-seed funding round with lead investor Plug and Play APAC and co-investors SEEDS Capital and Earth Venture Capital. The company will use the money to ramp up production and supply across key markets in Asia, Australia, and Europe.
“Like all startups, this round is only the beginning. So we will move ahead with a seed Round as we scale up our manufacturing and R&D. This is already in the works,” she says.
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Singapore-based parenting network Supermom has closed its “oversubscribed” SG$8 (US$6) million Series A fundraising round, led by Qualgro, with participation from AC Ventures.
The startup will use the money to enhance its data and product capabilities and accelerate regional expansion.
Luke Lim, Founder and Chairman of Supermom, said: “The funding and support will allow us to serve more parents in Southeast Asia and connect them with the brands they love by building new AI and data-driven tools and hiring tech and engineering talent.”
Supermom was established by Joan Ong, Luke Lim, Lynn Yeoh, and Rebecca Koh. It aims to allow parents to discover valuable crowdsourced parenting tips, best practices, and reliable product reviews for their children.
This is facilitated by its communities, which help parents connect with each other. Supermom also collects opinions and insights from their parents and shares this information across their network.
Parents join communities befitting their parenting needs and interests via Supermom’s website and app. The company also partners with other private social parent communities (across Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram etc.).
Today, Supermom has a network of 20 million parents from over 1,000 social communities across Southeast Asian countries.
Supermom provides data and consumer insights for over 200 consumer brands across multiple industries, including mother & child, education, FMCG, fashion, and beauty. Its clients include Kimberly Clark, P&G, and Philips. With Supermom, brands can engage parents and, with their permission, acquire accurate, reliable first-party data and insights for marketing, lead generation, and user research.
“With a growing population of 250 million parents, Southeast Asia is starting to be noticed by global and national brands. Supermom’s growth and customer retention give us confidence that the platform is serving a long-term trend in the region,” said Adrian Li, Founder and Managing Partner of AC Ventures.
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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.
According to a global survey of CEOs, 61 per cent believe a recession will start by the end of 2023, and 15 per cent think one has already begun. Although they are unavoidable, recessions can happen at any time.
A difficult balancing act is taking place. C-suite executives must take advantage of opportunities in the market. On the other hand, if they maintain current levels of investment and the economy crashes, they run the risk of spending more than they make.
CIOs will be responsible for reducing expenses and increasing productivity to support their companies’ operations at all phases of the cycle. Global firms and C-suite executives would do well to adapt operations to the needs of the time, even though the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns in the recent past may have contributed to some of the reasons.
Let’s look at some concerning statistics:
In a global study of 750 CEOs and senior C-suite executives, 50 per cent of CEOs said they believed their company’s operating region had already gone through a recession.
The median GDP growth forecast for Q4 2021 through Q4 2022 is 1.7 per cent, much lower than the 2.8 per cent anticipated in March, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent quarterly economic estimates.
It’s common knowledge to cut costs before a recession hits, and there are undoubtedly some areas where doing so would have little overall influence on the company. But better judgement is to seize the chances to accelerate expenditures to increase efficiency over the long run.
For instance, CIOs may choose to invest in system migration to the cloud if they want to have the flexibility to scale up or down during a downturn. IT leaders and CIOs may need to make investments now to survive and sustain a prolonged downturn.
These endeavours aren’t always quick fixes. IT leaders should plan for a more flexible environment over time, but these are three to six months of activities. The objective is to consider how the technology organisations might adapt holistically and consistently, ensuring that the investments reduce the base and foster flexibility.
IT leaders should consider investing in the following areas to get a head start on the impending economic outlook, especially if such changes can yield long-term operational benefits or a recession.
Facilitating improved insights for costs and value
IT directors should be thoroughly aware of their cost structure and the value IT services and investments give the organisation.
Now is the moment to invest in establishing this transparency and clarity if you don’t already have it. Doing so will allow you to make wise decisions to cut costs or support new expenditures.
It’s also crucial to understand how each component of the IT infrastructure serves the company. This information is tribal knowledge in most companies, making it difficult to access or use.
Avoiding new investments in IT
Global CIOs would be wise to hold off on making an IT investment or purchasing modern IT software during the recession, which would last for at least a few months or years. Instead, businesses should anticipate gaining scale and cost efficiencies by making the most of their current IT personnel, resources, and equipment. Additionally, all ongoing IT deals and IT outsourcing must be postponed for a long time.
Investment in FinOps
FinOps investments can help CIOs better control the costs of their IT assets and reduce their cloud bills. To help businesses better plan, budget, and forecast cloud consumption and spending, FinOps is a business management discipline with companion analytics tools. This offers the insight to better match your cloud budget with the business value being produced and minimise possible waste or misalignment.
Aggressively adopting agile
Let this slump encourage you to invest in agile approaches, capabilities, and processes if you haven’t already. Developing an agile toolset cannot be accomplished quickly, and now is the moment to start making that shift if your organisation intends to be resilient through a future recession.
By adopting agile, IT will be better able to align with business priorities and direction by increasing the frequency of business check-ins. It should be a prerequisite that an agile methodology is applied to assure effectiveness in a moving environment. Increasing the frequency and depth of agile methodology emphasises connecting and executing quickly evolving business challenges during difficult circumstances.
Leveraging SMAC and AI
Together, today’s five global technology trends — Social, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) — are a thriving force in the industry. CIOs can encourage their staff members and IT teams to create a tech-savvy culture and environment within the company.
Investing in tech like no-code can turn out to be very useful. Such a strategy would assist the work-from-home (WFH) personnel and their work-from-office (WFO) counterparts in making the most of the current IT infrastructure, resources, and assets.
Reevaluating IT services contracts
Contracts may occasionally be automatically renewed without review or optimisation. A good moment to review the outsourcing portfolio is right now.
Those providers who can deliver demonstrated, quantifiable financial value can and should continue to be rewarded by their clients and customers. This is key to successful growth in a recessionary environment. That being said, purchasers must be certain that their value-added partners are financially stable and aren’t in danger of cutting down on their investments in their goods and services to the point where performance and quality could suffer.
To find potential for cost reduction, IT leaders might collaborate with partners.
Rather than ending a service entirely, it may be advantageous for both parties to restructure it to cut expenses. They might find ways to move more work to lower-cost regions and streamline their delivery processes.
Given the increasing labour expenses faced by IT service providers, asking for significant price reductions could not be successful. Clients have various choices for easing contract constraints to minimise costs, and they can agree to help the supplier more, take on greater risk, and decrease the supplier’s obligations.
Give your hardware and software asset base some thought. There could be opportunities to minimise these costs, especially if some of these assets are close to retirement or are suitable candidates for retirement. Additionally, chances for rationalisation or consolidation can exist.
System redundancy is an intelligent place to minimise costs. It can be difficult to terminate an application, but CIOs that are risk-takers would shut down a system and see whether anyone complains.
However, CIOs should confirm that the discharge is justified financially. You will suffer a financial loss if you decommission an item that is still losing value. Intelligent cost management requires a team sport approach, working with finance and those who can conduct the analysis and offer decision support.
Scaling successful pilots
Pilots are always more expensive than adoption at scale, but experimentation and assessment are crucial. Accelerate those deployments, so you can escape pilot purgatory and clear the decks of the stuff that isn’t producing value.
Whatever cuts CIOs are considering, it’s essential to consider both the potential short- and long-term benefits. When doing this, you need to be wise and picky, and thoughtlessly cutting costs will cost you dearly.
Focusing more on volume adjustments than cost cutting
IT executives can seek quantity reductions by rationalising the units they use or lower their unit prices by requesting a discount from vendors. For instance, they might reduce the number of software licences they purchase.
From experience, cutting costs is not very successful. Vendors may take advantage of the chance to rescind agreements they didn’t like, including lowering SLAs in exchange for lower prices.
Final thoughts
We talked about how CIOs may keep IT spending in check during the economic downturn, and they should take preventive action rather than waiting until the recession actually starts.
As a result, all CIOs must maintain IT strategy alignment with their general business equivalent and assist the company in achieving its efficiency and cost-cutting objectives throughout the current economic downturn.
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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic
