At e27, our mission is to provide entrepreneurs with the tools and resources to build and grow their companies. And that includes publishing relevant news from the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem.

If you are a regular reader of our site, you might be familiar with the different types of content that we publish. In addition to publishing thought leadership pieces from our contributor community, our in-house writers also feature articles on trends, issues, and profiles of notable startups and investors in the region.

But funding news remains a fan favourite amongst our readers. Our editors score these stories from various sources, but sending press releases to our inbox remains the most popular way to get words out on this major milestone. Sadly, due to the number of incoming submissions, and the limitation of our lean content team, we often have to be extra selective in choosing the press releases to publish. We are aware that this process can be hurtful for startups and the PR agencies that represent them.

So we decided to transform the way we are publishing funding news by walking the (tech) talk and tapping into the power of digitalisation.

Presenting an easy-to-use online tool that allows anyone to submit their fundraising news releases in just a few steps. No more multiple emails to e27 journalists, chasing up for publishing schedules and confirmations, and all that exhausting rollercoaster ride.

In just three steps, you will be able to send us all and any information related to fundraising, investments, financing, etc. for your clients or startups.

How it works

To access the tool, you need to create a profile for yourself and login into the e27 site. Once you log in and put your cursor on your profile picture, you can see ‘Submit Funding News’ just above ‘log out’ at the end of the list (see the screenshot).

When you click on this, a page opens up (see the screenshot below), which greets you with the question ‘Does the company have a profile page on e27?

This is where you select the company that has received the funding and the investors, who participated in the round. Feel free to add any other organisation that is of relevance or may be mentioned in the press release.

If your company already has a profile, click ‘yes’, choose it from the dropdown menu (you can choose more than one), and add the headline and the main body.

If you don’t have a profile, create one with the help of this online guide. Come back to the tool, choose the company profile from the dropdown menu and then proceed.

You can add the following details: the name of the company that has raised the capital; name(s) of the co-founders and investor(s); the amount raised (USD), funding stage/round; whether equity, venture debt or strategic investment; the company’s plans with the capital; details of the previous rounds; and a brief description about the company and its products/services.

You may also add a relevant picture using the ‘insert/edit image icon under the ‘key information’ tab. Pictures of founders, or one with investors will be best. Avoid company logos or screenshots of the website/app.

The tool also allows you to add quotes from key people (founder, investor, etc.) or any other additional information.

Lastly, click ‘submit for review’. And you will see this:

This is where your job ends and ours begins. We will review the information and fact-check it thoroughly before publishing. Once published, you will also receive a notification (via email). You can also find it on e27.co/news (please note that the publication of posts is the sole discretion of e27).

If you have any questions or technical difficulties while submitting email us at writers@e27.co

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Image Credit: dirkercken

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I left my full-time role as a lecturer to be a part-time stay at home mum during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people thought it was a risky move, as I left a seemingly stable career in the public sector when others were on the brink of losing theirs. It was a few months after my maternity leave ended, and all I wanted to do back then was to spend more time at home with my young children.

I took the time away from the workforce to be a more involved mum at home and somehow started two e-commerce brands related to mummy and children products, Playand and A Mighty Mum, with a baby attached to me at all times.

Failures do not define me

Was I scared to start this entrepreneurship journey again? It was absolutely terrifying.

Many other business ideas were developed halfway before starting Playand and A Mighty Mum. Websites were built halfway, business decks were written that never saw the light of day, and I’m still reminded of my own startup failure many years back. Most importantly, I was afraid that I would end up with less time for my two kids again.

However, as cliché, as it sounds, I knew that if I did not start now, I would probably not start anything. I made a lot of mistakes with my own failed startup years back, and this time around, I am determined not to repeat the same mistakes with my two brands, Playand and A Mighty Mum.

Start with a problem (or problems!)

When I left my full-time role, I was not used to being solely a “stay home” mum, with a baby literally attached to me at all times. I wanted to do something still, so I set out to solve my problems as a mother whose eldest child had severe nosebleed issues, and my second one was a newborn baby who nursed round the clock.

At that time, I thought if I were to face these issues as a mummy, I am sure I won’t be the only one!

How Playand started

Playand, which is modular and multi-functional foam furniture that doubles up as imaginative play objects for children, was started because of my eldest child’s severe nosebleed issues. The nosebleed got so bad and profuse one day that I called an ambulance on her.

Also Read: Share your story: How to find founder fame in just 3 days

That was an extremely traumatic moment, as I sat there, hands and clothes drenched in my daughter’s blood. To not trigger her nosebleed episodes, we had already thrown away our curtains, all soft toys, pillows, mattresses, and movable hard furniture that she could potentially hit her nose on as a slight knock sets her bleeding.

After that incident, I began to think about furniture/toys that she can safely play with, sleep and “knock” into safely without triggering her nosebleeds. When online research did not give me any satisfying products that suit my needs, I set out to design and manufacture my own.

It was not easy to be navigating this prototyping stage amid a circuit breaker, as physical visits to the factories overseas were not permissible. I had to make many prototypes in different shapes, materials, foam thickness and density before finally settling on a reliable factory that could produce what I envisioned.

How A Mighty Mum started

Unknown to many, A Mighty Mum was conceptualised even earlier than Playand, when I began my breastfeeding journey five years ago after giving birth to my eldest child. I had a lot of issues with breastfeeding in public or pumping milk at my workplace.

The perpetually full nursing rooms (or lack thereof) and also the forgetful mum syndrome of forgetting to bring a nursing cover out made me want to design multi-functional clothing that can be used as a nursing cover, allowing mummies to breastfeed or pump anytime, anywhere.

Breastfeeding in public or pumping at the work desk would be made so much easier since an existing piece of clothing on the body can be used.

However, it was a struggle to find the right factory that understood the requirements of such a design and sourcing fabric with the right amount of stretch, thickness, and weight proved to be more difficult than I imagined.

After more than five failed attempts to get the right factories to work with me, I finally found a local factory that was willing to take a chance on me. Because of this long delay, the timeline for launch became closer to that of Playland’s, and I ended up launching two brands simultaneously within months of each other, which was not intentional. It was honestly extremely challenging trying to launch and grow two brands simultaneously.

Being comfortable with change

It’s been an eye-opening eight months so far since I started the two e-commerce brands. Of course, Playand and A Mighty Mum are still work in progress, with a lot of room for expansion and growth in terms of developing new product lines and reaching new markets regionally.

Also Read: Why we need to stop calling them “mumpreneurs”

As a designer by training, I am excited about new product development and conceptualising new and interesting business models to grow the business. A lot of people have asked me about my five-year plans for the two brands, but I think things are a lot more fluid than they are in the current climate.

Some of my plans for the two brands were accelerated by chance or opportunities that came my way unexpectedly, while others were shelved until a better time to launch. I used to be uncomfortable with having plans disrupted, but these short eight months have taught me that being opportunistic is more valuable than uncomfortable.

What’s the worse that could happen?

Despite my initial fears, I’m blessed and glad that I took the gamble to launch Playand and A Mighty Mum. If you never start, you will honestly never know. I have come to realise that the more I let go (titles, money, fame and especially fear), the more I opened up my heart to humbly learn from others.

And as my husband always says, “What’s the worse that could happen?” It’s important to start small, validate the demand, get feedback and reiterate to minimise risks.

If you think long and hard about what’s the worst that could happen after starting something, you will probably reach this conclusion: “Nothing!”.

A look into the future

We currently have some angel investors who are interested in hearing more about our plans and how they could support our growth. However, we are also open to the possibility of pitching to VC firms who have a keen interest, network or experience in growing e-commerce brands. We have always been open to interesting collaborations and partnership opportunities, some of which have helped us grow tremendously during the past eight months.

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

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Playand

The post How motherhood actually propelled me to become an entrepreneur appeared first on e27.

Making direct investments in financial markets is a rewarding experience; however, it is not without its challenges. During periods of heightened volatility, many investors become driven by emotion over logic, which often leads individuals to stray from their long-term strategy.

With geopolitical threats, economic uncertainty and ongoing inflationary pressures causing stress to portfolios, traders and investors must have the correct tools, knowledge and preparation to mitigate the potential risks of a volatile market environment.

During times of low volatility, it is common for investors to favour directional strategies, i.e., buy and hold blue-chip stocks or employ a ‘long risk’ approach, which aims to benefit from a trend of upward price movements, with little thought given to market corrections.

However, market corrections don’t often come with advance warning. Therefore, a clear understanding of these potential risks, and the subsequent utilisation of available tools and strategies, can help traders reduce the extremes of portfolio volatility in times of uncertainty.

Augmenting trading strategy with technology

It’s common knowledge that trading with your emotions can lead to higher-risk, reactive investment behaviour, with little regard to longer-term outcomes. Even the most seasoned trader can fall prey to their emotions in the heat of a risky trade, during a bad day, or when getting caught up in chasing a bull market.

Being aware of these pitfalls is one thing. Still, to truly protect yourself (from yourself), traders should augment their trading strategy with tech tools such as performance analytics to help protect against human error.

Leveraging this sort of technology can allow traders to assess their trading behaviours and the markets. It can offer them the ability to minimise their downside risks by employing sound money management rules, setting reminders to protect themselves from emotional trades, and tracking metrics on open trades in real-time to stay disciplined.

Also Read: The 5 pillars of digital transformation that meet business objectives efficiently

For many traders, the current period of high volatility might be their first experience of these types of markets. The faster price movements are often mirrored by faster trading, less time setting up trades and less confidence in open positions. This is often compounded by traders taking higher risks per trade by not adjusting their size to match the increased intra-day volatility.

Tools that track discipline can provide early warning signals that undisciplined trades have started to creep into a trader’s performance. A nudge that this is happening can help a trader recover more quickly and take back control of their discipline. Even the most successful traders have periods of ill-discipline – they know how to recover more quickly.

From monitoring to responding

The technology and tools available to traders can assist with monitoring one’s portfolio, but let’s take it a step further by introducing specific tools that allow traders to respond in the short term.

Available to traders now is a range of platform add-ons or tools that allow them to receive trading signals at the right time. These can be excellent tools for a wide range of potential users. For example, inexperienced traders who may struggle to find a reason to trade can use these tools to get factual, live trading signals at regular intervals (and with different maturities).

A suggested trading strategy and signal rationale accompany the trading signal, including a suggested stop level and a take profit level. The rationale underpinning this is that risk management around any trade is an essential part of learning to trade effectively.

In addition, more experienced traders who are not “time rich” may find these tools help them uncover potential trading opportunities that negate the need for them to conduct extensive research before deciding to place a trade, or indeed a reinforcement of an idea they had been looking at.

While much trading activity is centred around economic data releases and other events, these signalling tools identify and present potential trading opportunities based on the evolving price action in each market.

They are a useful source of trading ideas when the “fundamentals” environment is more subdued. Even the most experienced traders often find that trading statistically-generated signals alongside their existing self-led trading may provide them with a useful risk diversification strategy.

Also Read: PikoHANA: Helping Singapore startups scale through fractional finance

Whether investors are new or more experienced, one of the main benefits of such tools is that they leave the decision of what, when and how to trade completely with the client – while equipping them with all of the necessary information.

Despite the various economic, geopolitical, and social shocks that we’ve seen over the last 24 months, many global share indices are either at or near all-time highs. High inflation and troubles in Eastern Europe bring either the prospect of higher interest rates or higher uncertainty, neither of which are welcome conditions for a long-term share investor.

By employing a smart trading strategy, augmented by tools and performance analytics, traders can help insulate their portfolios from some of the extreme stresses of market uncertainty and rising volatility.

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

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

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The post How to employ a tech-augmented trading strategy appeared first on e27.

1982 Ventures, an early-stage VC firm in Southeast Asia, has announced the final close of its debut seed fund with over US$20 million in committed capital.

As per an official statement, the fund was oversubscribed as 1982 Ventures was targeting to raise a total corpus of US$15 million. It is backed by the family office of an Indonesia conglomerate, Trihill Capital, US fintech unicorn Carta, Genting Group’s venture arm, US fund of funds First Close Partners, and rali_cap.

Also Read: 1982 Ventures hits US$12.5M initial close of Fund I, to back 30 seed-stage startups

The Singapore-based firm’s backers also include unicorn and fintech founders, and senior executives of tech and financial services companies, such as Sheel Mohnot (General Partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures).

1982 Ventures — which has backed 25 startups across Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Bangladesh — expects to make 10-15 new investments and follow-on investments in its existing portfolio.

The VC firm leads pre-seed and seed rounds with an initial investment of US$250,000 and US$500,000.

In December 2021, 1982 Ventures announced the initial close of its first seed-stage fund with US$12.5 million in committed capital. 

It has over US$5 million in early commitments to its soon-to-be-announced Fund II.

Established in early 2020, the fund focuses on seed-stage fintech startups in Southeast Asia. By the end of 2021, the company said that its portfolio firms had made nearly 3x return, with first-round investments in Brick, Infina (YC S21), Homebase (YC W21) Wagely, Go Zayaan, Lista, Bluesheets, and Monit, among others.

Also Read: These 21 Web3 startups prove why Vietnam is world’s most surprising crypto hotspot

“We are accelerating our pace of investments despite current market sentiment. Early-stage Southeast Asia fintech remains the most attractive sector for venture capital,” said Herston Elton Powers, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 1982 Ventures.

Southeast Asia is experiencing rapid urbanisation and has some of the world’s highest technology adoption and mobile and internet penetration rates. Southeast Asian fintech startups represent more than US$10 billion in unrealised value, with 100 projected fintech exits in the coming years (Dealroom).
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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.

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Many people forget along the way to think about when, why, and how to sell their business. Even more importantly, they forget to prepare themselves mentally, emotionally, and professionally for what happens AFTER they sell their business.

Jay Myers ran a business for over 20 years before finally selling it, and even though he was prepared in as many ways as possible, he still is learning to deal with what the rest of his life is going to be like.

Myers is currently focused on mentoring, investing, speaking, and publishing books.

In this episode, we specifically discussed:

– How soon should you be thinking about selling your company?
– How to handle acquirers pursuing you when you aren’t interested?
– Did those calls change how you thought about your business?
– What did you do to make your company look sexy?
– How do you determine what your reputation in the market is?
– How do you decrease turnover among employees?
– How do you get yourself onto those fastest-growing lists such as Forbes and Inc?
– What is the most important thing you wish someone had told you about selling a business?
– How did the buyer find you?
– Who from the team knew?
– What kind of legal prep?
– Did they make you an offer, or did you make an ask, and how did the negotiation work?
– Why should you get a personal goodwill audit?
– When should you sell your business?
– What is your plan for the next five years?

If you don’t see the player above, click on the link below to listen directly!

Acast
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher

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This article about managing wealth for entrepreneurs was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: jomkwan7

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If you have not heard before about it till now, Zepto is an Indian startup that delivers groceries in 10 minutes. You heard it right they claim (attempt or try and do deliver in some SKUs) to deliver groceries in 10 minutes.

To date, the company raised, US$360 million and is valued at US$900 million.

Firstly, I think the 10-minute delivery of most things is unnecessary. The number of things that you need in less than 10 minutes is far and few in between. This is one of those ideas I might don’t ever want to see in fruition because it’s a waste of a lot of resources.

And most importantly this puts the delivery people at risk of getting into accidents and worsens their quality of life further.

In terms of customer experience over the longer-term Zepto like 10-minute delivery ideas won’t work because of the feeling a customer gets of mistreating a delivery person.

Just looking at the effort it takes for a delivery person to get something to you in 10 minutes makes most people question their beliefs and next time they want to order for a 10-minute delivery they will just walk down to the store in their apartment or select the non-10 minute delivery option which they will have overtime or might already be in place (I haven’t checked).

So how will the 10-minute story end? Is there something that we are not seeing? Why did the Venture arm of Kaiser Permanente (KP) invest in Zepto?

And remember KP is not for profit organisation known for running one of the world’s largest hospital networks.

I can see interesting scenarios play out.

Why pursue such an idea?

The justification for about 10 minutes on the outer surface is often talked about as customer experience. But in my opinion, it is business jujitsu. I am not sure if the founders think the way I do, but here is what I think.

Also Read: The future of social and quick commerce for developing countries

The fact that Zepto offers 10 minutes delivery is a good stunt (stunts are not necessarily bad) to acquire new customers, investors including me love a big idea so the money will flow in, you are putting your competition like Swiggy, NinjaCart, BlinkIt and others in an uncomfortable position.

They have to adapt to the new game set by Zepto and they will now be operating from a position of weakness than strength because you are driving the narrative.

So what will the ending be for Zepto?

I think there are a couple of possibilities:

• Zepto in the process of scaling 10 minutes will create one of the largest grocery chains with a significant user base (and losses) and overtime moves to a regular delivery model. In this case, looking back, the 10-minute delivery is the main go-to-market strategy for creating a new grocery delivery business in India. They will continue to execute the business and over time can exist as an individual company.
• Competitors in the space both food and grocery delivery will try the 10 minutes delivery and realise that it is bleeding their cash reserves. Will stumble multiple times. They will realise the best way to solve the 10-minute delivery problem is by acquiring Zepto and then shutting it down (or slowing it down significantly). One of the unicorns in the space will make an acquisition offer with partial cash + stock deal.
• With VC money becoming hard to come by, Zepto might burn through their recently raised US$200M in 36-42 months. Failing to raise further capital because of macro conditions, they might get sold for less than the overall investment they raised.

In either case, the 10-minute mania will end and remain on the back burner model. Most companies will say they will deliver some of their SKUs in 10 minutes but most deliveries will not be in 10 minutes and the status quo will remain in place.

One lesson aspiring entrepreneurs should take away from Zepto is to swing for the fences even if it might end up seeming ridiculous to others.

Even though I don’t like the fact that Zepto as a business is resource-intensive and as a negative side of modern consumerism, I do admire the confidence of the founders to aim for something big and create a narrative that is making bigger players react.

It takes confidence and skill to pull off what they pulled off till now and I admire the gutsy approach!

This post was originally published on the author’s blog here.

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

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Zepto

The post How will the 10-minute delivery story end for Zepto? appeared first on e27.

Like anything else that is digital in nature, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are vulnerable to security and privacy breaches.

Such breaches can happen even if the cryptocurrency itself is highly secure. For example, Bitcoin’s blockchain ledger is designed with robust safeguards that it is practically impossible to counterfeit BTC or make fraudulent transactions.

Instead, the chink in crypto’s armour is more likely to be crypto exchanges and wallets, widely used by individuals to trade and transact with digital money. These third-party platforms are more vulnerable to hacking and fraud than the cryptocurrencies themselves.

What kinds of security risks might professional cryptocurrency investors face, and how can they be managed?

Fraudulent cryptocurrency exchanges

The internet is home to over a thousand crypto exchanges and virtual marketplaces for users to buy, sell, trade and transact with cryptocurrencies.

Although some countries do require exchanges to be registered and comply with local laws, they are, by and large, unregulated. This means investors get little protection from scams, fraud and Ponzi schemes when using crypto exchanges.

As you can imagine, the low barrier to setting up an exchange makes doing so quite lucrative to scammers. Unsuspecting investors may transfer fiat currency to purchase Bitcoin or other altcoins, only to receive nothing in return as the scammers make off with their money.

For professional investors who are used to doing their due diligence before investing, avoiding fake crypto exchanges might be less of an issue.

However, to be on the safe side, investors may want to consider regulated investment products such as a professionally-managed, institutional-grade Bitcoin fund as an alternative to trading on a crypto exchange.

Even the most legitimate of exchanges are still vulnerable to security breaches, as we’ll explain below.

Crypto exchanges being hacked

Although investors should thoroughly research their crypto exchange platforms and weed out anything that looks suspicious, this is not enough to mitigate the risks of investing in an exchange far from it.

Also Read: Cryptocurrency, money laundering and KYC: Why are regulations important?

Even well-established crypto exchanges with excellent track records are vulnerable to hacking. Hacking and data theft are a given on all virtual platforms, but it is especially rampant on crypto exchanges. After all, crypto tokens have become more popular and valuable in recent years, incentivising hackers’ efforts.

According to the website hedgewithcrypto.com, there have been at least 46 major crypto exchange hacks since 2012, with the total value of cryptocurrencies stolen adding up to an estimated US$109 trillion*.

It’s not just small players that get hacked; even the more established exchanges are vulnerable too. Some of the biggest crypto heists in recent history include:

Crypto Exchange	Hacked in	Estimated amount stolen in today’s terms*
Liquid	Aug 2021	US$146 million
KuCoin	Sep 2020	US$1.65 trillion
Upbit	Nov 2019	US$367 million
Binance	May 2019	US$400 million
Coinbene	Mar 2019	US$600 million
Bitgrail	Feb 2018	US$876 million
CoinCheck	Jan 2018	US$2.80 trillion
Bitfinex	Aug 2016	US$62.30 trillion
Mt. Gox	Feb 2014	US$42.46 trillion

*Assumes all stolen cryptocurrency was in the form of Bitcoin and at a Bitcoin price of US$60,000

Crypto exchanges are particularly attractive to thieves because users store their digital money on the platform, in e-wallets known as “hot wallets”, for convenient trading.

Hot wallets are usually locked with private keys auto-generated by the exchange and kept in its custody. Thus, once hackers gain access to a crypto exchange’s record of private keys, they can also use the stolen data to unlock and empty exchange users’ hot wallets.

Of course, any crypto exchange worth its salt would invest heavily in secure data storage to ensure its users’ funds are not stolen. Many established exchanges have beefed up their security, so hacking incidents are not as common in 2021 as they used to be. (That said, one of Japan’s biggest exchanges, Liquid, was compromised in August to the tune of US$97 million.)

In the event of a hack, the odds of victims getting their money back can be extremely slim. Unlike regulated entities like banks, crypto exchanges are not required to ensure users’ deposits.

Investors who use crypto exchanges should avoid storing more than necessary in their exchange wallets. Any excess should be transferred into a separate wallet (ideally one that’s offline) for greater security or to a professionally-managed, institutional-grade Bitcoin fund like Fintonia Group’s Bitcoin Physical Fund.

Crypto wallets being compromised

Given that crypto exchanges are often targeted by criminals, transferring any excess balances to a separate e-wallet seems like a wise thing to do. But even this may not be 100 per cent safe from hackers.

Of the many cryptocurrency wallets available, some are “hot” (online) while others are “cold” (offline). Hot wallets come in mobile or desktop apps and live on internet-connected devices like a smartphone or computers. They are meant to facilitate day-to-day use, such as paying for things with Bitcoin.

Also Read: The 27 Web3 startups in Singapore that show crypto is more than Terra Luna and stablecoins

But because they are connected to the internet, hot wallets remain vulnerable, especially if the user applies lax security practices. Hackers can target individuals’ hot wallets by phishing for passwords, using malicious cookies to obtain personal data, working with hacking devices on public WiFi, etc.

A cold wallet, which is not connected to the internet, is the safer alternative to avoid hacking. This is usually a USB stick-like device (known as “hardware wallets”) or sometimes a secondary, offline computer.

Being completely offline, cold wallets are far less likely to get hacked than hot wallets. However, there are trade-offs for this security level. These devices can be costly, extremely complicated to operate with lengthy passwords, difficult to transfer crypto-assets back, and the USB can be faulty, fake and/or lost.

How can investors safeguard their crypto holdings?

The above is a broad overview of the various security breaches associated with different types of cryptocurrency platforms.

As digital money becomes ever more ingrained in our lives and essential components of our portfolios, investors face a pressing need to overcome such vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, the work-in-progress nature of all things crypto means there is no perfect solution just yet.

Investors should adopt a wary stance even with seemingly legitimate tools and platforms and be prepared to invest significant time and effort into protecting their crypto assets.

Given that there is no one platform without security risks and/or trade-offs, the most feasible option at present may be to invest in a professionally-managed, institutional-grade Bitcoin fund managed by professional and regulated firms. 

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

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Canva Pro

The post What investors should know about security, hacking and cryptocurrencies appeared first on e27.

Novelship, a Singapore-based online marketplace for limited-edition sneakers, streetwear, and collectibles, today announced that it has raised close to US$10 million in Series A funding round co-led by GSR Ventures and East Ventures, with the participation of K3 Ventures and iGlobe Partners.

In a press statement, the company said that it plans to use the funding to support its further expansion in the Asia Pacific (APAC) market, particularly in countries where they already have a presence. It claimed to already have a “stronghold” in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Novelship also aims to continue to explore metaverse integration and brand partnership in the retail space.

Its entry into the Web3 space began when the company introduced the use of cryptocurrencies as an alternate payment option on its marketplace.

“Since the start of this pilot, Novelship were able to serve more high-value customers thus increasing the average order value per customer. Over US$200,000 worth of sneakers has been bought in digital tokens in this period,” the company said.

Also Read: Kra-Verse Food Hall where cloud kitchen meets metaverse

Founded in 2018, Novelship puts Generation Z as its core target audience as a marketplace. The company said that since its inception, it has been able to serve customers across APAC with the sales volume growing at a staggering rate of 5.3X in 2021.

Its marketplace sells products from leading fashion brands such as Nike, Air Jordan, Yeezy, and Supreme.

“The sneaker and streetwear market has a huge potential globally and Novelship is uniquely positioned to win not just in the region but across the globe: we have cracked the code in Asia and are building on this success to reach a global footprint. Street culture is one of the rare opportunities in retail that has a global community of loyalists and we intend to capitalise on this to fast-track expansion,” explained Novelship CEO Richard Xia.

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Image Credit: Novelship

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Startups in Southeast Asia raised a record $25.7 billion in funding in 2021 alone; this was more than double the previous year. While this means that investors see great potential in businesses in the region, this also means that the competition here is fierce and it is not easy to stand out amidst the competitive landscape. 

As such, in a bustling, highly competitive startup ecosystem like Southeast Asia’s, there is one golden question that haunts all founders and entrepreneurs. What do VCs want? 

To help answer this question, we spoke with Eko Kurniadi, Investment Partner at Alpha JWC — one of the leading VCs in the region. With offices in Indonesia and Singapore, Alpha JWC has a team that brings together some of the region’s pioneer tech investors and experienced serial entrepreneurs.

With companies like Indonesian F&B unicorn Kopi Kenangan, Singapore’s largest AI-driven used car marketplace Carro, and fintech unicorn Ajaib in their portfolio, Alpha JWC is constantly on the lookout for companies and entrepreneurs that have the potential to rise and make a legacy impact.

What do VCs in Southeast Asia want?

First things first, before delving deep into Alpha JWC’s unique expectations and experiences, we first try to understand what VCs and investors look for in companies in Southeast Asia.

Eko shares that VCs, especially international investors, generally have a prerequisite for various forms of validation and proof points before they make the final decision to invest in a company.

Commonly, they look for the following:

• Hockey stick growth patterns (hockey stick refers to sudden and extremely rapid growth after a long period of linear growth. The term is often used to describe what happens when a startup business finds its market niche and market conditions are positive). This means startups are experiencing a positive but unprecedented market reception spurred by unique trends that are favourable to the kind of products or services being offered by those companies.
• Market leadership, which can be evidenced through a solid historical track record in comparison to other similar players in the space, and with a significant preference from users and customers who choose and stick with the product/service.
• The presence of reputable investors in the cap table (A cap table, or capitalisation table, is a chart typically used by startups to show ownership stakes in the business). Through this, investors will be able to pinpoint which startups are entrusted by other legitimate and reputable investors who are likely to share their values.

Eko explains that these are important checkboxes. However the above might not be apparent in the early days, especially in the early-stage rounds. That is where the next segment comes into play too in identifying early-stage startups to invest in.

Fundraising 101: Alpha JWC’s guide

Elaborating on what factors are crucial for Alpha JWC when selecting founders or businesses to invest in, Eko shared that the three most important factors that they consider when looking to invest are founders, market and product, and the “X-factor”.

He explains that the founder should have a vision and should be able to execute plans to achieve that goal while having the acumen to build the right team. “It is important for the founder to have clarity on what they want to build in the long term and have the fortitude to see it to fruition,” Alpha JWC prefers founders who are capable of executing their plans, and demonstrate great leadership qualities — reflected in their ability to build and hire world-class teams, and are inspiring and uplifting.

Also read: Get to know the startups in the 2022 APT 5G Challenge

Market & product is another important element, Eko explained.  The company should be targeting a sizable market, addressing the right pain points with the right product-market fit. Here, an important factor worth considering is looking at proven business models in a more mature market. Startups can always learn from the more mature and advanced markets like China or India, to try and understand what works and what doesn’t, while being cognizant of some differences in macroeconomic situation and customer dynamics.

And, last but definitely not least, the “X factor” is what matters a lot to Alpha JWC — it makes visionaries stand out. The “X factor” can be a significant advantage the team has, and this is not limited to things like a strategic backer — this ranges from the founder’s unique expertise to the team’s industry experience and from solid historical traction to various monetisation channels and proprietary networks to an innovative business approach. The X factor is what ultimately sets them apart.

Common missteps by founders: How not to turn off VCs

Indeed, “what do VCs want” is an important question to ponder on, but another question worth contemplating is “what don’t VCs want”. What are some common missteps that founders make at the time of pitching to VCs?

Eko shared that one of the most common challenges is actually a very fundamental one: not being able to articulate the big problem they want to solve, their clear solution, and how it is unique or different from other players in the field, as well as the vision or end-goal of the company.

In fact, according to a CB Insights report, the number one reason why startups fail was “no market need.” Hence, having clarity on what problem you want to solve should be key to startups seeking funds.

One great example of founders displaying clarity of thought and succeeding is Ajaib: an Indonesian fintech startup that allows its users to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. The founders of this online brokerage startup were very focused on serving the underbanked and millennials in the country. And, with a clear objective at the core of the company, the founders were able to deliver a trading platform that is incredibly easy to use and onboard for retail investors. They continued to optimise and reiterate their product offerings for the increased benefit of users. As a result, today, they are one of the leading fintechs in the country and among the fastest to reach unicorn status in less than three years.

Also read: Sentient.io: Empowering businesses in the region by making AI adoption easy and affordable

Another misstep as shared by Eko is the gap between the founders’ expected valuation and the justified fundamentals of the company at that juncture. For example, many founders don’t understand that good early traction might not necessarily warrant a significantly high valuation. “Getting the highest possible valuation should not be the goal for early-stage founders. The priority should be finding the right partner who can help you achieve unicorn or even decacorn status,” says Eko.

Finally, lack of alignment and non-targeted discussions with too many investors is another major misstep. “Founders need to know the investor’s landscape, appetite, and value-adds that are relevant to their business. Talking to too many people will only create a distraction and potentially unnecessary noise in the market, Eko explained.

The ultimate rundown of tips for pitching and fundraising in Southeast Asia

Eko suggests that as long as startup founders focus on planning their cash flow and runway, layout key milestones, and hit each of those to show their execution capabilities, they will have a higher chance of securing funding.

He shared that founders should ask for a reasonable investment amount that can be justified. There is enough evidence to back this — one case in point is the infamous Quibi failure.

And, finally, it is crucial to LISTEN to investors’ feedback and criticisms, address those accordingly and come out stronger in the next meetings with them and/or other investors. This is simply because an investor brings in more strategic thinking where founders might sometimes be bogged down with everyday operations. An investor’s unique perspective with a more commercial inclination and the added advantage of experience from his many other investments is always something that founders can leverage for better decision-making.

Also read: PikoHANA: Helping Singapore startups scale through fractional finance

For acing the pitching game, Eko recommends that founders should kick off with a concise explanation of their mission and solution. “These need to be delivered with clarity and conviction,” he shared. Founders should have a powerful elevator pitch that will make an impression on a busy audience that hears numerous pitches on a daily basis. “To aid in their storytelling, founders should prepare materials to visualise key industry statistics, commercials, and future use of proceeds”, he added.

In a nutshell, fundraising and pitching don’t necessarily have to be painful and tedious. With the right approach and clear goals in mind, startup founders can thrive in a bustling ecosystem like Southeast Asia and eventually grow beyond international boundaries. 

To learn more about fundraising and pitching in Southeast Asia, watch out for the next ‘Alpha JWC Startup Series article.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Alpha JWC

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The past four years have been stellar for consumer growth in India, but the next five to 10 years will be even more interesting. This phase will see a slew of insurgents (now being called “challenger brands”) forcing larger incumbents to adapt.

The rise and growth

The rise in the consumer growth story will be supported by millions of first-time rural consumers and guided by the fourth industrial revolution. With increased data penetration, a rise in the per capita e-commerce spending, millennials’ willingness to consume more and the rise of inclusive insurgent brands, the consumer landscape in India will evolve.

A decade ago, insurgent brands were not part of your weekly or monthly shopping list. But, today, these same brands have been able to disrupt industries traditionally dominated by their larger counterparts.

They have done this by capturing a disproportionately high share of growth, delivering value by redefining the costing benchmarks for their category and, in some cases, disrupting the profit pool.

Incumbent (a term derived from politics) brands are established players in their category. They include both large multinationals and Indian corporations that have dominated the domestic consumer landscape for the past 30 years or more (e.g., Dabur, ITC, HUL, P&G, Coca Cola, Pepsi, etc.).

The aggressive pace of growth among the insurgent brands makes us think that these are no less than Davids to the incumbent Goliaths. Furthermore, it is the strategy of nichefication (identifying unserved gaps) of categories and delighting customers that aid these insurgents.

The Indian insurgent brands have two things in common. One, not only are they embedded with millennial culture in their DNA but are also driven by their consumption needs. They understand the needs, wants and problems of India’s rising middle class.

Also Read: How to set up your business processes for scaling your growth

Two, they can inspire consumer advocacy by delivering a competitive consumer proposition using eye-catching consumer-centric marketing campaigns that enhance the recall value of their brands. Their goal is to nudge the consumers to refer to their brand while addressing a product category.

The growth of insurgent brands has been possible due to a host of factors:

• The reliance on contract manufacturing and effective deployment of digital technology for micro-targeting consumers.
• The increased accessibility of venture capital.

These factors have contributed to reducing the barriers to entry and providing young brands with opportunities.

The further rise of insurgents will rest on five key growth drivers:

• India’s rising young middle class gives these brands a large consumer base keen to experiment and explore.
• The growth of the digital natives with increased data consumption and the e-commerce revolution allows brands to expand without relying on large, expensive above-the-line marketing campaigns.
• The behavioural impact of living a life using a smartphone.
• The third digital revolution will primarily be focused on rural India.
• The evolution of consumer attitudes as purchasing power parity and aspirations meet an equilibrium.

Redefining the way Indians consume

Though the rise of insurgent brands will redefine the way Indians consume, they might also be a catalyst for tackling India’s unemployment puzzle. Insurgent brands, with venture funding, tend to attract an experienced talent pool to tackle the incumbents.

Insurgent brands are also paving the way for growth by creating blue-collar jobs and setting the foundation for the development of the gig economy as Indian brands redefine the way they do business and achieve scale.

Also Read: How can design-thinking promote consumer trust in the digital world

Sales, warehouse operations, packaging, customer relationship management and support functions will employ a large section of the labour force that did not have access to these jobs in the past.

This being said, the incumbent brands are here to stay and will create value for their shareholders. But they need to understand and accept changes in the consumer. Being open to digital media, getting focused on e-commerce, stepping away from traditional marketing and achieving localised taste is critical.

Additionally, as insurgent brands emerge and engage consumers over the incumbent ones, the latter could employ mergers and acquisitions (M & M&A) activities to get a stronghold in a segment in which an insurgent might have secured a niche.

The synergy between incumbents and insurgents could be huge as leveraging a larger player’s distribution and marketing know-how could serve the insurgent very well.

However, the key question remains: Will David be able to give Goliath a tough fight in the coming decade? And will the incumbent brands be able to adapt to consumer tastes to retain the market share that the insurgent brands had disrupted?

Coca-Cola’s entry into jal jeera, Danone’s third India stint with the investment in Epigamia and the relaunch of HUL’s ayurvedic brand, Ayush, to counter Patanjali’s growth, along with its acquisition of the Indulekha hair care brand, show us how insurgents and incumbents are innovatively working towards increasing their market share.

The next few years will be a most exciting time in the consumer goods space in India. Entrepreneurs, investors, consumers, insurgents and incumbents will need to adapt and evolve quickly to capture the huge opportunity in rural and urban India.

This article first appeared in Hindustan Times.

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