Draper Startup House Ventures (DSHV), a unit of the Draper Venture Network, has launched a new global micro-fund, targeting founders at the earliest stages of building tech startups.

It has also announced its maiden investment in Ferne Health, a startup addressing sexual health.

While DSHV is anchored in the US and its management is headquartered between San Mateo and Singapore, it aims to invest worldwide. The total amount of the fund will be announced at a later date.

The fund will have an APAC predominance due to Draper Startup House International having Singapore as its headquarters. Its reach potential includes 60 countries and 30 industries already represented on the company’s platform.

Its general partners are Giulianna Crivello and Vikram Bharati, founder of Draper Startup House International, who will co-manage the fund and long-time advisor Nick Martin.

The launch comes after the fund launched a software-based syndicate matching global investment platform in 2020.

Also Read: ‘We want to have a Draper Startup House in every major country by 2030’: Vikram Bharati

“Since inception in 2020, Draper Startup House Ventures has made 215 investor introductions to startups,” Bharati said. “With the launch of this fund, Draper Startup House itself expands beyond our 16 physical locations of entrepreneurial hospitality and tourism to better connect, inspire, and empower a global community through direct venture capital backing.”

“Thanks to the internet, and things like Bitcoin, entrepreneurs can build startups and create stored value from anywhere,” lead investor Tim Draper stated. “Whether they are in Myanmar, Estonia, or Indonesia, Draper Startup House Ventures brings them the opportunity to get funding without having to find their way to Silicon Valley.”

The fund provides access to its own venture capital fund, and the ability to submit pitch decks for circulation to the Draper Venture Network, which has 24 global funds.

Its lead investor Tim Draper is known for investing in Hotmail, Skype, and Baidu. Draper’s network companies manage over US$2 billion across 24 global funds.

In April, Draper Startup House acquired Hatch Ventures Vietnam (HATCH!), a Singapore-based startup ecosystem builder.

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Lead generation has been at the top of every e-commerce marketing leader’s agenda for many years. For marketing functions specifically, the focus has always been on driving consumers to your website, optimising their journey through the site, and presenting them with the information and offers that make them want to stay there.

Of course, all of this is futile if it doesn’t lead the window shopper to buy.

To achieve this sought-after result, the marketing manager underpins the customer journey with data such as heat maps of where consumers are clicking, their dwell time on critical web pages, and split testing to see what works best for getting a consumer’s attention.

For any marketing campaign, be it sales-focused or awareness-raising, getting a grip on this data is key to success.

However, whilst these metrics are critical, there is another key metric that has long been overlooked. To optimise it, marketers must look beyond the surface of glossy websites and marketing materials to truly optimise the customer experience.

That metric is authorisation rates or the percentage of transactions that successfully pass through the full authorisation process to complete payment.

Put, improving authorisation rates increases revenue, leads to better customer satisfaction, and ultimately improves customer retention and loyalty.

In fact, PayPal research shows that a two per cent increase in approvals could translate into more than a million dollars of previously unrealised revenue.

Also Read: How HackerNoon uses customer-centric approach to build meaningful new features on their platform

Steering clear of cart abandonment

Those in the e-commerce industry know all-too-well that cart abandonment is a huge issue, and it won’t go away or improve without action. Customers who have had a poor experience on your website may go online to share their reviews and to warn other potential customers about their negative experiences.

This can lead to long-term knock-on effects and severely impact the customer base that your team have worked so hard to build. However, all too often, the issue is not solved because its cause is not adequately addressed.

To truly optimise customer conversion rates, marketing managers need to understand the customer’s pain points when making a transaction on their website or app.

To aid this, there are experts and resources out there to help, including insight from PayPal’s specialists that shows why, when a customer journey isn’t smooth from start to finish, with a simple checkout process, consumers almost certainly abandon their cart, head to a competitor, and never come back. After all, today’s consumers are short on time, and their loyalty is hard to keep.

With the PayPal commerce platform, partners and customers can better understand and improve conversion rates on their websites by enabling merchants to optimise every critical stage of processing using PayPal’s unique mix of tools, technology and data to make informed data-driven decisions.

By having access to this actionable data, there is a much greater chance of approval of customer transactions. For many, the impact of poor authorisation rates might not have been a consideration in the past for improving marketing metrics.

However, in today’s competitive e-commerce environment, marketers who take the time to look beyond the surface-level metrics that are so commonplace and fully analyse why those with full carts didn’t complete their transactions can make huge gains and realise success.

Knowing where to look

When looking at the backend of a website and payment platforms and pathways, marketeers should ask some questions: what journey is a customer going on to find themselves at the checkout? Are there too many clicks? Is it too complex?

By working out the answers to these questions and determining what elements of the process need improving, optimised payment authorisation rates will positively ripple through the business, which could be the difference in millions of dollars of profit.

With this information at hand, marketers will no longer be so quick to ignore what has been written off as a seemingly insignificant back-end metric. There has never been a more crucial time to optimise conversion rates. It is no secret that many industries have been shaken up due to the pandemic, but few so much as the e-commerce industry.

Also Read: How Warung Pintar builds tech solutions to help warung owners embrace the future

The last 12-months has seen new demographics of consumers shopping online for the first time, and others convert to completing the majority of their shopping online as a more hygienic way to get the goods and services they need.

To gain their slice of this market, merchants need to be nimble and adapt to consumers wants and needs – those that don’t will get left behind.

The solution is simple, and payment platforms such as PayPal offer merchants all the tools they need to optimise conversion rates and capture and grow their slice of the e-commerce pie by ensuring valued customers don’t go to the competition.

This end-to-end payment know-how is all marketeers need to realise success when optimising authorisation rates at the checkout.

To future-proof their careers and strive toward truly optimised metrics, marketing departments must get behind the surface of the data they have at their disposal and start looking at the full customer journey.

There is no doubt that it might seem like a daunting task, but expert support is on hand.

PayPal can support marketing managers by helping them optimise authorisation rates to capture more revenue, increase customer volumes and avoid losing customers to their competition.

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The past two years has played host to a retail investing revolution across investment markets. Following the development of payment-for-order flow online brokerages and the release of government stimulus packages in the wake of the pandemic, we’ve seen a remarkable rise in the volume of retail investors trading their money on stocks and shares. But is this new wave of adoption as inclusive as it seems? 

The stats don’t lie. Retail investors are arriving on the market in record numbers, and the trend’s impact has been felt across Wall Street.

We’ve seen investors congregate on online forums like r/WallStreetBets to generate a short squeeze on GameStop and AMC stocks to send their shares rocketing into the stratosphere, and we’ve seen daily equity share volumes surpass their previous peak, set in the midst of the financial crisis of 2008. 

As the table above shows, the average daily volume of US equity options traded climbed to more than 40 million contracts in early 2021 – indicating an accelerating trend of growing trading activity from retail investors. 

One of the most significant developments that paved the way for this rise in retail adoption was the introduction of zero-commission operating models for online brokerages.

As the chart above shows, from their introduction in late 2019, we’ve seen daily average trades accelerate by as much as 200 per cent in the case of some brokerages, whilst Robinhood’s monthly active users climbed from less than 5 million to more than 20 million between Q4 of 2019 and Q1 of 2021. 

However, the introduction of zero-commission brokerages has been a controversial topic across the investing landscape, as well as the tactics used by platforms to keep their users engaged.

With this in mind, let’s take a deeper look at whether the recent surge in retail adoption really points to the democratization of retail investing: 

The implications of zero-commission

As with many things in life, it generally is if something sounds too good to be true. This is certainly the case to some degree with the zero-commission switch that brokerages made in late 2019.

Made popular by Robinhood in recent times, the platform relies on a payment-for-order flow (PFOF) model to make money rather than commissions. 

The approach relies on rebates paid by market makers to execute a buy or sell order on their terms. As brokerages opt to use a specific market maker over a more competitively priced alternative, the middlemen pay for the vast volumes of business it receives.

As Robinhood took off with its PFOF setup, other more traditional retail brokers like Schwab and TD Ameritrade adapted to stay competitive. 

Although companies that have adopted the PFOF model claim it provides better prices for retail investors, consumer advocates contest this assessment.

The argument against payment-for-order flow is that it presents a significant conflict of interest for brokers to find the best prices for their users. 

In fact, in February, a Congressional hearing in the wake of the GameStop short squeeze event aimed at PFOF, claiming that it was fundamentally to blame for some of the current problems across the investment landscape. 

In the wake of the mounting criticism, Robinhood rival, Public.com opted to drop its payment-for-order flow setup in favour of welcoming ‘tips’ from their users instead, as a means of making their trading environment fairer.

Retail brokerages have also been accused of profiting from the gamification of their investing platforms as a means of encouraging greater levels of order flow. 

In March 2021, Robinhood opted to remove a feature where confetti would rain down from the screen when investors made their first trade amid concerns that it offered instant gratification for buying stocks through the app. 

The path to true inclusivity

Retail brokerages may need to adapt their platforms if they’re committed to truly level the playing field between retail investors and their institutional counterparts. 

“Companies can provide protocols for determining which investments are appropriate for new account holders to avoid costly mistakes at the outset,” claims Maxim Manturov, head of investment research at Freedom Finance Europe.

“Firms should also consider additional staff training to educate clients about the risks of investing in high-volatility securities and adopting better methods of dealing with clients during market volatility.”

“Financial institutions could also consider offering information that might be useful during times of turbulence, such as warning labels on equities with high volatility so that customers are aware of the dangers.

“Also, it would be a good idea to add education to reduce the flow of disinformation faced by retail investors online and support investment education, including building VR virtual learning modules with built-in lessons in essential financial concepts,” Manturov adds. 

While we’re seeing vast new users arriving across the retail investing landscape, institutions still face many hurdles that institutions don’t have to worry about. The path to true inclusivity can be laid in the future. Still, it may require a new operating model for online brokerages and a greater level of support and education for new investors.

The democratisation of finance is already underway, and with a series of improvements, the future certainly looks bright for the retail investing ecosystem.

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Singapore-headquartered global early-stage VC firm Antler has closed over US$300 million to date from Schroders, Vækstfonden, and Phoenix Group.

While its primary focus remains pre-seed stage investments, the VC firm will now start offering its portfolio companies follow-on capital as they grow and scale up to Series C.

Founded in Singapore in 2017, Antler invests in companies, helps them in building complementary co-founder teams, supports them with deep business model validation, and provides a global platform for scaling.

To date, it has invested in over 350 companies globally across 30 different industries. Of these, 40 per cent have at least one female co-founder, and the founders represent 70 nationalities.

Also Read: Antler to deploy US$100M in “priority market” India in the next 4 years

The firm has a global network of over 600 expert advisors and an online platform of resources, tools and supports its portfolio companies with introductions to international investors, hands-on assistance with new market entry, and access to a global network of expert advisors.

Antler’s current portfolio of startups includes HomeBase, Reebelo, Qashier, Volopay, Pathzero, Marco Financial, Xanpool, PowerX, and Xailient.

The firm has offices globally across most major entrepreneurial hubs, including London, Berlin, Stockholm, New York, and Sydney, besides Singapore.

It also announced that it has recruited new partners Naman Budhdeo, Erik Jonsson, Jiho Kang, and Subir Lohani to lead its new Canada, Vietnam, Korea, and Indonesia teams, respectively. It has put together a team to oversee ongoing investments led by Lazada co-founder Martell Hardenberg; Teddy Himler, formerly of SoftBank; Stefan Jung, previously managing partner at Venturra Capital; and Navi Singh, a researcher at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Antler also intends to invest in companies outside of its portfolio at seed and Series A stages.

In January this year, Antler announced it would invest US$100 million in Indian startups over the next four years. The fund will support exceptional founders from the idea stage all the way to Series A and B.

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This October, investment app Ajaiab became the seventh unicorn of Indonesia within just two and half years after its launch. It is not surprising that Southeast Asia has risen to become a hub of personal finance startups riding on the young, internet-savvy middle-class in the region and supercharging the welfare for all. 

Here is a list of 27 startups that could help you save, invest, bank, budget, mortgage, get insurance, plan retirement and tax amid the pandemic. 

Also read: 21 Southeast Asian startups that help banks gain ground in fintech competition

Hugo Save

Co-developed in 2019 by David Fergusson, Ben Davies, and Braham Djidjelli, Hugo Save is a digital saving app helping users manage their personal finance. 

Hugo’s accounts are secured with DBS Bank. A member of the Singapore FinTech Association, Hugo allows customers to make purchases with a company-issued Visa debit card and save money according to their financial goals. They may also use the Hugo app to purchase and sell gold assets for under US$0.0074 (S$0.01) and convert their money into actual gold.

In June this year, the Singapore-based startup raised a US$2 million seed investment from 1982 Ventures.

Endowus

Endowus provides a platform for cash, central provident fund (CPF), and supplementary retirement scheme (SRS) funds to be invested by individual, accredited, and institutional investors.

The Singapore-headquartered startup offers professional tailored advice and “best-in-class” funds at a cheaper cost with no sales expense and a full trailer fee rebate.

Established in 2019, Endowus claims it has experienced a 20x rise in clients investing on the platform and 8x increase in funds under management.

Earlier this year, the company landed US$17 million in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Kristal.AI

Asheesh Chanda and Vineeth Narasimhan created Kristal.AI in 2016. The firm employs artificial intelligence and provides customers with tailored portfolios that comprise exchange-traded assets such as equities, bonds, options, futures, and currencies. 

Founded in 2016, Kristal has an in-house investment committee comprising specialists with years of expertise in sectors, including banking and trade, according to reports. 

Kristal.AI now has over 10,000 active users on its platform, and the company manages assets worth more than US$100 million.

Early last year, the Singapore-headquartered startup secured a US$6 million Series A round from Chiratae Ventures and Desai Family Office.

ADDX

Launched in 2017, Singapore-based ADDX offers access to private equity, unicorns, hedge funds, private debt, and other alternative investments for accredited investors. The firm is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and is available to all non-US accredited and institutional investors.

ADDX was rebranded from private capital platform iSTOX following a US$50 million Series A funding round from Japanese state-backed investors.

Call Levels

Call Levels provides a cloud-based downloadable free app for users in Singapore. It assists clients to have rapid access to all of their financial investing data.

The app also offers a user-friendly dashboard for managing customer relationships and portfolios. Besides, it has created a platform for the administration of donations to give back to charity.

In 2015, after one year of its inception, the company closed a US$500,000 pre-Series A financing led by 500 Startups.

Dr Wealth

Launched in 2013 by Alvin Chow, Dr Wealth is a Singapore-based financial education firm that helps retail investors make better financial decisions.

In early 2020, the firm created a stock screener, research, and portfolio management platform. This platform provides stock data available to investors from a variety of Asian stock exchanges, including the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), and the Hong Kong Exchanges (HKSE).

In 2014, the company bagged US$640,000 in seed funding led by Puffer Ventures.

AutoWealth

Founded in 2015, AutoWealth is a National University of Singapore (NUS) Enterprise portfolio company. 

Regulated by the MAS, AutoWealth provides online financial counselling and investment management using a proprietary algorithm. It has developed an automated method that reduces processing time and intermediary expenses. 

Meanwhile, it still provides consumers with tailored personal finance advice on the asset composition, initial investment amount, and recurring investment instalments.

In 2019, the startup raised US$3 million in a funding round to expand into Malaysia’s market.

StashAway

StashAway is a Singapore-based online investment management firm founded in 2016. It offers a data-driven investing framework and a digital asset management platform. 

Individuals may open portfolios with a zero-dollar minimum deposit, unrestricted withdrawals, and yearly fees ranging from 0.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent. 

The platform uses a systematic asset allocation method to customise portfolios based on an individual’s financial assets, investing time horizon, and risk preferences.

Earlier this year, the startup bagged a US$25 million Series D funding round, led by Sequoia Capital India.

Infina

In January 2021, Infina launched its app in Singapore and has now extended to Vietnam. Most of its customers are in the 25-40 age group, seeking alternatives to long-term asset classes such as real estate. The app needs a US$25 minimum investment and allows investors to choose from various assets such as savings accounts, term deposits, fractionalised real estate, and mutual funds.

It counts among its investors the companies such as Dragon Capital, ACB Capital, Mirae Asset Fund Management and Viet Capital Asset Management.

Last June, the firm snagged a US$2 million seed round from Saison Capital, Venturra Discovery, 1982 Ventures, 500 Startups, Nextrans, and angels.

Finhay

Founded in 2017, Finhay is a platform that assists users in saving wisely and optimising idle cash by automatically transferring funds to reputed financial funds in Vietnam. 

A one-stop shop for financial services in Vietnam, Finhay focuses on assisting millennials in prudently building money. The firm strives to cater to the market’s underserved demographic.

Last year, the company secured seven-digit funding from Jeffrey Cruttenden, co-founder of the popular US savings app Acorns, local company Thien Viet Securities, and other investors.

Finsify

Built by Ngo Xuan Huy in 2013, Finsify is an online startup that focuses on offering personal finance solutions through mobile apps and web platforms. 

Finisfy, previously ZooStudio, has developed Money Lover, a personal money management software. Money Lover consolidates all of a user’s bank accounts to help them better track their finances.

Money Lover claims that it recently topped the chart as the number one app in personal finance. With plans to offer software aimed at accountants.

HelloGold

Created in 2015, HelloGold is a Malaysian personal finance firm that assists individuals in securing their money through gold investments.

Its Shariah-compliant technology helps users follow gold prices in real-time. The firm also offers investors to buy, save, and sell this precious metal.

In 2018, the startup raised undisclosed Series A financing from 500 Startups.

Akulaku

An Indonesian platform for consumer financing, AKulaku focuses on virtual credit cards, digital communication, and consumer products. 

Akulaku is also available in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. In Indonesia, the firm stated that its money management platform has over 100,000 monthly active users.

Launched in 2014, the company claims to have served over 6 million users and generating over US$1.5 billion in yearly transactions.

In 2019, the startup bagged US$100 million in Series D funding round from Ant Financial, Alibaba’s business line in the financial services sector.

Pluang

Pluang, established by Claudia Kolonas and Richard Chua, caters to Indonesia’s expanding middle class by allowing individual investors to spend as little as US$0.50 in gold, equities indexes, mutual funds, and cryptocurrencies.

It assists first-time users in reducing risk. It also emphasises financial education on investment and long-term wealth development.

Last month, the startup secured an additional US$53 million led by Square Peg, following a US$20 million funding round earlier in March. 

Ajaib

Stanford MBA classmates Anderson Sumarli and Yada Piyajomkwan launched Ajaib in 2019. It is a mobile-first stock trading platform leveraging Indonesia’s high smartphone penetration rate.

In Indonesia, the business claims to have attracted more than one million stock investors out of a total of 2.69 million retail equity investors.

Earlier this month, the startup added US$153 million led by DST Global to its kitty to become a unicorn.

Friz

Co-founded by Friz Ash Rhazaly and Nirali Zaveri, Friz is a Singapore-based fintech startup providing financial services for freelancers. 

The firm uses data insights to provide freelancers financial goods such as credit cards, personal loans, insurance, savings, and investment options. Friz allows freelancers to keep track of and manage their revenues, spending, savings, and borrowings all in one place, resulting in increased productivity and the closing of borrowing gaps.

Last April, the startup secured an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding with participation from Y Combinator, 500 Durians, 500 TukTuks, Iterative VC and other angel investors

MFast

Phan Thanh Vinh and Phan Thanh Long co-founded fintech platform MFast in 2018. It allows Vietnamese to utilise, introduce, and access financial and insurance services.

The smartphone app connects disadvantaged communities with financial and insurance institutions to guarantee that everyone has access to basic financial services, allowing individuals to better their livelihoods, manage risks, and enhance their quality of life over time.

MFast claims to have helped almost 600,000 Vietnamese access financial and insurance services from reputable organisations after three years of operations in Vietnam.

Earlier this year, the startup raised US$1.5 million in pre-Series A funding round led by Do Ventures, a local early-stage VC firm.

Finory

Finory is a fintech business headquartered in Malaysia that analyses credit card statements and provides customers with crucial information such as the total amount due, the minimum amount required, and the due dates.

Founded in 2020, Finory utilises retrieved data to offer timely notifications reminding users about upcoming due dates and amounts payable. Users need to provide their monthly bank statement to Finory. It will then scan it and extract essential information for display on the app using machine learning techniques.

Seedly

Seedly was founded in 2016 in Singapore to assist people in making better financial decisions. In the last two years, the millennial-focused community features, such as crowdsourced Q&A and the Reviews platform, have experienced over 250 per cent year-on-year growth in users.

The firm also has a budgeting tool and app that helps over 130,000 customers to connect their financial accounts and better manage their cash flow.

In 2020, CompareAsiaGroup acquired Seedly to extend its personal finance community beyond Singapore. The acquisition comes two years after ShopBack purchased Seedly in an equity-cumulative cash deal in May 2018.

Makmur

Sander Parawira, a former Virtu Financial executive and Facebook programmer, created the personal finance company Makmur in 2019. It allows Indonesians to plan their financial objectives (emergency fund, retirement money, and children’s education fund) all in one place.

Makmur generates optimum plans suited to customers’ risk tolerance, investment horizon, and current economic conditions using a patented dynamic asset allocation technique used to its goal-based investing and Robo Advisory capabilities.

Last month, the firm scored “seven-digit” seed funding led by Beenext.

Halofina

Adjie Wicaksana and Eko Pratomo, both veterans in the financial industry, launched Halofina in 2017. It’s AI-powered personal financial planning software that helps users manage their finances and develop investment ideas.

The Indonesia-based startup said that most of its users are millennials and those in the middle-upper income bracket.

In 2019, the platform secured an undisclosed amount of pre-Series A funding round led by Mandiri Capital Indonesia.

PinjamWinWin

PinjamWinWin is an Indonesia-based fintech peer-to-peer loan firm created in 2015 by James Susanto, an alumnus of the University of New South Wales in Australia who worked in banking, mining, and trade.

Its mobile app connects lenders and borrowers with a processing period of less than a day, no collateral, and competitive interest rates. 

The startup landed funding from SOSV to help finance unbanked Indonesian in 2019. PinjamWinWin said it would provide around 185 million unbanked Indonesians with insurance-backed loans. 

Jojonomic

Indrasto Budisantoso, the former CEO of Groupon, established Jojonomic in 2015. It began as personal financial management software. Then in October 2015, it released Jojonomic Pro, a platform to assist businesses with employee reimbursement administration.

The app amplifies gamification to make the tedious process of tracking one’s spending more engaging and exciting.

In 2016, the Indonesian fintech startup bagged US$1.5 million in a financing round led by Maloekoe Ventures, with participation from Golden Gate Ventures, Fenox VC, and East Ventures.

Syfe

Syfe is a digital wealth platform located in Singapore developing the next generation of financial products for Asian consumers.

Dhruv Arora started Syfe in 2019 to change the way people manage their money and make high-quality wealth management services inexpensive and accessible to everyone.

Within two years of its inception in Singapore, Syfe raised more than US$52 million.

Last July, Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures led Syfe’s most recent Series B financing round.

Holdnaut

Hodlnaut is a Singapore-based company that offers financial services to individual investors looking to earn income on their cryptocurrency holdings.

In 2019, Juntao and Simon co-launched Holdnaut. The startup claims that it allows users to earn interest of up to 12.73 per cent APY on their crypto.

Last month, Hodlnaut partnered with Okcoin, the US-based crypto exchange, to improve users’ investment options and earnings potential.

Autumn

Autumn, based in Singapore, is a bank-agnostic and open platform created and funded by SC Enterprises, Standard Chartered’s innovation and ventures business. 

Founded by Mike in 2020, Autumn helps its consumers to plan and manage their financial and physical well-being by providing best-in-class goods and solutions. 

The firm takes a comprehensive approach to retirement planning, assisting people in understanding how their lifestyle choices affect their money and health, ensuring that they are well-prepared for retirement.

BetterTradeOff

BetterTradeOff was established in 2015 by Laurent Bertrand and Robert Lonsdorfer. It aims to democratise financial planning by providing consumers with accessible and comprehensible advice. 

Through its bespoke dashboards for banks and financial advisors and a free virtual platform for consumers, users can simulate life situations such as purchasing a new home or planning for retirement, making it easy for users to see and understand the impact of their decisions. 

BetterTradeOff has recently partnered with Zurich Malaysia and Standard Chartered Bank to simplify financial planning for their customers with its solution.

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Southeast Asia’s consumers currently lack access to financial services. Banking penetration in Southeast Asia (SEA) sits at a mere 50 per cent. In contrast, the banking penetration rate is 95 per cent in the US and UK.

This provides an opportunity for tech companies to bridge the gap in financial services. Looking to not only better serve customers, but also to empower stakeholders such as small businesses and delivery partners, Indonesian tech giants GoTo and Traveloka are ramping up their fintech offerings.

At a recent webinar by EDB with Patrick Cao, President of GoTo, and Caesar Indra, President of Traveloka, we discussed their tips for delivering and scaling fintech products across the region, building the right capabilities, and tapping Singapore as a globally connected tech node for growth in SEA.

Check out their key insights below.

Work with your customers to raise awareness of fintech products

Financial literacy varies across diverse SEA. For example, while 59 per cent of adults in Singapore are financially literate, it is 32 per cent in Indonesia, according to the S&P Global Finlit Survey. With a lack of knowledge in basic finances, customers are also leery of digital financial services.

For Traveloka with its start as an online travel agency, it was challenging to persuade Indonesian customers more comfortable with cash to use their platform for high-value transactions in travel.

Indra shared: “We needed to make a conscious effort to educate the market on basic finances. This is important for us, as we want to not only fulfil our customers’ lifestyle aspirations but also enable them to realise it in a responsible way.”

Also Read: A horse of another: Here’s the full list of Southeast Asia’s 24 unicorns

With GoTo’s platform offerings spanning from transport and food, to e-commerce and fintech, it is similarly key for the company to educate its stakeholders across the ecosystem.

“We are focused on providing a seamless and transparent product so the customer, the driver and the merchant know exactly what the terms and conditions are, and we continue to build that educational journey,” Cao explained.

Be transparent in your products and services to build customer trust

For both GoTo and Traveloka, customer education goes together with transparency: they are upfront with their offerings and help customers understand what they are signing up for.

“We build transparency into our products’ UX and UI,” said Indra. For example, Traveloka’s online credit lending service, PayLater, is explicit in the monthly instalments expected of customers.

Transparency is also integral in assuring customers that their data is managed securely. “Both of us are in the business of trust,” Patrick said.

Both companies are also stringent in ensuring that products are compliant with local regulations – once again, underscoring a responsibility to customers.

Identify the right expertise you need for your regional team

Building the right capabilities is at the core of both companies’ fintech achievements so far.

Risk management and control, data analytics and cybersecurity are a few of the critical skillsets GoTo and Traveloka cite in creating successful fintech products.

Traveloka has been building such teams in Singapore. Their Singapore-based data science, cybersecurity, and cloud-native architecture teams work closely with other regional teams to quickly innovate and launch products in SEA. “Singapore offers a world-class talent pool, bringing together the best talent locally and across the region,” Indra affirmed.

Similarly, for GoTo, while operating largely in Indonesia, “a large part of the talent and expertise that we need is based in Singapore. Most of the talent that we have in Singapore has quite a strong affinity for Indonesia, given that it is a short plane ride away,” added Cao.

Also Read: Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam the most attractive fintech hubs in SEA: Study

Find like-minded partners in Singapore, a tech node in the heart of SEA

Besides being a hub for talent, Singapore also provides access to key partners for GoTo and Traveloka.

“Singapore is a great place in terms of access to ecosystem partners and other areas of fintech expertise that our teams and leaders can tap on,” said Cao.

With Singapore home to 59 per cent of Asia regional headquarters for global tech companies, he added that a rich talent pool and presence of global companies “make Singapore an ideal place to have that regional ecosystem sharing and conversations that enrich our own knowledge and ability to build high-quality products.”

Singapore has also been a partner for Traveloka for innovating in a “vibrant, supportive” fintech ecosystem, said Indra.

A curious, experimental mindset serves you well in fast-growing SEA

Where once traditional financial institutions, such as banks and insurers, and fintech players might be competitors, they are now close collaborators in helping customers access financial services, as both GoTo and Traveloka attested.

Working across non-traditional lines is part and parcel of serving fast-changing SEA. Cao shared that it is critical to “have a curious and experimental mind, and the ability to unlearn, relearn and localise” successes from more developed markets such as the US and China.

Tech companies in SEA are well-positioned to pioneer solutions and meet the needs of increasingly affluent consumers. Where financial institutions might lack information, “we provide the technology to bridge the gap,” said Indra.

Cao added: “We are very much at the embryonic stage, where fintech could end up evolving similar to other fast-growing markets like China.”

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Whether we like it or not, personal branding is one of the most important things you need to be thinking about as an entrepreneur.

A poorly developed and poorly managed personal brand might cost you opportunities or destroy your chances of starting a successful business.

A poorly-developed but well-managed brand might confuse people as to who you are, what you do, and how you can help them.

A well-developed but poorly managed brand might waste your time and offer the wrong opportunities.

A well-developed and well-managed personal brand will get you the right traction in a timely manner and on a low-cost budget.

Our guest today is Stacey Ross Cohen, the founder and CEO of Co-Communications Inc, a personal branding firm that specialises in executives, entrepreneurs, and especially CEOs.

Co-Communications delivers high-impact, targeted communications programs to local and national clients across diverse industries, including real estate, education, healthcare, non-profits, hospitality, information technology and professional services.

Also Read: The business of social responsibility: Why brands are redefining their social conscience

She is a regular contributor to Huffington Post, and has to have been featured in a variety of national and local publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Crain’s, Sales & Marketing, and most recently Inside Chappaqua.

We discuss:

· Why is she so passionate about personal branding?

· Why is it necessary to have one?

· How can you refine yours?

· What is Sean’s personal brand?

· How to develop a consistent personal brand?

· What are the right channels for you to focus your energy?

· How to make your content get discovered?

· And much more!

Also Read: 6 pivot stories of Vietnamese F&B brands that are worth your time (and taste)

Thanks so much to Stacey for this great conversation, I hope you enjoy the show!

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

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This article about building personal brand for entrepreneurs was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: imtmphoto

The post Developing your personal brand with Stacey Cohen appeared first on e27.

Gone are the days when a jobseeker could send a CV to many companies and get a call for an interview without any fuss.

Nowadays, candidates have to go through a seemingly never-ending number of hiring rounds while also overcoming innovative recruitment technology solutions that have entered the market recently. This issue is particularly prevalent in the tech, finance and energy sectors.

Candidates are now jumping over various hurdles, working their way through a maze of application forms, tests and using all sorts of technology, from TikTok resume applications to video recordings.

These additional steps in the hiring process have made it tedious, confusing, frustrating and demoralising. It seems there is a myth that the more extended recruitment formula will help companies weed out the perfect candidate for the vacant role.

In truth, the applicants who are persevering through this unsettling number of interviews are those who are desperate to get a job. They may not have other opportunities available or the necessary qualities to be successful in the role.

Unfortunately for the recruiters, bad interview experiences can drive talents away and damage a company’s reputation through word of mouth.

So, how can employers strike a balance between streamlining the hiring process and capture significant and granular assessments of the candidate without losing them?

Despite the advances in modern-day recruitment techniques, the current processes still face several challenges.

Also Read: impress.ai raises US$3M to make hiring less tiring for recruiters

Talent shortage

There is a high global demand for tech talent in the technology and digital industries and other sectors. Currently, the supply does not meet the market’s requirements, which means the power no longer resides with HR professionals but rather with the tech-trained applicants.

Recruiters are finding themselves forced to compete for the few qualified candidates, going as far as reaching out to them on job board platforms. In addition, companies now have to raise their salary offers and benefits to attract the best people.

Human touch versus technology

Another challenge is determining when and how to use recruiting technology and when the HR professional should step in to process the applications. Remember, the candidate’s hiring experience is crucial, and their journey through every stage will reflect positively or negatively on the company’s culture.

Chasing trends

Some job interview approaches are unsuitable for certain industries. For example, what a recruiter looks for in a coder will be different from an events coordinator.

Technology also faces a similar challenge, as the tools you might use in one sector might not suit candidates from other niches.

HR professionals have to grapple with outdated and recent interview techniques. The desire to reduce potentially making bad choices has resulted in conducting too many hiring rounds.

Additionally, the fear of missing out is bringing new and sometimes unsuitable recruitment methods to the fore.

Desperation

Lack of employment options and talent shortages create an unexpected issue for companies regarding quality and quantity. The damage to jobs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic creates gaps, and many unemployed candidates are desperate to find work.

Ultimately, recruitment is expensive, and the hiring managers have to get it right to prevent future costs. If a new hire ends up being unsuitable for the role, the whole process may require undertaking again, adding a further cost burden to the company. 

Choosing the best interview strategy

Presently, employers have access to technological tools for identifying the correct candidate for vacant positions. Experienced HR and talent acquisition managers define the hiring models and technologies needed for different roles. 

It is then vital to map out an interview strategy by first understanding your needs and adopting an agile recruitment process.

Also Read: Why we need to embrace HR tech adoption stat

Here are three areas to focus on:

Sourcing candidates

There is no one size fits all approach to recruitment. For example, various age groups and generations use different job application methods, and HR professionals may also use diverse hiring models. Even so, knowing whether a candidate fits the hiring criteria before moving forward to the interview stage ensures the possibility of success.

Using technology makes it possible to filter the ideal candidates without reviewing hundreds or thousands of resumes. Too many applications can be overwhelming, and failing to respond to them effectively can harm a brand.

A good recruitment strategy includes exploring many recruitment channels to source more suitable interviewees for the specific role.

Focus on one industry

Copying trends that are unsuitable for an industry can hurt the employment process. The latest hiring methods, such as video resumes, do not belong in every sector—these measures might work in more extroverted roles but may not be appropriate for a less client-facing position.

In some industries, tests are helpful to ascertain the applicant’s suitability, but in others, they are just time-consuming and irrelevant.

Versatility is essential in the digital age. Allowing adaptation to different interview and application processes depending on the sector or role can make a difference in finding the right talent.

Limiting interview rounds

Organisations should be aware of the talent shortage and not waste time during recruitment. The number of rounds needed in the interview depends on the nature of the role and its level in the company. Plus, the faster you complete the hiring process, the less likely the candidate will take up other competing offers.

Guide the candidates through the process and timelines to ensure they know what will occur. Limit the interviews to less than three rounds for minor roles and about four for senior positions. Having excessive rounds will only damage the perception of your company in the eyes of candidates.

Using a talent platform for recruitment

Recruitment technology such as the Grit job search platform is a game-changer with its talent-first approach to hiring. Instead of candidates applying to companies, the potential employers contact them directly on the website highlighting job opportunities that might interest the candidate.

It filters talent by geography, abilities and salary, and HR experts can target future employees, shortlist and contact them.

Moreover, the platform reduces the shortlist period to 24-48 hours and decreases hiring times from a maximum of 12 weeks to just three weeks. Candidates can register on the website in about a minute, and the profile stays anonymous until a potential employer requests to see the full details.

Also Read: What will the next wave of VC investment in HR tech look like?

This search approach is very different from the established job hunting and recruitment methods. It saves companies time, resources, and money by streamlining processes and cutting out unnecessary recruitment headaches.

Talent recruitment will continue to change and evolve as technological advances, including AI and machine learning innovations, and better hiring strategies emerge. Streamlining the process will initially involve using robot interviews and video resume applications before progressing to the stages conducted by humans.

Many recruits and HR personnel will find it easy to adapt, while others, unfortunately, may struggle to adjust to the new realities.

Recruiters must review their internal business processes as the latest technology enters the market. While no hiring model is perfect, it is possible to find a process that fits the positions candidates are applying for and the job level in the company.

Cutting down the length of the interview stages to avoid frustrating the applicants is essential. If the candidates feel the process is tedious, they might drop out believing the recruiter is undervaluing the time and effort to apply for the role.

It can also reflect poorly on the organisation, as the lengthy exasperating procedures may seem part of the work culture there.

The belief that a hiring process of one to three months is the best for securing the ideal employee is not entirely accurate.

While a company might find a fantastic candidate that way, it is also likely that the more desperate applicants and those who do not have other options will stick around longer than others will. The result is an ineffectual, drawn out and infuriating interview process.

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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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Indonesia’s boutique hospitality and lifestyle company Artotel Group has secured an undisclosed amount in a Series B financing round led by Indies Capital Partners, alongside creative industry-focused Benson Capital.

With the new capital, Artotel intends to pursue a merger and acquisition strategy to expand across Indonesia. 

Another portion of the funding will be used to strengthen the group’s core infrastructure, digitise its operations and enhance sustainability throughout the organisation.

“With Indonesia’s hospitality sector at a critical juncture, Artotel is investing heavily into future growth with a focus on quality guest experience and an enhanced geographic footprint,” said founder and CEO Erastus Radjimin.

Targeting Indonesia’s first and second-tier cities and upcoming tourism locations, Artotel is set to roll out 29 new properties around the country, bringing the total number of its properties to over 50 by 2023.

The company will also continue operating properties and building new two- and three-star hotels under the Kyriad brand, its latest acquired hospitality brand launched by France-based Louvre Hotels Group. 

Also read: From the contributor community: The future of travel, user retention strategies, and more;

Co-launched in 2013 by siblings Erastus and Christine Radjimin, Artotel has four integrated pillars: hotel (stay), food and beverage (dine), event management (play), and curated merchandise (shop).

The group offers a range of lodgings, ranging from cheap hotels to boutique hotels to premium stays, from mass-market to luxury.

Bobotel, Roomsinc, Artotel are among its hotel brands.

Today, Artotel’s hospitality portfolio has 3,000 rooms, including the 1,300 rooms added from its acquisition of Kyriad’s Indonesia operations. 

The group also provides autonomous management of restaurants, bars, and beach clubs in the food and beverage business. It employs a technology-driven strategy to enhance hotel operations infrastructure better to manage booking, management, and guest relations. This covers activities such as brand activation events, online cultural events, and food and beverage delivery.

“Although impacted in the last two years, we are optimistic that Indonesia’s tourism industry will continue to grow post-pandemic based on a burgeoning domestic middle-class and strong international appeal,” said Avina Sugiarto, senior VP at Indies Capital.

Artotel stated that it has consolidated and restructured the company through business planning, increasing business margins and customer satisfaction.

According to the “Hospitality Real Estate Sector In Indonesia” 2020 report, tourism is a significant growth driver for the hospitality industry in Indonesia. The hotel industry is said to be well-developed, offering from five-star hotels to humble guest homes. In 2018, five-star hotels accounted for 39.29 per cent of all the hotels around the country.

The region has also witnessed a clutch of rising travel-tech startups that attract good deals in 2020-2021, signalling the bounceback of the hospitality sector after the pandemic. This includes Singapore’s Vouch and PouchNATION, Indonesia’s Bobobox, and the Philippines’ Mosaic Solutions. Velocity Ventures has also closed its US$20-million fund dedicated to hospitality & travel startups in Southeast Asia this June.

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Image Credit: ARTOTEL Group

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Market trends may come and go, but one industry that remains relevant and is gaining ever-increasing importance is the energy sector. While some industries go through occasional dips, especially with the global health crisis upon us, the important role of energy has only been magnified by the unpredictable global events that shape how we live.

The energy sector now faces the crucial responsibility of spearheading innovations in many key areas and emboldening startups and companies from other relevant verticals to initiate growth and innovation within their own industries. 

PETRONAS, a global energy and solutions partner with a presence in over 50 countries, recently launched the second edition of its technology accelerator programme, PETRONAS FutureTech 2.0, as part of the company’s initiative to move towards a culture of open innovation within the startup landscape.

What is FutureTech 2.0?

FutureTech 2.0, led by PETRONAS via its corporate venture capital arm PETRONAS Ventures in collaboration with government-linked companies (GLCs) Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP) as well as global venture capital firm 500 Global, complements PETRONAS’ commitment in delivering cleaner energy solutions to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050. 

The accelerator programme, which is held from 30 August 2021 to 19 November 2021 also supports Malaysia’s aspiration to spur growth among local startups and venture capital ecosystem builders by working closely with the National Technology Innovation Sandbox programme — an initiative sparked by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. 

FutureTech 2.0 revolves around three key areas: Facilities of the Future, Future of Energy, and New Chemicals/Advanced Materials. These particular focus areas are aligned with PETRONAS’ technology agenda.

Also read: Japan’s Aichi prefecture all set to build the city of the future by co-creating with startups

Serving PETRONAS’ business needs as it explores new growth opportunities, the 12-week accelerator programme empowers both participating startups and PETRONAS’ business units to find best-fit use cases to address current pain points, catalyse growth and future-proofing. 

FutureTech 2.0 offers its cohort a blend of global and local learning experiences, which includes masterclasses from 500 Global, mentors and local industry experts. The bigger value proposition of the programme is that the participants are able to have access to the expertise and networks of PETRONAS and its corporate partners, where mentors share relevant pain points within specific business segments. 

Other programme benefits include fire-side chats with successful founders and global/local ecosystem builders, access to 500 Globals’ programme perks and networks, potential investors, GLCs, and partners.

FutureTech’s non-traditional approach

Apart from the intrinsically non-traditional framework of the accelerator programme which offers a unique two-way engagement between participating startups and corporate partners, FutureTech 2.0’s unique approach to present industry problems also manifests in PETRONAS Ventures’ drive to disrupt existing markets. 

Head of PETRONAS Ventures, Arni Laily Anwarrudin explained, “We need to go beyond just oil and gas, which means we have to move towards a broader energy sector. So partnering with startups is the way to go because it provides PETRONAS with the insider intelligence and insights needed to accelerate in areas we may not currently see [from the perspective of] a traditional oil and gas company.”

Through this framework, all participating parties gain value from each other’s wealth of knowledge and experience, harnessing key contributors that help accelerate each other’s journey towards a healthy market strategy.

Also read: IES-INCA partners with e27 to support deep tech innovators

The partnership, therefore, changes the corporate innovation landscape and trend by encouraging the innovation culture using agile approaches. By leveraging on the non-traditional thinking embedded in startup culture and the industry know-how of corporates, both stakeholders stand a better chance at fostering smarter, stronger, and more resilient forms of innovation.

Moreover, PETRONAS also believes in internalising important processes in approaching how startups operate. Through FutureTech 2.0, participating startups are able to extend their services and commercial offerings with PETRONAS and its corporate partners in ways that are lean and agile while still conforming with corporate governance standards. In a nutshell, this helps fast-track their ability to commercialise within PETRONAS and the partners’ ecosystem.

Focusing on energy, industry, and digital innovation as key areas

Following the success of the first FutureTech programme in 2019, PETRONAS recognised bigger prospects towards nation-building and saw collaborating with major corporations such as SDP and TM as the way to further nurture the ecosystem. 

FutureTech 2.0 also seeks to create socio-economic impact for the community through various channels, including education and skill investment. The programme also aims to foster tech-driven innovations that support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Arni said, “Technology as a differentiator is the central thrust of our technology agenda. We are steadfast in advancing selective technologies whilst accelerating pace of delivery via critical and strategic collaborations that add to our resource and reserve.” On top of improving efficiencies and operational excellence, she added, PETRONAS strives to differentiate their offerings to gain a competitive and resilient advantage in the energy market.

Diversity in participating startups

FutureTech 2.0 prides itself on prioritising startups with breakthrough technology or innovative business solutions — “disruptors” that can exhibit exemplary talent in improving how we observe, strategise, and execute deployment in PETRONAS as well as its corporate partners, TM and SDP. As such, this year’s participants encompass a diverse slew of startups coming from a wide array of verticals.

Also read: Blue skies for Malaysia’s drone industry with Aerodyne

The FutureTech 2.0 cohort of 20 promising startups include Aerodyne, a drone-based enterprise solutions provider; Poseidon, a digital monitoring technology to assess onshore/offshore structural integrity in real-time; and Boom Grow, a 5G-connected vertical farm. They are only some of the most innovative tech-driven startups in Malaysia today.

Selected startups will receive continued support from PETRONAS, TM, and SDP after the programme, should future partnerships be deemed necessary.

PETRONAS Ventures’ reputable global stamp

PETRONAS’ commitment to raising the bar doesn’t end at inculcating global standards to local startups. Through PIVA Capital in San Francisco, PETRONAS Ventures has a strong partner to tap into the Silicon Valley ecosystem which boasts the largest pool of quality resources in terms of capital, talent, investors, mentors, and scaling experience. The company has also successfully pursued networking opportunities with the symbiotic ecosystem comprising universities, startups, large tech companies, and venture capitalists among others.

With its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework, PETRONAS is able to create value upon investing in nine companies to date and help to redefine trillion-dollar markets such as agriculture, manufacturing, chemicals, transportation, and energy.

Startups chosen to participate in FutureTech 2.0 become part of the same legacy of excellence that the company has built. As PETRONAS moves toward revolutionising the energy sector not only in Malaysia, but also across the world, the FutureTech 2.0 cohort of startups and their innovations become instrumental in shaping the future.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by PETRONAS Ventures

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