Tangible Idea, a mobile development team from Korea, has launched Meeple, a mobile app that aims to provide mentoring services to those who are in dire need of academic and personal help.
Unveiled in January this year, it connects middle and high school students to university students in Korea.
Meeple involves two kinds of users. The first group are the mentees – middle and high school students who are unable to seek proper assistance from their peers and teachers. The app enables them to communicate with college and university students.
The other group are the mentors – these are tertiary students from college and university who have gone through secondary school and are able to attend to the mentee’s problems. Read more
Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization Singapore (CEOs) is planning a “Startup Clinic” session this weekend with one of their mentors, Nick Yang, and they would like to invite startups/founders/entrepreneurs for the session.
Nick Yang co-founded ChinaRen.com, which sold to Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU). After one and half year at Sohu.com as CTO, he left and co-founded KongZhong (NASDAQ:KONG), and brought the company from zero to IPO in 2 years and 2 months. He is now the Founder at Wukong. He is also an active Angel investor and involved in many internet and media companies in China. He has been featured in last year’s TechVenture: http://www.techventure.com.sg/speakers/nick_yang.html
The purpose of the “Startup Clinic” is for the entrepreneurs to post questions for Nick’s advices, in the meanwhile it’s a great opportunity for them to pitch to him. We believe it will be an enlightening session for those entrepreneurs interested in China market and/or internet media space.
It will be a small session planned on 3rd June 2-4pm at Coffee Bean located at Forum The Shopping Mall, 583 Orchard Road #01-45/46.
Please email your attendance to info@ceo-s.org for a quick signup.
Note:If response is good, the venue may be changed. Please check your emails if you have RSVPed for the event.
The Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN), a new initiative by the Cradle Fund, an agency under the government’s Ministry of Finance, has been announced last week at the Asian Business Angel Forum (ABAF) held in Kuala Lumpur.
The network, scheduled to kick start later this year, aims to be an agent of growth for Malaysia’s startup scene, putting the country on the map as the go-to market for innovation, growth and entrepreneurship. Read more
Callum Laing, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Fitness-Buffet, argues that articles like this recent Forbes piece Why Entrepreneurs Will Save The World reflect an unhealthy preoccupation with entrepreneurship and adds one item too many to an already busy-to-do list.
Years ago, I wrote an article for a newspaper denouncing the media’s growing obsession with entrepreneurs as the new rock stars. It was during a downturn and I pointed to the army of recently laid-off people who, unable to find jobs, re-branded themselves first as ‘consultants’ and then when that didn’t work as either ‘lifestyle coaches’ or ‘entrepreneurs’.
Inspired by whoever was on the cover of Forbes magazine, they would ‘find their passion’ and throw themselves headlong into building a business with the charming naivety and enthusiasm only a fresh entrepreneur can muster.
Within 12-18 months, however, most of them had burnt through their lifetime’s savings, often taking on personal debt, alienated their friends and family by trying to sell to or borrow from them, and closed down their businesses. They then return, tails between their legs, to the workforce to lick their wounds.
Perhaps those were the lucky ones. The rest of us stumbled on. Read more
Hear about stories and thoughts on failure from some of top startups and investors from the New York Tech Meetup. Featured in this video are: Peter Stern of bitly, Sam Yagan of OkCupid, Andy Weissman of Union Square Ventures, David Tisch of TechStars, as well as Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp of Birchbox.
Filed under GeneralTags: andy weissman, birchbox, bit.ly, david tisch, haley barna, katia beauchamp, New York Tech Meetup, okcupid, peter starn, sam yagan, startupstories, TechStars, union square ventures
Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World is a joint initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard to help young changemakers create a better world of opportunities for women and girls in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
Launched in 2011 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Project Inspire presents 18-35 year olds with a five minute platform to pitch their ideas to the world.
The proposals must demonstrate its impact in the lives of women and girls across Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa through entrepreneurship. Read more
Team, Big Market, Product, Business Model, Traction, Revenues, Unfair Competitive Advantage… What are investors really looking for? How much money are they willing to bet on your idea, product, company? At what valuation? What is the real “cost” of raising money? How can you maximize your chances of raising money?
Serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Tanguy Lesselin and guest speaker Leslie Loh of Red Dot Ventures tackled these questions on May 24th, in the talk co-organized by SGE “How the hell can we raise money” (view pictures). The talk, attended by more than 60 entrepreneurs, was followed by chillin’ with drinks with Leslie Loh.
For the ones interested with the slides:
Here are 5 key takeaways for entrepreneurs to note:
1. Raise enough money to get to the next round, i.e. have a runway >18 months (ideally 24) in order to cover both the achievements of major milestones plus the time required to raise another round
2. The best companies don’t bootstrap too long, otherwise they miss the big opportunity
3. Traction beats all other investment criteria when it comes to getting investors hooked
4. You need to implement Investor Relationship Management to expand and strengthen your investor network
5. Do your homework to avoid paying for the basic advice on investment terms
Besides, some useful tools are included for reference in the presentation:
• capitalization table (to simulate founder dilution over time)
• example of a milestone-based business plan (Excel spreadsheet) in order to remind you how important it is to link milestones to valuation,
• links to interesting presentations on the matter.
View the five tips on the first talk “How to fire up your dream team” and more PowerPoint from tlesselin.
Also check out a short video interview with Leslie by SGE at JFDI.asia’s Demo Day and a study on the role of venture capital and angel investors in the tech startup scene in Singapore by Prof Wong Poh Kam.
The Rizal Commercial and Banking Co. (RCBC), has unveiled an SME business loan program for women which promises to increase their financial capacity and address the growing demands of their businesses, reported Philstar.
The bank’s Women’s Enterprise Loan is the first such program targeted at Filipinas entrepreneurs. Combining the resources of RCBC and RCBC Savings Bank, Bankard, and Malayan Insurance, the program offers variety of banking products useful to businesses, its shareholders, officers, and staff. Read more
On Thursday, 31st May, the Chief Consulting Officer of 2359 Media, Chen Kai Wei, will give a talk on mobile marketing strategies.
With the rising flood of apps, how should you make your app stand out? What makes users come back to the app? What changes the curious user to a loyal fan? As marketers, should we redefine what makes meaningful and immersive engagement on a mobile screen? How does gamification give you an edge? Read more
Steve Wozniak was the technical wizard behind Apple's early success.
Here’s a typical problem. Your background is in business and you want to do an Internet company because the cost of starting up is extremely low and you think that you have a great idea.
The unique challenge of finding good technology people is endemic not only in Asia. It happens everywhere, including Silicon Valley. While Google, Facebook and many notable technology companies are putting in top dollar for the best engineering talent, most founders in start-ups don’t have that kind of resources.
The challenge of finding the best technology talent is exacerbated in Asia, since these people are viewed as a support arm and is something that can be outsourced to programmers in India or China.
Here are some considerations as to why you should or should not find a technology co-founder.
Read more
Filed under Innovation & Technology, Mobile, Special Commentary, Technology, WebTags: Chief technology officers, Entrepreneurship, HR, human resources, recruiting, software engineers, Technology, technology co-founders, the lean startup model
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