Lobangclub changes name to Save22, because Lobang is Indonesian slang for a woman’s…

Lobangclub, a Singapore and Philippines-based startup has changed its name to Save22. If you recall, Lobangclub is a ShopSaavy-like mobile app that lets users compare prices of off-the-shelf items by scanning barcodes. Guyi Shen, the founder, shared his story with us, and we found it so amusing that we’ve decided to just include his whole telling below:

I was eating at a kopitiam in Central Jakarta and playing with my phone. A family of five was eating besides me, there was a young boy of 12-13 years curiously looking at my iPhone, I smiled as I grabbed the half-empty can of Pepsi I was drinking and scanned it with the lobangclub app, as I showed him the results the boy’s face spread into a smile.

“You want to try it?” I said as I handed him my phone.

He started rummaging through his parent’s shopping bag for things with barcodes he could scan.

“It’s called Lobangclub” I said proudly. He looked at me with confusion. “Lo-bang-club…” I said each syllable slowly.

He continued to scan but now his smile had turned into a sheepish grin.

I finished my lunch and got up to leave so I asked for my iPhone back…The boy sauntered over to me and pressed the phone into my palms, he hesitated slightly, before leaning over and whispered “Lobang in Indonesian means a woman’s….”

His face suddenly turned red and his voice trailed off…He didn’t finish the sentence as he turned around and trotted back to his parents.

A woman’s…? The wheels started spinning in my head.

What in the world was the boy referring to?

I stared down at my business card with LOBANGCLUB written in big letters…*

* P.S. For the curious on what lobang means on the street in Indonesia,  read the first comment on this article.

Note: We were reminded of another startup from Cambodia called Chibi, which name is actually Hokkien for a woman’s vijayjay.

While amusing, these incidents are good cautionary tales for entrepreneurs to be careful with how they name their startups, due to the language differences in Asia. You have been warned…

Comments