Between, a mobile private social network for couples, has hit 1.75 million downloads. We last heard about the South Korean startup at Echelon 2012, where it announced a tally of 700,000 downloads, out of which 60% were active users.
These figures certainly indicate an impressive growth rate for the app, which more than doubled in downloads after just 5 months. According to Edward Lee, co-founder of Between, the app has managed to convert 80% of downloads into users, while maintaining its 60% active user rate. That would mean the app has about 840k monthly active users — giving Between reason to be optimistic. Read more
Medical tourism, defined as the practice of crossing borders for the purpose of getting healthcare, is huge. Patients Beyond Borders estimate the the global market size is around US$15 billion, based on roughly five million patients spending an average of US$3,000 per procedure.
But finding quality and affordable healthcare is like fumbling in a room blindfolded: There are so many service providers around, at varying levels of quality. Discerning which to pick becomes a repetitive chore.
Two startups, Singapore’s MediSherpa and Chicago and Taiwan-based HuliHealth, are determined to fix this. Both companies are building an extensive database of health care providers and doctors, listing their credentials, crowdsourced feedback, cost, addresses, and contact information. Read more
SnapDish, a food photo and recipe sharing app from Japan, is now available on T Store, a Korean Android app store with 2.5 million visitors a day, and qiip, an app store for the Japanese market.
Both T store and qiip are operated by SK Planet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK telecom. Besides the two new additions, SnapDish is also available on Google Play, au Market, and the Apple App Store. Read more
Taiwan startup Citydomo is putting an interesting twist to online reviews by adding a gamified layer.
Instead of simply creating a website and praying that users will flock to it to rant or rave about something, they’re incentivizing them with goodies like Jason Mraz concert tickets, spa treatment vouchers, and discounts at wedding service providers — all redeemable with Domo Dollars, which is the service’s virtual currency.
Citydomo isn’t restricted to food, and users can leave reviews for other kinds of establishments like spas, hotels, and retail stores. As such, it’s more similar to Yelp and less like Singapore’s HungryGoWhere. But unlike these two, a user will get 10 D$ for writing a review, and an additional 2 D$ for posting a photo of the establishment. Read more
Launched at DEMO Asia 2012 in March, Dropmyemail has since gone on a spectacular streak, scoring 630,000 registered users in 50 days.
It is essentially a cloud-based email backup service that lets users store emails from multiple accounts.
In a bid to increase virality and convince venture capitalists to invest in the company, Dropmyemail has revamped its referral program to introduce viral components that reward users for a variety of actions.
This change, the startup hopes, will lead to greater organic growth in its user base. It is currently seeking to raise a Series A round of between US$4M and US$7.9M. Read more
Stephen Jagger, co-founder of Payroll Hero, shares how he got Lean Startup author Eric Ries to be their mentor. He also talks about the challenges his startup faces. Payroll Hero was a finalist at Echelon 2012, an annual tech startup conference focused on Asia. More on the company. Read more
Brian Wong. A 21-year-old whiz kid; a little cocky, a bit of witty, and to me the highlight of Echelon 2012, and probably the most tweeted about keynote speaker. Even, someone was tweeting each time he says “Fuck”. He probably weighs around 100 pounds; but definitely fills the stage.
I was there to listen to the CEO & Founder of Kiip, and I didn’t pay attention to his age initially. But when he showed up, myself being at the ‘tender’ age of 28, I felt old. Yes the world is changing so rapidly, and he is claimed to be one of the youngest entrepreneur to raise venture capital, from True Ventures; at US$4.4 M. Yes it is true.
Brian talked about the shift in how brands can create an emotional connection with consumers, especially when it comes to mobile gaming. Read more
The Luxe Nomad, a luxury travel site, has agreed to an investment deal of undisclosed terms with Tigris Capital and government agency SPRING Singapore during Echelon 2012, reported e27.
Founded by former Malaysian model Stephanie Chai, The Luxe Nomad curates luxury hotels and resorts and offers special prices at up to 70 percent discount to its members, free-of-charge. Read more
Shit got down at a panel session on startup growth and scaling during the first day of Echelon 2012.
A very frank Brian Wong, the celebrated wunderkind entrepreneur and co-founder of US-based mobile advertising company Kiip, dished out some rapid thoughts about the early stages of building a company.
His most memorable quip though were his thoughts on first hires.
“During your hypergrowth, hire young people with no kids,” said the 21-year-old, who joined the panel late.
He reasoned that people with families are less able to handle the stress and commitment that comes with being an employee at a startup. Read more
Between, a mobile private social network for couples, has hit 1.75 million downloads. We last heard about the South Korean startup at Echelon 2012, where it announced a tally of 700,000 downloads, out of which 60% were active users.
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