Secret {W} Business “After Hours” Launch

Secret {W} Business connects like-minded women to inspire and enable them, to challenge their status quo and realise their passion. Their vision is to fuel the emerging force of women entrepreneurs, within the Singapore community – this is for women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs only! Find them at Hyde Bar (57B Boat Quay, Singapore), on Wednesday, June 6th 2012 from 6.45pm to 9pm, where more will be revealed. No entry fee. FREE finger food will be served. Draft beer, wine, housepour spirits with free mixers at $8 each nett. Register here.

Secret {W} Business is a Non-Profit Organization organized by Camille Schu, Grace Clapham, Meera Navaratnam and Susan Tucker.

iOS Dev Scout – Hackathon 2012

iOS Dev Scout (iDS) – Hackathon 2012 (#idsh), is the first iOS-centric Hackathon in Singapore. It is a non-profit developer event for iOS, encouraging development using native iOS SDK. The event format is “Unconference” or “Barcamp-style”, featuring content from the participants themselves.

This will be a 24 hours (over night Hackathon) with in which participant will pitch their ideas, form team and build a working prototype or application in 24 hours. The event will start on Saturday (16th June) 9:00 AM and end on Sunday (17th June) 10:30 AM with final demonstrations. iOS Dev Scout will invite potential investors and mentors for the event and final demonstrations. Participants may speak to them during the event and post event to get advice on refining their ideas.

There’s no registration fee for this event. However, participants need to signup for the event. The event is limited to 50 iOS Developer on first-come, first-served basis. This event is sponsored by iDA, Plug-In@BLK71 and few few innovative iOS start-ups like Quantum Inventions, Cloudy Rec, ELC Technologies.

When: 9 a.m. on 16th June to 10:30 a.m. on 17th June
Where: Plug-In@Blk71, Blk 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent, #02-18, Singapore – 139951

Registration Fee: Free (Signup Required, Not open for walk-ins). Register here.

Food and Drinks will be provided to participants.

Impact Forum 2012: Igniting Capital Markets for Social Good

The Impact Forum 2012: Igniting Capital Markets for Social Good is a global conference focusing on examining the latest developments in the Impact Investing and Social Enterprise space in Asia Pacific. It will be held in Singapore on the 25th and 26th of June 2012, and will be a unique opportunity to learn, engage, and deepen experiences and relationships in the Asian impact investing space.

Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX) and Shujog are holding this forum in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation, and the support of the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board with the purpose of:

- Celebrating Asia’s leadership role in Impact Investing
- Strengthening the bonds in the network of like-minded individuals and institutions in the field
- Exploring the importance of stakeholders such as accounting firms, law firms, governments and financial institutions in impact investing and philanthropy
- Imparting a deeper understanding of impact investment, impact measurement and market readiness of Social Enterprises around Asia.

Attendance at the Impact Forum will be an opportunity to be exposed to:

- Regional trends that are driving momentum for Impact Investment
- Exclusive showcases of Asian Social Enterprises to global Impact Investors
- Structured opportunities to connect global Impact Investors and Ecosystem Partners with promising Social Enterprises throughout the region
- Global media coverage of innovation, community, and leaders that are shaping how capital markets are creating social good

When: Monday-Tuesday 25-26th June 2012
Where:
Plenary and Breakout Sessions will be held at:Shaw Foundation Theatre, 2/F Shaw Foundation Alumni House, 11 Kent Ridge Drive, Singapore 119244
Lunch, Tea breaks, and some breakout sessions will be held at: Kent Ridge Guild House, 9 Kent Ridge Drive, Singapore 119244

Register here.

Viki inks deals with Warner Music and more to screen music videos

Viki, a Singapore-based global video site, has announced this week that it has signed deals with Warner Music Group (WMG), LOEN Entertainment and SEED Music Group, as well as other labels and agencies, to stream thousands of music videos from hundreds of artists on the website.

The music videos are being streamed on Viki.com to users in the United States, Canada, Europe, as well as most countries in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The content will roll out in other markets later this year.

Featured artists include global superstars and emerging talent from diverse genres and multiple languages. They include K-Pop and rap artists IU, Drunken Tiger and Brown Eyed Girls.  Read more

Why big corporates like SingTel can be White Knights to Asia’s startups

This article was republished with permission from the author’s blog.

“What are you doing here in (insert country), you should be in Silicon Valley.”

Do these words sound familiar to you?

In Asia, it’s very common for Founders with great ideas to either run their companies in boot strap mode or relocate to Silicon Valley. Even great talent is expected to take huge pay cuts when they join a startup.

We don’t need a scientist to figure out the primary cause of this issue. This is primarily because of the scarcity of risk capital in Asia. Entrepreneurs with good ideas have to slog for cash. One key factor that gives wings to the dreams of most Silicon Valley startups is the free flow of capital that lets them dream big…really big.

Silicon Valley is blessed with excess capital. And, that is probably why failure is embraced.

But how do they get that kind of money? What is the source? Who are these Limited Partners (LP)? Read more

TiE SG Luncheon Business Networking Connection every Tuesday

From 29th May onwards, the Singapore chapter of TiE will hold a Luncheon Business Networking Connection every Tuesday to get together people of the community: TiE Members, Guests and Partners are entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs, professionals or students, interested in networking with mentors and industry veterans, in gaining knowledge about their field of interest, and in learning from the stories of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. Current members and partners come from a diverse set of industries including IT, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Banking and Finance, Biotech, Legal services, Hospitality among others.

Who should attend?

Business Angels, Private Equity Investors, Venture Capitalists, High Net Worth Individual Investors, Start-Ups, Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Growing SMEs, Business Incubators, Business Consultants, Legal Professionals, Business Technologists, CEOs and Senior Management.

Fees/Day:

TiE Charter Members: Complimentary*
TiE Members: S$5.90^
TiE Student Members:S$15.90
TiE Partners: S$15.90
TiE Non Members & Guests: S$15.90

* – TiE Charter Members are getting complimentary access as they paid S$ 2000.00 for membership.
^ – TiE Members are getting discount on fees as they paid S$ 200.00 for membership.

When: Every Tuesday, starting from 29th May 2012
Time:12:15pm till 1:45pm
Where: Pita Pan, Marina Bay Sands, #01-87, 2 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018972

Register here.

Nine minutes is optimal time spent on daily career management, says LinkedIn

Together with professional social network LinkedIn, personal branding expert William Arruda has identified nine minutes as the optimal time needed to manage your career every single day without added stress or pressure.

The length of time was picked because it gives people “complete focus, and educators to psychologists agree that the ability to focus one’s attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one’s goals.”

Singaporeans, however, overestimate the optimal time needed to be spent on this task.

Over 81 percent of Singaporean professionals believe the ideal amount of daily time spent on progressing their careers should be over 30 minutes, according to a research by IPSOS Mori and Catalyst, which surveyed 3,200 working professionals globally, including 400 in Singapore.

Read more

Cheatsheet of technology startup acquisitions in Southeast Asia

With the recent US9.4M acquisition of food portal HungryGoWhere by SingTel, now’s a good time for us to take a look back at past acquisitions of technology startups in Southeast Asia. Here’s a cheatsheet of exits in the past few years, covering Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Let us know if we missed out on any company, or if you have any feedback on how to improve the list.

Read more

Infographic: A quick guide to the Asian startup scene

After six months in Asia, sixteen flights to eight countries, and interviews with over 100 entrepreneurs, investors, and organizers, Kira Newman of Tech Cocktail has worked with Malaysia infographic startup Piktochart to come up with this graphical summary of her impressions of the Asian startup scene. She’ll be writing more about Asia in the future. Check it out: Read more

ad:tech Singapore 2012 – 13-14 June

Online Advertising and Digital Marketing platforms can no longer be seen as “New Media” it has entered “Mainstream”. With the continuing decline of ad spend in many of traditional media businesses, budget spend on interactive media continues to gain momentum and at the same time delivers quantifiable results for the brand advertiser.

ad:tech Singapore 2012 is a regional event for the interactive marketing community at its 5th edition. ad:tech Singapore brings together brand advertisers, traditional & interactive agencies, portals, on-line publishers and technology providers. With the continued growth in technology and use of digital media, ad:tech offers an unrivalled opportunity to discover new practices and technologies, and to learn how many of the great names have utilized the net, built brand recognition and immersed themselves in digital technologies. Companies are realizing the meaning of ROI on ad spend like never before.

Check out the speaker list and the schedule. Read more