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(source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVwBtIdPxXI)

With the recent hype on the failure of UK most funded Kickstarter project: Zano Drone and the recent coverage of the troubles by Singapore’s most successful Kickstarter project: Pirate 3D , the whole crowdfunding industry is cast in a negative light. The University of Pennsylvania recently published an independent study on the project’s failure rate of delivery of rewards on Kickstarter and the results are pretty interesting:

Only 9% of the Kickstarter projects fail to deliver the rewards.

• Failure Rates are consistent across all 15 creative categories.
• Projects that raised less than $1k have the highest chance of failure to deliver. Projects that raised 10k-50k have the lowest failure rate.
• If a creator/company fails to deliver the rewards, most backers will not back any projects initiated by the same creator. Only 19% of backers of failed projects indicate that they would back another project by the same creator whose project failed.
  

  (Source: Kickstarter)

Implications for Backers

The idea of Kickstarter is simple, only the best ideas get funded and this Darwinian way of evaluating projects will eliminate most of the unprepared project creators who are trying to raise funds on Kickstarter. As a backer, as long as the project is funded, you will have a 90% chance of receiving the reward that you pledge for at the end of the day.

However, there is always an exception to the rule.

Projects which try to game the Kickstarter rule that backers will not be charged if the project funding is not met prompted will often set a low funding goal in order to cash in on the pledged funds. The low amount of funds raised will probably be insufficient to finance most of the creative projects should there be even no starting capital prepared by the creator and thus the failure rate soars as the funding goal gets lower.

(Source: Kickstarter)

On the other hand, should the project become immensely successful, the failure rate also soars as creators are not prepared to deliver the massive number of rewards.

Therefore, if you want your Kickstarter rewards to be delivered to you on time and in one piece, opt for moderate size projects in the 10k-50k zone.

Have you backed any projects on Kickstarter before but the creator failed to deliver the product? What is your experience like?

Catch 22 problem for Creators

Creators are faced with an enormous dilemma. We all want to have a massively successful project like the Pebble watch and become the next Unicorn startup. However, being a massive success will also lead to a higher chance of project failure as seen in projects such as Coolest Cooler and Pirate3D as they are unable to handle the huge amount of orders, which will lead to a loss of confidence by backers on future Kickstarter projects.

Creators must know when they should pull the plug and start limiting the rewards number should their project become an unexpected runaway success. Delivering what you promised is probably more important as a determinate of Kickstarter success than how much money you raised.

 Are you a creator? What problems or tips can you share with the TIA community?

This post 1 out of 10 Kickstarter projects fail to deliver rewards appeared first on Tech in Asia.

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Working towards making splitting bills easier, the Startupbootcamp FinTech accelerator programme graduate saw its seed round oversubscribed

Kashmi, a Singapore- and Sri Lanka-based startup that facilitates peer-to-peer payments, announced today that it has locked in funding of S$700,000 (US$497,000).

The seed round, initially targetting S$600,000 (US$425,000), was oversubscribed. It was led by Akbar Group Sri Lanka and VAMM Ventures Dubai, with participation from angel investors and corporates from Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

“We are extremely pleased and honoured to have generated such interest and trust among our investors and well-wishers at this very early stage of our growth. We see this funding as a real vote of confidence from industry players and seasoned investors who share our vision for innovation and believe in the long term growth potential of our company,” said Rakhil Fernando, CEO of Kashmi.

Kashmi allows users to sign up using just their name, phone number and email address. This enables them to send or receive money to and from anyone, regardless of the users’ bank affiliations. Users top up their Kashmi accounts using their credit cards, debit cards or by wire transfer.

Also Read: Offline-to-online payment solutions to shape emerging markets: Ayannah

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Online bus ticket booking has been around since 2013, but adoption has been slower than rush-hour Manila traffic. Can there be disruption?

A bus on Manila’s main highway

With the holiday break coming, millions of Filipinos are getting ready to go home to the provinces to spend time with their families. Many of them will be riding buses, which usually means trooping to the bus station early and hoping to get seats on the next trip.

One can book in advance, of course, over the phone or by heading to the bus terminals ahead of time, but with traffic in Metro Manila even worse during the holiday rush and with the limitations of doing business over the telephone, this is prospectively just as much of a hassle as the actual trip. Even getting to the bus terminal could take as long as the bus ride if you try to do it over the lunch break.

Also Read: Your cheat sheet to recruiting programmers in the Philippines

“Reservations are usually limited to visiting the terminals, and existing booking sites online require a three-day waiting period just to confirm if buses have seats  available, so reservations aren’t even final yet,” Mirra Reyes, Co-founder of bus booking startup Biyaheroes and a frequent commuter, says in an email to e27.

This, she says, is what prompted her and other co-founders to start the business.

But online bus booking services are nothing new. One such service, PinoyTravel, has been around since 2013 and can even help customers book ferry tickets. Unfortunately, the idea of booking bus tickets online has yet to gain widespread acceptance as Uber and GrabCar have.

“Uber and Grab have deep advertising pockets — we don’t. Adoption will be bigger if we advertise more. We plan to do more advertising maybe by mid next year, when we’ve signed up more companies,” says Au Soriano, Founder and CEO of PinoyTravel.

Despite that, she says, Pinoy Travel’s user base has been growing steadily. “We grew by 500 per cent [since launch], but this is driven by the number of seats and bus companies we are selling. We are still in the infancy stage, so we are not yet seeing the right numbers here,” she adds.

Also Read: Go-Jek and Qlue launch TransJakarta bus trackers

One factor may be that many bus companies are content with doing business the way they have been doing it for decades. The holiday rush — aside from Christmas, many Filipinos also go home to the provinces for Lent and for All Souls’ Day — will always mean packed buses and passengers have little choice but to fall in line at the ticket booth.

“It’s very challenging [to sell the idea] since public transport is an institution with its own mindset. They’re very traditional and already established. Most of them have been around even before we were born, so to come up to them and tell them that, ‘Hey, we have a better idea!’ challenges the core of how they do things and even the way they think,” Reyes says.

The startup has already partnered with Partas Transportation Co., which travels to and from Northern Luzon. Bookings can be made on the Biyaheroes site or through the bus company’s Facebook page.

“Partas is the first bus line to go live, and we have worked closely with its operations and management for this collaborative partnership to happen. By the first quarter of next year, more bus lines and routes will be live and available for online reservations,” Reyes says.

Going by PinoyTravel’s experience, bus companies have slowly been coming around. It already has partnerships with 13 bus companies and expects to sign up more in the future.

“[It] has become easier to convince the bus companies to sign up with us [compared to in 2013], so that means they are seeing the value of having us selling their tickets online. Actually, they know that this is the future, and the proposition of PinoyTravel works well with their existing processes,” Soriano says. PinoyTravel allows booking through its Android app and through its website.

Also Read: With Uber off the auto rickshaw wheel, Jugnoo takes the driving seat in India

One factor that could be holding up adoption is the payment options available to travellers.

Currently, PinoyTravel accepts booking payments through credit card and debit card payments via PayPal as well as through online banking and bank deposits through DragonPay. Over-the-counter payments are also accepted. “We’ll continue to provide more payment options for your convenience,” it promises on its website.

Biyaheroes, meanwhile, accepts payments through “mobile banking, over-the-counter deposit and payment centres such as LBC, Cebuana Llhullier, SM Bills Payment through DragonPay.”

Although these options are more convenient than going to the bus terminals, travellers who are unbanked or are too busy to go to the nearest payment centre, may balk at the extra step.

Still, Biyaheroes’ Reyes says, “Travelling via public transport can be a great experience as it should be.” With growing mobile Internet penetration in the Philippines and a growing appreciation of e-commerce, maybe it will be soon.

The post Can these young guns change status quo of bus booking in the Philippines? appeared first on e27.

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Situated in the heart of Singapore, Vertex Holdings wants its new space to help build the community and foster relationships

The other day, I met a young woman living the dream as a freelancer in Bali. The Singaporean was making enough money to survive and was experiencing emotional growth that is impossible to put a price on.

But, when the conversation moved away from beaches and babi guling, she did have one lament about the freelance lifestyle — she was getting priced out of co-working spaces.

Spaces like BASH, The Working Capitol and The Hub are fantastic; pitching stages, bean bag chairs, foosball and, most importantly, a barista. But students and early-stage entrepreneurs have no capital and can’t afford these options. So they work from homes or cafes.

But that makes it difficult to find a community and fully network into the scene.

Enter a new co-working space launched on November 18th by Vertex Holdings called the ‘Technopreneur Circle’s member space‘.

It is free. Completely, 100 per cent free.

“It started because our chairman had a vision to create a platform to connect the community. Create a place to feel comfortable…I think the intention for the Technopreneurial Circle is for it to be the first place [startups] think of. Whether it is working or when they are trying to meet up with people,” Vertex Holdings Manager Poh Ee Ling told e27.

Also Read: It’s all about execution: Chua Kee Lock, CEO, Vertex Venture Holdings

The space itself is relatively small and humble — it looks like a big conference room that has been spruced up with nice interior design and the basics to get work done — tables, chairs, free Wi-Fi.

But, it does have location, location, location as it is in the heart of the city on the fifth floor of Raffles City Tower. Poh said Vertex hopes to use the downtown presence as a selling point.

While Vertex said it is targetting the tech startup scene, the application process does not discriminate.

“People are welcome to sign up on the website. Once they sign up, they get an email confirming the status of the application. Turnover time is about three days. Then, they get all they need to know about being a member and instructions for the door access system,” said Poh.

Since launch, 120 people have signed up and Poh said the scene is starting to warm to the space.

“Actually a lot of the companies [using the space] are really in the infancy stage of startups. Other than startups, we actually had a few corporates like Cisco Investments and DBS Innovations Group. We wanted to make this an open place to connect,” said Poh.

Also Read: E-commerce marketplace and deals aggregator iprice nets US$1.2M funding

It should be noted that, in general, the space operates during traditional office hours.

Financing and Events

The reason Vertex is not attempting to cover its real estate costs, or even make money, is the project has the specific goal of community development.

“We have gone through a few rounds of discussions about it. [But] because [the space] is not a money-making machine, making it free will remove an obstacle that startups will have,” said Poh. 

Vertex also brings in speakers for casual talks and networking sessions. The idea is to warm members to the community and help the network grow. For example, last night, Paktor CEO Josheph Phua gave an off-the-cuff speech and answered questions from the audience.

Challenges

The space is still a project and Vertex is testing and adapting to find the best way to make the Technopeneurial Circle a go-to spot for startups.

“I think the challenge for us is how to get more people to use the space. The space is set up for them. On some days, it is really empty, so I think the current challenge is to see what else we can do. Other than the fact that it is complimentary, of course. So, we hope the location is a draw to the [startups] just starting out,” said Poh.

Also Read: 10 consumer tech trends that will define 2016

The Technopeneurial Circle goes a long way to solving a major pain point for infant-stage startups: real estate costs. It will be interesting to see how the space grows moving forward.

To sign up for the Technepreneurial Circle click here.

The post Singapore co-working space may have city’s best feature: It is free appeared first on e27.

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The funds will help it keep up with existing operations in India and SEA, start operations in Hong Kong and China, and launch a deal analytics and data portal

Image Credit: Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock

Christmas has come early for Singapore-based online finance media company DealStreetAsia, as the firm received an undisclosed sum in seed funding from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO of Indian m-commerce giant Paytm.

The round also saw participations from Singapore Angel Network, an angel investment arm of Thakral Group of Companies, and Indian media giant Hindustan Times.

The firm is planning to raise a “larger Series A round of venture funding” in the next quarter.

The latest funding will help the one-and-a-half year old company to keep up with existing operations in India and Southeast Asia, start operations in Hong Kong and China, and “work towards” launching a deal analytics and data portal, according to a press release.

Screen capture of DealStreetAsia’s website

As of today, the company has 16 staff across India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar. It plans to hire another 10 employees, possibly to cover new markets such as Hong Kong and China.

Also Read: [Updated] Confirmed: Alibaba buys Hong Kong’s SCMP

The online publication tracks various verticals within the financial sector such as private equity, venture capital, real estate, telecommunications, acquisitions and others.

“The ASEAN region is becoming the world’s foremost financial hub,” said Rajiv Verma, CEO, of HT Media, the company behind The Hindustan Times, which also owns business daily Mint.

DealStreetAsia has a strategic relationship with Mint, which gives the former the ability to republish selected stories from Mint and vice versa.

According to the announcement, DealStreetAsia publishes more than 40 news and analysis articles per day, and has published over 4,000 stories to date.

“We have made significant progress during the last 12 months, with editorial presence in ASEAN countries and larger teams in India and Singapore,” said Joji Thomas Philip, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, DealStreetAsia.

Joji Thomas Philip, Founder, DealStreetAsia

Philip told e27: “The biggest challenge in building a media platform for deals across Asia is that you need investors who are in it for the long-term, as building such a venture takes time and is both capital- and people-intensive.”

He continued, “Second, the business case for online media is general is still evolving, and so far, we still don’t see many success stories of companies that have got this model right. From a subscription model to building a data and analytic platform, online and offline touch points, it is therefore not easy to make projections for this business.”

He also faces challenges in making sure that the team members, who are based across different markets, are able to work well together in building a multi-device product, giving users the best mobile user experience, and competing with other “generic media”.

“The limits of the ad-based revenue model are starting to show, and going forward, this will be a challenge too,” he added.

In the past, DealStreetAsia also received funding from Puthen & Cole, a venture capital firm in Singapore which remains an investor in the company.

The post DealStreetAsia gets funding from Paytm CEO, Singapore Angel Network, HT Media appeared first on e27.

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Starting up in Myanmar is no easy feat, but repatriate Justin Sway is not your average founder in the recruitment space

JobNet Founder and CEO Justin Sway

Southeast Asia offers unique opportunities for entrepreneurs of all stripes. If you want a developed market with tech infrastructure already laid out, Singapore is a surefire fit. For those looking for a blank slate and an uphill battle, you might want to give Myanmar a try.

Having just emerged from its first “free and fair” general election, Myanmar has undergone a whirlwind of change in the past few years. Thanks to telcos arriving on scene, foreign investment flowing in and a promising new government, the latest startup stories emerging from “the final frontier” are likely to come from groups of repatriates who are returning to set up shop.

Serial entrepreneur Justin Sway is one such repatriate. Sway spent the first four years of his life in Myanmar before his family picked up and moved to Australia.

It was there that he would eventually start recruitment software company FastTrack. After running that business for two decades and capturing 40 per cent of the Australian and New Zealand market, Sway sold a majority stake of FastTrack to a private equity firm for US$12 million.

Returning to his birthplace to build a startup

After the sale, Sway took a break from the startup life to travel the world and wound up back in Myanmar in 2012 to reconnect with family that he hadn’t seen in 40 years.

It would be during that visit back to his birthplace that Sway was able to see Myanmar in a different light — once a place under decades of military rule as now a land of opportunity. Intrigued, Sway then returned in March of this year to run his new startup, recruitment portal JobNet.

Also Read: Startups betting big on quick growth of Myanmar’s Internet user base

“I couldn’t believe how much how much has changed since I had been away in two-and-a-half years. There was so much new infrastructure, a lot more foreigners and expats. All of a sudden, everyone was on the Internet to do their jobs and to shop. Thirty-eight per cent of the whole country has mobile phones and Internet penetration has gone through the roof — they’re now predicting that it’ll accelerate by 300 per cent by the end of next year,” said Sway.

The two-month-old JobNet has already seen great success in the Myanmar market, with major clients like Unilever and Coca-Cola using their portal to recruit.

Seven months ahead of their launch, Sway and his team have been laying the ground work and have now brought 200+ employers on board, received over 30,000 applications and clocked 10,000 new job seeker registrations. Traffic-wise, Sway said that they pull in 300,000 visitors a month.

The JobNet team

A lot of this growth is thanks to a combination of surging Internet penetration and foreign conglomerates embracing recruitment portal models like JobNet. The big brands then attract job seekers. To put this into perspective, Sway said that when he revisited Myanmar a few years ago, portals would be lucky to get 2,000 online applications but now, there’s on average more than 50,000 applications per month.

JobNet’s demographics also reveal an interesting trend. Repatriates, just like Sway, have been looking to return to their home country and they make up a large chunk of the portal’s job seeker pool.

“It’s interesting because Myanmar was closed for 50 years, so in the past 20 years, a lot of people have left. But there are now a lot of repatriates that are coming back and the demand for repatriates are really high. A lot of people are coming back from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the US and Dubai.”

Angel investor Jonah Levey, who has built and sold the Vietnamese version of JobNet, has backed the venture. While Sway said that his startup is in a strong position, he’d still be interested in bringing on additional investors who have experience in IP and the recruitment scene.

Timing and execution is everything

Many young startups might attribute such early traction to luck, but Sway is a seasoned entrepreneur who has been biding his time and laying groundwork since he first returned to Myanmar. A part of that plan was to buy up Myanmarjobsmarket.com for access to a starter pool of 10,000 CVs. The other was a 2013 investment into real estate portal Shweproperty.com which is now powering the JobNet team via shared services.

Also Read: The hype is justified: Jonah Levey on Vietnam’s startup scene

“The plan and strategy was always there, but it was just a matter of when we activated it. Two years ago, it was tough — there was hardly any Internet with only 1-2 per cent penetration and no one was making any money online,” said Sway and notes they have Rocket Internet, who is a competitor with their job portal Work.com.mm, to thank for getting in early.

“The good thing is foreign international companies, like Rocket, did a lot of ground work and educated the market. Then we just came in, applied our experience and intellectual property and hit the ground running as fast as we could.”

The post We have Rocket to thank for educating the market: JobNet CEO appeared first on e27.

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