Monday, 2 November 2020

3 Successful Online Startup Business Strategies

This post first appeared on 3 Successful Online Startup Business Strategies
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co

Statistics confirm that they are approximately 24 million online startup businesses globally with the number increasing by the minute. It becomes overwhelming and increasingly intimidating for an online startup business owner to find the right strategies and tools for success. Many of these concerns are related to finding the ideal industry to build their best online startups, what might be the online marketing cost for startups and much more.

Here is a summary on successful strategies and tips for budding and new online startups!

Importance of an Online Startup Business

According to a research by Queensland Government, online startup businesses opens many opportunities for entrepreneurs as well as consumers globally. This is possible because online startups offer a great opportunity to aspiring entrepreneurs to reach out to a global pool of customers with their creative ideas executed into online startups. A one name would be the popular American online fashion startup, FashionNova, advertised on celebrities popular influencers as well as ranking #1 in Google’s Top Searches in 2018.

One of the biggest important factor of online startup businesses is that you are in control of your location, your priorities. You do not need to have a particular skill set to start your own online startup but any areas that hold your core competencies such as if you are an entertainer, a programmer, a baker or simply an individual who is interested in being your own boss, you can use your area of expertise and grow from there onwards.

Many online startup businesses have started with nothing less than a computer, a domain name and a website hosting service to house their website and establish a good customer base. Such businesses with the use of essential marketing tools will help you reach out to a greater audience in comparison to a traditional brick-and-mortar store. Online businesses tend to be less expensive as there are no labour costs, stock holding and fixed costs involved with the decision. Digital content is also relatively inexpensive to create and most of the softwares and tools are available to learning online for free or for a small fee in comparison to print media content.

Limitless Freedom for Online Startups

Many entrepreneurs are attracted to venture into online startup businesses because of the ease and flexibility the web based startups have to offer. Increasing use of laptops, internet and mobile based technology offers remote working from any location globally. The freedom of not being tied to a desk can be the empowering factor for startup entrepreneurs, who are willing to step out of their comfort zones, explore niche customer markets, take on first hand experience as a motivation for their new startup ideas.

However, having limitless freedom does not always guarantee an online startup businesses’ success. There still may be various factors causing your online startup to fail. According to statistics, 90% of startups end up failing because 42% of them misunderstood the market needs and requirements. They end up creating a product or service that already exists or that is not required. Therefore, it is vital for you to understand and identify your target audience and segment them before creating a product or service for them.

3 Successful Online Startup Business Strategies

According to statistics, 79% of new online startups with a business website expect to grow at least 25% in the next three to five years rather than those that do not create online presence for their startups. The freedom entrepreneurs have with a website in hand is impeccable, the ability to be able to constantly evolve in the ever changing business environment and be able to reach out to overseas audiences without geographical boundaries gives immense benefit to online startup businesses. Next time, you walk into a Starbucks or any local coffee shop with Wi Fi access, look around and notice how many customers will be working with their laptops on their online startup businesses while sipping their coffees.

Build A Social Media Presence

Social media is a powerful tool that online startup businesses can use to increase their brand awareness and visibility. Online platforms like Facebook and Instagram have provided specialised platforms and features such as Facebook Marketplace, Facebook for Business and Instagram Shop where online startup businesses can reach out to their target audiences. Online marketing for startups can be successfully achieved through making the most of social media platforms and its resources.

Nearly 3.96 billion people are now recognised as active social media users. This opens up the global business network immensely for an online startup business to explore and reach out to potential customers as the percentage of those with access to and using social media is increasing by the second.

3 Successful Online Startup Business Strategies

Consultants such as TapInfluence provide a connection between startup entrepreneurs with social media influencers to expand, network and increase your online startup business’s visibility. Creating a successful online presence for startup will take a challenging course but following the correct steps: choosing the appropriate platform for your online startup business, identifying your target audience, building a strong brand image and reputation through producing creative content.

Create A Referral Program

Referral program and marketing techniques are vital for online business startups to create a huge customer following rapidly. This is a very easy-to-explain strategy where you get your customers to promote your product and service for you. This will include methods like positive word-of-mouth campaigns. This strategy is especially important for new online startups because once they have established a customer base, using this strategy will give them ‘free marketing’. Referral marketing techniques is not only restricted to online startup businesses but also towards B2B just to have that “seal of approval” from another party who has previously experienced.

3 Successful Online Startup Business Strategies

92% of potential customers believe on the reviews and recommendations they receive from other customers who have ‘tried and tested’ the products and services. It is also proven through research statistics, that when given a positive referral, consumers are 4x times more likely to make that purchase in comparison to an online or print advertisement. Once they have a positive experience, they are more likely to spread the word for your business to colleagues, peers and family.

There are multiple up-to-date softwares and tools to aid online startup businesses such as Advocately and FriendBuy that generate customer reviews in the most effective ways possible to drive up sales for your business. They have easy, user-friendly templates that startup businesses can use to kickstart their referral program.

The Final Note

On a parting note, the beautiful thing about online startup businesses in 2020 is the ease of availability and accessibility of business tools and aids to successfully achieve your startup goals. Do not be demotivated with all the statistics that are out there regarding failure for online startup businesses as everyone has their own vision, mission, pace and priorities as to where they want to take their business.

You have access to the entire global market at your fingertip. Your own online startup will allow you to unleash your full potential and creativity and execute it into a business. With a well thought-out business plan, paid media strategies and optimum search-engine optimisation, an online startup business will not only thrive but be successful!


References

4 Reasons Why an Online Business is the Best Investment You Will Ever Make

15 REFERRAL MARKETING STATISTICS YOU NEED TO KNOW

99+ Mind-Blowing Digital Marketing Statistics (2020)

Global social media research summary August 2020

How to Develop a Startup Marketing Strategy

The Ultimate List of Startup Statistics for 2021

For more, check out NEXEA
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co



source https://www.nexea.co/3-successful-online-startup-business-strategies/

source https://nexeaaccelerator.blogspot.com/2020/11/3-successful-online-startup-business.html

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Peer Advisory Board and Peer Group For Tech Entrepreneurs

This post first appeared on Peer Advisory Board and Peer Group For Tech Entrepreneurs
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co

As a CEO or founder of your company, you always want to know the best way to operate your company. Carrying such an important role in your business does get a bit lonely whenever you have to make big & tough decisions, especially when no one completely understands your situation.

You may then question,”Why do I need a peer advisory board or group for my business?”

According to a study by Stanford University and The Miles Group, nearly two-thirds of CEOs don’t receive outside leadership advice. This is a huge risk you are putting your business in as you can potentially make uninformed decisions that will negatively affect the success of your company. Even a study from Ohio State University revealed that 50% of companies failed due to management’s flawed business decisions.

That is why it is important for you to have an outside perspective in order to assist you in avoiding disaster and substantially grow your company. There are two methods for you to gain such a perspective when it comes to decision-making: CEO Peer Advisory Board or Peer Advisory Group.

“Even the best-of-the-best CEOs have their blind spots and can dramatically improve their performance with an outside perspective weighing in.”

CEO Peer Advisory Board

CEO peer advisory board is an assemblage of mentors who will be there for you and your company. This advisory board consists of 3 to 5 handpicked senior executives who will work alongside you on your business. The primary objective is to put your growth plans in full throttle by taking advantage of the members of the business advisory board that are highly experienced, knowledgeable, know-how, and have connections of top leaders and experts in the relevant field to make your business successful.

You should consider a CEO peer advisory board of your own if:

  • You need help with your strategic issues. It is best to have senior mentors around to help you reach your goals and being able to achieve massive growth. Usually, people would handpick experienced business executives when they are for example considering franchising your business, positioning your company for a merger or acquisition, or even securing a big contract.
  • You need a board of business peers to help you with your long-term plans. These experts are usually planning-oriented where they focused more on strategising the business operations and management for the vision that you have for your company in 5, 10 years, or even longer. This will enable you to focus and handle more current events or crises that occur.

Peer Advisory Group

Peer advisory group is basically a forum or network where CEOs and senior executives of various industries come together to share their knowledge and insights to solve each other’s challenges, learn as well as grow. The business peer group typically facilitated by a chair, which will represent a number of industries, and 10 to 15 of the members are non-competitors among each other. The primary objective of having the business advisory group is to share views of ideas, challenges, issues, approaches, and best practices in a secure and healthy atmosphere.

Here are some of the companies that gathers senior executives in a CEO peer supporting network:

  1. YPO
  2. Entrepreneurs’ Organisation
  3. Vistage
  4. NEXEA’s Entrepreneur Programme

You should consider joining a business peer group if:

  • You want the help and at the same time help other people. By being apart of such a group, you will not only be able to exchange ideas and work on issues, but it is also a good way to create networks and build more meaningful connections with others from various backgrounds. You will never know when you may need their help later down the road.
  • You need some advice regarding management issues. By being the CEO or founder of your own company, you are in a unique position where there is no one above you. With that said, there are no guidelines telling you what you should do or how you should handle things. Thus, through your peer group, they can advise you on these issues and challenges that you face because they are also in the same boat as you. It is like calling a friend for advice and asking, “What do I do?” but with people qualified to advise on business matters in a systematic and structured way!

Conclusion

It is the wish of every entrepreneur to take their business to the next level. This process can be filled with excitement, personal triumphs, and striving for success. But apart from these sunny sides of being an entrepreneur, there are also some shadow sides along the road like stress, cash flow challenges, or loneliness. To overcome those challenges a business advisory group or peer advisory board can help to achieve your goals without struggling too much. These two groups could make a big difference for you and your business. These groups can be online or offline.

However, should you find yourself feeling that these joining the peer advisory group or assembling your own advisory board is not your cup of tea, then you should check out NEXEA’s Entrepreneur Programme where it caters for CEOs of high-growth startups (potential to grow more than 100 million in market size). The Entrepreneurs Programme advocates founders and entrepreneurs to have a peer-to-peer growth mindset as they believe it allows CEOs to learn and relearn the things that they know as well as openly discuss with their peers about the challenges and failures that they face.

NEXEA is known for its mentors who are successful ex-entrepreneurs, or C-levels who own and have sold (IPO, M&A) their businesses. The combination of experienced mentors, experts and partners prove potent as the 35+ startups invested by NEXEA have grown 3 to 16 times per year.

Sources

For more, check out NEXEA
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co



source https://www.nexea.co/peer-advisory-board-and-peer-group-tech-entrepreneurs/

source https://nexeaaccelerator.blogspot.com/2020/10/peer-advisory-board-and-peer-group-for.html

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Venture Capital Indonesia

This post first appeared on Venture Capital Indonesia
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co

This article talks about the Venture Capital Indonesia ecosystem where it answers the basic questions of what is venture capital, why do companies require a venture capitalist to listing down venture capital companies in Indonesia. Lastly, we provide several tips in helping you find the right venture capital firm for your company.

What is Venture Capital?

A venture capitalist or VC is an investor who either gives funding to startup ventures or supports small organisations that desire to expand but do not have access to equities markets. Venture capitalists are willing to invest in companies that fit in those criteria because they have the potential to earn a huge return on their investments if these companies end up being successful.

Some of the aspects that venture capitalists look for are strong management team, large potential market and a unique product or service with a strong competitive advantage. Also, they seek for opportunities that they are familiar with, and the opportunity to possess an enormous stake of the business so that they can influence its direction. Here at NEXEA, we are interested in tech start-ups as this is our expertise.

Why do companies require a Venture Capitalist?

You may be thinking, “Why do I need a VC? or What kind of value can a VC bring in to my business?” Well, it is true that not many Venture Capitalists are able to bring in much value. This is because they are too busy managing 10-20 companies per partner as well as managing their Limited Partners (investors).

Nevertheless, any VC is more than just providing funds. Since they will become part the owner of your business, they would want to see the company grow as well by providing any necessary help succeed a startup. At NEXEA, we offer to our invested startups ex-entrepreneurs who can guide young entrepreneurs with their business as well as provide some advice to avoid making the mistakes that they have made in the past.

For entrepreneurs and CEO of rapidly growing companies, most of them are inexperienced and they do not always know what to look out for. That is why a lot of startups need venture capitalist and in order to lessen the risk for a venture capitalist, it is important that startup founders are being connected to industry experts.

“You will need to do the due diligence in order to really understand if a VC is going to add value in addition to capital. This value can be introductions for potential partnerships, their network of other successful founders or the infrastructure the firm brings.”

Venture Capital Indonesia – Environment

Currently, the ecosystem of venture capital Indonesia is the second-largest in Southeast Asia, with Singapore maintaining its position as the leading market and Malaysia is in the third position. According to Deal Street Asia, Indonesian venture capital companies has raised up to US$582 million in 2019 which is a 79% increase from the previous year.

Being a country that has a large population, Indonesia has the potential to become the fourth-biggest economy in the world, surpassing Singapore. McKinsey noted that Indonesia’s e-commerce sales are expected to rise around 17%-30% within the next five years. With such potential for technology disruption and growth especially in the focused industries, such as e-commerce, fintech and halal lifestyle, the Indonesian tech story is just beginning.

venture capital indonesia

Very Early Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Indonesia (<US$1m)

Later Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Indonesia (>US$1m)

Finding the right venture capital firm for your company

The first step to finding the right venture capital Indonesia firm for your company is to know what stage your company is at right now. After figuring out the stage of your business, you can start applying to venture capital. Remember to prepare an informing pitch deck so that you have a higher chance of getting funded when pitching your company. Here are some examples of how a pitch deck should look like made by other successful companies.

Secondly, in order to find the best VCs, you should look out for their infrastructure and “speciality”. It is best to find VCs that specialised in the industry that your company is in because you will then be provided with the best support tailored to your needs. Venture Capitalists like First Round Capital, Y Combinator or 500 Startups have a dedicated team of marketers, recruiters, experts and other necessary resources to bring into the company that they invest in. At NEXEA, we have dedicated lawyers, regional level CFOs, a lot of world-class CEOs that mentor and invest in startups as well as other supportive infrastructure in place.

Lastly, it is important to set some boundaries for yourself. If your company are one of those companies that are founded by multiple people, it is very important that there is a mutual understanding between each other on what you are willing to give away. Giving away is not only in terms of equity but in time as well. When a venture capitalist invests in your firm the whole working dynamic can change as you hopefully transition your company into a fast-growing firm.

Steps to finding the right venture capital firm

Besides that, here are some additional tips on how to find the right venture capital firm for your company. We’ve made it into several easy steps where you can easily implement through the list of companies in Venture Capital Indonesia to see which ones that fit well with your firm’s needs.

  1. Geography: The location of your startup should be in the region which the VC is operating in. At NEXEA, we invest in tech startups in the SEA region. However, for some programs, we prefer companies that are based in Malaysia as our HQ is located in Kuala Lumpur. Thus, do some research on the VC to know if your location is applicable to them.
  2. Sector: Usually VC’s only invest in companies that operate in fields of business where they have a lot of experience in. That goes to show why at NEXEA we invest in tech startups because we have a lot of expertise in tech-related companies. For us, a company which has a traditional business model would not be applicable.
  3. Portfolio conflict: A VC will typically not invest in a company which is a direct competitor of a company in their portfolio. So before applying to a VC, you should find out about their portfolio and see if you can identify any direct competitors to your company.
  4. Involvement: There are two types of VC firms. The first group are the VCs that are very involved. These type of VCs typically do not invest in a lot of companies as they do not have the time to be highly involved in all the companies that they invest in. The second group of VCs are the opposite where these firms are not very involved in the companies they invest in. This is usually due to the number of startups they invest in. They simply don’t have the time to have a meeting with each startup every week.
    At NEXEA, we are highly involved with each startup due to our startup mentor network. For a startup, it is essential to know from each founder whether they prefer a highly involved VC or less involved VC.
  5. Fund size: A startup has to know beforehand what series a VC invest in. It does not make sense to apply for a pre-seed startup while you are doing your A-series. Furthermore, if you plan beforehand that you want to do your B-series and A series with the same VC to ensure good collaboration, you should check whether or not they invest in both series.

Venture Capital Indonesia Summary

The number of venture capital firms in Indonesia has been growing rapidly which is reflected by the growing number of startups that are starting and growing in the region. For startups wanting a venture capital, it is crucial to first identify the stage of their company is as well as setting boundaries for the company in order to find the right expertise needed for the company.

We hope this article has provided you with a head start on what you should be looking for in a venture capitalist. Let us know in the comments section if there is anything else that you would like to know more about venture capital Indonesia.

If you’d like to know more about venture capitalists in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, check out the Southeast Asian Venture Capital article.

Learn More About NEXEA Venture Capital & How We Provide More Than Just Money

References:

For more, check out NEXEA
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co



source https://www.nexea.co/venture-capital-indonesia-nexea/

source https://nexeaaccelerator.blogspot.com/2020/09/venture-capital-indonesia.html

Venture Capital Thailand

This post first appeared on Venture Capital Thailand
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co

This article talks about the Venture Capital Thailand ecosystem where it answers the basic questions of what is venture capital, why do companies require a venture capitalist to listing down venture capital companies in Thailand. Lastly, we provide several tips in helping you find the right venture capital firm for your company.

What is Venture Capital?

A venture capitalist or VC is an investor who either gives funding to startup ventures or supports small organisations that desire to expand but do not have access to equities markets. Venture capitalists are willing to invest in companies that fit in those criteria because they have the potential to earn a huge return on their investments if these companies end up being successful.

Some of the aspects that venture capitalists look for are strong management team, large potential market and a unique product or service with a strong competitive advantage. Also, they seek for opportunities that they are familiar with, and the opportunity to possess an enormous stake of the business so that they can influence its direction. Here at NEXEA, we are interested in tech start-ups as this is our expertise.

Why do companies require a Venture Capitalist?

You may be thinking, “Why do I need a VC? or What kind of value can a VC bring in to my business?” Well, it is true that not many Venture Capitalists are able to bring in much value. This is because they are too busy managing 10-20 companies per partner as well as managing their Limited Partners (investors).

Nevertheless, any VC is more than just providing funds. Since they will become part the owner of your business, they would want to see the company grow as well by providing any necessary help succeed a startup. At NEXEA, we offer to our invested startups ex-entrepreneurs who can guide young entrepreneurs with their business as well as provide some advice to avoid making the mistakes that they have made in the past.

For entrepreneurs and CEO of rapidly growing companies, most of them are inexperienced and they do not always know what to look out for. That is why a lot of startups need venture capitalist and in order to lessen the risk for a venture capitalist, it is important that startup founders are being connected to industry experts.

“You will need to do the due diligence in order to really understand if a VC is going to add value in addition to capital. This value can be introductions for potential partnerships, their network of other successful founders or the infrastructure the firm brings.”

Venture Capital Thailand – Environment

Thailand is the second largest ASEAN economy with an expected GDP of 528 USD billion by the end of 2020. Having relatively skilled labor force as well as cheaper business and living costs in comparison to established venture capital ecosystem like Singapore, the Kingdom is in a transition from an industrial and export-oriented economy to a service and knowledge-based economy.

The Thai government has enforced their Thailand 4.0 strategy back in 2018 in order to encourage future growth industries ranging from next-generation automotive, food for the future to digital, developing highly skilled labour force as well as promoting innovation. With such a strategy, the government hopes that it will provide the economy with a comprehensive push towards digitalisation through its 20-year national Digital Economy Masterplan – boosting the ecosystem of venture capital Thailand even more.

venture capital thailand

Very Early Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Thailand (<US$1m)

Later Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Thailand (>US$1m)

Finding the right venture capital firm for your company

The first step to finding the right venture capital firm for your company is to know what stage your company is at right now. After figuring out the stage of your business, you can start applying to venture capital. Remember to prepare an informing pitch deck in order for you to have a higher chance of getting funded when pitching your company. Here are some examples of how a pitch deck should look like made by other successful companies.

Secondly, in order to find the best VCs, you should look out for their infrastructure and “speciality”. It is best to find VCs that specialised in the industry that your company is in because you will then be provided with the best support tailored to your needs. Venture Capitalists like First Round Capital, Y Combinator or 500 Startups have a dedicated team of marketers, recruiters, experts and other necessary resources to bring into the company that they invest in. At NEXEA, we have dedicated lawyers, regional level CFOs, a lot of world-class CEOs that mentor and invest in startups as well as other supportive infrastructure in place.

Lastly, it is important to set some boundaries for yourself. If your company are one of those companies that are founded by multiple people, it is very important that there is a mutual understanding between each other on what you are willing to give away. Giving away is not only in terms of equity but in time as well. When a venture capitalist invests in your firm the whole working dynamic can change as you hopefully transition your company into a fast-growing firm.

Steps to finding the right venture capital firm

Besides that, here are some additional tips on how to find the right venture capital firm for your company. We’ve made it into several easy steps where you can easily implement through the list of companies in Venture Capital Thailand to see which ones fit well with your firm’s needs.

  1. Geography: The location of your startup should be in the region which the VC is operating in. At NEXEA, we invest in tech startups in the SEA region. However, for some programs, we prefer companies that are based in Malaysia as our HQ is located in Kuala Lumpur. Thus, do some research on the VC to know if your location is applicable to them.
  2. Sector: Usually VC’s only invest in companies that operate in fields of business where they have a lot of experience in. That goes to show why at NEXEA we invest in tech startups because we have a lot of expertise in tech-related companies. For us, a company which has a traditional business model would not be applicable.
  3. Portfolio conflict: A VC will typically not invest in a company which is a direct competitor of a company in their portfolio. So before applying to a VC, you should find out about their portfolio and see if you can identify any direct competitors to your company.
  4. Involvement: There are two types of VC firms. The first group are the VCs that are very involved. These type of VCs typically do not invest in a lot of companies as they do not have the time to be highly involved in all the companies that they invest in. The second group of VCs are the opposite where these firms are not very involved in the companies they invest in. This is usually due to the number of startups they invest in. They simply don’t have the time to have a meeting with each startup every week.
    At NEXEA, we are highly involved with each startup due to our startup mentor network. For a startup, it is essential to know from each founder whether they prefer a highly involved VC or less involved VC.
  5. Fund size: A startup has to know beforehand what series a VC invest in. It does not make sense to apply for a pre-seed startup while you are doing your A-series. Furthermore, if you plan beforehand that you want to do your B-series and A series with the same VC to ensure good collaboration, you should check whether or not they invest in both series.

Venture Capital Thailand Summary

The number of venture capital firms in Thailand has been growing rapidly which is reflected by the growing number of startups that are starting and growing in the region. For startups wanting a venture capital, it is crucial to first identify the stage of their company is as well as setting boundaries for the company in order to find the right expertise needed for the company.

We hope this article has provided you with a head start on what you should be looking for in a venture capitalist. Let us know in the comments section if there is anything else that you would like to know more about venture capital Thailand.

If you’d like to know more about venture capitalists in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, check out the Southeast Asian Venture Capital article.

Learn More About NEXEA Venture Capital & How We Provide More Than Just Money

References:

For more, check out NEXEA
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co



source https://www.nexea.co/venture-capital-thailand-nexea/

source https://nexeaaccelerator.blogspot.com/2020/09/venture-capital-thailand.html

Venture Capital Vietnam

This post first appeared on Venture Capital Vietnam
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co

This article talks about the Venture Capital Vietnam ecosystem where it answers the basic questions of what is venture capital, why do companies require a venture capitalist to listing down venture capital companies in Vietnam. Lastly, we provide several tips in helping you find the right venture capital firm for your company.

What is Venture Capital?

A venture capitalist or VC is an investor who either gives funding to startup ventures or supports small organisations that desire to expand but do not have access to equities markets. Venture capitalists are willing to invest in companies that fit in those criteria because they have the potential to earn a huge return on their investments if these companies end up being successful.

Some of the aspects that venture capitalists look for are strong management team, large potential market and a unique product or service with a strong competitive advantage. Also, they seek for opportunities that they are familiar with, and the opportunity to possess an enormous stake of the business so that they can influence its direction. Here at NEXEA, we are interested in tech start-ups as this is our expertise.

Why do companies require a Venture Capitalist?

You may be thinking, “Why do I need a VC? or What kind of value can a VC bring in to my business?” Well, it is true that not many Venture Capitalists are able to bring in much value. This is because they are too busy managing 10-20 companies per partner as well as managing their Limited Partners (investors).

Nevertheless, any VC is more than just providing funds. Since they will become part the owner of your business, they would want to see the company grow as well by providing any necessary help succeed a startup. At NEXEA, we offer to our invested startups ex-entrepreneurs who can guide young entrepreneurs with their business as well as provide some advice to avoid making the mistakes that they have made in the past.

For entrepreneurs and CEO of rapidly growing companies, most of them are inexperienced and they do not always know what to look out for. That is why a lot of startups need venture capitalist and in order to lessen the risk for a venture capitalist, it is important that startup founders are being connected to industry experts.

“You will need to do the due diligence in order to really understand if a VC is going to add value in addition to capital. This value can be introductions for potential partnerships, their network of other successful founders or the infrastructure the firm brings.”

Venture Capital Vietnam – Environment

The ecosystem of Venture Capital Vietnam has been developing since 2004. With the new surge of Vietnamese companies from industries ranging from trucking to fintech and facial recognition has attracted an exponential number of venture capital money, making Vietnam one of Asia’s youngest and fastest-growing economies. According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s per capita GDP has increased tenfold over the past 30 years.

Currently, one of the big themes that Vietnamese and other Asian venture capitalists are attracted to is the regional expansion of Vietnam’s growing companies as well as acquiring any business idea that revolves around young consumers or digital transformation. It is no surprise that Vietnam is pulling ahead of Thailand, its more developed regional neighbour at the rate that the country is growing.

venture capital vietnam

Very Early Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Vietnam (<US$1m)

Later Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Vietnam (>US$1m)

Finding the right venture capital firm for your company

The first step to finding the right venture capital Vietnam firm for your company is to know what stage your company is at right now. After figuring out the stage of your business, you can start applying to venture capital. Remember to prepare an informing pitch deck so that you have a higher chance of getting funded when pitching your company. Here are some examples of how a pitch deck should look like made by other successful companies.

Secondly, in order to find the best VCs, you should look out for their infrastructure and “speciality”. It is best to find VCs that specialised in the industry that your company is in because you will then be provided with the best support tailored to your needs. Venture Capitalists like First Round Capital, Y Combinator or 500 Startups have a dedicated team of marketers, recruiters, experts and other necessary resources to bring into the company that they invest in. At NEXEA, we have dedicated lawyers, regional level CFOs, a lot of world-class CEOs that mentor and invest in startups as well as other supportive infrastructure in place.

Lastly, it is important to set some boundaries for yourself. If your company are one of those companies that are founded by multiple people, it is very important that there is a mutual understanding between each other on what you are willing to give away. Giving away is not only in terms of equity but in time as well. When a venture capitalist invests in your firm the whole working dynamic can change as you hopefully transition your company into a fast-growing firm.

Steps to finding the right venture capital firm

Besides that, here are some additional tips on how to find the right venture capital firm for your company. We’ve made it into several easy steps where you can easily implement through the list of companies in Venture Capital Vietnam to see which ones that fit well with your firm’s needs.

  1. Geography: The location of your startup should be in the region which the VC is operating in. At NEXEA, we invest in tech startups in the SEA region. However, for some programs, we prefer companies that are based in Malaysia as our HQ is located in Kuala Lumpur. Thus, do some research on the VC to know if your location is applicable to them.
  2. Sector: Usually VC’s only invest in companies that operate in fields of business where they have a lot of experience in. That goes to show why at NEXEA we invest in tech startups because we have a lot of expertise in tech-related companies. For us, a company which has a traditional business model would not be applicable.
  3. Portfolio conflict: A VC will typically not invest in a company which is a direct competitor of a company in their portfolio. So before applying to a VC, you should find out about their portfolio and see if you can identify any direct competitors to your company.
  4. Involvement: There are two types of VC firms. The first group are the VCs that are very involved. These type of VCs typically do not invest in a lot of companies as they do not have the time to be highly involved in all the companies that they invest in. The second group of VCs are the opposite where these firms are not very involved in the companies they invest in. This is usually due to the number of startups they invest in. They simply don’t have the time to have a meeting with each startup every week.
    At NEXEA, we are highly involved with each startup due to our startup mentor network. For a startup, it is essential to know from each founder whether they prefer a highly involved VC or less involved VC.
  5. Fund size: A startup has to know beforehand what series a VC invest in. It does not make sense to apply for a pre-seed startup while you are doing your A-series. Furthermore, if you plan beforehand that you want to do your B-series and A series with the same VC to ensure good collaboration, you should check whether or not they invest in both series.

Venture Capital Vietnam Summary

The number of venture capital firms in Vietnam has been growing rapidly which is reflected by the growing number of startups that are starting and growing in the region. For startups wanting a venture capital, it is crucial to first identify the stage of their company is as well as setting boundaries for the company in order to find the right expertise needed for the company.

We hope this article has provided you with a head start on what you should be looking for in a venture capitalist. Let us know in the comments section if there is anything else that you would like to know more about venture capital Vietnam.

If you’d like to know more about venture capitalists in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, check out the Southeast Asian Venture Capital article.

Learn More About NEXEA Venture Capital & How We Provide More Than Just Money

References:

For more, check out NEXEA
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co



source https://www.nexea.co/venture-capital-vietnam-nexea/

source https://nexeaaccelerator.blogspot.com/2020/09/venture-capital-vietnam.html

Venture Capital Singapore

This post first appeared on Venture Capital Singapore
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co

This article talks about the Venture Capital Singapore ecosystem where it answers the basic questions of what is venture capital, why do companies require a venture capitalist to listing down venture capital companies in Singapore. Lastly, we provide several tips in helping you find the right venture capital firm for your company.

What is Venture Capital?

A venture capitalist or VC is an investor who either gives funding to startup ventures or supports small organisations that desire to expand but do not have access to equities markets. Venture capitalists are willing to invest in companies that fit in those criteria because they have the potential to earn a huge return on their investments if these companies end up being successful.

Some of the aspects that venture capitalists look for are strong management team, large potential market and a unique product or service with a strong competitive advantage. Also, they seek for opportunities that they are familiar with, and the opportunity to possess an enormous stake of the business so that they can influence its direction. Here at NEXEA, we are interested in tech start-ups as this is our expertise.

Why do companies require a Venture Capitalist?

You may be thinking, “Why do I need a VC? or What kind of value can a VC bring in to my business?” Well, it is true that not many Venture Capitalists are able to bring in much value. This is because they are too busy managing 10-20 companies per partner as well as managing their Limited Partners (investors).

Nevertheless, any VC is more than just providing funds. Since they will become part the owner of your business, they would want to see the company grow as well by providing any necessary help succeed a startup. At NEXEA, we offer to our invested startups ex-entrepreneurs who can guide young entrepreneurs with their business as well as provide some advice to avoid making the mistakes that they have made in the past.

For entrepreneurs and CEO of rapidly growing companies, most of them are inexperienced and they do not always know what to look out for. That is why a lot of startups need venture capitalist and in order to lessen the risk for a venture capitalist, it is important that startup founders are being connected to industry experts.

“You will need to do the due diligence in order to really understand if a VC is going to add value in addition to capital. This value can be introductions for potential partnerships, their network of other successful founders or the infrastructure the firm brings.”

Venture Capital Singapore – Environment

It is no secret that Singapore originates hundreds and thousands of new startups as a result of their government policies. This makes the venture capital landscape in Singapore is densely populated. Singapore is popular for being one of the largest tech hubs in Southeast Asia (SEA) in terms of VC investments.

According to a study by MDI ventures, Finc Capital and Dealroom.co, VC investments into the sector has grown seven-fold since 2015 and the value of all fintech startups in Singapore is currently US$108 billion in the year 2020. With that much said, Singapore is still one of the top Southeast Asian countries to have headquarters because of the standardised processes, high quality of human capital as well as the educated workforce in the region.

venture capital singapore

Later Stage Investment Firms in Venture Capital Singapore (>US$1m)

Finding the right venture capital firm for your company

The first step to finding the right venture capital firm for your company is to know what stage your company is at right now. After figuring out the stage of your business, you can start applying to venture capital. Remember to prepare an informing pitch deck in order for you to have a higher chance of getting funded when pitching your company. Here are some examples of how a pitch deck should look like made by other successful companies.

Secondly, in order to find the best VCs, you should look out for their infrastructure and “speciality”. It is best to find VCs that specialised in the industry that your company is in because you will then be provided with the best support tailored to your needs. Venture Capitalists like First Round Capital, Y Combinator or 500 Startups have a dedicated team of marketers, recruiters, experts and other necessary resources to bring into the company that they invest in. At NEXEA, we have dedicated lawyers, regional level CFOs, a lot of world-class CEOs that mentor and invest in startups as well as other supportive infrastructure in place.

Lastly, it is important to set some boundaries for yourself. If your company are one of those companies that are founded by multiple people, it is very important that there is a mutual understanding between each other on what you are willing to give away. Giving away is not only in terms of equity but in time as well. When a venture capitalist invests in your firm the whole working dynamic can change as you hopefully transition your company into a fast-growing firm.

Steps to finding the right venture capital firm

Besides that, here are some additional tips on how to find the right venture capital firm for your company. We’ve made it into several easy steps where you can easily implement through the list of companies in Venture Capital Singapore to see which ones fit well with your firm’s needs.

  1. Geography: The location of your startup should be in the region which the VC is operating in. At NEXEA, we invest in tech startups in the SEA region. However, for some programs, we prefer companies that are based in Malaysia as our HQ is located in Kuala Lumpur. Thus, do some research on the VC to know if your location is applicable to them.
  2. Sector: Usually VC’s only invest in companies that operate in fields of business where they have a lot of experience in. That goes to show why at NEXEA we invest in tech startups because we have a lot of expertise in tech-related companies. For us, a company which has a traditional business model would not be applicable.
  3. Portfolio conflict: A VC will typically not invest in a company which is a direct competitor of a company in their portfolio. So before applying to a VC, you should find out about their portfolio and see if you can identify any direct competitors to your company.
  4. Involvement: There are two types of VC firms. The first group are the VCs that are very involved. These type of VCs typically do not invest in a lot of companies as they do not have the time to be highly involved in all the companies that they invest in. The second group of VCs are the opposite where these firms are not very involved in the companies they invest in. This is usually due to the number of startups they invest in. They simply don’t have the time to have a meeting with each startup every week.
    At NEXEA, we are highly involved with each startup due to our startup mentor network. For a startup, it is essential to know from each founder whether they prefer a highly involved VC or less involved VC.
  5. Fund size: A startup has to know beforehand what series a VC invest in. It does not make sense to apply for a pre-seed startup while you are doing your A-series. Furthermore, if you plan beforehand that you want to do your B-series and A series with the same VC to ensure good collaboration, you should check whether or not they invest in both series.

Venture Capital Singapore Summary

The number of venture capital firms in Singapore has been growing rapidly which is reflected by the growing number of startups that are starting and growing in the region. For startups wanting a venture capital, it is crucial to first identify the stage of their company is as well as setting boundaries for the company in order to find the right expertise needed for the company.

We hope this article has provided you with a head start on what you should be looking for in a venture capitalist. Let us know in the comments section if there is anything else that you would like to know more about venture capital Singapore.

If you’d like to know more about venture capitalists in other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, check out the Southeast Asian Venture Capital article.

Learn More About NEXEA Venture Capital & How We Provide More Than Just Money

https://www.nexea.co/venture-capital/

References:

For more, check out NEXEA
For Startup Investments check out https://www.nexea.co



source https://www.nexea.co/venture-capital-singapore-nexea/

source https://nexeaaccelerator.blogspot.com/2020/09/venture-capital-singapore.html