Antony Lee 李欣岳的產銷履歷與協作說明

Antony Lee, Communications Master (李欣岳 / 媒體公關總監)

負責媒體與社群溝通相關輔導。加入 AppWorks 前有 18 年媒體經驗,是台灣第一批主跑網路產業的記者,先後任職《數位時代》副總編輯、《Cheers 快樂工作人》資深主編、SmartM 網站總編輯。畢業於交大管科系,長期關注媒體產業變化,熱愛閱讀商業與科技趨勢、企業與人物故事,樂於與人交流分享,期許自己當個「Internet 傳教士」。

進入 40 歲之後的人生,彷彿就像電影《命運好好玩》(Click) 中進入快轉模式的主角,感覺在 One Click 之後,我加入 AppWorks 就滿 4 年了。在這正邁往第 5 年的當下,想趁此機會,回顧一下我的 AppWorks 旅程,以及我被賦予的任務、角色,可以如何與我的 Stakeholders 協作。

過去這幾年,我最常被問到的問題,就是「為什麼要離開媒體,加入新創圈?又為什麼要加入 AppWorks?」事實上,我並不覺得我真的離開,現在只是以另一種角色參與。

媒體記者與編輯的工作,很長一段時間是我工作選擇的第一志願,因為透過文字內容分享觀點,進而讓讀者有所收穫、發揮影響力,對我來說,始終是充滿樂趣的事情。大學時期,我就投身校刊社,也經常在各大 BBS 上跟人辯論、打筆仗,對於第一份工作,幾乎沒有什麼多餘思考,很直覺的選擇就是財經雜誌。

很幸運,我在 2000 年加入創刊剛滿一年的《數位時代》,成為台灣第一批報導數位產業的記者,從此開展出往後 15 年的媒體職涯,在《數位時代》與《Cheers》兩本雜誌各二進二出。在 2015 年,我決定離開所謂的傳統媒體,投入當時剛創立、以銷售實體與線上課程為主的 SmartM,負責經營社群與製作自媒體內容。

我在 2015 年的職涯轉換,從事後來看,歸根究底是 Mobile Internet 所帶來的典範轉移,以及對我產生的震撼和衝擊。

第一個原因,來自大環境的結構面。當時,全世界最熱烈討論的是 Uber 與 Airbnb 模式,讓我意識到,一支可上網的手機,竟然可對計程車司機、民宿業者帶來如此巨大的轉變,而這兩種工作,原本只需要在自己的小天地中,經營自己的事業就已經足夠,什麼摩爾定律、破壞式創新、從 0 到 1⋯⋯這些對他們來說,是遠在天邊、幾乎毫不相關的事情,但 Mobile Internet 對他們工作所帶來的影響,顯然徹底顛覆了一切,讓我開始思考,「眼下的所有工作,沒有什麼將是天長地久不會改變的,是否該離開我原本的舒適圈到外面看看?」

第二個原因,則比較偏向個人面,因為我在前一年結婚了。「前女友」跟我一樣,都是傳統媒體的編輯,雖然我們當時所服務的媒體,待遇、福利、影響力都在業界平均之上,但在各種社群媒體、通訊工具紛紛橫空出世,幾乎重新改寫媒體定義的那些年,夫妻兩人「把雞蛋放在同一個籃子裡」,怎麼看都不是一個好主意,人生下半場將頗為艱險的機率很高。

隨後,我轉而投入新創領域,並在 2018 年加入 AppWorks,吸引我投入的原因,至今不曾改變過。包括我以及 AppWorks 所有的同事們,都相信「透過支持創業者展開成功的新創旅程,可讓台灣晉升為數位強國」這個北極星。

對身為台灣第一批報導數位產業的記者,至今從未離開過這個產業的我來說,見證台灣過往 20 多年的發展,一定會有某種程度的「不甘心」。在 1990 年代後期,全球 Internet 第一波浪潮中,台灣曾經位居跑得很前面的領先集團,在入口網站 (Portal)、電子商務、搜尋引擎、通訊軟體或是其他不少垂直領域中,台灣都曾有很優秀的創業者,在當時的起跑點,寫下讓人非常驕傲的成績,但在 .com 泡沫後,劇情急轉直下,在隨後而來的 Mobile Internet 浪潮,我們卻只是擦身而過。

不論是過往的編輯、記者,或是現在在 AppWorks 的 PR 工作,我都非常喜歡跟創業者交流,因為可以感染到他們的熱情與生命力。例如,還在媒體工作時,我大約每半年,會個別與我覺得「有趣、但尚未找到報導角度、先從交朋友與互相學習開始」的幾位創業者一起吃午餐或喝杯咖啡。

我記得有位創業者,擁有美國資訊科學排名 Top 5 大學的資訊碩士學歷,在矽谷享受優渥的生活與工作,某位被科技巨頭高額購併的新創創辦人,就曾是坐在他旁邊位子的同事。因為懷念台灣的生活與文化,決定舉家搬回台灣創業,當時還是不到 10 人的小公司,在我們定期的碰面交流中,他會跟我分享最近創業遇到哪些問題,正在思索如何解決,等到半年後再見面時,他會很興奮的跟我說如何把問題解決了,然後再來要闖什麼關、打什麼怪,而這些交流的部分內容,在幾年後,很自然地就成為我報導內容中的獨家角度。

後來,他的創業成績很不錯,產品與技術都很到位,順利完成了幾輪募資、進軍國際市場,並已啟動 IPO 計畫。我到現在,都還清楚記得,在我們某一次喝咖啡時,正逢他創業的低潮,他幾乎是眼中泛淚的跟我說:「我賣掉兩台車、一棟矽谷的房子,說服全家人放棄美國夢,回台創業,每天跟老婆一起騎機車上班,儘管現在很多人都不看好我,但我相信我的創業一定會成功。」那個畫面,至今仍是我覺得優秀創業者展現決心、勇氣和生命力的美麗風景。

在 AppWorks 這幾年,除了 AppWorks 本身的 PR 工作外,我另一個更重要的角色與任務,就是透過以前在媒體的經驗,協助輔導創業者在 PR 和產製自媒體內容相關的事務。在工作上,我有兩個主要的 TA,第一個,是找到 Prodect Market Fit、進入成長期,可透過適度媒體曝光宣傳加乘、轉動飛輪的 AppWorks 生態系創業者;第二個,則是負責網路產業,總是在尋找下一篇科技趨勢、新商業模式、新創報導角度的記者或編輯。

對於創業者,我自我期待的角色,是提供 PR 相關的協助與輔導,歡迎預約我的 Office Hour,一起發想未來的 PR 策略。包括擬定新聞稿角度、準備媒體專訪,或是如何產製頻率與品質穩定的自媒體內容,我都非常樂意一起交流。因為絕大多數的創業者,都鮮少有與媒體交手的經驗,並不熟悉如何提供讓媒體有興趣的角度、有意義的故事或數字,甚至是與媒體合作的潛規則,而每家新創也都有各自的特色與擅長領域,很難有一體適用所有新創的 PR 策略,這樣坐下來深度的一對一交流,根據這幾年實作的經驗,是最為有效的方式,我可以運用過往的媒體工作經驗,提供一些媒體如何思考、如何吸引記者興趣、如何透過媒體與 TA 溝通等相關的回饋或建議。事實上,在這過程中,我從創業者身上學習的收穫更大,因為能更深入了解許多創業者的思考脈絡、定義與解決問題的過程。

對於媒體記者與編輯,我自我期待的角色,是促成媒體更深入認識新創的橋樑。對媒體來說,AppWorks 生態系累計至今的 435 支活躍新創、1,402 位創業者,是很豐富且多元的報導資源,許多來自創業者的精彩創業故事、產業最前緣的觀察,在當下,未必能夠立刻就 Google 得到,而我很樂意與媒體分享這些內容。

這幾年來,不少負責科技或新創報導路線的記者,都與我建立起不錯的協作默契。當報導專題還在醞釀、搜集素材階段,尚未進入正式的內部題目會議前,一起約時間喝杯咖啡,跟我分享正對哪些議題感興趣、正在尋找哪類報導角度的案例,我可以提供一些更貼近業內現況的角度與觀點,或是一起發想專題企劃的架構、思考如何創造「讀者為什麼要看」的閱讀利益,以及推薦適合的新創受訪案例,作為記者往後報導的參考。

當然,這些都不會是硬推銷,在報導中,也不用非得要有 AppWorks 相關的篇幅,一切皆只是建議與參考。因為我相信,只要有更高品質、更深入業界觀點、更有影響力的媒體報導,對台灣新創圈整體的長期發展,都是巨大的加分。有趣的是,在這樣介於正式採訪與無目的閒聊之間的交流,出乎我預料的,「媒體工作者的職涯規劃」是個滿熱門的話題,而我過往的工作經驗,讓我似乎成了年輕媒體工作者諮詢的朋友,因為從沒看過有關於這個主題的媒體報導或書籍,對此的疑惑,也不是每個人都能找到適合討論、尋求建議的對象。

在多次調整之後,目前,我正在經營 AppWorks Media Meetup 的社群,希望成為協助媒體更深入認識創業者的橋樑。AppWorks Media Meetup 開放給對數位、新創相關議題持續有報導與採訪需求的媒體記者、編輯,或是自媒體的創作者 (包含 Blogger、Podcaster、YouTuber、Newsletter),大約每月會設定一個主題,邀請兩位 AppWorks 生態系的創業者分享最前緣有關科技、市場、商業模式的趨勢觀察,或是第一手的創業故事,可讓媒體作為發想未來製作內容的參考,或是往後有適合的專題角度,也能從此延伸出更進一步的專訪成為報導內容。

以上,就是我的產銷履歷與協作說明。真心期待,台灣能成為更偉大的數位強國,有更多優秀的創業者、表現亮眼的新創,以及更具影響力的媒體報導。在這過程中,我也將持續透過所扮演的角色,讓這一切更往前推進一些,在路上!

LiveArtX Launches $ART Token To Bring the Traditional & Digital Art Worlds Together

Editor’s note: Congratulations to LiveArtX on another great milestone. AppWorks is excited to be a part of the journey to connect the art world with web3. The press release from LiveArtX is below:

・$ART will provide holders with exclusive access to the physical & digital art worlds across the entire art ecosystem.

・More than $4.5 million already committed by leading investors
including animoca brands, BNB chain fund and KuCoin.

LiveArtX, the premium NFT platform that connects the art world with Web3, is pleased to announce the launch of $ART, a token that provides utility across both the physical and digital art worlds. Holders of the $ART token, the very first of its kind, will gain entrée to the art world, including access to the best of physical and digital art, participation in exclusive art experiences and events, advance notice of drops, a role in platform curation, and membership in the LiveArt DAO. More than $4.5 million has already been committed from prominent blockchain innovators and crypto investors, led by Animoca Brands, Binance and KuCoin, followed by AppWorks, Alameda Ventures, OKX BlockDream Capital, Gate Labs, HashKey, APENFT Foundation, SNZ, Shima Capital, ArkStream Capital, Head&Shoulder Financials, Kikitrade, and Aspen Digital.

LiveArtX is a strategic partnership between LiveArt — founded by art industry leaders including former senior executives of Sotheby’s and Christie’s — to bring access, transparency, and digital solutions to the traditional art world — and Everest Ventures Group (EVG), the blockchain investor and incubator.

Boris Pevzner, Co-Founder and CEO of LiveArt, commented, “The $ART token serves as the ultimate bridge between the physical and digital art worlds. It is the cornerstone of LiveArt’s strategy of blending technology, innovation, and deep knowledge of the art market. We believe in a future art world that combines the best of the traditional art industry with the power of Web3 technology and crypto communities. And that’s why we created LiveArtX with our partners at EVG — a platform with digital and physical art, with purchases made in crypto and cash, with exhibitions in the real world and the metaverse — all underpinned by the $ART token.”

Allen Ng, CEO of EVG and Co-Founder of LiveArtX, said, “Blockchain opens up a lot of overdue possibilities for artists and collectors. But technology can’t do it alone. With the unparalleled art market know-how from the team of LiveArt and now the strong backing from the Web3 community, LiveArtX is going to bring fresh innovation to one of the oldest asset classes of mankind.”

LiveArtX serves the entire art ecosystem. Artists can mint their works in the LiveArtX Creator Hub with powerful rights management and unbreakable resale royalties. Collectors can access a curated selection of only the best artworks on the LiveArtX Marketplace. The White Label Suite enables galleries and partners to launch and manage their own NFT marketplaces, or work with the LiveArtX Studio to curate and market drops. And the LiveArtX Developer Lab empowers the most advanced coders to work with our innovative technology.

The team behind LiveArt includes seasoned art market and technology professionals led by Adam Chinn — founding partner of the international art advisory firm, Art Intelligence Global, and former Chief Operating Officer of Sotheby’s; John Auerbach — CEO of UOVO, the premier provider of fine art and collections storage and services, who previously held senior e-commerce roles at Sotheby’s and Christie’s; and digital entrepreneur Boris Pevzner — whose numerous credits include the development of Collectrium (acquired by Christie’s) and xfire (acquired by Viacom). The leadership team also includes George O’Dell, a veteran Contemporary Art specialist who spent the past 13 years at auction houses in London and New York; and Marisa Kayyem, an art historian and art advisor who was the Director of Education at Christie’s.

About LiveArtX

LiveArtX is a premium NFT platform that connects the art world with web3. Built by art industry leaders, LiveArtX brings creators, collaborators, and collectors into the metaverse. LiveArtX, together with LiveArt.io, provides the ultimate bridge between the physical and digital art worlds — blending technology, innovation, and deep knowledge of the art market.

[If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with AI, Blockchain, and NFT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the leading founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.]

Office Hours with David Wu

David Wu, Associate (吳戴文 / 投資經理)

David is an Associate mainly focused on investments. He previously lived in the US, but was drawn to the Greater Southeast Asia region by the growth opportunities and the wonderful people here. He spent the first five years of his career as a consultant at IBM, where he became intimately familiar with the enterprise software and services needs of Fortune 500 companies. Later, he focused on building predictive models and solving optimization problems for large companies, and gained an appreciation for the role of data and algorithms in our lives. He joined AppWorks in 2020 after receiving his MBA from Columbia Business School, and also has a B.S. in Mathematics from the Ohio State University. In his free time, he tries to stay active and is always looking for opportunities to hike or trek, often seeking the trail less traveled.

People often ask me why I committed career suicide and came to Taiwan. When I accepted my return offer after my MBA summer internship here, some of my classmates at Columbia, who I love, were surprised. Some had assumed I just wanted a summer of fun in “Thailand” before resuming a serious career. Others gave me some encouraging words and reminded me that recruiting wasn’t over and I should stay open to other opportunities. One person literally thought I was joking (to be fair, most people can’t ever tell if I’m joking or not).

The main reason I came was for personal growth. Before my MBA I spent a year in Shijiazhuang, China only learning Mandarin (there wasn’t anything else to do there). Like most people who have lived in a different country, I really grew as a person from leaving my comfort zone, experiencing new things, and talking to different people. For this reason, I literally would have sooner taken a job as a kitchen hand in Asia than a white collar position in the US. Taiwan also happens to be a really pleasant place to live where the people are truly salt of the earth. 

I’m also blessed to be a simple person from Ohio (US) and spent the first 25 years of my life there, so I don’t need much to be happy. Many “coastal elites” have lower expectations of Middle America, and we are generally misunderstood. But that’s just the way we like it. We block out the noise and worry about our own business, get down to honest work, and always end up surprising people. Maybe I also found that in Taiwan – a lot of smart, determined, overlooked people brewing up some special things. I think we’ll continue to surprise a lot of people.

In this way, I resonate with founders a lot. Many founders are viewed skeptically by society, but they don’t care, and they get down to work and end up surprising people. I will never forget enthusiastically describing to my friends a startup I encountered during my summer internship, when one friend remarked, “that’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard”. That company is now valued at close to $10 billion (not that stupid things can’t be worth $10 billion). Every day I have the privilege of believing in people, and few things are as fun as witnessing them create something from nothing.

Despite being known as “The Professor” at the office, my main job is to be a student. I work on the web3 arm at AppWorks, which brings me joy as it unites me with my college interests of math and computer science. Every day I’m uncomfortable, see new things, and talk with amazing founders. At times I feel like a college student again, stepping into a new world with humility and an open mind.

Besides working on investments and doubling as a host at Demo Day, I also run the college intern program here. Many people overlook interns as unskilled labor, but I see them as our future leaders who will surpass most of us faster than we think. I believe helping these bright young people at this juncture of their career will pay rich dividends for all of us. The intern program is just one of the many non-financial investments we make here to help better society, and I personally get a lot of fulfillment from coaching and teaching.

Lastly, I also run the MBA recruiting program. It’s a sales job, and I try to pitch MBAs on why they should come to Taiwan after they’ve just spent two years and $200K on their degree and are being wined and dined by consulting firms and big tech companies that people have actually heard of. It is a tough sell to start from the bottom. But I’ve always believed that the view from the top is more breathtaking after you’ve climbed from the bottom, arriving totally spent, after nobody thought you could. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cyber Sierra Raises US$4.3 Million Seed to Strengthen SME Cybersecurity and Insurance Coverage

Editor’s note: Congrats to Cyber Sierra for closing out their seed round, AppWorks is proud to be a part of the journey! The press release from Cyber Sierra is below:

Cyber Sierra, a technology-enabled cyber insurtech provider, announced the completion of a US$4.3 million seed round of financing led by Leo Capital, with participation from AppWorks, Credit Saison, as well as angel investors including prominent founders and leaders in the cloud and insurance sectors.

Founded in June 2021, Cyber Sierra is a technology company that offers cyber risk, compliance and insurance products backed by leading global brokers and insurers. The company delivers cybersecurity and technology insurance offerings to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with presence on the cloud. Cyber Sierra provides companies with up to US$5 million of cyber and technology insurance coverage. Starting in Singapore, the company is currently expanding to India in addition to other countries in the Southeast Asia region. 

Cyber Sierra is led by a team of seasoned technology entrepreneurs, including Pramodh Rai, who has led technical teams at Hmlet and Funding Societies; and Subhajit Mandal, an experienced fintech and insurtech expert with stints at AXA and MetLife. As a technically-driven company, Cyber Sierra is strongly focused on creating targeted security features for its end users.

Through Cyber Sierra’s platform, businesses will be able to access a number of cybersecurity tools including threat alerts, intelligence feeds, anti-phishing, vulnerability scans and governance features with bundled insurance offerings. Cyber Sierra’s customers include leading fintech companies, healthcare providers, e-procurement as well as ed-tech and e-commerce technology firms.

“Our goal is to serve every online business,” said Pramodh Rai, Co-founder, Cyber Sierra. “In current times, cloud native companies have inevitably either already experienced data and security incidents, or will soon. Cyber Sierra aspires to build the best cyber experience for SMEs, offering a full suite of technology, insurance products and solutions to help companies compliantly strengthen their security posture as well as gain access to expert response and comprehensive insurance coverage when needed.” 

“For a young, fast growing, global and digital commercial risk such as cyber, the next couple of years present a unique opportunity to create the next generational way of insuring businesses,” said Subhajit Mandal, Co-founder, Cyber Sierra. “Our platform is focused on helping customers grow their cyber security posture, with embedded insurance offerings. This helps companies to adopt a more holistic approach to managing cyber risk.”

With this round of financing, Cyber Sierra plans to launch and grow its business offerings to include more products to serve risk and compliance needs of businesses in line with apt regulatory frameworks. It will also bring on new hires across all functions, expand its network of startups, SME customers across Southeast Asia, India, and other markets.

“Covid accelerated the digitization of every business around the world. To meet the needs of online businesses new and old alike, we are excited to back Subhajit and Pramodh, supporting them in building solutions for the cyber security and cyber insurance challenges of the digital economy,“ remarked Shwetank Verma, Managing Partner, Leo Capital. 

Cyber Sierra’s team includes technology entrepreneurs and executives who have built cybersecurity and insurtech solutions for banks, government agencies, cloud providers and (re)insurers. Their combined expertise positions Cyber Sierra to help businesses solve the cyber risk challenges of today and tomorrow.

About Cyber Sierra

Cyber Sierra, a wholly owned product launched by Fort One Technologies Pte Ltd, is a cyber risk solutions suite founded by Subhajit Mandal and Pramodh Rai that combines risk compliance tools and comprehensive cyber insurance to help businesses manage and mitigate cyber risk. Backed by leading brokers and insurers, Cyber Sierra provides companies with up to US$5 million of cyber and technology insurance coverage in Singapore and India. Cyber Sierra’s platform provides alerts, threat intelligence, expert guidance and tools to help businesses grow their security posture in the face of current cyber threats. Cyber Sierra is headquartered in Singapore.

For more information about Cyber Sierra, please visit http://www.cybersierra.co or follow on LinkedIn or Twitter.

【If you are a founder working on a startup in SEA, or working with AI, Blockchain, and NFT, apply to AppWorks Accelerator to join the leading founder community in Greater Southeast Asia.】

NOBI Raises US$4M to Make Investing in Crypto Assets Easier for Indonesians

Editor’s note: AppWorks is proud to be participating in NOBI’s seed round. We’re excited to partner with founder Lawrence Samantha to increase access to DeFi opportunities for regular Indonesians. The press release from NOBI is below:

・NOBI raises US$4 million oversubscribed seed funding round from AC Ventures, with participation from AppWorks, Skystar Capital, Cakra Ventures, Global Founders Capital (GFC), and angel investors.

・Crypto transactions have grown 1,222% from US$ 4.6 billion (IDR 65 trillion) in 2020 to US$ 61.4 billion (IDR 859 trillion) in 2021. 

・NOBI helps people to go beyond buying and selling crypto but also earn passive income with competitive interest rates.

・With the  new funding, NOBI plans to further enhance their product and expand the team. 

・NOBI aims to provide easier access to crypto investments to achieve economic equality for everyone.

NOBI, a crypto asset management application that serves the needs of casual investors by offering a variety of easy and safe crypto investments, has announced that it has received a new funding round from AC Ventures. US$4 million has been raised in a seed funding round led by AC Ventures, followed by AppWorks, Skystar Capital, Cakra Ventures, and Global Founders Capital (GFC). In addition, some angel investors also participated in this funding.

As a leading crypto asset management company, NOBI aims to help casual investors to acquire crypto assets easily and safely. Currently, NOBI provides superior products in NOBI Pro, Earn, and Trade. These three products aim to make it easier for users to manage and grow their crypto assets to the fullest with best-in-class strategies.

NOBI is dedicated to helping casual investors who want to diversify their investments into crypto assets and non-traders who don’t have the time to actively manage their assets, free of charge and in an easy way.

“NOBI to the moon! This is a huge step for us. AC Ventures and the rest of our investors bring deep unrivaled experience in financial technology (fintech), investment, and crypto. This investment round shows their trust and commitment to what we can do to make a difference as the crypto and financial space starts to merge,” said Lawrence Samantha, Co-Founder & CEO, NOBI.

Based on data from the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (BAPPEBTI), the number of crypto investors in Indonesia in 2021 has reached 11.2 million people. The transaction value reached IDR 859.4 trillion throughout 2021. In comparison to 2020, there was an increase of 1,222%. Based on this statistical data, Crypto assets have clearly become one of Indonesia’s most favored investment categories.

As a result, we believe that everyone will be able to invest in crypto assets with ease and safety. We acknowledge that with easier access to crypto-asset investments, everyone may achieve economic equality, which is in line with NOBI’s vision and mission.

This funding is also a measure of NOBI’s success as Indonesia’s best crypto asset management company. AC Ventures, AppWorks, Skystar Capital, Cakra Ventures, and Global Founders Capital (GFC) are some of the well-known investment companies that have given their support and trust to NOBI to dedicate to becoming the best crypto asset management in Indonesia.

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