Why Hiring for an Early Stage Startup Is a Lot Like Dating — It’s All About the First Impression

If you want to bring quality staff onboard your startup, it helps to sell yourself in the most attractive way possible

Izza Lin, Recruiting Master

Izza is a Recruiting Master responsible for advising AppWorks Startups on all talent acquisition matters. Before joining AppWorks, she built a successful early career in headhunting firms such as Rising Management Consulting and Recruit Express, where she specialized in recruiting quality talents for internet and e-commerce companies, guiding hundreds of engineers, product managers, marketers and general managers to fulfill key positions for her clients. In between Rising and RE, she headed Southeast Asia Market for an e-commerce startup, USO HK, where she found her passion for helping small guys break the status quo. Izza received her B.A. in Economics from Washington State University and spent 5 years of her childhood in Myanmar and Cambodia. This diverse background has inextricably contributed to her love for traveling and “wine tasting”.

When founders are working hard during the early stages, most of their time is spent in building product, launching the product and raising capital.

Recruiting in today’s age is mostly an afterthought. However, in the bigger picture, when you’re building a startup that is meant to conquer a market in the long-run, finding talent is just as important as business development, product development, or acquiring customers, if not more.

Like the classic chicken-and-egg situation, savvy startup founders delay their hiring until they can afford it, yet, their business can’t afford to grow until their team has grown.

However, business growth can be extremely difficult unless you have the right team. Being stuck in this dilemma can be very frustrating.

At some point, founders need to get good at hiring for themselves. So, for beginners, I’d like to share a few pieces of advice to help conquer the recruiting hurdle easily.

It helps to use an analogy, so let’s use dating.

Just like dating, hiring is about searching for quality versus quantity and being able to convince that potential partner in the very first encounter. Whether you are looking for the ideal hire or the perfect match, this ability to attract people is key. Here is what you can do for your startup. 

Company introduction and job description = dating profile

Let’s start by comparing the creation of a job description to how you might create your own dating profile. When you first register on a dating app, you tend to put the most appealing photos on your profile, along with a personal description, interests, and what you look for in a match.

Your hiring profile should look much the same. You want to share quality information that will trigger people’s interests.

Seduce your audience

“I am Asian, 5’3, love drinking wine.” 

If this is my dating profile description, it is unlikely that anyone would swipe right. Unless I have a really hot profile photos.

The common mistake with many startups is that they use the lazy cookie-cutter three-line introductions.

For example: 

VIVACIOUS is an AI-based dating app for iOS and Android. It was founded by a group of National Taiwan University Engineering graduates in 2019.

VIVACIOUS is a top 30 dating app on Google Play and Apple App store, and now has over 30,000 downloads.

So the question is, how do you expect to stand out if your description looks like a “copy and paste”?

It needs to be unique. A good profile should take potential hires on a journey, sharing values, mission and vision (VMV), and also helping them understand who you are as a founder.

Instead of a three-line description, I may write a profile description (like the one below), showing how the company is unique: 

We are a group of National Taiwan University graduate engineers who saw a problem shared among our peers. Many people struggle to find a date due to the lack of opportunities in their busy schedules. Using AI, we have created a unique dating platform experience called VIVACIOUS to help bring people together on an intimate level and bridge that missing happiness. Just a few clicks away, you can begin an adventure to find your significant other.

As a Master of Human Resources, you will be leading our engineering and marketing team on a journey that will help many lonely hearts find the love they deserve.

For big corporations like Apple, Google, or Microsoft, their reputation needs no introduction. However, startups are much different, as most are relatively unknown. Your profile is an opportunity for you to attract potential hires, just like you would when using a dating app. 

Knowing your position, market value and how to write a job description (JD)

If Keanu Reeves is my type, my dating profile should not just say, “looking for Keanu Reeves look-alike”. This is because looks are not everything, as a matching personality is just as important.

Let’s say Keanu’s looks is equivalent to a candidate’s skill qualification, personality is the determinant if one can work well within the company culture. If the potential hire has the looks “skill” but not the personality, be aware that they may not be an ideal candidate.

Be sure to elaborate when listing out a Keanu Reeves description, by combining both looks and personality. This way candidates can better understand if they will potentially be a fit for the position on your team.

When writing the job description, I would suggest listing bullet points, from most important (must have) to least important (nice to have/ prefer). Remember to keep it short and concise, without cluttering the page. Listing out too many points can work negatively by limiting your funnel. Always be aware of who your audience is and the market value of a position.

If the description is for a senior position, but the title and salary appear as a junior position, you are unlikely to attract the candidates you are after.  

For example, the Human Resource position for “Vivacious” may appear as: 

Vivacious is looking for an experienced HR Manager to join our growing team. The HR Manager will be heavily involved in operations execution and strategic planning.

This role will be responsible for the development of compensation & benefits, performance management, employee relations, talent development program, leave processing, training, and onboarding.

Requirements:

1.Ability in executing HR tasks with extreme efficiency and limited resources

2.Have experience designing, building and leading the implementation of strategic scalable HR initiatives

3.Adapts and thrives in a demanding, start-up, fast-paced environment

Good to have:

1. Minimum 5 years’ of HR experience

2.Experience with start-up companies is a plus

3.Payroll experience 

Know where your target audience (TA) spends time

If my interest is drinking wine and I am looking for someone who would enjoy drinking wine with me, then attending a wine tasting event to look for a potential match would probably be an ideal place to start. 

This is the same in hiring. When you are finding talent, you have to think about where your talent would spend their time.

Do they show up at certain events, work for certain companies, or have their own Facebook group… etc?

Start by looking in the right direction, and focus on those online and offline locations.  

Know the competitor

Know your competition. Gather as much information about your competitors, such as their job posting content, company performance, company culture, strengths and weaknesses.

This information will be helpful when determining the strategic positioning of your startup to potential hires.  

Have your pitch ready 

Hiring moments can sometimes appear at the most unexpected times. You should always be ready to pitch your startup, otherwise, an opportunity with a talented candidate could be missed.

Be confident when giving your pitch, keep it short, concise, and most importantly, be persuasive.

Referrals are key

We focused on the points above first because they need to be fully understood prior to the most important step of them all — asking for referrals. Referrals are critical relationship keys that unlock doors and allow you access to more potential new hires. 

Searching your existing circle of resources for suitable candidates should always be your first step. You can usually find what you are looking for when working through people you trust.

Often times, it is usually a faster and more cost-effective way to hire. Instead of relying only on job postings, career sites or recruiting services, focus on building a stronger network.

Conclusion

The hiring chicken-and-egg problem is frustrating but not impossible. It can take months to find the right candidate. So it is crucial that you have a plan and a strategy ready.

Start crafting your startup profile today, practice your pitch, and when the opportunity presents itself, you will be prepared to win the perfect candidates that will change the game for you.

【If you’re a startup currently or prospectively employing AI / IoT or Blockchain / Crypto, be sure to apply AppWorks Accelerator’s AI & Blockchain only batch.】

Photo by Tumisu courtesy of Pixabay

Deferred Revenue (遞延收入),SaaS 創業者應該了解的關鍵指標

Norman Chi, Analyst (紀泳瑜 / 分析師)

負責投資與基金管理。在加入 AppWorks 之前,曾於勤業眾信審計部門服務近兩年,參與過的財務報表查核案件橫跨多個產業。畢業於台大會計系,學生時期曾擔任台大學生會活動部部長與會計系系學會公關長。喜愛品嚐美食、棒球與推理懸疑類影集。期許自己成為理性,但不失熱血與溫度的創投分析師。

隨著各式雲端應用及基礎建設普及,近年來,SaaS (Software as a Service) 已成為 Internet 服務中,最受創業者們重視的商業模式之一。在大東南亞 (東協 + 台灣) 最大創業加速器 AppWorks Accelerator 共 376 支活躍新創、1,113 位創業者的創業者社群中,有約 30 家 SaaS 新創,其中的代表案例,包括台灣最大餐飲雲端 POS 系統 iChef、台灣最大 OMO 虛實融合新零售平台 91APP,或是電子報發送平台的 Newsleopard 電子豹 (AW#4)、專攻 AI 監控的 Umbo CV (AW#9)、提供法律專業人士搜尋的資料庫 Lawsnote (AW#13)、打造聊天機器人系統的 High5 (AW#14) 與 Easychat (AW#16)、能自動生成符合各社群媒體平台規格靜態廣告的 MarTech 新創 Dipp (AW#16)。

2018 年,同時也是 SaaS 新創集體在美國 IPO 的重要年度。包括 Dropbox、DocuSign、Zuora 等知名獨角獸紛紛掛牌上市。但細看這些新創企業公布的年度財務報表,會發現幾乎都虧損連連;就連 SaaS 新創 IPO 的鼻祖、CRM 軟體龍頭 Salesforce,也是到 2017 年會計年度才轉虧為盈,距離其 IPO 時間已 13 年。但在資本市場中,來自 SaaS 領域的新創,仍獲得投資人高度重視,究竟在虧損的財報背後,投資人看見了什麼?

當傳統損益表遇上 SaaS:收入認列的限制

採 SaaS 模式的新創,大多以訂閱制取代傳統一次性買斷的套裝軟體。 然而,以較為低廉的每期訂閱價格,來吸引用戶使用,進而換取 SaaS 新創長期且穩定收入的做法,容易受限於傳統的會計準則,造成新創的價值無法如實反映。原因很簡單,傳統會計收入的認列方式,用戶採用後,不見得能正確反應 SaaS 新創真實的成長力道與預期。

在傳統會計上,企業於財務報表中得以認列收入主要需滿足下列所有條件 (此處以 IFRS 15 為準):

(1) 辨認客戶合約

(2) 辨認合約中之履約義務

(3) 決定交易價格

(4) 將交易價格分攤至合約中之履約義務

(5) 於滿足履約義務時認列收入

在 SaaS 商業模式下,這五點可以理解為:當用戶按下同意使用條款按鈕,並確認付費金額與條件後,就有完整權限享受 SaaS 新創提供的服務;而 SaaS 新創確認訂單並開立發票收款後,即有充足證據顯示,此筆交易的金額能夠可靠衡量,並很有可能流入 SaaS 新創。

但這時通常會出現一個潛在的問題:不少 SaaS 新創雖將服務定價以月來計算,但收費卻是每季或每年結算一次。這時以會計角度來看,就會產生一個疑問:SaaS 新創是否已完成「交貨」義務?畢竟 SaaS 新創有義務提供一年的服務,來換取用戶支付的金錢,若是在開票收現的當下,即全部認列為本季或本年的收入,難免有失公允。故在傳統會計原則中,SaaS 新創不得一次性認列此類型的訂閱收入,而是要在履約期間內分期認列,未實現的必需遞延。

成功的 SaaS 模式還有一個特性:為求快速擴張獲得更多的用戶,所認列的費用,有極高比例會用於行銷與業務拓展。即便成功如 Salesforce,行銷與業務推廣費用,仍占營收超過 45%;更極端者如 Slack,2019 年 Q2 的財報上,顯示行銷與業務推廣費用佔營收高達 94%,為的就是求先獲取 (Acquire) 更多用戶,進而推升每月持續流入的訂閱服務收入。

綜上所述,SaaS 新創的金流收入,在結帳當期不得完全認列;但一次性行銷費用,卻又居高不下,導致無法在財務報表上繳出漂亮的獲利數字。這就是 SaaS 新創在傳統損益表上面臨的限制:損益表上無法具體顯示出,這些透過一次性高行銷費用而創造出來的經常性收入效益,只會顯示年復一年的財務虧損,而這不能看出 SaaS 新創真正的價值。

在實務上,SaaS 新創在營業報告中,最常呈現的幾個指標數字,例如 ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue,每年經常性收入)、LTV (Customer Life Time Value,顧客終身價值)、Customer Churn Rate (客戶流失率) 等,已有不少文章評析過這些重要指標。儘管 SaaS 創業者得以給出漂亮的指標數字,但是外部投資人並無權限去驗證這些指標數字的合理性與可靠性,因為不像財報上數字的揭露,是會計師依照會計準則查核出具報告。

對 SaaS 創業者來說,不論是對外溝通、募資,或是對內管理,甚至是評估或規劃長期策略時,是否能用一個關鍵數字,就足以解釋新創的價值與成長潛力?

SaaS 創業者都該懂的財務指標:Deferred Revenue (遞延收入)

這個對創業者十分重要的關鍵數字,就是 Deferred Revenue (遞延收入,或稱 Unearned Revenue 預收收入);在台灣財報上顯示的科目名稱,通常為「預收收入」或是「合約收入」(採 IFRS 15 後)。

什麼是 Deferred Revenue 呢 ? 簡單說,Deferred Revenue 代表企業在未來很有可能認列的收入總額。

SaaS 新創的收入,需在服務履約期間內分期認列,未實現的需遞延認列。簡單舉例,若一間提供雲端服務的企業,每月的訂閱服務費為新台幣 1,500 元,半年支付一次且不可取消退費。當一位用戶於 12/1 開始訂閱半年,共支付 9,000 元 (1,500 x 6),在 12/31 的財報裡,我們可找到兩個數字:損益表上,顯示 Subscription Revenue 為 1,500 元,以及資產負債表上的負債科目,會出現 Deferred revenue 7,500 元 (9,000 – 1,500)。或許在此,創業者會感到疑惑:為什麼在資產負債表上,呈現的是負債呢?簡單來說,就是想像成因為還欠用戶五個月的服務即可。故在 12/31 當下,Deferred Revenue 代表著 7,500 元是還沒完成履約義務的收入,預期會在將來逐月實現認列。

為什麼 Deferred Revenue 對評估 SaaS 商業模式這麼重要?一言以敝之,Deferred Revenue 代表未來可認列的收入價值,與 ARR (每年經常性收入) 的精神不謀而合,同時又是經各國會計準則委員會認定的財報科目,較有參考意義。

對創業者來說,Deferred Revenue 除了代表未來潛在可實現的收入,以及方便更進一步評估管理報表中 ARR 與 MRR (每月經常性收入) 等指標的合理性外,更能使創業者系統化地預測未來的成長。同時,創業者在與每月或每季與投資人的會議報告中,使用 Deferred Revenue 這個財務指標,對外部投資人來說,Deferred Revenue 的表達方式,因為符合會計準則規範,相對較有公信力,既可與競爭對手相比,又不至於讓企業任意操縱。而 Deferred Revenue 數字穩定提升,也代表對未來成長的樂觀,對 SaaS  新創日後可認列的收入提供一定的保證,而非憑空捏造的幻想;同時,高行銷費用帶來的付費用戶成長,也可反映在 Deferred Revenue 的提升上,這為新創高速擴張造成的高行銷費用,提供了另一種正面角度的說明。

是否有潛在的風險或盲點?

Salesforce 的年報是非常值得 SaaS 創業者探討的案例。Salesforce 是近 20 年最成功的 SaaS 企業。這家成立於 1999 年的企業,以 19 年的時間,將營收從不到 600 萬美元放大到超過 100 億美元,5 年來股價翻了一倍。SaaS 創業者心中肯定都有成為下一個 Salesforce 的夢想,因此,我們就來簡單說明 Salesforce 如何向外部投資人報告。

在 Salesforce 公布 2019 會計年度的年報中,第一個 Highlight 是年營收達 133 億美元,年成長達 26%;第二個 Highlight 則非常特別,叫做 Remaining Obligation Performance (保留義務履行)。按照年報上的附註解釋,代表 Salesforce 已與用戶簽約並可創造的未來收入,只是現在還沒有認列的部分,金額高達 257 億美元,年成長為 25%,將近年度營收的兩倍,非常令人驚豔。

只是,Remaining Obligation Performance 與 Deferred Revenue 是一樣的嗎?若細看過整份年報,會有另一個發現,那就是在資產負債表上,與 Deferred Revenue  同樣意義的 Unearned Revenue,金額為 85.64 億美元。當然這與 2018 年的 69.95 億美元相比,也是有不俗的成長,但與 257 億美元相比,就顯得不足為奇了。

事實上,Remaining Obligation Performance 包含了 Deferred Revenue 與 Unbilled Deferred Revenue (未開發票的遞延收入)。

但若 SaaS 創業者使用 Remaining Obligation Performance 作為給投資人報告的指標數字,將有兩個潛藏的風險。第一,Unbilled Deferred Revenue 並不是一個正式的資產負債表科目,我們不會在任何一份正式的財務報表中發現其蹤跡,充其量只能算是個參考數字,並不具公信力。更具體來說,Unbilled Deferred Revenue 就是在不可知的未來,很有可能被認列成 Deferred Revenue 的數字,待完成履約義務後才會轉為收入,但這是沒有任何保證的。多數人非常容易將 Unbilled Deferred Revenue 與 Deferred Revenue 混為一談,誤以為兩者意義相同。

第二,則是 Remaining Obligation Performance 究竟會花多久時間轉換成真正的收入?在 Salesforce 的案例中,企業並未公布 Remaining Obligation Performance 的組成:257 億扣除 85.64 億後的 171.36 億美元,有多少比例是一到兩年內可以認列?多少是三年以上? 畢竟這 171.36 億美元,還需要多久能真正進到財報裡,沒有人清楚,而時間拖得越長,潛在的風險也就越大。而在遙遠的未來,是否會發生金融海嘯,或是企業客戶發生資金危機而無法如期付款,在這數字中,都屬於不能預測,這數字只能說明潛在的合約總價值,不代表未來會全部兌現。

除了 Salesforce 之外,像是 Workday 等已經 IPO 的 SaaS 新創,也有採用相似的方式手法,在年報中表達企業未來可創造的價值。另外,亦有不少 SaaS 新創,在在提供給股東的報告裡採用相同方式,試圖解釋公司營運狀況良好。當創業者使用相同指標對外部投資人報告時,需特別注意,千萬不要把 Deferred Revenue 和 Remaining Obligation Performance 這兩個指標混淆了,在實務上,Deferred Revenue 的客觀性、可被接受程度更高。

結論

回歸財報的管理與解讀,對創業者來說,除了持續關注 Deferred Revenue 是否健康成長外,還是需同時輔助搭配其他財務數字。例如,營運淨現金流是否持續成長、收入增加是否來自於一次性業外收入等其他因素,並搭配其他管理報表中的指標如 ARR、Churn Rate 等一併分析其合理性,才能評估出 SaaS 新創真正的價值與潛力,進而提升決策品質;相對地,創業者不該用看似美好、卻似是而非的數字讓外界產生誤解,這將直接傷害創業者的信用以及努力打拼的成果。

身為 SaaS 模式的創業者,你搞懂 Deferred Revenue 這個數字了嗎?

【歡迎所有 AI / IoT、Blockchain 的創業者,加入專為你們服務的 AppWorks Accelerator

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

4 Factors Turning Vietnam into Southeast Asia’s Next Growth Story

Vietnam is increasingly a thriving tech ecosystem connected with SEA

Jun Wakabayashi, Analyst (若林純 / 分析師)

Jun is an Analyst covering both AppWorks Accelerator and Greater Southeast Asia. Born and bred in America, Jun brings a wealth of international experience to AppWorks. He spent the last several years before joining AppWorks working for Focus Reports, where he conducted sector-based market research and interviewed high-level government leaders and industry executives across the globe. He’s now lived in 7 countries outside US and Taiwan, while traveling to upwards of 50 for leisure, collectively highlighting his unique propensity for cross-cultural immersion and international business. Jun received his Bachelors in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Several batches ago, we started to see a steady influx of Vietnamese founders applying to our AppWorks Accelerator. It was a rather curious phenomenon because at the time, we had only begun expanding our scope outside of Taiwan to include Southeast Asia and had really only seen inward interest coming from developed markets like Singapore and Hong Kong.

AppWorks Analysts Natalie Lin and Jun Wakabayashi (from left to right) join several Vietnam founders at an AppWorks Founders Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam November 2019

Indonesia had long been earmarked for obvious reasons, but Vietnam was nowhere on our radar. And yet, we ended up having founders of startups such as Innaway (AW#17), Triip.me (AW#18), KardiaChain (AW#18), and Abivin (AW#19) join our program. Granted, each of them had different motivations for coming to Taiwan, but it was enough to pique my interest in understanding the Vietnamese market, specifically the context and mentality in which these founders were coming from.

A handful of trips and dozens of meetings later, I’ve grown to become quite fond of the ecosystem in Vietnam. There’s an almost festive-like energy reverberating throughout the local startup scene. The country is experiencing a level of economic prosperity it has never seen before, and as a result, a generation of eager entrepreneurs laser-focused on tapping into the limitless possibilities at hand. Based on my observations, there are several key factors currently driving this growth.

The macros

Vietnam’s ascension to the regional, if not global, spotlight has been nothing short of an economic miracle. Just three decades ago, the country was one of the poorest in the world, with gross domestic product per capita treading around US$100 and over 70% of its population living in poverty.

Thanks to the Doi Moi reforms introduced in 1986 that gradually saw the liberalization, privatization, and diversification of its economy, Vietnam today is a comfortably middle-income country, with an accelerating market driven by a large, increasingly wealthy, and digitally connected middle class. From 2000 to 2015, Vietnam exhibited an average GDP growth rate of 6.9%, most recently clocking in at 7.08% in 2018, placing it among the fastest-growing economies in the world.

With 95.5 million people, Vietnam boasts not only the third-largest population in Southeast Asia, but also a young one, with over half under the age of 35. Levels of disposable income have also never been higher, and internet and mobile adoption are becoming more ubiquitous among its consumer base.

These are the fundamentals that should whet the appetite of any early-stage investor worth their salt, and many seem to agree. In the 2019 eConomy SEA report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, Vietnam was designated as the third-most funded country in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Indonesia, having attracted over US$1 billion in funds over the last few years. The country’s internet economy has expanded by 38% on an annualized basis since 2015 – growing far more quickly than its regional peers with the exception of Indonesia – and is now set to reach US$12 billion or 5% of its GDP in 2019, according to the report.

It was only a few years ago when Vietnam lagged behind the majority of its peers in terms of capital allocation, deals done, and overall interest. But now, the conversations are evidently shifting from “Why Vietnam?” to “How do I get a piece of Vietnam?”

The tech talent

A classic characterization of the ideal Southeast Asian startup is one that is headquartered in Singapore, targeting Indonesia, with designers in Thailand, customer service in the Philippines, and engineers in Vietnam. It’s a gross oversimplification of each country’s strengths, but it’s nonetheless rooted in some degree of truth.

Vietnam’s heavy investment in science, technology, engineering, and math education over the last 15 years, combined with improved internet connectivity and a young, low-cost workforce, has spawned a thriving IT outsourcing industry. Vietnam is now home to roughly 30,000 IT companies, while churning out 80,000 IT graduates a year from its universities, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology. The country has also usurped China as Japan’s second-largest software outsourcing partner, right behind India, and houses substantial research and devvelopment bases from the likes of IBM, Intel, Oracle, Samsung, and Grab.

What does this mean for startups? This country is producing a legion of skilled developers ready to join a startup or bootstrap one of their own.

Many of the local founders I met previously worked for an outsourcing company (or in many cases simultaneously), but turned to entrepreneurship and startups in search of greater opportunities for growth and impact.

Of course, the talent pool is not without its challenges. The talent is certainly there, but it’s raw, and it’s young. As the ecosystem is still relatively nascent, there are very few people who have experience managing teams and solving problems at scale.

Moreover, while Vietnam’s education curricula in technical subjects like math and science have evolved tremendously in the last two decades, outsourcing is still an inherently low-level, low-value process, leaving a void of product-focused engineers that understand the holistic impact of their efforts on end users.

Nevertheless, the foundation is there. Vietnamese students regularly outperform the majority of their regional peers, while notably surpassing student performance in several Western countries, such as the UK and the US. Especially now, as we embrace the onset of deep technologies like AI and blockchain, Vietnam’s massive talent pool – if properly refined and nurtured – gives the country a unique comparative advantage over other Southeast Asian countries when it comes to producing prospective tech startups.

The sea turtles

In Taiwan, they’re called “hai gui;” in the Philippines, “balikbayan;” and in Vietnam, “Viet Kieu.” Collectively, they’re commonly referred to as “sea turtles”: locals who lived overseas, typically in Western countries, and eventually returned home to work or start their own businesses.

These returnees are often a primary driver of value creation for developing markets. That’s largely due to the experience gained, best practices learned, and network accumulated from some of the world’s leading universities and companies, which they’re able to integrate into their own ventures. Among Southeast Asia’s current crop of unicorns, the majority of their founders received some form of education abroad. For example, Grab’s Anthony Tan, Gojek’s Nadiem Makarim, and Traveloka’s Ferry Unardi all studied at Harvard Business School.

Looking at Vietnam’s current startup hall of fame, the majority of founders studied abroad at some point or another:

  • Son Tran, founder of Tiki.vn, University of New South Wales
  • Hai Linh Tran, co-founder and CEO of Sendo, Nanyang Technological University
  • Ba Diep Nguyen, founder of Momo, Curtin University
  • Tuan Pham, founder and CEO of Topica Edtech Group, New York University

And the list just goes on from there. In fact, even Minh Le, chairman and CEO of VNG – the country’s one and only unicorn – received a part of his higher education abroad at Monash University.

But this is just the beginning. There’s an estimated 4 million Vietnamese currently living overseas, with more than 130,000 of them studying abroad every year. Ho Chi Minh itself receives approximately 30,000 young Vietnamese returning from overseas annually to seek business and startup opportunities. The government has also doubled down on its efforts to attract overseas talent by creating relaxed visa programs for Viet Kieu and exempting them from certain investment requirements.

The homegrown ecosystem

Although Vietnam has yet to produce a regional success story the likes of a Grab or Shopee, the country does have its fair share of rising stars and homegrown champions that are effectively holding their own against foreign entrants. There’s Tiki.vn for ecommerce (reportedly raising over US$100 million in its latest round), Momo for e-wallet (recently raised US$100 million in series C funding), Zalo for messaging (owned by VNG), and also a handful of local ride-hailing contenders including Be (started by VNG’s co-founder) and FastGo (recently expanded in Singapore).

The fact that consumption hasn’t been completely dominated by international companies is indicative of a robust, end-to-end, and local ecosystem, underpinned by key pillars of support including angels, institutional investors, accelerators/incubators, media, and co-working spaces collectively split across major tech hubs in Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, and Da Nang.

The tone at the top has also played a pivotal role in the proliferation of the startup scene in Vietnam. Techfest, for example, is an annual event organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology that draws out over 5,500 attendees, 250 investors, and 600 startups. Earlier this year, the ministry also hosted the first iteration of the Vietnam Venture Summit, which brought out over 100 domestic and international funds to “unfreeze capital flows” and jumpstart innovation.

The time is now

Vietnam has come a long way since its agrarian roots. The country’s transition into the digital era is full steam ahead, with the transformation of its major cities into sprawling metropolises and key economic centers already well under way.

And the ones at the heart of this metamorphosis are the Vietnamese people, defined by a growing population of students, coders, engineers, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

For locals, there’s never been a better time to start a business. The country’s overall development and rapid urbanization over the past 20 years, sprinkled in with a formidable sense of national pride and ethnic belonging have collectively opened up a waterfall of opportunities that are now ripe for the taking.

For international stakeholders, especially those from developed markets where several generations of serial entrepreneurs and investor know-how have already run their course, there still exists a level of experience arbitrage in Vietnam. It’s a unique window of opportunity to diffuse tactics, playbooks, and best practices into an emerging market just now coming to terms with increasing affluence, consumer sophistication, and digital transformation.

【If you’re a startup currently or prospectively employing AI / IoT or Blockchain / Crypto, be sure to apply AppWorks Accelerator’s AI & Blockchain only batch.】

Photo by InstagramFOTOGRAFIN courtesy of Pixabay

探索台灣 AI 生態系地圖 (2019H2 更新)

Sandi Wu, Analyst (吳岱蓉 / 分析師)

負責 Accelerator 與投資。加入 AppWorks 前,任職於富邦產險電子商務部,負責線上投保平台的專案管理及 Email 行銷,喜愛探究數字背後的意義。曾前往芬蘭交換學生半年,期間走遍半個歐洲,喜歡寂靜的自然風景勝過繁華的現代都市。畢業於台大財金系,擔任系女排隊長,熱愛美食、排球、旅遊及挑戰新事物。

在 AI 的發展上,台灣一直是大東南亞地區 (東協 + 台灣) 領先的人才重鎮。我們也可以看到,過去兩年來,Google、Microsoft、IBM 等科技巨頭陸續在台灣成立 AI 研發中心,主要原因除了台灣有好的人才以外,在地理位置上,台灣也位居連接東南亞與東北亞地區的樞紐位置。

除了世界巨頭外,越來越多東南亞地區的新創企業也相繼來台徵才。例如,同樣來自新加坡的 Carousell,以及 AppWorks Accelerator 第 13 屆 (AW#13) 校友 ShopBack。台灣的吸引力,在於相較整個大東南亞地區,台灣的電商發展十分蓬勃,2019 全年營收預估突破新台幣 2,000 億大關,因此擁有大量的電商數據,成為了發展 AI 模型最佳的基礎。 在 AppWorks Accelerator 每半年更新一次「2019 H2 台灣 AI 生態系地圖」(The Taiwan’s AI Ecosystem Map 19H2) 的過程中,我們發現,在過去半年中,以下的垂直在 AI 發展上有更為顯著的成果:

(原始檔案下載:Taiwan’s AI Ecosystem 19H2)

大平台廣告紅利結束,企業專注於影片行銷、熟客經營及再行銷

隨著 Facebook 演算法改變、資訊爆炸,運用有限的預算、透過數位廣告來吸引消費者越來越困難。企業開始注重經營自媒體,以及經營熟客與再行銷,專注於忠誠度最高、貢獻度也最高的客群,並提供給他們最適合的商品,這樣的趨勢,為提供行銷解決方案的 AI 新創開創了更多的商業機會。

創立於 2011 年的 iKala,從一開始的線上卡拉 OK、直播平台,歷經 8 年的轉型成為人本 AI ( Human-Centered AI) 行銷科技公司,是 Google Cloud 亞太區最大的合作夥伴及 Facebook 全球行銷解決方案夥伴,目前市場遍佈台灣、香港、新加坡、泰國、越南及日本,並於去年初宣布完成 A 輪融資 500 萬美元。從 iKala 提供的服務來看,可以見到隨著影音行銷崛起,也創造了更多的商機,除了吸引眼球外,透過 AI 技術,可以更有效率地找到適合的網紅,並透過成效導向的廣告解決方案打中消費者。

其他像是同為 AW#16 的 Easychat 以及 Rosetta.ai,都專注於提供品牌再行銷服務,不再是透過群發訊息,協助企業客戶利用 AI 模型精準的打中消費者,因為企業客戶擁有大量的數據,而新創擁有良好的技術,創造雙贏的局面。

結合硬體實力,專注在安全監控和居家應用場景

台灣擁有世界一流的硬體實力與完整的產業供應鏈,再加上公眾攝影機基礎建設的完善,我們可以看見,在 AI 應用中,安全監控與居家應用分別出現了幾家小有成績的新創。

安全監控一直以來都是企業重視的議題之一,透過結合 AI 技術,可以大幅減少浪費人力以及避免人為疏失,進而提升監控品質和安全性。以安全監控產業來看,除了 AW#9 的 UmboCV 成功進入歐美市場,並在超過 30 個國家擁有長期付費用戶,還有於 2014 年創立、AW#19 的 Beseye,其為日本東急鐵道導入人體骨幹分析,透過 AI 擷取人體骨骼特徵,當攝影機偵測到有人進入禁行的軌道時,系統便會自動通知中控中心或站務人員即時處理,降低鐵路平交道事故,目前已有超過 2,000 家企業客戶,其中也包含遠傳及中華電信等大型企業。其他新創像是 ioNetworksCyCarrier 也都專注於提供安全監控相關的服務。

在居家應用層面,隨著現代人生活忙碌,逐漸出現了許多針對不同族群的照護攝影機,也讓用戶在工作時,可以更方便關心家中的長輩、幼兒與寵物。像是 AW#10 的 NUWA Robotics 於 2018 年推出第一代陪伴型機器人「凱比同學」售出超過 5,000 台後,近日推出第二代陪伴型機器人「Kebbi Air」,在群眾募資平台嘖嘖上線不到半小時便募資突破新台幣百萬元。NUWA 主打 STEAM 程式教育、劇場式英文學習和體感互動教育,著眼於教育陪伴機器人市場,也是居家智能小幫手。另有 Aeolus 專注於長輩居家照護服務、AW#16 的 Cubo 智慧寶寶攝影機以及 Furbo 專注於「毛小孩」寵物照顧服務。

透過金融沙盒,金融業逐漸擁抱創新

因為受到高度監管,金融業的 AI 運用算是腳步稍微慢一些,但有鑒於擁有大量數據及客戶完整資料的優勢,箇中的潛力商機一直不容可小覷。金管會在 2018 年開放外界申請監理沙盒實驗以來,2019 年申請案已經受理超過 10 件,超出金管會當初設定的目標。2017 年成立的 HowInvest,透過機器學習提供客製化的智慧決策及即時監控服務,來降低民眾理財門檻,今年和遠東銀行旗下的數位銀行 Bankee,申請通過進入沙盒,進行「即時基金互換」實驗,投資人可以將持有的基金,以基金淨值與其他會員做等價即時交換,好處是不必贖回就能換到喜歡的基金,還能省下交易費用,能更彈性的調整投資目標。

許多金融新創也開始和大型金融業合作,不再從取代現有金融業體系的角度出發,除了可以降低金融業者的憂心,還可以創造雙贏的局面。像是 hiHedge 和富邦期貨共同推出「富邦 hiHedge 籌碼 AI 趨勢策略」,使用 AI 技術每日計算台灣上市股票的籌碼流向,提供消費者更完整的資訊。其他新創像是 Adenovo 則是專注於為金融機構與企業,提供即時的智慧金融解決方案,已獲得阿里巴巴創業者基金、兆豐創投的投資

隨著越來越多 AI 新創冒出頭,台灣在創業加速器、教育、研究等面向,也呈現蓬勃發展。在創業加速器部分,2010 年成立、自 2018 年 8 月 (AW#17) 起限定招募 AI / Blockchain 新創的 AppWorks Accelerator,目前為止已經招收三期 AI / Blockchain 共 89 個新創,其中有  44 組 AI、11 組 IoT 新創,持續為台灣 AI 生態系挹注新能量。

AppWorks 之外,包括微軟新創加速器 (Microsoft for Startups)、Taiwan AI x Robotics Accelerator 等,皆是以 AI 新創團隊為主要招募對象的創業加速器。台灣人工智慧學校、台灣人工智慧實驗室,則分別是台灣在 AI 教育與研究領域的代表性機構,也期望越來越多的資源會注入 AI 領域的發展。

The Taiwan’s AI Ecosystem Map 19H2 由 AppWorks 製作,每半年更新一次,有任何指教與建議,請 email 至 [email protected]

【歡迎所有 AI / IoT、Blockchain 的創業者,加入專為你們服務的 AppWorks Accelerator

Photo by Pexels on Pixabay

Taiwan’s AppWorks Demo Day #19 Puts 18 of the Most Promising Greater Southeast Asian AI / Blockchain Founders on Stage

Our founders represent innovations in AI and blockchain that are happening across Greater Southeast Asia.

AppWorks Accelerator, the region’s longest-running accelerator with a focus on AI / blockchain, presents Demo Day #19, a showcase of 18 founders from Greater Southeast Asia (ASEAN + Taiwan), who are pushing innovations in AI / IoT and Blockchain in a US$ 3 trillion region. 

This founder-focused showcase underpins the case that Taiwan as a startup hub is an integral component of this growth region. Within only 18 months, AppWorks alumni have expanded their presence in GSEA 1.6x, testimony that the accelerator and the country are a launchpad for founders driving business change in a region where population growth is rising 3.5x the pace in Greater China. 

The 18 founders pitching today demonstrate experiments in the AI / IoT and Blockchain frontiers that are catalyzing growth in industries from real estate, to finance, to medical science. 

A total of 14 AI / IoT startups and four Blockchain startups pitched. Six of those founders are from Taiwan, and the other 12 come from around the world and GSEA. More than half of the founders in this batch are serial entrepreneurs, with many hailing from established tech companies like Google, Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, Agoda, IBM Watson, Initium Media, and PepsiCo. 

Having spent four months developing these frontier-shaping technologies in Taiwan, they will be pitching in front of the investors and potential corporate partners from Taiwan and SEA, including investment professionals and executives from Fubon Financial Holdings, Taiwan Mobile, Cathay Life Insurance, Wistron Corporation, Hungtai Group, UDN, FarEasTone, as well as Taiwan’s National Development Council,  and many more. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for investment and business collaboration for these founders. 

All of the founders pitching today have produced early traction, especially in customer acquisitions. Their products have pushed into new markets and many used Taiwan as a launchpad for potential accelerated growth throughout the region. 

Telepod is a smartEV shared scooter and a battery kiosk network, already rolled out in seven markets

Jin-Ni Gan, founder of Telepod, a miniEV mobility startup based in Singapore, has grown her mobility and battery kiosk platform to seven markets in an effort to bring transport efficiency and climate harm reduction to cities in developing SEA markets. 

Matters founder Annie Zhang was influenced by her journalism background to help content creators get paid, and remembered, through using blockchain

Annie Zhang, founder of Blockchain startup Matters from Hong Kong, will demonstrate a Blockchain platform that enables content providers to be paid for their content, rather than to have their content and revenue opportunities taken hostage by advertising algorithms and walled social media gardens. She has scaled to over 20,000 customers during her accelerator session. 

Shaq Tu, founder of Beseye, has booked giant Tokyo Railways as a client for the startup’s wifi-managed AI cameras, which scan the movement of people near railway tracks to prevent accidents.

SELF TOKEN from Taiwan creates Blockchain digital assets through Ethereum Smart Contracts and is committed to creating an ecosystem of immersive entertainment experiences.  Founder Jack Hsu also directed “The Last Thieves”, the world’s first film based on Blockchain. He was nominated this year for the Best New Director in the 56th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.

WeavAir is a sensors and analytics company started by Singularity University graduate Dr. Natalia Mykhalova. The company uses AI and IoT sensors to build a recurring revenue business model that helps developers and landlords pinpoint trouble spots in their building control systems. The team have embarked on projects with 12 clients in SEA, including FarEastone and the Airport Authority of Hong Kong. 

Arical co-founders Clement Tien (left) and San Wong (right) are using AI to work with companies like HongKong Land to shrink the amount of time it takes to perform real estate market analysis and architectural feasibility studies

Arical, co-founded by Clement Tien and San Wong from Hong Kong, is a platform that “unlocks the potential of property development” by using AI to create “instant” feasibility studies that provide value to investors and communities. Their AI 3-D generation engine enables clients like HongKong Land to spend only a few minutes to map out all feasible possibilities to optimize for the ideal product mix / tenant mix, as they have done recently in a project in Manila, the Philippines. This is an order of magnitude more efficient than the weeks and months it often takes to come up with new proposals.

The construction equipment platform Fourcons was started by founder Felix Hartantio, from Indonesia. Fourcons provides an AI-driven platform for finding, verifying and managing construction equipment. Only one month after launch, they have fulfilled US$11k in orders in several provinces in Indonesia, and they are rushing to fulfill the remaining US$800k, even as they scale to new provinces.

In the area of real estate, Blyng is an AI virtual assistant created by co-founder Julien Priour, which helps agencies cut down on missed opportunities in qualifying inbound leads. The company has secured several real estate agency clients in Europe and in GSEA. 

Anthony So, co-founder of OnMyGrad, faced a difficult time after his education and now wants to help other students like his former self understand exactly what they need to do to succeed in careers of their choice

Career development and workforce transition platform OnMyGrad, co-founded by Anthony So, from Hong Kong, works with recruiters to help students prepare for roles in several industries. They have engaged with 3,800 participants and 10+ universities over the course of the accelerator period, and taken in HKD $2 million (US$ 256k) in total revenue in just two months. 

KaChick co-founder Peggy Cheung and her fellow co-founder Larry Lam are travelers who want to unite photographers and brands through the capture of beautiful moments with loved ones

KaChick co-founders Peggy Cheung and Larry Lam have built a platform for sourcing authentic photography from over 1,500 amateur and professional photographers, and have taken steps to pair those media assets with brands in the hospitality and entertainment space to drive more engaging marketing and branding campaigns at lower margin cost. They have beta trials in place with regional companies like Dyson, Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, and AIA. 

Dent & Co founder (and dentist) Steve Chu will attempt to bring more smiles to the world through a medical services AI chatbot

Other AI startups include Dent & Co, a medical services AI chatbot created by dentist Steve Chu. Fluv, a pet care platform for local pet parents and sitters, is being demonstrated by former PepsiCo marketing staffer Candace Chen. 

Mellow, created by first-time founders Chester Szeen and Teresa Chan from Hong Kong, is an app to help young people and families manage finances. It enables children to use their “first money” through debit card usage and parent-regulated accounting. The app aims to grow into a platform targeting a US$2 trillion market, and they have created early development success in Hong Kong and Japan. 

Also in the vertical of payments, but focused on Blockchain, is Dapp Pocket, a crypto wallet app for Dapp lovers, created by Anderson Chen. And Portto, a Blockchain startup created by three former members of the crypto company Cobinhood promises to make the KYC and onboarding process for using Blockchain simpler. 

AI/IoT startup  Whoopee Robot, created by founder Morris Lu, is now operating in five local shops and has served over 10,000 cups of robotically-delivered espresso beverages.

Chien Lee demonstrated his AI-powered PR service SparkAmplify, which delivers an automated public relations system for clients. In one case, the platform generated 127,000 views for Mavin, Inc. during recent press events. 

Husband and wife team Dr. Lisa Hsu and Mark Mai built Gigvvy Science to shorten the time it takes to push scientific research into the hands of people who can use it to save lives

Finally, New Zealand-based co-founders Lisa Hsu and Mark Mai will demo Gigvvy Science, a platform for speeding up the sluggish vetting and reviewing of critical science research. 

Background and Recap 
AppWorks Chairman and Partner Jamie Lin said at the opening of the event: 

“The twice a year AppWorks Demo Days have always been THE go-to event for investors and corporate leaders to witness firsthand the development of cutting-edge technologies and their business applications that have a GSEA twist as well as meeting future startup stars. 

With AW#19, 68% of the founders hail from countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Ireland, Canada, the US, and China. Of the 31 teams that were admitted to the AW#19 program, 19 are working with AI/IoT, 10 with Blockchain/Crypto, and 2 are incorporating both technologies. What’s more, 23% of founders from this batch are female, which marks one of our highest percentages in recent years. 

With the addition of the graduates from AW#19, there are now a total of 376 active startups and 1,113 founders in the AppWorks Ecosystem. Collectively, all companies produced a turnover of US$ 4.97B, an annual increase of 98% compared to the same time last year, and have fostered the placement of 11,162 employees, 1,047 more than the year prior. Altogether, the Ecosystem raised a total of US$ 1.1B, an annual increase of 36%, with an aggregate valuation reaching US$ 4.72B, growing 29% YoY.

While the numbers alone are impressive, the trend of ASEAN+Taiwan is even stronger. Over time this connection continues to mark Taiwan as a launchpad for SEA founders. As we observe today’s pitches, keep in mind that as growth continues to accelerate in this dynamic region, this integral connection will continue to deepen and grow stronger.”

Founding Partner and Chairman of AppWorks Jamie Lin

The State of AppWorks Ecosystem

The State of the AppWorks Startup Ecosystem — 376 active startups; 1,113 founders, and US$ 4.97 billion in value, with over 11,000 jobs created

A list of today’s founders and teams