Asia’s first whole-plant-based meat brand Karana has closed its $2.37m (US$1.7m) seed round funding, according to an announcement. Karana has raised capital from some of the region’s leading industry experts, including Henry Soesanto, CEO of Monde Nissin Corp, Temasek and Tyson Foods-backed fund Big Idea Ventures, Japanese and Singaporean fund Germi8, and a leading Asia-based FMCG distributor. A number of…
At a recent fireside chat with undergraduates, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about how he does not think that there is any stigma or shame attached to startup founders who fail. He had good intentions in encouraging aspiring Singaporeans to try new businesses and succeed. I, for one, am eager too to promote this culture of entrepreneurship. The reality,…
Back in 1897, Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal -- winner of the Nobel Prize -- wrote a book called Advice for a Young Investigator. He argued that instead of spending hours reviewing books, lectures and broad research, scientists should focus deeply on a single object of study. This state, he wrote, “refines judgment, enriches analytical powers, spurs constructive imagination,…
The thought of starting your own small business can be a little scary, if not downright intimidating. Still, there are many great reasons for you to give it a go. It is now “easier” than ever before to start and run a business. Whether you are bootstrapping or have venture capital, it is now arguably riskier to depend on your…
Deal-making has also broadened, across companies and sectors, moving away from a few large companies such as Ola, Paytm and Flipkart The data defines venture capital investments as seed, or very early investments, to Series F deals in companies Startups in India have raised a record $3.9 billion from venture capitalists in the six months ended 30 June, as the…
When you speak to many entrepreneurs regarding how they got their start or what their "lightbulb" moments were in their early careers, chances are you won’t hear "bagging sand" often as an answer. For me, it was this experience in the military that gave me a clear vision of where I wanted to take my career and provided me the…
For startups, securing the first round of funding is a daunting process. Doing so requires founders to take what is often a very complex idea, product or solution, and boil it down to dollars and cents for investors who, for the most part, only care about how quickly they will make their money back. The process will test an entrepreneur's…
Samsung Venture Investment, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics that specialises in fostering startups, said on Monday that it has invested $4.6 million in an Israel-based firm Audioburst. Established in 2015, Audioburst operates a platform that provides customized audio content to users by analysing their listening patterns, interests, and preferences. The South Korean tech giant said the investment was made through…
Entrepreneurship is the new craze and many youngsters, as well as experienced professionals, are now exploring ways to have their own start-ups. The government is encouraging start-ups in a big way and we have seen an exponential growth in the number of new ventures opening every day. To ensure your enterprise thrives grows and does not die a premature death,…
What do you want to do next? It’s a generic question. Managers ask it all the time—or at least the good ones do. And they’re usually not expecting a unique answer. People want more responsibility. More opportunities. To try a different office, or a different team, a different department. But what if you want something radically different? What if you…