Upmesh’s profits dive even as live commerce thrives

Venture capital investors often look at a startup’s total addressable market (TAM) when they consider making an investment. But a large TAM, on its own, isn’t so helpful if other factors like good execution or leadership stability are missing.

Case in point? Upmesh. The company, which provides software tools to businesses engaged in live selling – including automating the order management process – recorded a steep drop in profits in its 2023 financial results.

The gross merchandise value of social commerce in Southeast Asia is expected to reach US$85 billion by 2027, which represents an annual growth rate of over 22% between 2022 and 2027.

Last year, ecommerce enabler Shopify found that 68% of retailers across the region planned to increase their investment in social commerce over the following 12 months.

However, Upmesh’s financial performance in 2023 seems to indicate that the company has not benefited from these sectoral tailwinds.

Photo credit: Illhamt Kamara Studio / Shutterstock

Declining revenue

In 2023, the firm logged a 21.5% decline in revenue compared to its previous financial year, according to its audited financial statements, even though the latter encompassed a longer period (spanning from September 2021 through December 2022).

While the company was still in the black for 2023, its profit before taxes shrank by 80% year over year to US$81,000.

Perhaps one reason for this was unstable leadership: The firm had three different CEOs in just two months.

Co-founder Wong Zi Yang stepped down as chief executive in April, and his replacement, fellow co-founder Shawn Teow, relinquished the position a month later.

See also: 3 CEOs in 2 months: leadership crisis at live commerce enabler Upmesh

Ultimately, Tan Kim Hock took on the mantle as interim CEO. Tan is an investment manager at Monk’s Hill Ventures, which invested US$7.5 million in Upmesh in a pre-series A round in 2021.

However, Monk’s Hill Ventures no longer appears to be a shareholder of the company. Instead, four individuals – Charlene Lim, Jade Seah, Daniel Lim, and Samuel Lim – are now listed as the company’s shareholders, according to data from platform Handshakes.ai.

It’s unclear who is currently serving as the company’s CEO. Neither Tan nor Upmesh responded to Tech in Asia’s queries.

A certain calm