4 need-to-knows for Asian startups to attract international investors

We’ve written a fair number of startup failure stories. While some get back on their feet and learned from these experiences, some do not get that chance. Philippine incubator Ideaspace Philippines realizes that. As such, during their recent Demo Day, where they presented the 10 startups that finished its six-month incubator period, it also invited some of the investors in the region to highlight what upcoming startups should take note of.

Burrill & Company digital health VC Derek Wong, LGT Venture Philatrophy investment manager Joan Yao, and IMJ Fenox regional manager of Indonesia Yasuhiro Seo dissected the need-to-know info for startups in Asia. Here’s their advice for startups to consider, especially to attract foreign investors:

Product

Most startups are trying to answer a social problem in their country or in the region. Of course, investors look for solutions that have high potential to scale. This can be seen in terms of impact to consumers, which can lead to the sustainability of the startup. But how can international investors completely grasp this?

Derek, who is located in the US, looks for a startup’s ability “to understand the solutions [the startups] are building for the region.”

Yasuhiro adds most of the countries in the region are still in nascency. He adds:

[On the investors’ part], bringing our assets is not enough. […] Each company has their own culture, so we try to be suitable to those users in each country. We try to understand the users’ habits.

Before building the product, the team can ask themselves, why does such a solution matter for the people? Once the founders have answered the question for themselves, they have to effectively impart this to the investor. This way, the investors can easily see the potential of growth of the product, which usually translates to the traction it can get from the population.

Passion

Formulating an idea is the simplest part of building a startup. More often than not, the challenges pop in after coming up with an idea. Conflicts may arise while creating a prototype of the product — validating the market, among other things. And as an investor, Derek says:

Starting a company is extremely difficult. You will hit hurdles very quickly. [So] when you want something, you have to want it bad enough.

Bad enough not to let go when an issue arises. Instead, a passionate entrepreneur will work around it to make it work.

People

People are the most important aspect of building a startup. It’s the person or a group of people who have the capability to create disruptive ideas and the technologies to make it work. That’s why, for Derek, people are the most important aspect of the company.

Preparation