Same founder, different gamble

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Hi readers,

I often think of startups as the embodiment of a founder’s individuality. On occasion, however, a founders’ personality overshadows what the startup stands for.

These larger-than-life personalities make big bets on their companies. For instance, AirAsia’s co-founder and CEO Tony Fernandes is confident that the budget carrier’s ambitious super-app pivot will take off even as it ventures deep into uncharted territory.

This is merely another gamble out of many that Fernandes has made so far. In 2001, he bought AirAsia, which was then saddled with nearly 40 million ringgit (US$9.4 million) in debt, for just 1 ringgit. By 2018, the airline had grown its fleet from two ageing airplanes to a respectable 226.

There are also signs that Fernandes may laugh all the way to the bank again:

• AirAsia Digital raked in 39% of AirAsia Group’s revenue in the first quarter of 2021, nearly five times as high compared to a year ago.
• Teleport, AirAsia’s cross-border logistics company, saw its revenue triple over the last quarter, and is slated to raise up to US$100 million.

However, not everyone is convinced of another Fernandes win. AirAsia doesn’t have a track record of doing anything else other than travel, and there’s still much uncertainty over how its super-app strategy will pan out.

Not that Fernandes cares. He’s proven his skeptics wrong before, and he’s positive that he’ll prove them wrong once more.

— Tay Tian Wen, journalist at Tech in Asia

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