This week we’ve got quite a few interesting pieces of news, especially with 500 Startups traveling to Asia this month, they’ll be making their rounds across China and into Southeast Asia. Without further ado, let’s take a look.
Youshen’s pick: 3 Things Startups Can Learn From Reading ‘One Piece’ Manga
As a big fan of the One Piece manga series, it is a wonderful surprise to see the synergy between an enterprising startup and an upstart pirate crew. Remember Jeffrey Paine’s words of wisdom on the three types of founders? Luffy is an inspiring combination of a “steel balls”, “cockroach” and empathic founder of the “Straw Hat Pirates”. Most importantly, despite the highly comparable strength of Luffy’s specialist crew, they entrust their lives with one another. I certainly find the startup spirit more touching than ever now.
Steven’s pick: 500 Startups Eyes Southeast Asian Startups with $10 Million ’500 Durians’ Fund
Regular readers will know that the Southeast Asian internet market is a fantastic one with so much potential and maturation in store. But that’s not so well known around the globe. The newest local fund from Dave McClure’s 500 Startups – with the fund name 500 Durians. It’s a lot more tastily enticing than its namesake fruit with $10 million at its disposal – will help put SEA’s newest startups in the global spotlight.
Willis’ pick: China’s Government is Stifling Tech Innovation and Prolonging Social Problems
China has so much potential for entrepreneurs to solve various problems in the city. While some ideas are embraced by the government, it’s a shame to see some startups going down the drain with strict and meaningless regulation. I have had this thought for some time and I think Charlie’s article has hit the nail on the head to explain the frustration entrepreneurs face in China.
Minghao’s pick: Chinese Army to Conduct First Ever Cyberattack War Games
Besides the chat apps battle that’s is being fought fervently in East Asia, this is another battle to look out for. Computers and the internet have become such an integral part of our lives that we may not be able to operate well without them. From the basic use of sending emails, chat messaging, and reading news online to the more crucial uses in stock exchanges, airports, hospitals and military forces, internet is involved. A cyberwar that could disrupt or worse, manipulate it, will effectively paralyze countries and people’s lives. Hopefully, it never comes to this.
Emily’s pick: Singapore’s Pirate3D Printer Ready to Hit Kickstarter, Will Ship to Backers in December VIDEO
Singapore’s very own startup that produces an aesthetically pleasing 3D printer has officially launched their crowdfunding project on Kickstarter, along with a cool demo video of the 3D printer at work. The response to the project seems to be REALLY overwhelming. In just less than 2 days, it raised a total of about US$330,000 which is three times their initial targeted goal of US$100,000, and don’t forget they still have a month to go! It might be hard to resist such an affordable and sleek-looking 3D printer but I can’t help but wonder what the price is for a cartridge refill.
Andrew’s pick: Line Has 160 Million Users Worldwide, Its Suite of Apps Pass 23 Million Downloads in Indonesia
I’ve started to use LINE recently and I have to say that I’m hooked. The stickers did wonders and I believe that users are picking up LINE for it’s wide variety of interactive stickers. It’s indeed truly amazing to see how LINE breaks out of Japan, gaining popularity in overseas markets, and officially reaching 160 million users worldwide. Surely the marketing efforts in Indonesia paid off well for LINE as its suite of apps pass 23 million downloads. I’m no guru, but I won’t be surprised to see the figures increase in months to come. Let’s see.
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