Startup lessons from Squid Game

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Hello readers,

My social media feeds – particularly LinkedIn – have recently been filled with posts about all the lessons business leaders can learn from the recent Netflix hit Squid Game.

Some of them gave pretty wild advice like “crush all the competition and do anything to get ahead.” But in my opinion, the best lesson can be learned from the show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, who’d been working on the series’ concept since as early as 2008. It took 11 years and several rejections from Korean production groups before Netflix brought him on board. Now, the show is the streaming platform’s biggest release.

This is a story most startup founders can relate to. It can take tens or even hundreds of pitch meetings before aspiring entrepreneurs can secure their first venture capital investments. But persevere long enough – while learning from each mistake and pivoting at every roadblock – and the funding could start flowing in.

With enough luck, yesterday’s struggling startup could become tomorrow’s leading player.

You can find all of the important investment deals that happened in the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up.

Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently took place.

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BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY

🇮🇳 CarDekho: The Indian online car marketplace raised US$250 million in a series E funding round from Canyon Partners, Franklin Templeton Investments, Harbor Spring Capital, Leapfrog Ventures, Mirae Asset Financial Group, and Sequoia Capital.

🇮🇱 Hibob: The Israeli HR tech platform bagged US$150 million from Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Eight Roads, Entrée Capital, General Atlantic, and Israel Growth Partners in a series C funding round.

🇨🇳 Leadrive: The Chinese electrification solutions provider scored US$46.2 million from China Merchants Capital, Spinnotec, Winreal Investment, and Zhongjin Qichen in a series B funding round.

🇸🇬 ShopBack: The Singapore-based cashback platform got US$40 million in series D money from EDBI, East Ventures, Indies Capital Partners, January Capital, and Temasek Holdings.

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Lists of most active investors in the region

List of top-funded startups in Asia

List of largest exits in Asia

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