The Singapore-based social commerce startup that cut costs by 3x

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Hello reader,

You’d think that, with the economy doing far from well, I’d be cutting expenses however I could. On the contrary, I’ve been splurging on things that can be categorized as “stuff that makes me happy.”

These include basketball trading cards (an expensive hobby, mind you), a photobook of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City, and some Slam Dunk figurines. The last one I decided to buy right after I watched the recent The First Slam Dunk movie – evidence of the power of good content and storytelling.

I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters how I could never be a founder. I suppose this is another reason why. I probably wouldn’t do well trying to steer a company through the current rough waters.

That’s quite unlike the startup profiled in today’s feature story. Raena managed to cut its costs by 3x and is on course for profitability.

Read on to find out more.

Today we look at:

• The social commerce firm that has reduced its total costs by 3x
• The Hong Kong incubator that’s looking at Southeast Asia’s greentech firms
• Other newsy highlights such as NodeFlair’s US$2 million series A raise and Atome’s exit from Vietnam after just a year.

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Profitability > growth

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Cost-cutting measures need to be done with thought and consideration. Effective cuts are those made with specific objectives in mind, not just in a bid to make the balance sheet look a little nicer.

That’s how Raena went about things, making a series of calculated decisions as it went about the process.

• Exhibit A: The firm partnered directly with logistics companies to reach remote locations and got discounted rates as a result. These prices were better than what third-party logistics players offered, shares Sreejita Deb, co-founder and CEO of Raena.
• Exhibit B: Raena offloaded brands that required advance payments but had little profitability. This cut its topline by about 20% to 30%, but it managed to recover that amount as revenue from high-margin brands grew.
• Cash is king: Having low-margin brands that required upfront payments would look great on a P&L statement, but it would hurt Raena’s cash flow because unless sufficient money came in at the right time, the company would be in a cash crunch.

This HK incubator wants to go green

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