A startup’s eye-popping claims

Dear readers,

What happens when a new startup says it has reached US$1 billion in gross merchandise value in just 12 months and that it got all wholesalers – around 20,000 of them – in a large country to join its platform?

Usually, the media would lap it all up and report such claims word for word. But as the tech community demands more, startups and the industry in general should no longer be given a free pass.

That’s the approach our Indonesia reporter Aditya Hadi Pratama took with our story on GudangAda, which has claimed fantastic numbers and attracted legitimate investors.

GudangAda founder and CEO Stevensang / Photo credit: GudangAda

We spoke to a number of current and ex-employees to find out what’s going on. Aditya even did in-person visits with some wholesalers and retailers in person despite the pandemic to get their thoughts on the startup. Check out the full story for more.

We also delved into the much-touted livestreaming ecommerce trend, which has taken off in China. But how essential is it really to the core online shopping experience? It’s set to become important but in a limited way, writes Melissa Goh.

Next, we looked at a startup idea that’s been derided for a long time: powerbank rentals. Contrary to criticism, it appears to be doing well in China. In this collaborative effort, the Tech in Asia team analyzed the concept’s potential in Southeast Asia and calculated its total addressable market as well as unit economics.

Finally, we ended the week by poring through the latest financial data from Singapore-based payments startup 2C2P. Its numbers for 2019 look fantastic, but like most companies, it’s likely facing turbulence this year. If you liked this format, you can expect us to experiment more with shorter but original reporting.

That’s all from me this week. And as usual, if you find our work useful, do subscribe to us.

Cheers,

Terence
Chief Editor