Sued by his previous startup

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Today we look at:

• The latest in the case between a founder and his previous startup
• How Foodpanda keeps on growing
• Other newsy highlights such as ByteDance’s 2020 revenue and Wise’s plans to go public

PREMIUM SUMMARY

The legal drama between this founder’s old and new startups

Last year, Sy Phong Bui, founder and CEO of Vietnamese business-to-business ecommerce marketplace Telio, was accused of breaching his duties as director by his previous fintech startup OnOnPay (OOPA).

• What are Telio and OOPA? Telio made a splash in 2019 after it had bagged US$25 million in a series A round led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Sequoia India, GGV Capital, and RTP Global. It was reportedly valued at over US$100 million. Meanwhile, OOPA was founded in 2014 and its platform is no longer active.
• What happened?: Bui, who is the founder of both OOPA and Telio, was accused of using his previous company’s business opportunities and resources – including its merchant network, human resources, investor relationships, and intellectual property – to develop his shiny new startup Telio.
• The verdict: After a nearly two-year-long legal spat, the Singapore High Court has declared that “Bui did not act honestly or reasonably” and ordered the CEO to transfer shares of Telio, along with a personal payment of US$174,000, to OOPA.

Read more: Telio founder loses lawsuit, judge finds that he “did not act honestly or reasonably”

PREMIUM SUMMARY

How this panda keeps on growing

Who needs eucalyptus when you can make millions of dollars sending food to other people? Foodpanda, one of the largest food delivery startups in Asia outside of China, had a great year with its revenues growing by over 2.5x in 2020.

Riding the choppy cryptocurrency waves