Tag, you’re sued for rejecting an investment

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A startup joined a pitching competition organized by an investor. The good news: It won and was awarded S$300,000 in funding. The bad news: The startup is now embroiled in a lawsuit because it rejected the investment.

Today we look at:

• How this Singapore startup got sued for saying no to an investor
• A new venture capital by venture capitalists
• Other ongoing lawsuits: Thailand vs. social media giants, and Tesla vs. the Trump administration

From getting funded to getting sued

In March this year, B2B medical supplies marketplace Lumiere32 won the C-Shark Tank pitching competition held by the angel women network She1K. Now, it’s embroiled in a lawsuit filed by the event organizer. What happened?

• Just say no: Lumiere32 was presented with She1K’s funding term sheet after winning the competition, but the terms weren’t to the startup’s liking. After failed attempts at negotiation, the founders decided to decline the investment.
• It’s all downhill from here: She1K then sued Lumiere32, asking for 3x the funding amount promised — that’s S$900,000. The reason? The startup’s alleged breach of the event’s participation contract. But perhaps there’s more to this than meets the eye.
• The opposite of being funded: Lumiere32 is reported to have already spent over S$100,000 in legal fees. In addition, its fundraising efforts would likely be affected by the ongoing lawsuit.

Read more: A Singapore startup said no to an investor. The investor sued, citing a breach of contract

When venture capitalists buddy up

PSA to all early-stage startups: A group of regional venture capital veterans have set up a new firm to look out for founders like you in Southeast Asia.

• Prominent, yo: Named Altara Ventures, the new VC firm is one of the largest homegrown VC partnerships in the region.
• Who’s who: The team comprises seasoned individuals such as Credence Investment managing partner Chow Boon, Credence Partners partner Seow Kiat Wang, B Capital’s former general partner Gavin Teo, and Eight Roads’ Southeast Asia head Dave Ng, and it is led by Koh Boon Hwee, a GIC board member and the founding partner of Credence. (Psst: On a related note, do check out this popular piece about the hidden alliances between Southeast Asia’s VCs.)
• Their past investments: The five general partners have funded companies we’ve likely heard of. They include Alteon Networks, Carro, Ninja Van, Razer, StashAway, and Twitch.

Quick bytes

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