We righted two wrongs last week

Dear readers,

One of the things that keeps me going at Tech in Asia is how we spotlight the startup scene.

Fundraising can be painful, which is why I’m glad to hear companies we cover get interest from investors. In many cases, these inquiries lead to actual deals.

Yes, we cover Asian unicorns (and our readership is very interested in them), but at heart we’re about serving up-and-comers. That was true when we started eight years ago, and it’s still true today. People may come and go, but we’re here to stay.

A few articles stood out recently in terms of advancing our mission:

How Kopi Kenangan plans to become Indonesia’s largest affordable coffee chain

Kopi Kenangan stands out as one of the new players that hopes to give Starbucks a run for their money. Check out our profile of Fore Coffee too as we continue our coverage of Indonesia’s “coffee revolution.”

With zero funding raised, car-sharing marketplace Tribecar is profitable and growing

A general newspaper in Singapore presented what I thought was an unfair portrayal of Tribecar, so I thought: let’s right that wrong.

This is a good example of why we need dedicated media to do quality coverage of the startup scene, as it’s hard to capture industry nuances when it’s not your specialization. (And yes, do subscribe if you’d like to support us.)

Hong Kong unicorn Tink Labs undergoes layoffs and major restructure

Good media coverage isn’t about cheerleading. It’s about providing an objective view of a company, in both good times and bad. This article continues our coverage of the Tink Labs saga. We got the scoop early but held off until a Hong Kong publication went to town with its sensationalized coverage.

We believe in giving companies ample time to respond to sensitive stories and in being transparent about the things we write about them.

We have been the only ones that gave insight into Tink Labs’ growing pains while other media focused on its huge valuation.

Check out the rest of our premium content from the past week:

• Complete list of tech and startup events in Singapore
• Monopoly Tencent is even worse than copycat Tencent
• Rising startups on Tech In Asia: learning apps, hotel chatbots, and more
• These are the most active investors in India’s startups

Cheers,

Terence
Chief editor