Japanese video-editing app Moso is now gone, but Piktochart and Payroll Hero are thriving [Startup Asia Preview]

This article is part of our coverage of 2012 Startup Arena participants. We’ve been tracking their progress since they pitched at last year’s event, and here’s where they stand now. Join Startup Arena Jakarta 2013 to experience the same thrill this year.

Payroll Hero team at Startup Arena Jakarta 2012

Last year’s Startup Asia Jakarta runner-up, Payroll Hero from the Philippines, is doing well. The co-founder, Stephen Jagger tells us that it’ll have a couple of announcements in the coming weeks.

Another startup to highlight is Cabara, an Indonesian startup that also pitched at Startup Arena Jakarta 2012. Cabara planned to help people find domestic helpers more easily, since finding a trustworthy worker is a big problem in Indonesia. Faisal Rizal, CEO of Cabara, tells us that now it not only focuses on domestic helpers but also other job vacancies in collaboration with some head-hunters.

Since launching in 2011, Cabara has outsourced around 1,000 domestic workers in the Jakarta area and Saudi Arabia.

Other startups that pitched in our Startup Arena Singapore 2012 are thriving too. Singapore’s StartNow is changing its business model and targeting corporate employee volunteers, Malaysia’s Piktochart is looking for seed funding, and the first ever winner from our event, Teamie, is profiting well with its social learning platform.

Shit happens

Of course, Startup Arena winners aren’t immune to mistakes and failures. Shit happens, but you learn from your mistakes and become a better entrepreneur.

A couple of days ago, I received a failure notice after sending an email to Shinji Murakoshi, the founder of Japanase video-editing app Moso. I tried looking for the Moso app in the App Store and opening its website, getting nothing from both attempts. I tried to contact Murakoshi to know what happened, but got no reply.

This is indeed sad news since Moso was the first winner of Startup Arena Jakarta in June last year and won $10,000 in cash. During last year’s pitching session, Murakoshi talked about his video editing software for Mac OS X (with an iPhone version in the works) and said he hoped to get more than a million downloads.

Cabara team at Startup Arena Jakarta 2012

Upcoming Startup Arena Jakarta 2013

If you’re running your own company, and haven’t gotten your tickets to Startup Asia Jakarta on November 21 and 22, get them now.

(Editing by Terence Lee, Steven Millward)