Letter to readers: You’re not here for our journalism

Dear readers,

Basketball legend Michael Jordan once said: “To win, you gotta lose.”

Image credit: ESPN Films and Netflix

These words might be cliche, but they feel poignant in these times.

This is true for Southeast Asian tech, which felt the sting of yet another scandal – this time involving Indonesian unicorn eFishery.

I hope founders can reflect on the ecosystem’s mistakes and ride the next wave when it comes.

At Tech in Asia, we’ve certainly been doing some thinking, too.

Ever since we did a round of layoffs six years ago, we’ve been laser-focused on revenue.

This single-mindedness has served us well. We grew our subscription media business, turned profitable, and got acquired in a deal we’re happy with.

But it’s time to shift gears.

We’re learning that being too money-focused has its pitfalls.

For one, we end up losing sight of what matters: Understanding you, our reader, and what keeps you on board.

Of course, no one ignores their customers on purpose. Instead, we painted an overly simplistic picture of you with a brush called “data.”

We’re looking into this. The team, including our journalists, has been putting more emphasis on talking to readers and understanding more deeply what matters to you. `

This will not be a one-time effort, and your input is already influencing our editorial direction. One thing I’ve learned so far is this: A lot of our readers subscribe to us not because of our journalism.

Instead, journalism is a means to an end.

What we think you’re after is information that will help you navigate the tech scene and make better decisions. (If I’m wrong, tell me.)

And that’s where we can do a better job, starting with writing human-centered stories featuring interesting views from smart people. We’ve begun to do exactly that.

• In October, we interviewed Alex Hungate, the COO of Grab and got some insights on the company’s operating principles.
• Last month, we spoke to Lazada co-founder Magnus Ekbom and got the scoop on his new startup and where he stands on the AI boom.
• This week, we featured Amit Anand, the boss of VC firm Jungle Ventures, who spoke about why Southeast Asia’s tech scene has been “unfairly judged” and how it’s poised for a comeback.

This conviction has led Jungle Ventures to raise its bets on the region.

Anand’s confidence comes from “second-time founders – seasoned entrepreneurs leveraging lessons from earlier ventures to build their next ones,” he said.

Some of them no doubt had painful failures.

After all, you gotta lose to win.

Now’s the best time to invest in a Tech in Asia subscription to help you stay ahead of the curve. For a limited time, get 50% off your first year of our Core subscription and access our premium content for just US$99.50. That’s a savings of US$99.50.

Cheers,

Terence Lee
Editor-in-Chief