Podcasts by Startup Snapshot

Deep Dive: How Asian VCs are giving the recession a run for its money from 2023-01-05T20:00

It’s undeniable – the world is in recession.

Although it took longer for the downturn to hit Asia, startups and venture capitalists have been preparing for it for months.

On this e...

A Startup's Guide to Remote Talent (Trailer) from 2022-12-20T06:45

Once upon a time, all it took to build a workforce was a couple of ads in the classified section of the local newspaper.

But with a global shift to remote working, companies have to consi...

Deep Dive: Hodlnaut’s mismanagement and lies from 2022-12-11T19:27

At the start of 2022, crypto firm Hodlnaut had the approval of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and close to US$1 billion in assets under management.

Today, the Singapore-based company...

Vibe Check: Mental Health in the Startup World (Trailer) from 2022-10-17T03:37

Vibe Check: Mental Health in the Startup World is a Tech in Asia podcast where writer and editor Winston Zhang speaks to startup leaders and men...

Deep Dive: PayMongo’s precarious predicament from 2022-10-12T06:53

Once a rising fintech company that drew in investors such as Y Combinator and Stripe, Philippines-based PayMongo now finds itself in a precarious position.

Allegations of questionable spe...

Deep Dive: How Animoca Brands became a blockchain gaming juggernaut from 2022-07-04T03:29:13

Animoca Brands is a name that is practically synonymous with the blockchain scene, with news of its acquisitions, fundraising, and expansions regularly hitting th...

Deep Dive: Does the rise of digibanks threaten Indonesia’s online lending industry? from 2022-05-31T05:24:39

As digital banking rises to prominence in Indonesia, tech companies from various sectors have been dipping their toes in the game, partnering with and sometimes even acquiring digibanks.

...

Deep Dive: How GoTo’s IPO went down from 2022-04-29T09:05:31

GoTo Group, the new entity formed through the Gojek-Tokopedia merger last year, listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange this month.

While the company’s shares quickly soared past its initial off...

Deep Dive: The plight of Indonesia’s UangTeman from 2022-03-25T01:43:49

Indonesian online lender UangTeman has had a tough few years.

Its name has been in and out of headlines since 2018, with stories either focusing on the company’s financial troubles or its...

Deep Dive: Asia’s crypto fever from 2022-03-07T08:13

As blockchain-related projects gather steam across Asia, the region’s countries are adopting crypto in unique ways.

While Vietnam’s strong gaming culture has driven its crypto boom, India...

Deep Dive: Grab’s rollercoaster of an IPO from 2022-01-20T20:30

Grab, one of the region’s most valuable tech companies, made its Nasdaq debut last month after a record US$40 billion merger with Altimeter, a New York-listed blank-check company.

However...

Deep Dive: The bright future of dark stores from 2021-12-09T20:30

Dark stores – more widely known as microdistribution hubs – have been gaining prominence in India and Southeast Asia, with grocery delivery startups like Listen

Deep Dive: Atome’s enigmatic parent company from 2021-11-12T08:24:58

After recently closing a US$400 million seri...

Deep Dive: Stripe’s rough road into Indonesia from 2021-10-08T06:08:34

Over the past year, financial services major Stripe has been stepping up its efforts to enter the Indonesian market, targeting key positions for early hires. Among them is former Grab Indonesia ...

Deep Dive: India’s D2C boom from 2021-09-10T05:43:19

It wasn’t too long ago that in India, Kashmiri apparel sellers carrying large, red-checked bed sheets full of handmade embroidered shawls, dress materials, and stoles would spend their days knoc...

Deep Dive: Why Bukalapak’s IPO is a big deal for Indonesia from 2021-08-13T06:20:56

Founded in 2010, Bukalapak initially had trouble raising funds because “nobody wanted to invest,” co-founder and former CEO Achmad Zaky said during Listen

Behind the idea that spawned a multimillion-dollar business from 2021-08-05T20:00

[This episode was produced in partnership with CleverTap]

In 2014, Sunil Thomas, Anand Jain, and Suresh Konda...

Deep Dive: Why HungryGoWhere ended up being all sizzle and no steak from 2021-07-02T09:25:10

For years, HungryGoWhere was the go-to platform for anyone looking for grub and sustenance in Singapore.

But last month, the site announced that it’s ending its 15-year run, bidding loyal...

Deep Dive: Gojek and Tokopedia’s merger from 2021-06-10T21:00

Last month, Indonesia-based super app Gojek and online marketplace Tokopedia announced a merger to form GoTo Group.

The move would give both companies a boost against their respective riv...

Deep Dive: Grab’s investor presentation from 2021-05-14T07:58:57

Last month, Grab announced its plans to go public in the US via a merger with Altimeter Capital, a special purpose acquisition company.

Listen

Deep Dive: How PatSnap joined the unicorn club from 2021-04-15T21:00

Last month, innovation intelligence startup PatSnap raised US$300 million from big-name backers like SoftBank Vision Fund ...

Deep Dive: Behind Sea’s latest moves from 2021-03-26T08:40:09

Over the past few weeks, one company that has frequently been hitting the headlines is Singapore-headquartered Sea.

...

Deep Dive: The rising ‘buy now, pay later’ trend from 2021-02-19T11:05

Towards the end of 2020, a number of “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) startups started ramping up their marketing, plastering ads across malls, train stations, and even social media platforms.

Deep Dive: How CoAssets lost its investors millions of dollars from 2021-01-14T20:00

In the last weeks of 2020, hundreds of retail investors were shocked when they discovered that Singapore-based investment platform CoAssets had disposed of over US$30 million of their investment...

Deep Dive: What’s going on with India’s OTT platforms from 2020-12-08T20:00

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that India is currently the world’s fastest-growing market for video streaming, and it’s set to become the sixth l...

Deep Dive: The big deal with regulating Big Tech from 2020-11-03T20:45:58

In recent years, Big Tech has drawn the ire of regulators across the globe. And given the current state of the world, some governments have been raising taxes on ...

Deep Dive: Vietnam’s brutal e-wallet war from 2020-10-06T20:30

Cash remains supreme in Vietnam, which means that there’s plenty of opportunities for a fintech player to conquer the market and become the digital payme...

Deep Dive: How Bangladesh got left out of Asia’s growth story from 2020-09-01T20:30

Tucked away between Myanmar and Nepal, and lying along the eastern border of India, is the little-known country of Bangladesh. Due to an unfortunate string of nat...

Deep Dive: The high hopes of the cannabis tech industry from 2020-08-11T20:30

According to analysts, the cannabis industry in Asia alone could be worth US$12.5 billion in 2024. 

While this estim...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from Gojek, Sequoia India, TikTok, and more from 2020-08-09T20:00

YouTube in Indonesia now offers GoPay as a payment option, Sequoia India appointed ex-Gojek tech chief Ajey Gore as an operating partner, and Trump banned dealings with the parent companies of T...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from CTrip, Uber, Oyo’s Ritesh Agarwal, and more from 2020-08-02T18:37:23

CTrip is reportedly planning to delist from Nasdaq, Uber’s Asia-Pacific operations are staying headquartered in Singapore while it works things out with Hong Kong...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from Gojek, Sorabel, Ant Group, and more from 2020-07-26T20:30

Gojek appointed a new group chief technology officer, Indonesian fashion ecommerce startup Sorabel is set to close down after the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out its ...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from Google, SoftBank, Wavemaker, and more from 2020-07-19T20:00

Jio Platforms is in the news again, bagging investments from Qualcomm and Google, Wavemaker Partners closes its third Southeast Asia fund at US$111 million, and SoftBank’s share prices are on th...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from TikTok, Sequoia, GoGoVan, and more from 2020-07-12T20:00

ByteDance’s short-video app TikTok hogged the headlines last week with its plan to exit Hong Kong. According to the company, it’s also considering changing TikTok...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from Luckin Coffee, Grab, Pinduoduo, and more from 2020-07-05T20:00

Luckin Coffee confirmed US$300 million in fabricated revenue, ecommerce startup Leflair’s CEO was summoned by the Ho Chi Minh City police, and Pinduoduo and Grab saw some movement in their leade...

Deep Dive: The online food delivery industry’s problem with profitability from 2020-06-30T20:00

At the end of 2019, Meituan-Dianping recorded close to US$400 million in net profits, with more than half of the company’s revenue coming from food delivery. Seei...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from Gojek, Bukalapak, Lazada, and more from 2020-06-28T20:00

There’s been a lot of movement in the startup scene.

Bukalapak co-founder and president director Fajrin Rasyid has l...

The Weekly Snapshot: News from Grab, One Championship, Jio Platforms, and more from 2020-06-21T20:00

Last week can be described as a rollercoaster ride, as Asia’s tech community went through several ups and downs.

Gra...

Deep Dive: The cloud kitchen phenomenon from 2020-06-07T20:00

Cloud kitchens have become increasingly prominent in the past couple of years, with players like Grab, Foodpanda, and Deliveroo setting up their own operations. Listen

Deep Dive: The race to become China’s top super app from 2020-05-24T20:00

Chinese mobile payment app Alipay recently incorporated the features of several apps from Alibaba’s ecosystem to expand its lifestyle service offerings. Listen

Deep Dive: An industry working to ensure Singapore doesn’t go hungry from 2020-05-10T20:00

When Malaysia, one of Singapore’s top sources for food products, announced a nationwide lockdown in early March, Singaporeans went on panic-buying sprees, cleanin...

Deep Dive: The growing influence of the Gojek mafia from 2020-04-12T20:00

Indonesian education tech startup Zenius recently announced that it would be providing free lessons on Gojek’s app, since schools have been suspended and students...

Deep Dive: Delving into the recent layoffs among Asian startups from 2020-03-29T20:00

News of layoffs at various startups and large corporations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises have been making headlines all over the world, especially...

Deep Dive: The Honestbee story (so far) from 2020-03-15T20:00

Singapore-based grocery delivery startup Honestbee was a well-loved brand. Its brick-and-mortar grocery store, Habitat, was touted to have the Listen

Deep Dive: Is Jay-Z’s investment fund just another one in the sea of funds in Southeast Asia? from 2020-03-01T20:30

Arrive, an investment fund linked to American hip hop mogul Jay-Z through his entertainment label Roc Nation, has been making moves in Southeast Asia. Since 2017,...

Deep Dive: How startups are faring in the face of an epidemic from 2020-02-16T20:00

Recently labelled by the World Health Organization as 2019-nCoV, the novel coronavirus has spread rapidly across China and the world. More people have contracted ...

10-year challenge: The Tech in Asia story from 2020-01-03T02:45:50

On this episode of Startup Snapshot, Tech in Asia CEO Willis Wee shares the highest and lowest moment...

Her first business failure sent her soul-searching abroad from 2019-12-19T21:00

This episode on Startup Snapshot, Caecilia Chu, co-founder and CEO of travel wallet app YouTrip, looks back on the "painful failure" of ...

Achieving profitability after a cancelled IPO from 2019-12-05T20:00

M17 Entertainment CEO Joseph Phua walks us through the trials and tribulations his startup f...

Lessons on market expansion from an international media business from 2019-11-21T22:27:28

This episode on Startup Snapshot, Listen