Category: Singapore

(LINK) Farewell Stripe – Raylene Yung – Medium

~ michael_msft ~ 2 Comments

Farewell Stripe – Raylene Yung – Medium:

We’re building for APAC from APAC, with a localized development team: Every global leader I’ve met is visibly excited when I describe what we are doing and why. Many have spent years sending product requests to other offices (with limited success) or struggling to communicate in both directions. For us it’s still early, but it’s working — our Malaysia beta was launched with many cross-functional team members working together locally.

This is going to be fun to watch. There really is no other large global player like Stripe in Singapore building stuff for the region.

Google is doing maybe a little of this but seems to be only for India as of late.

None of the other global players are doing any engineering work in Singapore at all. 

Stripe is doing some great work – I love this latest announcement :: https://stripe.com/blog/remote-hub

(LINK) Not! – Michael Smith Jr. – Apprentice VC

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Recalling my first post since I am using it to remind myself of how far I have come.

Not! – Michael Smith Jr. – Apprentice VC

Since I started blogging post my F&B career to rejoin the tech world, I have been using WordPress. 

This post is dated October 24, 2009.

It’s great that although I have moved my WordPress around a few times – the imports always work. I am using WordPress VIP know cause I don’t want the hassle and I wanted HTTPS – plus ease of upgrading. WordPress is the best and if you are thinking of writing or blogging, own your site.

Notice the logo. I was actually sitting in a conference – I think it was when Andrew Hyde was in Singapore if I recall. I was settling into my new Yahoo gig, and I was already hearing about the whole Asian thing around Key Performance Indicators. I honestly didn’t know anything about them, but I did the logo, or my brother did, and I started the domain nokpis.com. Of course, no one knew what it meant or realised it was about NO KPI’s. 

I think of podcasting. I have considered an email newsletter. 

But I think I will stick with the blog. 

10 years is coming.

Crazy.

Singapore’s Bet on Tech Startups Gains Ground With 150 VC Funds – Bloomberg

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Singapore’s Bet on Tech Startups Gains Ground With 150 VC Funds – Bloomberg

I won’t get into the numbers but I am sure it is possible.

Not sure volume is a good thing but it does show that if you want to do stuff in SEAsia related to startups, VC and corporate innovation that Singapore is the best spot.

Hands down unless you have specific focus in a country or a vertical that is better in a specific spot but if you are looking for a central hub then look no further than Singapore.

(My take) Can Blockchain Boost E-Commerce? A Singapore Company Says It Can – Bloomberg

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First off I didn’t know they were #1 in Singapore – congrats.

I didn’t know about this https://www.quube.xyz/ , till I heard them shilling for coins on the radio.

It’s interesting but not sure it will work. We will have to wait and see.

Then this article comes out.

Can Blockchain Boost E-Commerce? A Singapore Company Says It Can – Bloomberg

What I don’t get is this:

Ku says blockchain makes it cheaper to run an online marketplace which lets him remove the fees he currently charges merchants to sell products on the site. That, he says, should attract even more sellers. Ku is also creating a payment system based on the technology that will help attract new shoppers in a region where cash still predominates. So far, the response has been positive: Three months in, he says, more than 5,000 merchants have registered 2.3 million or so products on QuuBe. 

Of course CEO’s will say anything but where is the concrete example of how blockchain will make anything he is talking about cheaper?

I don’t get it.

Why doesn’t the reporter clarify or ask for examples?

Maybe it relates to this:

The technology automates certain e-commerce transactions and processes that typically require humans. That’s why Ku can eliminate merchant fees and make it easier for anyone to set up an online shop. Blockchain also enhances trust among participants because they can more easily trace transactions from start to finish. 

In theory he is saying that blockchain will mean less bodies. That saves money if true but I don’t see how it works in practice to be honest.

Then this:

Meanwhile, the ledger offers an alternative, more secure payment method in a region where many shoppers lack access to financial services. Buyers and sellers use tokens called Q*coins, which are stored in a digital wallet in the QuuBe app. Q*coins are pegged to the U.S. dollar and fully convertible with no extra fees. As more of the tokens circulate, Ku says their value will appreciate—giving merchants another way to profit.

I always find it funny when people say crypto will help the unbanked. Really? How do the unbanked buy their crypto?

The main heading on their site is using your UOB card to buy tokens. Not sure that a UOB cardholder is an example of the unbanked.

I guess they can offer the ability for you to walk into 7/11 and buy coins but I wonder with it pegged to the USD what currency exchange bath you are taking.

Then it ends with:

But Ku is convinced blockchain will give him the necessary edge to compete and avoid getting into a cash-burning war of attrition. “I want to show that we can prevail by using technologies,” he says, “not by throwing money around.”

Still want to know what edge it gives him and how it saves him money. The article never really answers that.

Good times and I will admit to cheering him one since we need the competition.