BULLETIN Quarter 2, 2018
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MCI (P) 060/12/2017 1 DIRECTORS BULLETIN Quarter 2, 2018 Venture Unicorns & Capitalists Accelerators Decacorns Deep Te c h FinTechs Incubators Corporate Ventures Booting Leadership Rebooting CEO'S LEADERSHIP WHO LEADERSHIP TEAM Up a STARTUP Transitions: Corporate LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS WHERE PEOPLE OPERATIONS WHEN Successful From Startup Governance HOW Startup to Grown Up WHY WHAT Page 46 Page 54 Page 68 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 DIRECTIONS 3 Startups and Corporate Governance By WILLIE CHENG DIRECTIONS Chairman, SID Startups are flourishing in Singapore. the issues that should matter to startup directors and boards. The Action Community for Entrepreneurship estimates there are more than 54,000 today, with A key question that arises with startups is the an increasing trend of foreign startups using role of the board. There is a misimpression that a Singapore as a base for launching into the region startup should focus all its resources on gaining (page 8). We also have our fair share of unicorns, market traction and not worry about corporate or startups valued at over US$1 billion (page 32). governance. Two articles seek to debunk this. Several reasons help explain the startup boom: In “Should Startups Bother with Corporate increasing availability of venture capital and Governance?” (page 50), Chin Hooi Yen explains other funding in today’s cash-flushed world; that startups often begin with shareholders, board the rise of millennials, with their new ways of and management rolled into one. However, as a approaching problems and greater openness startup grows and brings in significant investors, to the cool, but riskier, life in a startup; and our these investors will want to be on the board geographic location and ready access to other and could be a challenge to a founder used to booming Asian markets. complete managerial autonomy. But, perhaps, the most compelling reason of all, Mr Sid points out that poor corporate governance is the government’s involvement in the startup is unfortunately endemic to startups because of ecosystem. We are already one of the easiest their laser-like focus on viability and valuation countries to do business in. Government agencies, (page 52). such as Enterprise Singapore (formed by the merger of SPRING and International Enterprise Other authors explain that the needs and emphasis Singapore), the Monetary Authority of Singapore of startup boards differ from conventional boards – and Info-communications Media Development “Getting the Right Board for Startups” (page 56) Authority, have actively facilitated innovation and “So, You Want To Be A Startup Director?” through grants, loans, co-investment equity and (page 64). They even differ at the different stages other forms of assistance, while minimising the of growth in their life cycles (see “Leadership adverse impact of regulations on startup activities Transitions: From Startup to Grown Up”, page 58). (page 12). All these point to the conclusion that directorship This issue of the Bulletin seeks to provide an of a startup is actually more dynamic and not as understanding of the startup landscape alongside conventional as some directors may think. SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 4 SID Brand and Communications Committee CHAIRMAN Ferdinand de Bakker MEMBERS Chan Yu Meng Marleen Dieleman Philip Forrest George Kypraios Shirley Lam Steve Manning Mita Natarajan Saw Kok Wei CONTENTS Victor Yeo Annabelle Yip 6 FEATURES PUBLISHER 6 Singapore’s Startup Ecosystem Singapore Institute of Directors 168 Robinson Road #09-06/07 20 The Rise and Rise of Fintech in ASEAN Capital Tower 26 Singapore’s Bright Future in Deep Singapore 068912 Technology Tel: +65 6422 1188 Fax: +65 6422 1199 30 Going Beyond the Usual Places for Email: [email protected] Sourcing Startups Website: www.sid.org.sg 32 Unicorns and Decacorns: The Startup Club of a Billion Dollars and More EDITOR 42 Corporate Venturing: Addressing Digital Adlena Wong Disruption by Investing in Startups EDITORIAL COORDINATORS 46 Booting Up a Successful Startup Joyce Koh Sue Anne Kuek 56 Getting the Right Board for Startups 58 Leadership Transitions: From Startup to DESIGN Grown Up Epiphany Design 66 Managing Intellectual Property Assets for Startups PRINTER Entraco Printing Pte Ltd 68 The Code of Corporate Governance: Consultation Paper on CG Council Recommendations For ease of reading, the male gender is used in the Bulletin 72 The Audit Committee Seminar 2018: to refer to all personnel unless the context specifically requires otherwise. Rebooting Corporate Governance SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 5 DELISTED COMPANY FINTECH Startup Director 64 20 92 COLUMNS SID NEWS 18 GLOBALISATION 84 What it takes to be an Effective Chair Startup Steps to Globalisation NC Chairmen’s Conversation 50 BOARDROOM MATTERS 85 BFS 3: Sustainability for Directors Should Startups Bother with Corporate Governance? Harnessing Data and AI in the Digital Economy 52 ASK MR SID Stuck in a Startup 86 AC Pit-Stops: Financial Reporting and Audit Considerations for 2018 64 EXPANDING HORIZONS So, You Want To Be A Startup Director? 87 INSEAD’s International Directors Forum & Programme 92 AFTER HOURS Love’s Not a Lost Cause 88 Foreigners on Boards 90 Partners’ Evening: A Fun and Magical INDUSTRY NEWS Night of Science 63 Gender Diversity: More Work Needed “Huat Ah!” to a Brand New Year to Get to 20 by 2020 94 Photo Gallery of Past Events 91 Director Appointments 98 Welcome to the Family SID CALENDAR 95 SID’s Q1 Events (Jan 2018 – Mar 2018) 96 Upcoming Events SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 6 FEATURES Singapore’sSingapore’s StartupStartup EcosystemEcosystem By EDMAS NEO Executive Director, Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 FEATURES 7 ingapore has an increasingly compelling startup story to tell. Both home-grown and Singapore-based unicorns are making an impact on the local and global stages. Companies such as Razer, Sea, Grab and oBike are changing how people play, shop and commute Shere and around the region. Prominent exits by local startups are attracting international attention. This success owes much to an effective and well-connected startup ecosystem. Within Singapore, it consists of a closely- knit group of influencing players supporting the many diverse startups. Externally, Singapore enjoys close ecosystem collaboration with countries around the region, and acts as a strategic access hub to Southeast Asia. The following pages provide a set of infographics depicting the key players of the ecosystem: • Startups • Investors • Government • Institutions • Corporates • Incubators • Accelerators • Co-working groups and how they work together.... SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 8 FEATURES Startups Singapore Snapshot 54,000 startups Breakdown by Sectors Technology BioTech tech startups CleanTech - Others 4,300 <1% 2% 3% AdTech Advanced 2% Manufacturinig 3% EdTech 6% HealthTech 5% 54,000 Consumer Digital FinTech 10% 55% 4,300 Tech Enterprise Tech 15% Source: ACE and SPRING analysis (Data as of November 2016) • There are well over 54,000 startups in o Singapore is pro-business, ranked by the Singapore today. World Bank as second among 190 economies • In Singapore, a startup is defined as a firm in ease of doing business. Further, there is formed within the past five years with at least funding support for startups. one employee, and more than 50 per cent o Singapore tax rates are attractive, with equity owned by individuals. further tax exemption schemes for startups. • About eight per cent of startups are from high- • For Singapore startups, there are opportunities technology sectors, ranging from Consumer arising from these foreign startups: Digital, to Fintech and HealthTech. o There are regional business and • There is an increasing trend of foreign startups collaboration opportunities with the foreign coming to Singapore, primarily to use it as a startups when the foreign startups use base to launch into the region. They choose Singapore as a launch-pad into the region. Singapore because: o These foreign startups bring with them o There is a vibrant and connected startup skillsets and talents, not otherwise available ecosystem. in Singapore. o There is ready access to talent (see page 15 on o The co-innovation and new business models Singapore’s top ranking for startup talent). being developed between foreign and local o The co-innovation programmes between startups, as well as the competition between corporates and startups are becoming them, will improve the competitiveness and stronger (see page 14). quality of local startups. o Singapore offers good infrastructure and is ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Asia. SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 SID DIRECTORS BULLETIN 2018 Q2 FEATURES 9 Investors A startup can either choose to “bootstrap” – where founders fund the development of the business using their own money – or reach out to different groups of investors and funders for external funding. Family and Friends • Most common and first form of startup funding. • Easiest and usually fastest to obtain with the least obligation to return and perform, although amounts are relatively small. Angels • Wealthy individuals willing to invest their money in a startup company to become part-owners. • The term can be extended to include “family and friends”. • Some angel investors invest online through equity crowdfunding. • Others organise themselves into angel groups or networks to pool investment capital and research. For example, the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia is active in investing in early-stage startups. Banks • Banks can make business loans to a startup as they do for any other business. • This often requires business proposal documents and dealing with the SME division of the bank. Crowdfunding • This is the practice of raising small amounts of money online from a large number of people.