How to go beyond being a “digital vampire”: Take some tips from The Who’s Townshend
In his John Peel Lecture of 2011, Pete Townshend of The Who called iTunes a “digital vampire”, saying it was bleeding artists with its enormous 30% commission.He then went on to give some tips as to how iTunes could create a better world for all – unearth new, good music through editorial guid [...]
Hunt for best start-up begins – entries close Aug 31: WIT Bootcamp uncovers hot spaces for innovation
The WIT Bootcamp returns to Singapore on October 19 with its annual competition to find the travel start-up of the year and to put the spotlight on hot spaces in the start-up world.Entries for the WIT Start-Up Pitch 2015 close next Monday August 31 and thus far, submissions have come in from Malaysi [...]
How Red Planet intends to conquer the value hotel sector with technology
“Give customers more of what they want, and less of what they don’t”. That’s the mantra of Bangkok-based Red Planet Hotels, which aims to redefine the value hotel experience in Asia. WIT speaks to Tim Hansing, Chief Executive Officer, Red Planet Hotels, about the technology-driven opportunit [...]
Korea’s MyRealTrip gets new funds to step up global expansion
WIT Japan Start-Up Pitch winner of 2014, MyRealTrip, a Korea-based start-up specialising in tour & activities, has received an undisclosed amount of investment from Silicon Valley’s Altos Ventures to accelerate its global expansion. The company, started in 2012, raised KRW1 billion (approx US$ [...]
Ryanair partners with CarTrawler to create Ryanair Car Hire
CarTrawler, the world’s biggest online car rental platform, announced its appointment as exclusive car rental provider to Ryanair. The new service, Ryanair Car Hire, will go live on Tuesday September 1. Speaking in London, Mike McGearty, Chief Executive Officer of CarTrawler, said:“Ryanair is a [...]
Bangkok bomb: In times of crises, no knee-jerk decisions please
“Our customers may make knee-jerk reactions because they have a right to. We shouldn't because we have a responsibility not to.” I wanted to wait a couple of days before I wrote about the horrific bomb attack at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok – to digest, to talk to people, to think about it – [...]
If you want to win in Asia, don’t do it by remote control
Picture this. We are sitting in Skyscanner’s offices. It’s our first SkyChat Evening – intimate events where we feature longform conversations with smart people who are in town.On the couch with me is Fritz Demopoulos, co-founder of Qunar and now CEO, Queen’s Road Capital.Just that week, I [...]
WIT Warrior Spotlight: As it led in social media, Brand Karma’s Sim now wants to lead in virtual reality
At the WIT Conference last year in Singapore, we recognised 10 individuals whom we felt have had the most influence on the development of online travel in Asia Pacific. This is the seventh article in a series of interviews profiling the WIT Warriors.Morris Sim came out of Microsoft to start up a soc [...]
Skyscanner’s Williams: “To win, we have to win in Asia”
Gareth Williams, CEO and co-founder of Skyscanner, on what it will take to win big in Asia, his ambitions for the company he co-founded in 2001 and why he won’t give his AI project a girl name.CEO and one of the three co-founders of Skyscanner, Gareth Williams, is spending more time in Singapore t [...]
Letter from Saigon: Big, young, social and mobile, powered by women
One evening in Saigon, after a lovely dinner at a rooftop garden, we stopped on a sidewalk to have a brief chat about where to go next. Ice cream? Beer? Wine? The choices are endless. Suddenly, a bunch of taxis just stopped by us, the drivers looking at us in anticipation for a ride.Simon Christy, f [...]
