Uncovering stories of startups in Asia Part 1: Of challenges, funding and going global
Startups from China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Nepal and Israel took to the stage at the WiT Bootcmap held in conjunction with WiT Singapore 2018 conference last month to share their stories and the state of the startup ecosystem in their countries.
In this first part of the report we f [...]
Tushar Khandelwal: An entrepreneur’s Interstellar-inspired voyage into tours & activities
We remember Tushar Khandelwal, COO & co-founder, when he first pitched the idea of Voyagin at a WiTNext event aimed at future leaders. Since then, the tours & activities startup has gone places, been acquired by Rakuten and claims a solid footing in the most exciting space in online travel. [...]
WiT Singapore 2018: China outbound travel businesses get down to the hard work of global fun
While China’s mobile-propelled spending power has been a hot topic of late, the consensus is that transforming its successful outbound businesses into integrated regional travel powers will first require hard work and patience – especially to bridge the critical people-gap.
For the panel addr [...]
Teenage Tesloop founder switches direction from ride sharing to data connectivity: Here’s why
Ahead of their on-stage conversation at Phocuswright next Wednesday in Los Angeles, teenage founder of Tesloop, Haydn Sonnad, reveals to Yeoh Siew Hoon a change of direction for the company he founded in 2015 when he was 16.
Tesloop, the Tesla ride-sharing service started by teenager Haydn S [...]
As Accor hits 1,000 in APAC, Issenberg ponders China softening, tech impact and talent
What does it take to grow a hotel group to 1,000 properties in Asia Pacific? Well, if you ask Michael Issenberg, CEO, AccorHotels APAC, it takes time and investing in people on the ground, helped of course by a handful of acquisitions.
“When I joined Accor 24 years ago, we had fewer than 50 [...]
The story of Mary Li: From ASLAN to Mystifly, from China to India, and truths in between
I first met Mary Li when she was introduced to me as the co-CEO of Mystifly, the India-based global airfares marketplace. My curiosity stirred, I did some research on her and found her back story. With no background in travel, she founded ASLAN, China's first data-driven travel technology company, c [...]
Facebook releases “travel marketing playbook”, identifying top trends for 2019
At its APAC Travel Summit, Facebook released its Measure What Matters Travel Marketing Playbook – a guide for Asia Pacific travel marketers, to help them navigate the complexities of the travel industry’s digital ecosystem.
It comes at a critical time as just last year, Asia Pacific overtook [...]
WiT Singapore 2018: Whatever it takes to design and build for the customer: Ponde
When asked to pick a song that best describes his personal journey with Facebook, its head of global travel strategy Nikhilesh Ponde, chose “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons.
“Whatever it takes, 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins/I do whatever it takes 'cause I love how it feels [...]
WiT Singapore 2018: MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra shares thoughts on the “secret sauce”, game changers and what excites him
MakeMyTrip’s chairman and group CEO Deep Kalra is often a favourite on our WiT stage because India is just that exciting and MakeMyTrip has been a key figure in the online travel community there. This time, Kalra shared about his journey from harder times to better, more promising ones, and what h [...]
WiT Singapore 2018: Cherry Huang talks Alipay and the emergence of the “lifestyle super app”
How can one really explain the phenomenon and colossus that is Alipay? Cherry Huang (General Manager, Cross-Border Business, South-east Asia, Alipay) did just that, documenting the goliath's growth over the last 14 years from a “Chinese brand for Chinese consumers” to having international presen [...]
