Coneco.net sold, VR to focus on travel and brand building
Fresh from selling its shopping comparison business to Yahoo Japan, Venture Republic’s CEO Kei Shibata is now focused on expanding the company’s interests in travel, including how to help its customers better search for social content.One, it will invest in building stronger brands and product [...]
The Wrap: AirAsia Japan rebrands as Vanilla Air, takes flight in December
In the news: Vanilla Air to take flight, changing behaviour of Chinese travellers, corporate travel trends in APACAirAsia Japan rebrands as Vanilla Air, takes flight in December“Vanilla” may not sound a likely name for airline, but this is what AirAsia Japan is being rebranded as – Vanilla A [...]
#wit2013: “Midas touch” investor joins judges for WIT Start-Up Pitch
As a venture capitalist, focusing on the Internet and mobile sectors, Jixun Foo is interested in anything that disrupts and as such, he is keeping an eagle eye on mobile.A managing partner with GGV Capital based in Shanghai, the Singapore-born-and-educated Foo is also particularly interested in [...]
Flocations releases iPhone app in Singapore
Singapore-based start-up Flocations, a searchengine/marketplace for travel packages, has launched an app for the iPhone, currently available only in the island republic.Touting the app as a first for Singapore, the company said it has over 5,000 travel packages in its inventory from more than 60 Si [...]
Parrots Alive! Things left on a plane
I have left many things behind everywhere. Indeed, pieces of me are strewn all over the globe wherever my footsteps have taken me and where my memory has failed.The one incident that sticks with me is when I left my coat on my seat on a flight from London. I only realized it after I had left Changi [...]
Tea & Horse Caravan Trail, Pt 4: Onwards to the first bend of the Yangtze, onto Shangri-La
I wake up with a sense of excitement. Never mind the rain, but today is the day I will finally get to see Shangri-La. It’s a place I’ve long wanted to visit, it being the home of Uttara, my friend, for the last 16 years.But first, we take a detour to Yuhu, the base of Joseph Rock, a self-made bo [...]
Letter from Auckland: If you are hungry for innovation, read on
This thing about innovation and entrepreneurship is catching.I was in Auckland over the weekend and was invited inside The Generator, a start-up sharing space in the city, where you pay less than $200 a month for access to hot desks, meeting rooms and function space. Coffee is free and good, as [...]
Lessons from Inverted Edge: Fashion & travel for the global sophisticate
Travel has lots to learn from fashion retail and vice versa and Debra Langley, founder of new start-up Inverted Edge, definitely has her pulse on the fashion industry.In her two decades in fashion, based in New York, Hong Kong and now Singapore, she’s seen how the web has revolutionized [...]
Tea & Horse Caravan Trail, Pt 3: On the road to Lijiang
Overnight rain has left Shaxi looking drenched and there’s mist in the mountains. It’s early morning but the students are already out, taking their painting classes. In one corner, a teacher marks their work.I watch as she comments on each piece and someone keeps tabs of the scores. The students [...]
Aviation in flux as carriers strive to find right model for the times
After attending two days of the Australian Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney, I walked away with the impression of an industry model that’s fundamentally changed and every airline chief trying to find the right formula that works for it.There’s James Hogan, CEO of Etihad, who believes the al [...]
