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 [...]
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$ [...]
The Millennial Traveller: When it comes to start-ups, it’s survival of the stubborn
Our millennial columnist, Marissa Trew, comes face-to-face with the hard truths of doing a start-up and her conclusion after the first SkyChat talk – “It is almost Darwinian and if not ‘survival of the fittest’ then certainly ‘survival of the stubborn’.”The inaugural SkyChat Evening to [...]
The pairing of travel and food: A natural match for Chope
The joy of discovering local cuisine can be as glorious and as memorable as any isolated landscape or sundrenched beach. That travel and food go together like cheese and quince is indisputable. The pairing simply works: Priceline’s acquisition of OpenTable and TripAdvisor taking over Paris-based L [...]
$16m richer from Series B, Tripping.com looks to scale in Asia
Tripping.com, the meta-search for vacation rentals which recently closed US$16 million Series B funding, is looking to scale in Asia.Jen O’ Neal, founder & CEO of the company, which has to date closed a total of US$20 million in three funding rounds, said, “Asia is one of Tripping.com's fast [...]
No one has fully conquered Asia yet in tours & activities: BeMyGuest’s Menchaca
Since its inception in 2012, BeMyGuest has grown at a rapid pace to become one of the leading Asian tours & activities platform. Its expansion is the stuff of start-up dreams: in the last three months alone, the company has achieved a record growth of 100 percent and now offers over 10,000 activ [...]
Letter from Penang: Hack of a thing to do on a Saturday night
It wasn’t what I was expecting to do on a Saturday night in Penang, but I ended up listening to three teams of developers presenting their start-up ideas at a very impromptu hackathon.That I was doing this in a pre-war Chinese shophouse in the heart of the Georgetown World Heritage precinct made i [...]
MaGIC launches MAP, expands reach into Asean region
The Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) is going regional with the recent launch of the MaGIC Accelerator Program (MAP), billed as the largest accelerator programme in South East Asia. Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, secretary general of the Treasury (Ministry of Finan [...]
From model to start-up: How TheLuxeNomad.com beat flash sale fatigue with content
TheLuxeNomad.com founder Stephanie Chai may not always lead a glamorous life – she usually flies budget on short haul trips – but her hotel and villa-booking site certainly conjures up images of the good life. With over 1,000 properties on offer, the site serves up arresting images of high-end h [...]
Amadeus NEXT aims to power start-ups
As part of its drive to nurture and partner with travel start-ups in APAC, Amadeus, through its Amadeus NEXT programme, held a Bangkok Startup Weekend from July 24-26. The NEXT programme aims to leverage on the company’s technology, expertise, reach and funding to evolve new and original ideas in [...]
