Make meaning, not money; make mantra, not mission: Guy Kawasaki’s 10 rules of innovation
On Thursday I was in Ho Chi Minh City, at the Abacus conference, listening to Guy Kawasaki talk about “The Art of Innovation”.Actually we were lucky he made it. Apparently – and this he admitted sheepishly on stage – he overlooked the fact that, as an American, he needed a visa to enter Viet [...]
Meet the man who wants to build BBC.com/travel into a potent force
A couple of evenings ago, I had the opportunity to meet David Allan, bbc.com’s travel editor. Bbc.com launched its new dedicated travel section in August this year.David’s presentation was an informal one on one with him being asked some questions by his BBC colleague, Phu Trong – Director D [...]
Life after exit, what’s it like? Three founders tell all
It was interesting listening to the stories of three start-ups in Asia whose companies were recently acquired and how their founders were now doing.On stage at Echelon 2011, Singapore’s largest digital startup conference, were (from left) Kelly Choo, Brandtologoy, a social media intelligence comp [...]
MakeMyTrip launches US$15m innovation fund to spark start-ups
MakeMyTrip Limited (MMYT) announced the institution of a $15 million Innovation Fund to support early stage companies in the travel space. The fund will focus on start-ups in travel technology with a special focus on Mobile and IP based companies. Speaking on this initiative, Deep Kalra, Founder &a [...]
The war for talent: It’s going to get really tough out there
I was sitting at the swanky spanky new Booking.com office at Marina Bay Financial Centre waiting for my appointment. Next to me was a young Singaporean-Malay man, looking somewhat nervous. At my age, everyone looks young.“You here for a job interview?” I asked.He nodded. “Yes, for a customer s [...]
‘I didn’t build my business on algorithms’
“I didn’t build my business out of algorithms. I built it with people.”That’s the message I will most take away from the past two weeks as I traveled through Jakarta, Bali, Bangkok and Phuket, meeting and listening to hoteliers and restaurant owners whose fortunes are affected in one way or [...]
WIT’s Grooviest Start-Up launches GetFlight Singapore
Air fare search in Singapore just got more competitive. Barely a month after it won The Grooviest Start-Up at WIT 2011, GetFlight.com.au, the first and only site dedicated to sale airfares for flights in and from Australia, has launchedGetFlight Singapore, a new sister site that utilises GetFlight� [...]
Wotif tried, some said it failed, it said it didn’t
If there was one mantra that was repeated the most at last year’s WIT Conference, it was “try, test, fail, try again” with many panellists, from AirAsia’s Kathleen Tan to Abacus’ Brett Henry, urging the audience to dare to try new things in 2011.And it seems Wotif is among those who have d [...]
Grooviest Start-Up to be recognised at WIT Bootcamp
Up to 10 entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors and mentors during the WIT Bootcamp: Entrepreneurship & Innovation held on Oct 17, as part of the annual Web In Travel conference. The WIT Start-Up Gallery, supported by BANSEA (Business Angel Network of Southeast As [...]
Lodgify to empower vacation rental owners in Asia and Europe
After successfully launching in the US, Lodgify, a travel technology start-up based in Barcelona, is now offering its Website Builder to European and Asian holiday rental owners.Lodgify enables holiday rental owners to easily create a website with a “Book now” button and manage their reservation [...]
