How a corporate hippie is reimagining George Town heritage + hotels
The day I went to check out the Jawi Peranakan Mansion, Chris Ong’s newest boutique hotel in Penang, a Chinese family of about 12, with young kids, were checking in.
They had booked on Expedia, were taking two rooms and the staff were wondering how to tell them that each room only had capacity [...]
The game that got everyone fired up and someone fired – it’s 20 years in the making
How can a game that’s not even launched in Singapore get everyone talking about it, fighting to get downloads of it before its official release and even someone fired in Singapore?
Pokemon GO, the augmented reality game which allows you to travel between the real world and the virtual world [...]
The Millennial Traveller: What Pokémon GO could mean for travel
It’s no longer the FitBit that’s driving people to leave their homes and roam the streets on foot these days. Pokémon GO has gone viral in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, while everyone else eagerly awaits its global release.
Somehow, the notion of ‘virality’ doesn’t quite cut it w [...]
Saki Kobayashi, LCO-Creation: How WIT Startup Pitch opened my eyes to new opportunities
Saki Kobayashi, a young entrepreneur, co-founder and COO of LCO-Creation Singapore, was one of the finalists who pitched at WIT Japan & North Asia 2016 in Tokyo in early June. She shares how her participation opened her eyes to new opportunities in travel.
Taking part in the WIT Japan & [...]
Letter from London: Brexit aftermath and an Icelandic moment that united
Twenty four hours in London, and it's rather surreal. On the surface, it seems nothing's changed since my last visit a month ago, yet so much has.
I can sense the shock and disbelief that it’s come to pass and the realities and (some regrets) are starting to sink in – what happens now after B [...]
Why Douglas Khoo believes coding is the new language and what he’s doing about it
It is simply not enough to earn a classic degree from a prestigious university anymore as digital technology ‘disrupts’ virtually every industry, from farming to hospitality.
The pace at which businesses produce new technologies that are capable of changing the way we live and operate is incr [...]
Fear only the fearmongers
It’s an interesting place to be. Here we are planning for our first WIT Europe conference in London and we don’t know if by June 30, Britain will still be part of the EU depending on how the referendum on June 23 goes.
Some people would call it awful timing but for me, it's the best of time � [...]
Making work so fun you never want to leave and how not to kill creativity
Even though it was just 8am, the canteen at Facebook’s Singapore office was pretty packed with employees having breakfast. I was a bit surprised – I had this idea that kids working at these new tech companies were not early risers and preferred working late at night.
“Hey, maybe they never [...]
Want to invest in travel startups? A tip sheet from Fritz Demopoulos
Fritz Demopoulos (CEO of Queen’s Road Capital) laid his cards on the table at the WIT Japan & North Asia Bootcamp, with a crash course on what any successful investor needs to think about when stepping into the marketplace.
Take your time to do your research
Before making any decisions o [...]
Letter from Matsumoto: Post-WIT, the struggles of Japan’s family businesses amid boom in private accommodation and inbound
A three-hour ride on the Super Azusa Limited Express from Shinjuku Station takes you to the historic town of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefrecture. It’s a quiet little place where the air is fresh and the spring water so clear and cool that ice cubes look like crystals.
I am staying at Hotel Matsumot [...]
