While the local expansion of foreign multinationals such as Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm tend to hog the headlines, a new market study shows thecountry’s nascent interactive digital media (IDM) sector is in fact rife with local talent.

According to Deloitte Consulting, local firms make up 79 per cent of the local IDM industry and foreign companies accounted for the remaining 21 per cent.

This study, which polled 130 companies across the sector on their performance from 2007 to 2008, is one of the first few attempts to take a snapshot of a fledging industry which only came under the government spotlight in the last fewyears.

The Deloitte report revealed that there are around 585 IDM-related companies in Singapore and they added 1,500 jobs in 2008 to bring their combined employment tally to nearly 7,400.

Start-ups make up 19 per cent of IDM companieshere while small and mid-sized enterprises account for the lion’s share at 67 per cent. Large companies accounted for the rest, the survey showed.

The sector’s headcount boost is in line with its sizzling growth during the year, with itsvalue-add growing at a rate of 25 per cent to $798 million at the end of 2008. The IDM industry’s revenue also grew at a similar pace from an estimated $1 billion in 2007 to $1.3 billion in 2008.

‘This strong growth can be explained by intenseinvestments, R&D (research and development) and localisation in Singapore over the 2007 to 2008 period,’ according to the Deloitte report.

‘Such high growth suggests that Singapore is heading in the right direction,’ the firm said.

During the year, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), which manages a $500 million war chest from the National Research Foundation, invested heavily to boost R&D in the IDM space.

These included allocating $40 million in seedfunding to support digital media start-ups as well as introducing a scheme to co-finance the creation of new computer games.

MDA also roped in partners such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to set up gaming labs and rallied investorsand distributors to set aside more money to fund local productions.

Sister agencies such as the Economic Development Board weighed in by wooing foreign media giants to plant their development operations here.

Last year, the governmentwent a step further to zone out a piece of land in Buona Vista to play host to media and gaming companies.

Called Mediapolis, the 19-hectare premises could eventually house dozens of new buildings for accommodating production houses, gamedevelopers and post- production companies when fully-completed in 2020.

‘In order to further monetise R&D-based innovation, Singapore should seek to promote greater technical standardisation, further collaboration within the IDM ecosystem andprovide customised funding to meet innovative companies’ needs based on their life cycle,’ Deloitte said.

Source : The Business Times
Author : Winston Chai

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SINGAPORE’S next generation of digital media whizzes are being grown with money from a $500 million fund that has gone into building digital classrooms, as well as promising commercial ventures by start-up companies and MNCs.

And now, funding will also go to research projects by companies in digital media, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said yesterday.

In the last two years, money from the Interactive Digital Media Programme Office (IDMPO) has helped 120 start-ups, and provided seed money for 68 other companies.

Funds have also gone to 64 schools and educational institutions to help them enhance teaching through digital media.

Among them was a project by the National Institute of Education to develop a multi-player game on mobile phones that would facilitate learning.

Started in 2006, the IDMPO aims to fuel the growth of interactive digital media and its research and development (R&D). To be disbursed over five years, it has more than six funding schemes now.

MDA revealed where the money had gone at yesterday’s Computer Games, Multimedia & Allied Technology (CGAT) conference but would not say how much had been given.

It hopes to fuel the growth of the media sector from $4.7 billion in 2005 to $10 billion by 2015, and add 10,000 jobs.

‘Singapore has a chance to create the next breakthrough in media,’ said Mr Michael Yap, deputy CEO and programme director of IDMPO, at the event.

Interactive digital media can encompass the areas of gaming, next generation Web and mobile technology, to name a few.

First Meta, a virtual credit card company in virtual worlds like Second Life, received funding in 2007 for R&D and manpower. Founder Aileen Sim said it saved her a lot of the heartache that most start-ups face.

‘The money allowed us to do up prototypes and other costly research. It also opened doors to investors, who saw us as more credible,’ said Ms Sim, who added that her company’s monthly revenue has hit the mid six-figures now.

With funding from IDMPO, it is currently working on converting virtual game currency into money that can be used in real life.

Mr Yap also announced that firms can start applying for new, additional funding for its latest initiative, Future of Media.

The money is to encourage companies to innovate and conduct research on next-generation media applications in television, mobile phones, virtual worlds or three-dimensional Web, books and games. MDA will accept and fund 50 to 100 companies to work on each ‘future’ field.

It wants to work these future services and applications into its massive virtual city, Co-Space, first launched about a year ago as its answer to Second Life.

IDMPO is a testament to how funding can water growth.

Between September 2007 and September last year, applications from start-ups applying for seed money of up to $50,000 leapt threefold.

Four years since establishing a studio in the city-state, Koei is hoping to add up to 60 staff over the next two years.

“The company has achieved its business objectives,” says Keiko Erikawa, founder and chairman emeritus of Koei.

“But we want to move ahead. I will not be satisfied until we further strengthen the development capabilities of the studio, both in quantity and in quality.

“Our objective is to groom a pool of talented and passionate developers who want to do Singapore proud and work relentlessly towards creating best-selling titles targeted at the global audience.”

The company is on a recruitment drive, welcoming even fresh graduates and will be sending recruits to Japan for specialised training.

Like Koei, several other leading media companies are ramping up their operations in the city-state. Ubisoft of France, which employs 70 people in Singapore, expects to increase its staff to 300 in the near term.

The company is reported to be looking for talented programmers, graphic artists, animators and game designers.

In terms of private sector training, many organisations are offering a wide range of opportunities to hone skills.

For instance, Lucasfilm’s animation studio in Singapore – its first venture outside the US – has been running apprenticeship programmes to train artists and engineers.

The new media industries, which include game developers, animators and other related digital specialists, are projected to generate 10,000 jobs and more than S$10bn in value by 2015.

These developments bode well for Singapore, as they provide a silver lining to an otherwise grim job market, which has seen lay-offs and hiring freezes as a result of the global slowdown.

Lee Boon Yang, minister of information, communications and the arts (MICA) made the case at a recent media event.

“Despite the recession and retrenchments, demand for creative talent remains robust, with companies still on the lookout for good staff,” he said

Policymakers say there are plenty of opportunities for those seeking a career in the media. In the near term, 300 skilled jobs and more than 400 apprenticeships are on offer within the creative industries.

Another 450 jobs will come over the next one to two years for start-ups within the interactive and digital media sector.

Moreover, up to 6,000 individuals are expected to receive media training this year.

Christopher Chia, chief executive of the Media Development Authority (MDA), says: “The whole idea is really a continuum of skills, from very experienced people who need to upgrade to people thinking of moving into the sector.

“So it’s a matter of conversion skills as well.”

In spite of the promising opportunities in the media, the tough economic climate has put a damper on business ventures. Increasingly risk-averse investors, for instance, have become less willing to finance media projects.

This has prompted policymakers to intervene to stimulate the market. The government announced last month that it would provide an unprecedented S$250m to help promising local media companies, such as documentary producers, music groups and video game developers, fund their projects.

The amount, which is much larger than the S$180m injected last year, underscores the commitment by the authorities to sustain the media sector amid the economic downturn, explains the MDA.

The authorities hope the cash injection will offset the expected dip in revenue faced over the next year or two.

The money would be used to co-fund 200 to 300 new projects over the course of the year, with the aim of creating 2,000 jobs and strengthening the industry.

Under the scheme, smaller high-risk research and development ideas could receive outright grants. For large-scale productions such as feature films, the government will co-invest and share in the receipts if the production makes money.

Financing aside, the MDA is also facilitating efforts to help the media industry in other ways, from holding training workshops to matchmaking film producers with suitable foreign film distributors.

Unlike other export-oriented industries, such as manufacturing and retail, whose fortunes are closely tied to the volatility and fluctuations of the global economy, Singapore’s media sector has been a source of steady growth. The sector has expanded from S$3.8bn in 2002 to an estimated S$5.28bn in 2008.

Compound annual growth from 1996 to 2006 was 8 per cent, against 5.2 per cent for the overall economy, according to the MDA. The sector employs almost 60,000 people.

Perhaps more importantly, the government initiatives are reflective of Singapore’s aim to rely less on conventional sectors. Developing new engines of growth bolsters against downturns.

In these difficult times, the media sector is a bright spot in a gloomy job market.

Source: Financial Times

Yesterday, the Media Development Authority (MDA) announced that it had committed the amount to help ‘sustain the growth of Singapore’s media sector amid the economic downturn’.

Last year, the authority injected $180 million into the sector.

The money, said the agency’s chief executive Christopher Chia, will be used to co-fund between 200 and 300 new projects over the course of the year, with the aim of creating some 2,000 new media jobs and strengthening Singapore’s burgeoning media industry.

The media sector has enjoyed steady growth of 8 per cent between 1996 and 2006, outpacing the economy’s 5.2 per cent growth. It generated an estimated $20 billion in revenue last year and currently employs some 58,000 people.

The downturn, though, has put a dampener on the sector, said Dr Chia, speaking at the third annual Media Business Forum, held at the high-tech business park Fusionopolis. Increasingly risk-averse investors, for instance, have become less willing to put money into media projects. This prompted the MDA to step in, to help ensure there is work for promising media firms, and that they have enough cash to develop and produce new projects and export them overseas.

Yesterday, it asked media firms to submit proposals for public service programmes that promote values like racial harmony and volunteerism; for TV products that could be given new life as video games or films; and for projects to develop and distribute Singapore’s music worldwide.

Smaller, high-risk research and development-related ideas could receive outright grants. For large-scale productions like feature films, the Government will co-invest and share in the receipts if the production makes money.

The MDA will also release submission details for interactive digital media projects like video games and online television later this year.

Financing aside, it is also facilitating efforts to help the media industry in other ways, from holding training workshops to matchmaking film producers with suitable foreign film distributors, said Dr Chia.

Source: The Straits Times

Progress of Singapore’s media sector
Singapore’s media sector has enjoyed steady growth since the industry’s national blueprint Media 21 was unveiled. As at 2006, the media sector1 contributed $5 billion value-added and $19.5 billion revenue to the economy, employing 54,700 workers.

The compounded annual growth rate of the media sector from 1996 to 2006 was 8.0%, higher than 5.2% for the overall economy.

Recognising the growth prospects of the sector, the Government announced in Parliament last month that it will set aside $230 million over five years under the Singapore Media Fusion plan to develop the local media industry, representing a 40% increase in funding from the previous Media 21 blueprint. That is on top of existing NRF support of $500 million over five years for interactive digital media
research and development.

Said Dr Christopher Chia, MDA’s Chief Executive Officer, “For the coming year and beyond, MDA will focus on funding and developing high-value and exportable content and applications, with an emphasis on helping Singapore companies to leverage digital media and adopt a 360° approach to exploit original intellectual properties across multiple platforms and formats. To this end, we will issue major calls for proposals throughout the year across TV, film, publishing, music, interactive media
and games, aimed at stimulating a strong pipeline of projects for local media companies.

“Alongside efforts to boost industry activity are stepped up capability development initiatives to train manpower and match talents to projects, that will help to prepare the media sector for the upturn.”
Stimulating a strong pipeline of projects Leading the first wave of project calls at today’s Media Business Forum was the request for innovative public service programmes that can travel across platforms and borders. In a separate call under its “360° TV” initiative to build brands and franchises around media properties, MDA requested for original TV concepts that leverage various digital media distribution avenues and partnerships. Both calls are expected to result in more TV content produced out of Singapore. This year, MDA aims to support 2,380 hours of broadcast content, 200 hours more than the previous year.

Recognising the potential of the music industry as a platform for the development of local talents, as well as a springboard for creative and business enhancements across broadcast, animation, film and games, a call was also initiated for proposals to transform Singapore into a digital music hub, build the music ecosystem and develop music services to support content productions.

Establishing strategic networks
To galvanise the industry to secure a foothold in niche sub-sectors of the emerging new media arena, MDA today launched a “Future of Media” initiative that aims to form five partner networks for companies to share resources, collaborate, experiment and innovate. The partner networks are Future Mobile, Future Games, Future TV, Future Worlds and Future Books. Each partner network aims to cluster between 50 to 100 companies, ranging from start-ups, small and medium enterprises and anchor companies. MDA will provide support in the form of industry contacts, matchmaking and co-funding the call for proposals.

To kick off the initiative, some 20 companies, including Friendster, G Element, Mozat, QALA Singapore, SingTel and Sun Microsystems, are joining MDA in calling for proposals. The calls will collate the business requirements and demands of technology and innovative applications of these companies, and provide the industry with a network of user base, distribution networks and development platforms for industry members to leverage. For example, SingTel, Mozat and Friendster combined can provide start-ups with access to potentially hundreds of millions of users.

Training and upgrading media manpower
To sharpen the competitive edge of Singapore’s media industry, MDA is working with Workforce Development Authority and the industry on programmes to train and upgrade media manpower, leveraging initiatives such as Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) and Professional Conversion Programme (PCP). MDA will commit $6 million to fund the slate of manpower programmes, which is expected to benefit 6,000 media talents this year.

A new programme – Media Training & Attachment (META) – will give global exposure and work opportunities to local talents and media professionals by matching, and upgrading their skills where needed, to projects and companies with corresponding needs. MDA will co-fund such attachments to both local and overseas companies. An estimated 150 talents will benefit from META this year.

In addition, the revamped Singapore Media Fusion industry portal (www.smf.sg) will incorporate a bulletin board that allows organisations that are hiring, to post their manpower or resource requirements. Individuals can also upload their CVs for prospective employers to assess for a better job match.

“Our slate of initiatives is aimed at saving and creating jobs, and also maintaining a strong pipeline of projects through an increased investment in the media sector. By enhancing the media sector’s digital value proposition and increasing efforts in capability development, we hope to strengthen the foundation for growth,“ said Dr Chia.

Four IDMPO funded companies were recently featured in Digital Life for their unique and viable business models, and who have been gaining traction (in terms of profit and user outreach) through social networking platforms such as Facebook, Friendster, Second Life and so on. The four companies profiled were iHipo (international internships), Fresbo (multi-player game), First Meta (Second Life commerce) and Tyler Projects (multi-player game).
Here is the full story

Five New Media Projects set to draw $70m Investments and 300 Jobs
Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) has awarded five new media projects, worth S$7.6 million (US$5.1 million), to help propel local companies with new media services and businesses into the global market.

The five projects, selected from 26 proposals first called for in September 2008, range from development of games to media-rich learning, and is also expected to create 300 new jobs in the local media sector while helping generate some S$70 million in investment for the local media sector.
“Our support will help the companies scale up their international exposure significantly. These projects will in turn support some 200 companies to help build the new media ecosystem,” said Michael Yap (pictured), deputy CEO of the MDA.

Eric Berthier, CEO of Popular e-Learning Holdings, added: “Our initiatives will serve as the leading regional portals for Singapore’s education service providers, media owners and other media service providers. Our partners will have a ready reach to markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.”
“In light of the present economic climate, the funding from MDA will help defray some of the business risks associated with these new media initiatives and allow Popular to be more ambitious in our development and marketing regionally,” he added.

Tom Navasero, executive chairman of Glocal, said: “The presence of Glocal in Singapore will provide the new media industry the opportunity to find a marketplace for their content to be accessible to over 20 million viewers worldwide in key media markets such as United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, France and the Middle East.”

Qrodo Ranked Top 5 at Euro Venture Summit

Qrodo (68technologies), one of IDMPO’s funded company, was ranked top 5 in the Internet technology category, at the Euro Venture Summit. The European Venture Summit offers entrepreneurs from Biotech & Industrial Biotech, ICT and New Energies the opportunity to grow their businesses across borders by facilitating contacts to an experienced and international network of venture capital and corporate investors, strategic partners and expert advisers.

Out of 100 global companies evaluated by an international advisory Board of industry experts and a group of leading international venture capitalists, investors, international business executives & prestigious experts in their field. Qrodo was ranked top 5 and faired well over average on all aspects reviewed, especially business potential.

S’pore online advertising grew 33.7% in 2008

Singapore’s online advertising industry is seeing a growing number of large brand advertisers coming in, resulting in the market growing by 33.7 per cent to US$190 million in 2008.
Research by Frost & Sullivan shows that the republic’s online advertising market, which was worth US$142.1 million in 2007 will grow at CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 19.5 per cent till 2013 to reach US$413.5 million.

The Internet has become a mainstream source for the supply and search of ‘infotainment’ content; its biggest enthusiast – the youths. Advertisers and media agencies alike are cashing in on this.
In Singapore, paid search advertising accounted for 44 per cent (US$62.5 million) of online advertising revenues in 2007.

This segment is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 22.1 per cent between 2008 and 2013.
Display advertising was the second biggest segment accounting for 25 per cent (US$35.5 million) of revenues, with banner advertisement and e-mail marketing being the two most popular forms of display ads.

Online classifieds accounted for 19 per cent (US$27 million) of the total revenues in 2007.

2009 National Science & Technology Awards Call for Nomination Now Open!

The National Science and Technology Awards Committee invites you to nominate deserving scientists and engineers for the prestigious National Science and Technology Award (NSTA).
The Awards are the highest honours Singapore confers on individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to science and technology in Singapore. Since the Awards’ inception in 1987, 132 individuals and teams have been conferred the prestigious awards.
The nominations are open from now until 3 March 2009. Nominees will have until 8 March 2009 to register and submit their project details. The Awards Presentation Ceremony will be held in September 2009.

More information is at www.a-star.edu.sg/nsta

Here is the full story.

There is money to be made on the Internet and it is not through traditional channels like blogging and advertising. In fact, some Singapore-based start-ups have been raking in the bucks through linking people up with internships, selling virtual items and even lending out virtual money.

One of the companies, Tyler Projects, earns close to $100,000 in a good month selling virtual goods used in their online game Battle Stations.

They are not the only ones.

Of the 150 companies which have received funding from the Interactive Digital Media Programme Office (IDMPO) set up under the Media Development Authority, many are doing well, said Michael Yap, executive director of IDMPO.

“Most of the supported interactive and digital media companies operating in the social networking and virtual worlds are doing well,” he said. “Besides being profitable, some of these companies have also attracted private funding and have reached out to millions of users worldwide.”

With the Web becoming more social, there are now more ways for companies to cater to special interest groups and thus there are more money-making opportunities, said Claus Mortensen, IDC’s principal analyst of the digital market place and new media.

We profile four start-ups here that have got their Web 2.0 ways right.

Netting a job (iHipo)

Patrick Linden was midway through this MBA course in Germany in early 2003 when he decided he wanted to do internships abroad.

But a search online drew blank.

Today, search for “international internships” on Google and it throws up 9.7 million results. The fourth result on the list is a link to iHipo, a social networking site founded by Patrick, Arnout Wagenaar and Heng Cheng King.

The idea for the site first germinated when the three met in Singapore in 2004, while Patrick from Germany was here interning for Mercedes Benz and Arnout from Holland for a brand consultancy. Cheng King, a Singaporean who graduated from the University of Queensland in Australia, was already working as an engineer. They realised that job portals did not carry enough information on internships in Asia to match the demand from students seeking them.

So iHipo stepped in to fill the niche. It connects students and young professionals seeking internships abroad with companies that have these job openings.

Since they started out, the founders have pulled 12-hour workdays updating the website, vetting job postings and approaching companies to discuss advertising deals.

They decided to rent office space in Joo Chiat to keep costs down.

Said Patrick: “We know of start-ups that spend a lot of money at the beginning for prime office space, website infrastructure and consultants. As a bootstrapped start-up, you don’t need that.”

Since its online debut in November 2007, the site has seen its user base grow from 500 to 50,000. It also helps companies book ad deals with related websites, taking on the role of a media agency.

“Don’t see your business plan as a bible you have to stick to,” said Arnout. “The moment you print it, the business plan is already old.”

Business model: iHipo makes money through charging for job postings, advertising and selling premium memberships to users.

Users can sign up to use the site for free, but can pay US$13.90 (S$21) a month to gain access to extra features likes interview guides. Of the three income channels, advertising accounts for the bulk 60 per cent – of the site’s takings.

Brave new world (Fresbo World)

They had “no money or connections” when they started out in 2006, only a passion for coding and a dream to make it big. These were the factors that pushed Vincent Ng (above) and Low Bing Jiang to creat Fresbo World, an online playground for casual multi-player games.

The two computer science graduates from the National University of Singapore did not know how to write a business plan, but they just went ahead.

In 2007, their project received funding from the Media Development Authority through FrontEdge Capital, a company that mentors start-ups.

Since then, it has signed up 500,000 users worldwide, mostly through social networking sites.

“It is a lot easier to spread through these sites, especially to be known overseas,” said Vincent.

Fresbo World lets users customise avatars, play games and socialise in real-time – as they would in massive multi-player online games. The difference through, is that it is not the world of a single game, but a world of seven casual games.

Users can earn or buy parts to build their homes and mini towns. There are also plans to let users build their own games.

Business model: Fresbo World allows players to sign up and play for free, but they pay for premium items, such as blocks tat are used to build houses or even towns. The cheapest item costs only a few cents and the most expensive about $4.50.

Since it started selling premium items in October last year, the company has seen its monthly revenue breach four figures to a high of $20,000 a month.

Pay by card (First Meta)

In Second Life, reputation is priceless. But for everything else, there is Meta Card. That is the virtual credit card issued by Singapore-based start-up First Meta for the virtual world. The company, founded by Douglas Abrams and Aileen Sim in 2007, lets customers open savings accounts and issues credit cards in Second Life.

The two met in 2002 at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she was a student and he a professor at the NUS Business School.

Said Douglas: “Obstacles to starting a bank in the virtual world are not so great as in the real world relatively.

You can start off with low capital.”

First Meta’s first product was the credit card, which met with a lot of scepticism early on.

“A lot of people were saying default rates would go through the roof and we would lose money,” said Douglas, adding that most of the time, people pay on time. The maximum limit of the Meta Card is 25,000 lindens, which convert to US$100 (S$150).

First Meta is in the final stages of developing a virtual world currency exchange, where people will be able to buy and sell currencies from a few virtual worlds.

Later this year, it will also launch a real world credit or debit card that will let people pay for things like coffee or clothes using the virtual currency they have earned.

Business model: The company makes money from the Meta Card, which charges usage fees, interest and transaction fees much like real credit cards.

Game plan (Tyler Projects)

While their peers are busy making friends on Facebook. Ng Tiam yang (left), Leonard Lim (centre) and Ronnie Neo (right) are busy making money, to the tone of almost six figures a month.

The Founders of Tyler Projects are the brains behind Battle Stations, a multi-player Facebook fame that has 200,000 registered players.

“We would meet at the Bishan McDonald’s to programme games,” said Leonard on how they started. “It was more of a Sunday hobby, until my professor from Singapore Management University encouraged us to start the company.”

The three dragged their feet until the professor secured funding for them.

Their first game, though, did not take off. Mobile Weapon was a single-player title for mobile phones.

“We learnt a couple of lessons from that. If you want to make money, multi-player games are the way to do it, because there is more interactivity. So people will come back to play more and buy more things,” said Leonard.

They created Battle Stations in 2007. They emulated the business model of another popular online game, Maple Story, of selling virtual goods.

“It’s good to be innovative in your product. But as far as business models are concerned, it’s always better to follow something that has been tried and tested,” he said.

Business model: When the company first started, it depended on online ads, which generated $3,000 a month. It now has a turnover of $50,000 a month selling game items, such as action points.

From Idea to Investment For the IDM industry, a 5-Day Intensive Workshop presented by Expara Pte. Ltd. & The Media Development Authority of Singapore

3 Day From-Idea-to-Investment Investor Presentation Overview Module
10th, 11th and 12th March 2009
9.00 am – 5.00 pm
Gallery Hotel, Amadeus Room

2 Day Marketing and Finance Advanced Module
18th and 19th March 2009
9.00 am – 5.00 pm
Gallery Hotel, Amadeus Room

Who should attend?
This workshop is designed for participants who have a serious interest in starting or growing a scalable IDM business – a business which can reach a significant size. It will be especially useful for participants who are interested in seeking venture funding for their business and who want to increase their chances of obtaining funding from venture capitalists, angels and other venture investors.
How do we help you get from Idea to Investment?
This is not a “how to write a business plan” course. It is an intensive, hands-on workshop, in which participants will develop their existing IDM business or IDM business ideas into an actual business plan which they will be able to present to potential venture investors.

Workshop highlights

3 Day From-Idea-to-Investment Investor Presentation Overview Module
This overview module will help participants better understand the process and dynamics of fund-raising in order to increase their chances of success. By the end of the workshop, participants will learn:

• What do investors look for in a business plan
• What do investors look for in a presentation
• How to avoid the most common mistakes and to get an investor to read your business plan
• How to get investors to meet with you and how to make an effective investor presentation
• Value proposition and innovation
• Market identification and analysis
• Marketing strategy
• Sustainable competitive advantage
• Business model, financial forecasts and valuation

2 Day Marketing and Finance Advanced Module
The advanced module will help participants better understand the process and dynamics of fund‐raising in order to increase their chances of success. We will focus in detail on two key aspects of the business plan: marketing and competitive strategy and finance.

Participants will learn to:

• Identify their total addressable market
• Develop and implement a marketing strategy
• Position and differentiate one’s products and services from the competition
• Develop a competitive strategy and compete against both established companies and new start‐ups
• Develop and present a business model for their company
• Estimate investment funds required to support the growth of their business
• Forecast the financial performance of their business and calculate the valuation of their company
• Calculate ROI for investors and choose an exit strategy

Investor presentations
At the end of each module, participants will present their business plan to a panel of investors. After the workshop, up to five companies who have completed the From Idea to Investment for the IDM Industry workshop series will be selected to present to investors at a special investor lunch on 31-March. A limited number of seats are available for investors interested in the IDM industry.

To Register
Register online at http://www.expara.com/register/tblRegistration_add.php
Or
Email Ms. Junus Eu at junus@expara.com with the following details:

1. Full name
2. NRIC or Passport No. (if the latter, please indicate country of issue)
3. Nationality
4. Occupation &/or designation
5. Company
6. Contact details (mailing address, email address, contact numbers)
7. A brief description of your IDM business or business idea

Note: The workshop is limited to 30 seats only
For Singaporeans and PRs:
Singaporeans and PRs are required to send a $50 check as a confirmation of your registration. Your $50 check will be returned to you on the final day of the workshop. However, we must receive your $50 check to confirm your seat at the workshop.
For non-Singaporeans:
Fee is at $400 ($200 each for level 1 & 2) for non-Singaporeans or PRs.
Please send your check to:
Attn: Junus Eu
One George Street
#17-05
Singapore 049145
Registration will be confirmed upon receipt of full payment by 6h March 2009 (Fri), and successful registrants will be notified via email and will then be asked to submit their business plan, executive summary or detailed business description prior to the workshop. Lunch is served during both modules
Up to five companies will be selected from those who attend the workshop to present at a special investor lunch hosted by BANSEA, the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia on 31-March.

For more information or general enquiries, please contact Ms. Junus Eu at
Tel : +65 6435-5295
Fax : +65 6536-7908
Email : junus@expara.com

In the subsequent few days, netizens’ sentiments of Mr Tan turned positive from the low regard they had of him earlier in the month. The reason: People wanted some contest for the presidency.

Earlier, some netizens had criticised the ex-CEO of insurer NTUC Income while he was in that role, while others had questioned his real motives behind the sudden role he took on as the voice of the common man.

These online sentiments were recorded and analysed by local technology start-up Brandtology. Its clients were three banks which wanted to track ‘Tan Kin Lian’.

He had created quite a stir in the last three months of 2008, protesting against local banks at the Speakers’ Corner on behalf of investors who had lost money in financial products linked to collapsed and troubled United States banks.

Understandably, his blog postings and other related cyber chatter became of interest to the institutions he was accusing.

The three banks, whose identities Brandtology declined to disclose, wanted to gauge the public’s attitudes so that they could better plan a course of action to appease angry investors.

That organisations are using technology to quarry opinions on social networks like blogs and forums is a first here.

Until recently, no one had marketed advanced tools to extract and ‘make sense’ of the information trove on these sites.

At least two Singaporean firms have sprung up in the past seven months to mine and analyse netizens’ comments on popular Net hangouts like The Online Citizen, Ping.sg and HardwareZone.

Brandtology – started by IT veteran Eddie Chau, 47, who previously founded security software firm e-Cop – is one such company.

Hiring close to about 30 people based in Singapore, Brandtology has invested about $1 million to date on technology development and operations.

‘In the past, you had to pry information out of people. But today, they freely volunteer their opinions on the Net. This is a valuable database waiting to be unearthed,’ said Mr Chau.

‘Our fast-growing base of 20 clients is testament to the demand for our service.’

The other firm is JamiQ, started by former public relations consultant Benjamin Koe, 28.

This is a much smaller outfit, with five full-time staff based here. It raised about $100,000 in start-up capital, half of which came from the Media Development Authority of Singapore.

Mr Koe stumbled on the idea when he was working at a public relations firm and searching the Web for comments on a client’s product. But he found no analysis of user sentiments.

‘JamiQ was formed to fill the void,’ he said.

Both start-ups declined to reveal the names of their clients, but said they included banks, government agencies and consumer electronics makers.

By turning to Brandtology and JamiQ, organisations inevitably acknowledge the growing influence of chats in cyberspace.

Influential bloggers are not only telling people what to think about, but are also shaping opinions and possibly action. This gives governments and corporations grounds for concern.

Computer assisted analysis

Random scanning of the Net may not be enough if an organisation wants to accurately assess the public’s feelings towards a product, policy or an individual.

Here is where Brandtology and JamiQ’s technologies come in handy.

Brandtology’s natural language processing software – which ‘understands’ English, Chinese and Malay – first scans and organises Web content by author name, comment and date posted.

Comments related to a specific keyword, say ‘Tan Kin Lian’, are then analysed in the context of the article before being labelled as negative or positive.

For instance, the phrase ‘bringing dishonour upon himself’ in the context of Mr Tan initially keeping mum about his political ambitions is classified as a negative comment.

Further checks are then made by Brandtology’s social media analysts to verify that online sentiments have been interpreted correctly. The analysts look for nuances, like sarcasm or slang, which might have been taken at face value by the computer software.

A blogger’s influence can also be tracked based on the number of threads, or online responses, his comments attract.

Unlike Brandtology, JamiQ relies mainly on blog alerts and news feeds as well as Google’s search results and page ranking to gather data.

So far, JamiQ has done three ad-hoc projects for public relations agencies and consumer electronics makers.

Organisations are beginning to wake up to the idea of mining cyber chats to stem damaging gossip if they have to, as well as for instant feedback on products and services.

Mr Melvin Yuen, director of digital strategies at public relations firm Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, attested to the trend.

‘Companies can get instant feedback instead of waiting a few weeks for market survey or focus group study results,’ he said.

Within hours of the commercial roll-out of, say, a mobile phone, the Web would have been flooded with grassroots comments on how the phone compares with its predecessor or a competing gizmo.

Similarly, when a service breaks down, the Net is likely to be the first place people go to air their frustrations.

Brandtology, which monitors Web activities round-the-clock for some clients, claims it can report on a widespread problem, say, an online banking glitch, within an hour of the first online complaint.

Armed with such instant feedback, organisations have a better chance of redeeming themselves from bad publicity.

Brandtology and JamieQ have first-mover advantage, but it is not too late for other technopreneurs to consider getting into this potential goldmine.

Source: The Straits Times