This October, Singapore will play host to the first-ever Digital Fashion Week (DFW), a fashion show that sets itself apart by being livestream-only — a first in fashion history, touts the organizers.
This means that you won’t see any front row VIPs scrutinizing the models up close. Yes, no Anna Wintour-type tastemakers or wealthy celebrities.
In addition, this fashion week will let live viewers pre-order their favorite looks immediately after they spot it on the runway, and have it delivered to their doorstep within weeks. The show will feature the Spring/Summer 2013 collections from Singapore’s distinguished designers, as well as an unannounced guest designer.
DFW is a company set up by Keyis Ng and Charina Widjaja, and both used to work under Singapore celebrity singer Dick Lee in the advertising industry. Keyis also runs STORM Creative Events Agency, a public relations company. Read more
Filed under Entrepreneurs, Innovation & Technology, Mobile, News Stop, Retail, Technology, WebTags: charina widjaja, digital fashion week, fashion industry, keyis ng, Singapore, storm creative events agency
What do you get when you combine two of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups and apply the concept to an entirely different vertical? You get EvenPanda.
Launching today, the Singapore-based site is an online activities marketplace that lets users sell experiences to customers. A sampling of activities include a Triathlon Starter Bootcamp, a tutorial on creative processes and design, and a Sunday brunch with Russian homemade pancakes. Read more
Google Southeast Asia’s senior conversion specialist, Vinoaj Vijeyakummar, has left the search company to become the head of product development at Dropmyemail, a service owned by Singapore startup DropMySite, reported techcircle.
The company is started by ex-marketing professional John Fearon. Dropmyemail is a service that lets users back-up their emails on the cloud. It has amassed 500,000 users within two months of its launch, John claims. Read more
Filed under Innovation & Technology, News Stop, Technology, WebTags: Crystal Horse Investments, dropmyemail, dropmysite, google southeast asia, HR, john fearon, moves, vinoaj vijeyakummar
When Daniel Charles, the founder and CEO of Global Racing Schools, first decided to get into the racing business, he wanted to open a race track in Singapore. But he realized it would cost about half a billion dollars.
“That may not be the best place to start,” he thought. He decided to scale down, and considered starting a go-cart track instead. But that proved too daunting as well.
Finally, he settled on becoming a dealer for motorsports products. Slogging his way through, Daniel, at 25 years old now, has built Global Racing Schools into a company that connects leisure and professional racers to driving experiences by over 200 suppliers in 20 countries.
“I remember an entrepreneur talking on television about the right way to get into an industry: ‘Don’t focus on getting the whole body in. Start with the toe’,” he says, “if you want to be a DJ, start by carrying amps around. If you want to be the next Zuckerberg, start by hanging around the right places and events.”
Today, the young entrepreneur has offices in Singapore, Australia, and the United States. The avid Formula One fan, looking every bit a professional racer himself with designer shades, watch, and a racing polo-tee, has handled between two to three thousand customers ever since the company was started in 2008. Read more
If you’re a woman entrepreneur or professional and want to pick up skills to help your business succeed in the online world, Google and Athena Network Singapore has something for you.
Women Entrepreneurs on the Web (WeOW), an initiative by both organizations, will kick-off in June, with the launch party on 31st May. The event was first started by Google in India and saw over 300 female executives and entrepreneurs participate. Read more
Filed under Events, Innovation & Technology, News Stop, Technology, WebTags: athena network, athena network singapore, Female Entrepreneurs, Google, Singapore, weow, women entrepreneurs, Women Entrepreneurs on the Web
Technology startups are today’s entrepreneurial rockstars. Not a week goes by without an announcement of a new location-based app, niche social network, or online travel discovery service.
But like many hard-luck musicians, these startups burn bright at the beginning, relying on the quick fix of seed or venture funding, only to fade later on.
That’s because they are still searching for a business model, and until then, they can’t be legitimately called a sustainable business.
In the midst of this fever, Aunty Binnaz is an online service that stands out for modernizing an un-sexy industry — fortune-telling. Yes, I’m talking about psychic reading of the tarot-card, astrology sort.
Except in this case, Aunty Binnaz’s main product is coffee-cup reading, a popular form of fortune telling in Turkey. Read more
Filed under Innovation & Technology, Interviews, Mobile, Technology, WebTags: aunty binnaz, fortune-telling, kaya diker, psychic reading, sertac tasdelen, Singapore, turkey
Update on 18th May: There was a couple of days of delay, but Home24.sg has finally launched.
Provided there are no unexpected delays, Home24.sg, an online furniture by the Samwer Brother’s Rocket Internet, will launch in Singapore tomorrow. SGE received the news from a company insider, who declined to be named.
We’ve also received details and screenshots (below) of the alpha version of the site. Based on what we know, Home24.sg will offer about 5,000 variations of houseware, kitchenware, tableware, and lighting items. Their inventory will consist of a mix of local and foreign brands.
Customers will not be charged for delivery to their homes. They will also receive a refund if they find that the same item is priced lower in any other major retailer, or if the product does not suit their homes. The offer is valid within seven days of purchase. There are no delivery charges for refunds too.
(Read: Are the Samwer Brothers’s Rocket Internet really that bad for Southeast Asia?)
Home24.sg will face competition from other online furniture retailers like Courts, BEDS.sg, and Furnituremart.sg. Read more
The creators of Insync, an app that offers Dropbox-like functionality to Google Docs users, have responded to the launch of Google Drive.
More than two weeks ago, I wrote that Insync is at risk of becoming redundant, since Google Drive replicates some of its features. Although Insync is the superior app for now, it’s only a matter of time before Google starts adding more features to its new offering.
In response, Insync announced two days ago that it will focus on Google Docs power and business users. Also, once it moves out of beta and into version 1.0, Insync will become a paid app with a free 30-day trial. Users will still be able to use Insync for Mac and Windows for free via a referral program. More details will be announced soon. Read more
Filed under Innovation & Technology, Mobile, News Stop, Technology, WebTags: Dropbox, File Sharing, google drive, insync, Neoteny Labs, Philippines, Reid Hoffman, santosh jayaram, Singapore, Toivo Annus
By now, Chumby’s demise is well known among fans and tech enthusiasts alike. The US company was most well known for its Chumby devices, which are intelligent, Internet-connected versions of otherwise dumb objects. However, it fell by the wayside soon after Apple changed the consumer electronics industry with the iPhone and the iPad.
In reaction, Chumby pivoted to producing a software platform for smart TVs, but that didn’t work out either. Their journey ended officially in late April. Andrew “bunnie” Huang, or just bunnie as he is often called, had front row seats to the San Diego company’s fall. He was serving as its co-founder and vice-president for hardware engineering.
Recently, we visited the Singapore-based entrepreneur for an interview, revealing some interesting insights about the inner workings of Chumby. Read more
[a•mo•bee] Acquires Adjitsu – 3D Mobile Ads from Amobee on Vimeo.
Amobee, a US-based digital advertising company owned by SingTel, has announced today the acquisition of AdJitsu, the standalone 3D mobile advertising business unit of Cooliris.
This purchase enables Amobee to leverage on AdJitsu’s technology to create greater innovation in 3D mobile ads. Amobee will also collaborate with ad networks, premium publishers, brands and agencies to create 3D ad units. Read more
