Tying the knot of profitability:

• Getting hitched is expensive and time-consuming. In Malaysia, a wedding can set a couple back by at least RM50,000, according to statistics. This is where 500-backed wedding-focused marketplace NikahSatu comes in.
• The Malaysia-based company consolidates all aspects of wedding planning into one platform, from vendor-sourcing to facilitating wedding financing via monthly installment payments ahead of the wedding date.
• Despite Covid-19, the company has been profitable. In fact, between March to May this year, NikahSatu has been generating six-figure revenues (ringgit) per month, founder Naimran Yunus told Tech in Asia.
• According to Naimran, most couples who are planning to get married this year have not canceled their weddings. Instead, they are waiting for social distancing measures to lift.
• Transactions made on the platform have also increased especially after movement restrictions were loosened. “Categories that are usually booked six months ahead are [now] booked in three months from the wedding dates instead.” Naimran added.

• While NikahSatu mainly serves customers across Malaysia and Singapore, they’ve been receiving attention from Indonesia and Brunei despite not operating in those two countries yet.
• “This indicates a product-market fit not only to our current serving markets but new target markets (Indonesia and Brunei) as well,” Naimran said.
• In Malaysia, NikahSatu captures roughly 8% of the wedding market, resulting in annualized revenues within the seven-figure (US dollar) region.
• For more on NikahSatu, check out its official website.

Building something that lasts

• Nuseir Yassin, commonly known as Nas Daily, is a household name on Facebook. His snappy videos have garnered billions of views on the platform.
• Nuseir last spoke to Khailee to debate and defend the valuation of his own company on his podcast, Nas Talks.
• The duo caught up at last week’s Wild Digital conference where Khailee quizzed Nuseir on how he has been building his latest venture, Nas Academy.

• At its core, Nas Academy is an online school that helps people tell their stories using video. The courses provide a 360-overview of videography, from the creative process of storyboarding to the technicalities of post-production.
• “… we’re taking everything we learn as Nas Daily and instill it in a corporation, a company that could last way until I die,” said Nuseir, in response to Khailee’s question on the vision and purpose of the company.
• Nuseir added, “My main goal and I tell everyone in the company, we need to be here in a 100 years (sic).”
• Amidst the pandemic, Nuseir has crafted out a niche for his videos, labelling them as “edu-tainments”.
• “If anything, Covid has taught us why the internet is important and there’s a big reason for that. From our side, all of the videos that we make, all of the content that we make, is ‘edu-tainment’. Educational and entertaining. It’s never been such entertainment.”
• Khailee then spoke of why 500 Startups is essentially a “media company” through the many startups they’ve invested across Southeast Asia.
• “When you help a startup succeed and the story gets told, you inspire more people to build their own economies.”
• There’s more to this dialogue. Catch Khailee and Nuseir’s full conversation here.

The digital world

• The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation is holding a two-day virtual conference from the 10th till the 11th of November.
• Simply called “Reinventing Malaysia’s Digital Economy”, the event will feature back-to-back sessions on the current state of digital innovation in the country and how it will pan out in the near future.
• Several sessions will be hosted/attended by 500-backed founders. Amir Zakwan Anuar, Chief Strategy Officer, of Aerodyne Group will speak about their plans for global expansion while Joel Neoh of Fave juggles the pros and cons of building companies in Singapore and Malaysia.

• Separately, Wai Hong Fong, Chieftain & Co-Founder of StoreHub on exploring new opportunities for growth amidst the pandemic.
• Meanwhile, Stephanie Ping, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of WORQ Coworking Space will take part in a panel to discuss the possibilities of establishing Malaysia as the next digital hub of ASEAN.
• Khailee will also be speaking from an investor’s point-of-view, explaining how VCs can fully capitalize on the potential that Malaysia and the wider ASEAN region can offer.
• More information and seats here.

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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

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