Recipe for success

• Eric Cheng, co-founder and CEO of 500-backed Carsome, spoke of three key practices that contributed to bringing the startup to where it is today.
• Carsome was built based on Eric’s persistence in solving pain points in the car buying and selling journey. He sought to tackle these issues with technology and data, with the aim of meeting customers’ expectations.
• Internally, the startup subscribes to the system of ‘net promoter score’ (NPS) to build a positive company culture. The NPS is in essence, customer loyalty and satisfaction.
• Giving back to the community is also important to Eric. In 2021 amid the pandemic, Carsome Academy was launched to the public. It is a training center for technical education and guaranteed career opportunities targeting Malaysian youths.
• Khailee Ng, Managing Partner of 500 Global noted that out of the 21 SEA companies backed by 500 Global back in 2014, 6 of them are now unicorns, Carsome included.
• Khailee shared similarities between these companies including – data-centric systems and prioritization of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) metrics in addition to being financially-driven.
• Read the full event recap on VulcanPost.

Limitless learning

• Training a sales team, especially for larger organizations, can be a logistical challenge. The difficulty of this task may be compounded by the fact that sales teams are also often widely dispersed.
• 500-backed Gnowbe, an edtech startup, advocates for mobile learning as a convenient and cost-saving method of learning. Here are some benefits highlighted:
  • Training can take place anytime, anywhere
  • Employees can refer to training materials at the touch of their fingertips
  • It eliminates the need to bring every salesperson into one training location, saving time and money
  • Mobile learning offers multiple formats to keep participants engaged
  • Trainers can keep track of performance easily
• Read the full article by Gnowbe here.

Keeping in trend

• How has consumer behavior changed over the pandemic? iPrice recaps some highlights of shopping insights across Southeast Asia in 2021.
• Overall, the most popular items in online shopping in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines are laptops and smartphones.
• There has also been a 57% surge in searches for romantic gifts as loved ones are kept apart due to lockdown restrictions. Searches for pets doubled in 2021, with the Philippines looking up ‘dogs’ nearly 5x more than ‘cats’.
• In another recent study by iPrice, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia had the highest increase in Google searches for mental health services. The three countries’ searches increased by 231%, 128%, and 109% respectively.
• Read the full report on iPrice.