{"id":1340,"date":"2021-06-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/markupbackup.wordpress.com\/2021\/07\/21\/durians-daily-277-lingokids-raises-us40m-reaches-more-than-30-million-families-worldwide\/"},"modified":"2021-08-02T07:37:25","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T07:37:25","slug":"durians-daily-277-lingokids-raises-us40m-reaches-more-than-30-million-families-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340","title":{"rendered":"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"1024\" data-height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/img_60f7db2bbafe3.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Lingokids<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Raising the learning bar<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>500-backed edtech startup <a href=\"https:\/\/lingokids.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lingokids<\/a> has raised <a href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/2021\/06\/15\/lingokids-raises-40-million-for-playlearning-educational-games-platform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US$40 million led by an undisclosed investor<\/a>, with participation from GP Bullhound and existing investors HV Capital and Ravensburger. This brings its total funding to US$65 million.<\/li>\n<li>The startup will use the new funding to ramp up international growth, increase its STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) content offerings, and expand learning skills such as emotional intelligence, empathy, and critical thinking.<\/li>\n<li>In addition, it plans to add 60 new hires to its existing team of close to 100, especially for the engineering and development teams. Lingokids will also develop new audio content in audiobooks and audio-exercises, focusing on mental health, mindfulness, and meditation.<\/li>\n<li>According to the startup, it now reaches more than 30 million families worldwide with its mobile apps.<\/li>\n<li>Read the full article on Venture Beat <a href=\"https:\/\/venturebeat.com\/2021\/06\/15\/lingokids-raises-40-million-for-playlearning-educational-games-platform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"1600\" data-height=\"1198\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/img_60f7db2c8b302.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Nour Betar on\u00a0Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The search for a unicorn<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In a thought leadership piece titled <a href=\"https:\/\/durians.500.co\/blog\/southeast-asias-next-unicorn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2018Southeast Asia\u2019s Next Unicorn Could Be In Insurance\u2019<\/a>, the 500 Southeast Asia team delved into five attributes of new insurance business models and how similar models in Southeast Asia may have the potential to scale.<\/li>\n<li>The five attributes are:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Using digital media to reach consumers directly and not relying on the old direct selling model via agents<\/li>\n<li>Specializing in a vertical, such as 500-backed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clinikk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clinikk<\/a> in India with its numerous health services<\/li>\n<li>Offering micro-insurance or pay-per-use, such as London\u2019s 500-backed bicycle insurance startup <a href=\"https:\/\/laka.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laka<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Leveraging data to offer personalized quotes or premiums<\/li>\n<li>Being simpler and more transparent with offerings<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the article, Southeast Asia (apart from Singapore) has an insurance penetration rate of less than 5%, with over 600 million people in the region still not insured.<\/li>\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/economysea.withgoogle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> revealed that insurance purchased online grew by at least 30% from 2019 to 2020 and is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% until 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Read the full article on 500 Southeast Asia <a href=\"https:\/\/durians.500.co\/blog\/southeast-asias-next-unicorn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"1600\" data-height=\"1068\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/img_60f7db2d98ab3.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Ying Cong\u00a0Seah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>A handy how-to<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ying Cong Seah, CTO of recruitment platform <a href=\"https:\/\/glints.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Glints<\/a>, offered his experience and knowledge in building up engineering teams in Southeast Asia <a href=\"https:\/\/e27.co\/how-to-build-an-engineering-team-and-other-hiring-tips-from-glints-cto-20210504\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in this e27 piece<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>According to him, the critical time to scale the team is after the startup has found product-market fit. This is also the time to figure out the engineering bandwidth and skill set required.<\/li>\n<li>A crucial thing to consider next is deciding on a fully remote or a multiple-hub hiring strategy. At the same time, it is important to get a sense of the different talent markets across the region.<\/li>\n<li>Learning from his own mistake, he said, \u201cAlways hire from the top down, which means starting with the engineering leader.\u201d He added that building a new engineering hub requires full focus\u200a\u2014\u200athis means being stationed there physically (barring pandemic restrictions).<\/li>\n<li>Get the full insight from the article on e27 <a href=\"https:\/\/e27.co\/how-to-build-an-engineering-team-and-other-hiring-tips-from-glints-cto-20210504\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Missed out the last Daily Markup? Go <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a><strong> to check it out.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can also find us on <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/500-durians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a><strong>, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/500durians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a><strong>, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/500Startups_SEA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Twitter<\/strong><\/a><strong>, and <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/500durians\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" data-width=\"400\" data-height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/img_60f7db2df2a19.jpg\"><\/figure>\n<p>500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p><em>This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively \u201c500 Startups\u201d) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies\u2019 markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies\u2019 founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Lingokids Raising the learning bar 500-backed edtech startup Lingokids has raised US$40 million led by an undisclosed investor, with participation from GP Bullhound and existing investors HV Capital and Ravensburger. This brings its total funding to US$65 million. The startup will use the new funding to ramp up international growth, increase its STEM (science, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[322],"tags":[346,387],"class_list":["post-1340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily","tag-glints","tag-lingokids"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints - Markup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints - Markup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Credit: Lingokids Raising the learning bar 500-backed edtech startup Lingokids has raised US$40 million led by an undisclosed investor, with participation from GP Bullhound and existing investors HV Capital and Ravensburger. This brings its total funding to US$65 million. The startup will use the new funding to ramp up international growth, increase its STEM (science, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Markup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/500southeastasia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-21T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-02T07:37:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/0LBbla5wXbKKonUMG.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"367\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Felicia Chia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/\",\"name\":\"Markup\",\"description\":\"Serving bite-sized news on 500 Southeast Asia&#039;s portfolio companies and insights to fuel your momentum in life and business.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/0LBbla5wXbKKonUMG.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/0LBbla5wXbKKonUMG.jpeg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":367},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340\",\"name\":\"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints - Markup\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-21T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-02T07:37:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9500d05faff850f12de850d9051b7b67\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9500d05faff850f12de850d9051b7b67\",\"name\":\"Felicia Chia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b574d076fbdac43064ec75a7d589d309319c819283cc558025e0ef88192ee849?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b574d076fbdac43064ec75a7d589d309319c819283cc558025e0ef88192ee849?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Felicia Chia\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?author=7\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints - Markup","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints - Markup","og_description":"Credit: Lingokids Raising the learning bar 500-backed edtech startup Lingokids has raised US$40 million led by an undisclosed investor, with participation from GP Bullhound and existing investors HV Capital and Ravensburger. This brings its total funding to US$65 million. The startup will use the new funding to ramp up international growth, increase its STEM (science, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340","og_site_name":"Markup","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/500southeastasia","article_published_time":"2021-06-21T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-08-02T07:37:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":367,"url":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/0LBbla5wXbKKonUMG.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Felicia Chia","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/","name":"Markup","description":"Serving bite-sized news on 500 Southeast Asia&#039;s portfolio companies and insights to fuel your momentum in life and business.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/0LBbla5wXbKKonUMG.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/0LBbla5wXbKKonUMG.jpeg","width":700,"height":367},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#webpage","url":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340","name":"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints - Markup","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-06-21T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-02T07:37:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9500d05faff850f12de850d9051b7b67"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?p=1340#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Daily Markup #277: Lingokids raises US$40M, reaches more than 30 million families worldwide; Southeast Asia\u2019s next unicorn could be in insurance; How to build an engineering team in Southeast Asia according to Glints"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9500d05faff850f12de850d9051b7b67","name":"Felicia Chia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b574d076fbdac43064ec75a7d589d309319c819283cc558025e0ef88192ee849?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b574d076fbdac43064ec75a7d589d309319c819283cc558025e0ef88192ee849?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Felicia Chia"},"url":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/?author=7"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1340"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2181,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340\/revisions\/2181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailymarkup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}