Indonesian ecommerce turns brutal; Razer CEO gets slammed

"Tough but fair" was how someone described one of my recent articles. That’s sort of music to my ears. [View this email in your browser]( Editor's Letter Dear {NAME} , "Tough but fair" was how someone described one of my recent articles. That’s sort of music to my ears. I remember editing and re-editing that article, right up to a few minutes before it was published, just to make sure all sides were represented accurately. Pleasing people in power isn't the goal in my line of work. We aim to speak the truth, though confrontation makes my stomach churn a little. But I do want them to feel that I'm being fair. Journalism is like walking on a tightrope: Go off-balance and you might fall. An example is a [recent article]( by Kotaku about how Min-Liang Tan, CEO of gaming company Razer, allegedly mistreated some of his staff. It was no doubt necessary journalism that cracks the perfect veneer that companies strive hard to cultivate. But the Kotaku piece was missing some context. One thing needs to be acknowledged: Tan is a chief executive who has built a company from obscurity and steered it towards a public listing in 2017. To be clear, this does not excuse his alleged behavior, but I doubt he could have gotten Razer to where it is now without being competent. A CEO's job is not to mollycoddle; [it's to be an editor](. Of course, that might rub some people the wrong way, and it's too easy to villainize founders, as [Tech in Asia's founder and CEO Willis Wee writes](. [We have also covered]( [companies]( with way worse Glassdoor reviews and CEOs. And we don't think Tan belongs in that category. Moving on, our top story last week was on how [Indonesia's ecommerce race has gotten brutal](. It's been a tough year for the country's homegrown platforms, who are feeling the competition from international rivals Shopee and Lazada. This piece gives some context to the local players' recent moves, including Bukalapak's layoffs and Tokopedia's pivot beyond ecommerce. Looking at startups now, our Indonesian journalist Aditya Hadi's debut article with our international team was a profile of Qiscus, [a profitable and fast-growing startup that's powering chat on popular apps](. Fun fact: Aditya previously wrote for Tech in Asia Indonesia before joining East Ventures as an analyst. We're glad to have him back. Here's more startup coverage from last week: - [Rising startups: satellite-based internet, digital credit cards, and more]( - [Can vitamin subscriptions transform Asian healthcare?]( - [Singapore automotive platform Motorist raising up to $2.9m to rev up regional expansion]( Check out the weekly dispatches from our CEO: - [Commentary: What was the making of you?]( - [Commentary: Keep your head down and just get shit done]( Catch up on your reading with some of our recent stories - if you haven't yet: - [Pomelo is solving a problem that’s plaguing online shopping]( - [Carousell’s $850m valuation dazzles - but it’s not so simple]( Finally, I picked up a couple of great reads recently. [This article]( gives a rare insider perspective on why Alibaba continues to do Singles Day. Yes, it's a marketing gimmick, but there's way more to it than that. I spoke to ex-Lazadians and the experiences they had were similar. I also finished [Reluctant Editor]( a memoir from veteran Singapore journalist PN Balji, in one sitting. I've heard of the book but only bought it after chancing upon it at a bookstore. It's a breezy read that reveals the unseen inner workings of a newsroom and the challenges of running a profitable media business. It also tackles how journalists have stood their ground against censorship from the Singapore government as well as how they’ve made compromises, messed up and why they do what they do (to stand up for the little guys). It’s something we at Tech in Asia can relate to. Of course, we don’t face government censure as we don’t cover politics, but we’ve certainly felt the heat from big tech companies that didn’t like our coverage. We’ve also made compromises, picking only battles that are worth fighting. We’ve made plenty of mistakes too, and we’ve had to navigate our way to profitability. And likewise, we’ve always had a soft spot for the little guys - startups - from day one. We hope that you’ll support us by [subscribing to help our business stay sustainable](. Cheers, Terence Chief editor [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [Podcast]( Copyright © 2019 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. You have registered for Tech in Asia. Our mailing address is: Tech in Asia 51 Bras Basah Rd #05-5061Singapore 189554 Singapore [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.