Should VCs have many friends or a few buddies?

Plus: TikTok CEO steps down, Ex-Honestbee staffers seek unpaid wages, and TikTok to sell in the coming days? [Open this email in your browser]( Daily Newsletter --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} Who else has ever Googled this? “Is it better to have too few/too many friends?” Well, you’re not alone — VCs wonder a lot about that too, but for a whole other reason: exit performances and investment opportunities. We spoke to several founders and VCs to find out whether having more or fewer friends is better. You can read about it in this [article]( or scroll down for a quick summary. But first, your quick bytes for today:  1️⃣ TikTok CEO says, “So long, farewell” Kevin Mayer left Disney to take up the chief position at the short-video platform, but after only three months, he has [decided to leave]( the company due to rising political tension and the US president’s threats to [ban TikTok](.  2️⃣ Ex-Honestbee staffers want their money back Last November, some former Honestbee employees were made to resign from the startup and sign new contracts with Fundeology Pte. Ltd., a separate entity owned by former Honestbee chief executive Lay Ann Ong. These Fundeology contracts state that employees “will not be entitled to any liquidation proceeds of Honestbee.” Former staffers now want their [money back](.  3️⃣ TikTok US to sell soon? The short-video app is said to be [nearing a deal]( to sell its US operations for a valuation between $20 billion to $30 billion in the coming days. Current bidders include Oracle and a [joint bid]( from Walmart and Microsoft.  4️⃣ Didi’s new service gets suspended The Chinese ride-hailing giant launched its new standalone app, which targets young customers and offers rides that are cheaper compared to those on its main app. But it has recently been [suspended]( by local city regulators, citing the new platform’s lack of operating licenses as a reason.  5️⃣ Tesla rival to raise $1.5b Chinese smart electric vehicle company Xpeng has priced its shares at US$15 apiece for its IPO debut. Based on the size of the deal, the company is expected to be valued at around [US$11.2 billion]( after its IPO. Just last month, the company raised around [US$500 million]( in a series C+ round.  6️⃣ Singapore-based startup EmpatKali acquired by Afterpay The US$18.70 billion Australian fintech firm will be [entering]( Asia. To fuel this expansion, it has acquired the Singapore-based but Indonesia-focused buy-now-pay-later service EmpatKali.  --------------------------------------------------------------- When friendships get complicated According to research, when VCs get too many co-investing buddies, it could potentially lead to lower exit performances. Yet when they have few to none, they miss out on having strong connections. So [to have a lot or just a few]( — that’s the question. - But first, do startups even care? Some are saying “hell, yeah,” because by knowing a VC’s buddies, founders will be able to tell which doors are they opening and which ones would they be closing. Some entities always co-invest together while some never, ever do. For instance, multiple startups backed by Alpha JWC Ventures have gone on to raise from Sequoia Capital. - On the other side of the fence are the ones saying “nuh-uh,” because all they want to know is if a VC has the capabilities to help them build a quality business. - What about the VCs themselves? A research that studied the quality of VCs’ relationships found that friendships that have gone through hard times are less likely to break up, compared to those that are forged during easy times when plenty of investment opportunities are available. - The ongoing pandemic is going to put these “easy times” friendships to the test, as many VCs in the region are experiencing their first boom and bust cycle. Deep dive: [Should VCs have many friends or a few buddies?]( Spread the word: [Facebook]( | [Linkedin]( | [Twitter](  --------------------------------------------------------------- Bilibili revenue goes nyoom Chinese online entertainment platform Bilibili is a hot topic among Generation Z, and it shows in its [revenue for Q2 2020](. - Grew by 70%: Bilibili’s revenue grew from US$218 million during the second quarter last year to US$370.5 million this year. - Increased by 36%: The company’s mobile games section has been doing well, reaching US$176.6 million in revenue this year, primarily due to its newly launched game Princess Connect. - The biggest increase came from its value-added services, which saw a 153% year-on-year growth, thanks to the increase in paying users for its premium membership program, live broadcasting services, and other services.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Startup feature from the community - Elevator pitch: [YoRipe]( is a smart cooking platform tailored to Southeast Asia. It marries consumers’ needs with brands and retailers by offering meal inspirations, a cooking community, and groceries solutions to the former, and targeted marketing and direct-to-customers sales to the latter. - Story: Founder Xinyan Fang started her career helping food and beverage producers in Europe export to and market their products in Southeast Asia. She noticed the marketing inefficiency of brands and retailers, as a majority of their funds were spent on traditional channels that no longer reach the millennial segment. As a consumer, she faced the common problem of planning what to cook and the inconvenience of buying groceries when she first started to cook for herself after moving out of her parents' place. - How many years in operation: Almost a year - Number of customers: 30k registered users in Singapore, with over 100 content creators who have created more than 1,800 recipes. - Sales: More than US$5,000 revenue / month. - Opportunity: Cooking and baking are rising trends that could also thrive alongside the beauty and fashion sectors on the 3C models that YoRipe is on: content, community, and commerce. - Challenges: Building a multifaceted platform takes time. In its early days, YoRipe spent a lot of time finding product market fit and the right strategy to grow its business model, user base, and revenue. Limited resources also led to slower user growth compared to that of other community-based platforms. Want the spotlight on your startup too? Give your own company a [shout-out here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Misc Happening - [Face-off: Comparing the startup ecosystems of Indonesia and Vietnam]( on September 3. We pit two of Southeast Asia’s most promising markets, Indonesia and Vietnam, against each other to find out the similarities and differences between their startup ecosystems. - [Blueprint for Success: Scaling Operations across SEA]( on September 17. Hiring risks, legal requirements, costs, and resources — are all these considerations giving you cold feet from expanding your business? In this webinar, we break down all the information you need for a successful expansion strategy. - [Tech in Asia Virtual Conference]( from October 19 to 22. In our biggest annual event, we gather founders, decision-makers, and venture capitalists in one place so that you can get all the information and connections you need. Hiring - [Country Manager]( at Homage (Singapore, Singapore) - [Community Specialist]( at AVANA (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Business Analyst]( at Warung Pintar (Tangerang, Indonesia) --------------------------------------------------------------- Before you go on your Happy Hour, share this email with your friends to make their TGIF conversations a little cooler. And if you have any comments about our newsletter, hit us up [here](. Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love ❤️ - and sometimes powered by good coffee ☕. Today’s edition is written by Betty Chum with contributions from Putra Muskita and Doris Yu. It’s edited by September Grace Mahino. To ensure that you don’t miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis, add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Copyright © 2020 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.