JFDI.Asia

10/10/2020

Introducing Go to Market Strategy for B2B Startups - JFDI Asia CEO Hugh Mason's presentation this week with NUS Enterprise BLOCK71 Singapore
Video: https://youtu.be/hc3dvD1AMt0 Slides: https://slideshare.net/HughMason/introducing-go-to-market-strategy-for-b2b-startups

An overview of Go To Market Strategy for Startups that sell to other businesses, covering: • Definitions of Go To Market Strategy • Getting to What Market? • W…

04/08/2020

One of JFDI's very first investees, TradeGecko, has agreed a sale to Intuit QuickBooks!

Back in 2012 Cameron Priest, Carl Thompson and Bradley Priest stood out from the start of our accelerator program for their rigour and dedication, regularly getting in to the office at 4am to start doing customer discovery calls as a result of which they made a swift and correct decision to pivot within a couple of weeks. Their original idea ultimately became a feature in this much larger business that now powers businesses worldwide and is set to do even more.

Huge congratulations to both the team that did the heavy lifting and the community that helped to get them started. You are heroes and your hard work has vindicated all we hoped to achieve together! Thank you to all our investors, mentors and sponsors including Singtel Innov8 and NUS Enterprise for your faith ten years ago that the very first startup accelerator in Southeast Asia could work. This talented team sets an example for the others that will follow from the ecosystem our whole community built together.

https://www.tradegecko.com/blog/tradegecko/intuit-quickbooks-to-acquire-tradegecko-to-add-omni-channel-commerce-capabilities

When Bradley and I founded TradeGecko in 2012 we had a vision to enable entrepreneurs to build the business of their dreams.

19/04/2020

WHY YOUR EMAILS HAVE NO RESPONSES

Bernadette believes in getting straight to the point, more so than ever in these trying times when people are either looking for solutions or not looking at all. Here's what's worked for the companies she's been speaking to.

1) Don't lead with "just checking in" and then a long-winded message. Everyone knows it's a weakly-disguised sales pitch.
2) Refer specifically to a place or event where your prospect spoke about their problem. It could've been on Facebook, LinkedIN, or even a webinar you attended. Open with your where and what.
3) Show them you were paying attention: "It looks like your problem is that... which leads to further issues down the line like..."
4) Move into your pitch. "Our product/service shows (list your concrete, measurable results that address the problem directly)"
5) Use a soft CTA: would you like to have a chat over the phone? No pressure.

Remember, decision-makers spend less than 16 seconds on average reading emails. Don't lose their attention.

Photo by Torsten Dettlaff from Pexels

18/04/2020

WHAT DOES BUBBLE TEA HAVE TO DO WITH INCREASING SALES?

JFDI.Asia's new marketing strategy specialist will be sharing some tips to help current business-owners across the next few weeks. Her name is Bernadette, and she hopes these will help!

"Right now, it feels like what really makes people want to engage your services is a feeling of comfort and/or delight.

Let me explain.

In the past 9 or 10 days of lockdown in Singapore, I swear I'm single-handedly generating at least break-even revenue for the bubble tea shop downstairs. I always order the same thing. I wouldn't be surprised if the lady is just asking for my order out of politeness by this time. Normally, bubble tea is a treat: this week though you could stick a needle into me and probably extract milk tea. It's comforting.

It's the same thing with how I've been connecting with potential customers. People are buying what gives them a sense of direction, calm, and comfort: need to convince an investor but don't know how to do it? Sure, I can help. For people who don't need that sense of calm, they're looking for things to brighten up their day. So my illustration side gig is actually kinda thriving this season, and what do my commissions have in common? They all want something cute, bright, and colorful."

What's something else you've noticed with customers' buying patterns? Start a conversation with others and create a community of helpers!

16/04/2020

We are re-launching our JFDI.Discover programme for 2020 in light of CoVid-19! Our first run will start 5 - 26 May 2020.

You've always had a brilliant business idea the world would love. It's just that you've never got around to making it real. Now is a great time to give it a go.

You don't need a series of lectures. What you want is practical guidance to use your lockdown time to run a litmus test on your idea, to see if you could make it fly.

That's JFDI Discover. Over just 21 days, we help you to pace yourself through the concrete steps and measurable goals you need to get real results. Step by step, unlock the next stage in the programme and find out if your idea can become business-ready. Why take a leap in the dark and risk of starting a business when you can find out if it's likely to work first?

In just 21 days, find out if: you are ready to be an entrepreneur, your team can handle the challenges of entrepreneurship, and if your product/service solves a real customer need and will generate income

All you need is 21 days, SGD10 a day, and some hard work. Find out more by clicking the link below: http://www.jfdi.asia/discover/

Or, sign up here: https://jfdi.wufoo.com/forms/my35h6q0jrgu4v/

JFDI Discover This programme is now closed for applications. From 2013-2015 JFDI operated an online course that taught independent startup founders the structured way to validate problem/solution fit for their businesses. The startup advice given was rooted in the Lean Startup methods, helping start...

18/11/2019

Another JFDI startup going from strength to strength!

Read more at The Business Times.

19/10/2019

Our UX mentor Melissa Ng gave so many hours to help our startups free of charge. Now she's fighting Leukemia. Please help her:

Jay Meistrich Help Mel Beat Cancer! Mel is a daughter, sister, business owner, world traveler, mental health advocate and the kind of person who makes everyon

15/09/2019

Come build and apply your tech skills for one of the world’s oldest industries at Accounting Innovation Challenge 2019. $10,000 SGD in total cash prizes to be won + opportunity to pitch and validate your idea in front of a professional audience + access free workshops and so much more. Sign up now at accountinghack2019.peatix.com

22/08/2019

When JFDI mentor Melissa Ng recognised she was facing mental health issues, she looked the challenge in the eye and launched a startup to help others in the same situation: https://medium.com/getbravely/why-were-called-bravely-30d398ecda2a

The secret that for the entire time they have known me (some for over a decade), I have been, all this time, battling with my mental…

06/07/2019

JFDI Podcast: Learn to Let Go—Or You Cannot Grow. Margaret Manning OBE joins Hugh MASON and Graham Brown to share her experience of scaling an international digital business http://www.jfdi.asia/blog/jfdi-podcast-episode-2-learn-to-let-go-or-you-cannot-grow-with-margaret-manning-obe/

23/06/2018

Every intrapreneur faces the same challenge: how to get the evidence you need to convince your boss that your great innovation idea is worth exploring, then backing to spawn a new venture?

We are deeply honoured to have Lauren Proctor as our first meetup speaker, sharing her experience as a serial entrepreneur to explore how someone working inside a large corporation, most likely in a situation where substantial budget has yet to be allocated to an innovation project, can use digital channels to gather data supporting their hunch that a new venture is worth pursuing. When should they involve a marketing agency and when should they just do it themselves, startup style?

Lauren Proctor is a consultant and serial entrepreneur who focuses on
marketing and scaling businesses. The bulk of Lauren's career has been in
New York City, where she has worked with companies like American Express, LOFT, Free People, Virgin Airlines, YouTube and Univision.

Proctor is passionate about startups, and one of the companies she helped found was acquired by Twitter after one year of operation. Her latest venture, Playground Crush, is focused on helping people become great leaders, successful location-independent entrepreneurs and standout digital marketers.

Wed, Jun 27, 2018, 6:00 PM: Every intrapreneur faces the same challenge: how to get the evidence you need to convince your boss that your great innovation idea is worth exploring, then backing to spaw

11/03/2018

Join JFDI founders Meng Weng Wong, and Hugh Mason with Alexis Chun, Patrick Dahm Eliza Mik, Irene Ng and more at the Singapore node of the 2018 Computational Law & Blockchain Festival next weekend. It's free!

The CL+B Fest is a "decentralized conference" that will take place simultaneously in independent, self-organized nodes around the world in three tracks: LEARN, an education track (e.g., Blockchain 101, smart contract workshop); HACK, a 24-hour hackathon featuring several Global Challenges and prizes...