This post is a part of our coverage of Startups in Asia (Singapore), Penn Olson’s first tech conference. Our full coverage of the event can be found here, for our RSS feed, click here.
Summary
PO founder Willis Wee spoke with Sold.sg co-founders Angeline Tham and Tian Qiuyan about their penny auction business, which now has over 80,000 users and is making a profit. They spoke about issues with the penny auction model, plans to expand into other areas of Asia (they’ve just established a branch in Malaysia), and what it’s like to be a female entrepreneur.
For the full story, check out the live blog transcript below.
Liveblog
#14:27: And that’s it for this session, the last session at Startups in Asia (Singapore) 2012! Now on to Startup Arena!
#14:25: What are your three tips for female entrepreneurs? (1) Be confident. (Qiuyan). That’s it. “I don’t think there’s anything specifically for females,” says Angeline. “Be decisive [...] don’t be afraid to take risks,” adds Qiuyan.
#14:25: “So far we’ve not really faced any gender discrimination,” says Angeline.
#14:23: Do you face any difficulties as female entrepreneurs? Not really. ‘Actually, it has helped us.’
#14:21: Just recently launched a version in Malaysia. Where else do they plan to expand? “We definitely have plans to expand in the region,” says Angeline, and they also have plans to expand to new models, since “we know that this model is not for everyone.” But both ladies are coy and won’t say anything specific about their plans. They will admit it’s in the area of e-commerce, and categorized as B2C.
#14:20: Willis has determined both Qiuyan and Angeline are single, and is attempting to find them some dates amongst our audience of single entrepreneurs.
#14:18: This founder team is two friends and one brother, but Willis says we hear advice about not running businesses with friends and family. What are the pros and cons of doing it? Qiuyan says one “pro” is trust. You know you can trust family and close friends. Also, knowing each other helps with management. Cons: “We see each other too much.”
#14:17: Lots of failed competitors. Why? Qiuyan: “There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see.” Operations (they sell about 40 different items per day), customer service and education, IT issues. “It takes a lot more work than what people see.” Competitors fail to realize that.
#14:15: How do you prevent scams and frustration? They do their best to educate users about the model, and advise users not to use the site until they understand the model. But “we deliver on whatever we’ve stated on the site,” says Angeline. ‘If it was a scam, we wouldn’t have our names, addresses, and faces on the site.’
#14:14: In total, the site has around 80,000 users and is making a profit. Angeline says the profit margin is around 10 percent. They also recent received a cool million (dollars) in funding from various angel investors.
#14:13: So why the penny auction model? “We learned about the idea [and] thought it would do really well here [in Singapore],” says Angeline. “It’s something that we’re passionate about.” But they do more than just penny auction, and are looking at other models for potential expansion.
#14:10: “The salary is [...] definitely a huge thing to let go of, prestige is another,” says Qiuyan. Being a banker can become part of who you are, apparently, which makes it harder to leave, so letting go was difficult. But ultimately she decided it wasn’t worth it. It’s better to have a good team and work with trusted partners.
#14:08: You can make a lot of money in banking. Was there fear in moving to a risky startup? “Definitely.” Angeline says it helped for them in that they didn’t need to support their families financially. But at the end of the day, what’s important is what you enjoy.
#14:06: So why did they choose to leave banking and do a startup? “Banking is…bureaucratic.” In a startup, “we can choose our own fate,” says Qiuyan. “In banking you work like a dog,” says Angeline, and they didn’t feel fulfilled.
#14:01: Sold.sg is a pay-to-bid site. Users purchase tokens to participate in auctions. It’s a “penny-auction site.” Is it a scam, asks Willis? No. “We don’t believe in manipulating auctions,” says Angeline.
#14:01: This coffee chat is with Angeline Tham and Tian Qiuyan, the co-founders of Sold.sg.