SMU Hostel Cafe

Nine of our Ventures’ members have been working on a hostel café project for the past few months. The SMU hostel lacks any sort of food facilities within the hostel premises. Our members took advantage of this market gap and decided to start up Café@ Prinsep to be a form of convenience to the hostel residents. It will be set up in the pantry area of the SMU hostel. The cafe, for now, serves hot and cold beverages, gourmet sandwiches, tacos and instant noodles. It has plans of including ice cream sundaes and other finger foods as it expands. This project also helped these members to experience real business situations and problems encountered while starting up a business. The café has already had a good opening on the hostel sports day. However, a formal opening is on the lines as soon as the contract gets signed, which is in the next few weeks. All food and drink items are reasonably priced from 80 cents to a maximum of 4 dollars for specialty finger foods. The café will also have a sms or call in system which allows residents to place their order when they wake up. Currently, the core 9 owners of the business will be operating the store. However, future plans include getting residents to serve as employees. The café once opened, will operate during peak hours of student demand, namely mornings before students leave for school and late at night. Café @ Prinsep is beneficial to the hostel as it is in a favorable location, provides cheaper snack to students and value adds to the vibrant SMU hostel community! We look forward to seeing you there soon J

Uttara Gupta

Recently heard: SG VC's approach to investing

Singapore VC: "My approach to investing is very hands off. I don't get involved in the running of the company unless the entrepreneurs want me to."

This VC has himself confused with the portfolio manager who works halfway across town at one Raffles Quay in an office that's 30 floors up from his.

A New Begining

Hi everyone! Starting today, a few of us from SMU Ventures, have taken up the responsibility of managing the blog and taking it forward. The team from Ventures consists of Aditya Harneja, Vaibhav, Uttara, Nivedana, Harsh and me. We have already revamped the look of the blog and many more updates are in the pipeline. We hope that this blog will become the focal point for all entrepreneurs in SMU to showcase their businesses, and to get to know each other among other things.

We have begun the process of contacting student entrepreneurs in SMU to get them to post on this blog. We are working on linking up this website with websites of other like-minded organisations in Singapore.

So stay tuned...

China's Internet trends

Getting started developing for Facebook... briefing by Slide

For those of you who want to know a bit more about developing for Facebook, Slide has given a pretty comprehensive presentation on the development approaches you can take and what are some of the pitfalls to avoid.

Too late to get on the Facebook Bandwagon?

Things got interesting earlier this week when it was reported that Microsoft was considering a stake in a 5% stake in Facebook for between $300 million to $500 million. Following the news, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) shares rose to from below $29 to almost $30 mid-week before closing the week at $29.46 representing a gain of about 2.3%. More importantly, it got people really aware of the Facebook "phenomenon".

I was listening to the 93.8 live DJs discussing Facebook on air and I thought: Wow! Now EVERYONE (even those who aren't part of the usual social network demographic) is talking about Facebook!

Since my company, TYLER Projects, officially launched Singapore's first Facebook MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game), MW:BattleStations! about 3 weeks ago, we've been contracted by 2 other companies to create Facebook apps for them. We actually had to turn down 2 more requests because our order book was already full.

While we were working on BattleStations!, I was tracking the user growth of Warbook (another Facebook MMO) when it still had no more than 1200 users. The day after I joined, it grew by 1500+ users; 2000+ the day after that and 2500+ the day after. Beyond that, I didn't bother counting and spent more time working on our own app. With those kinds of growth figures, it's no surprise that developers are churning out hundreds of new applications everyday hoping to enjoy the same success.

However, economic theory dictates that something this good can't last forever and there are signs that it might already be too late to reap the same exponential growth that the first movers did.

Take our app for example:



MW: BattleStations! is growing at the rate of about 300~400 installs per day (~4000 in total). Active user growth is about 100~150 a day (active users = ~50% of total installs). The growth is certainly accelerating, but it's not exponential. The inertia is definitely noticeable and a sign of increasing saturation in the Facebook app space.

I can think of 2 reasons for this:

1) If you think about it, there's a limited amount of real estate on a user's profile that they are willing to use for apps. The apps that manage to get onto users' profiles earlier tend to stay there. Facebook users have also started to get sick of the torrent of invites they get all the time and now tend to ignore new invites.

2) Facebook has been trying to prevent "spam" marketing by apps and they've changed a few things as a result:
- Apps are now rated according to the % of active users they have instead of just installs (total users with the app).
- FB API has changed to prevent apps from spamming users with invites. Earlier apps could allow users to send invites to all their friends and even reward users just for sending out invites. Not anymore, the new system restricts you to 15 invites and the developers don't have anyway to track the invites and new users.

Newer apps are going find it very hard to get any traction even if they are better than existing apps. The way I see it, if you want to launch an app now you have to either:

a) make an app that's very viral and is really going to make users want to add it to their profile
b) you spend alot of money either buying ad banner space from Facebook or advertising on apps with a larger user base.

I think the Facebook Platform still has some ways to go before it hits a mature stage of development. While most of the early apps were created by individuals, I expect to see more companies with bigger budgets really going all out to push higher quality apps which will mean better quality and variety for Facebook users.

For the application owners who are already on Facebook and have managed to secure a stable user base; that user base will become more valuable as time goes by and the barriers to entry start propping up...

...which is why we'll launching 2 more apps very, very soon.

TYLER makes Singapore's first Facebook MMOG!

It's our first MMO and we're pretty excited about it because we'll be launching it first inside Facebook and then later on mobileweapon.net.

Mobile Weapon: BattleStations! You can play the game now! just follow this link http://apps.facebook.com/battlestations/



We've been doing ALPHA testing since 2 weeks ago and I must say that the game is really fun even though it's now just into BETA. Here are some screen shots of the game.

Explore the world!
We've made sure there's plenty to do in MW:BS. If fighting all the time isn't your kind of thing, you can go exploring or trading to make some gold and maybe find rare items. We've added more than 50+ ships, weapons and upgrades. There are plenty of secret items to be found as well.



Ship to Ship Combat!
Remember the characters in MW1 boarded and airship and flew to the Imperial City? In MW:BS you are the captain of your own airship. Airships are a big part of Sios and we decided it be fun if you get to fly your own and try to become the most powerful battleship in Sios!


It's not MAWs but finally MW players will be able to engage in PvP combat!

Make sure you add the game to your Facebook account ASAP!

Great Entrepreneur Revelation

I only realized this only last week, but the reason for TYLER's year long stagnation is because we didn't have a plan.

I know what you're thinking: "How can you guys even start or run the damn business if you didn't have a plan?!"

We did a 60 page business plan for the LKY competition last year. What we didn't realize was that the business plan you use to raise money (or for a competition as the case may be) CANNOT be used as your actual business plan.

I felt something wasn't quite right after the competition was over. At the time I described the problem to one of our mentors as "we're back to business as usual". "Business as usual" is great if you're making a lot of money, not so great if you have yet to implement your grand plan for success.

Sure it sounds very "DUH!" in retrospect, but if you won 10,000 USD with your business plan, you wouldn't think you needed to write another one immediately.

What does this mean for you guys? Well you should go and think about what you're doing right now.
Are you:
a) operating on a plan with resources you haven't got?
b) targeting a market you haven't entered yet?

If the answer is "yes" to either, take some time and think about the practical business plan you can implement with the lemons you have now.

Vote for SMU Entrepreneur at SOE!

Alvin is nominated for SOE this year. You all better go and vote for him. Last year ya'll never vote for me. :(

Read the interview with Alvin here.

Vote for him here.

Possible consolidation of this blog with SMU Ventures

I was talking to Adeline and she mentioned that SMU Ventures (aka. the entreprenuership club) is interested to merge this blog with a Ventures blog for entreprenuership.

It would be great because:
1) More contributions from others instead of just my usual angsty posts.
2) Someone else can do the re-design and add pointless widgets like the Google news feed instead of me.

Rock on.

Guy Kawasaki - The Art of Innovation

Guy Kawasaki - The Art of Innovation 55:38 Guy Kawasaki at the 2007 Event Marketer Conference

Interesting presentation. Click on the image to view =)

The Secret to Selling Your Idea

http://blogs.bnet.com/intercom/?p=183&tag=nl.e713

Learn the VCs game, if you're an entreprenuer serious about making $$$

What is series A funding? How much return does a VC expect for his investment?

These are just some of the things I realise that we never learn at SMU even if you take finance courses (as I did). For LKY global biz competition, I thought calculating NPV using a 30% return was more than generous. I only discovered after reading the Harvard Entrepreneurs guide that VCs expect 60-70% returns.

Of course, the VC LKY judge who asked me if I thought if "30% rate of return was too low" was a dumbass (like anyone in finance except a VC would think 30% is low) to assume that everyone would know what HE expects. But I think it's a sign that the entreprenuers of SMU really need to buff our knowledge. Seems like at NUS they learn the more technical aspects of the VC trade.

I'll be reading up on it and posting the details here but you should have a look at this in the meantime if you want to find out more: http://www.entrepreneur27.org/sg/2007/06/21/entrepreneurs-educate-yourself-first-before-taking-vc/

Another disadvantage would be our financials. I had hoped that financials forecasts would be our strong suite in the competition but apparently it wasn't. I had learnt a lot more finance and accounting than the other teams but the financials we learnt are meant for normal book-keeping or corporate reporting.

Fund raising requires a different approach. Here's a link to a guide containing an excel file for a captialisation table, which should be useful for entreprenuers trying to raise funds or the next team from SMU that wants to take part in LKY.

The video below explains how to use it:



I sure wish I could have presented our financials that good when it was our turn (not that it would have made a difference since some of the judges where only paying attention to the skirt behind me and not the slides).

How to get into the computer games industry

Paul Barnett from EA gives a good, and funny, look at how to get into the computer game industry.

TYLER Projects and Mobile Weapon featured on Mr. Brown's WTF show!

TYLER adopts isolationist policy

Ok, it's not really as the title says. I just got fed up with all the delivery people expecting us to open the door for them or sign for packages when there are other people closer to the door. :-P

Mixing emotions with business

Yesterday, someone told me that you should not mix emotions with business. Clearly this person (who is a VC) does not understand entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs start businesses because they are passionate about something.

It's wrong to mix business with pleasure because it's not professional (most of us understand that). Emotions with business? That's the basis of Entrepreneurship.

Spamming SMU with your product

Thinking of spamming your school with your product? We did (with Adeline's help, thanks!) and apparently we're the first SMU startup to do it. And why not? it's free!

Would it be effective? Well, it depends on what you're selling. I sell computer games so it's pretty easy for students to just click the link and try out our game for free.

Our main aim in spamming the school was to increase awareness of our product and what we're working on. I wasn't exactly expecting a huge increase in sales but it was very encouraging that some professors and students actually emailed to ask questions about the product.

Love Your Work

Counting down the lessons that could be learnt... Articles about Donald Trump

Lesson #2: Love Your Work

“The most important thing in life is to love what you’re doing,” says Trump, “because that’s the only way you’ll ever be really good at it.”

It wasn’t Trump’s knowledge of the real estate market or salesmanship alone that led him to become one of the wealthiest Americans and owner of over 18 million square feet of land in Manhattan alone. Rather, it was all the late nights he worked to get his ideas off the blueprints and onto the streets; it was the endless business meetings and phone calls he placed to the powers that be; it was his tireless promotion of what seemed to others to be nothing more than outlandish fantasy. In other words, it was his passion.

As soon as the young Trump began making property inspections with his father, he knew he could take a strong liking to real estate. While he had confidence in his abilities to excel in this field, it wasn’t the potential for money that was pushing Trump ahead. Nor was it the fame. Instead, it was the real estate business itself and the art of deal making that Trump thrived on.

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score,” says Trump. “The real excitement is playing the game.” It is Trump’s love for the game that allowed him to keep playing despite the critics, the lawsuits, the bankruptcy. It was only the dedication that came from his passion for real estate that enabled him to continue reaching for his dreams against all odds.

“Without passion, you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing,” says Trump. “It’s tangible, it’s solid, it’s beautiful. It’s artistic, from my standpoint, and I just love real estate.” Trump knew he would never be able to devote his life to anything else, and so he threw all his energy into real estate. And, that, says Trump, is one of the biggest keys to his success. Otherwise, he might have crumbled when the first ten or so people laughed at his ideas.

Making business deals was, for Trump, an art form that he was happy to spend endless hours devoted to. “Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals,” says Trump. Whether it’s painting or writing or buying and selling real estate, Trump stresses that a passion for what you do will be the underlying cause of whatever success you achieve. And without it, success will never come.

Today, Trump could easily retire knowing not only that he has amassed a fortune worth over an estimated $2 billion, but that he has also changed the face of New York. Instead, Trump’s passion keeps him going to work every day. He craves the adrenaline that comes from a handshake over a new deal, a tough negotiation, or a groundbreaking for a new building. Despite his lavish lifestyle, Trump would not be content to sit in the penthouse at the top of Trump Tower and be idle. He craves his work, he loves his work and this is why he has succeeded in his work.

Singaporean game developers lack creativity

I got this article from IGN. View the actual article here.

UK, January 11, 2007 - Ian Livingstone, Eidos' supreme commander of worldwide product acquisitions, has criticised developers in Singapore.

Livingstone opined that Singapore lacked "the ability to think outside the box to create new intellectual property, new game-play and new characters". Then, just to add insult to injury, he bemoaned: "The tendency here [Singapore] is to make copies of previous games, rather than to think about what the world hasn't seen before or what new games haven't been done before. [There must be a] unique selling point that differentiates them [game developers] from everyone else."


I completely agree with him as well as the comments about MW not being wholly original. But what IS 100% original these days?

You also have to understand the kind of society that Singapore is:

a) Educators and parents here vilify computer games.
If your grades aren't good it's because you've been playing to many video games (never because the curriculum is boring). The idea of a good education system here is to cram as much practical knowledge you can into a kid so they don't even have the time to think about what they are learning. When you're not at school, you're having tuition at home, the rest of the time is spent actually doing the homework. This is actually a really good formula for creating robots, ...uncreative robots. < No, we're not Cylons.

The general opinion is that of "If you play computer games you will never achieve the Singaporean dream of becoming a scholar." < Pretty retarded dream in my opinion.

b) Singapore is a VERY meritocratic society.
Most of Singaporean society doesn't view making games a REAL work (nevermind that the videogame industry is worth billions). Artists, game developers and other jobs that don't generally command a high pay aren't even considered professions. My friend, who is an artist, bemoaned how a taxi driver chided him when he revealed his choosen field and asked him to get a real job.

I feel like I'm under constant pressure to get a job working in a bank (because I can get one with my nice CV) because a banker has a higher social standing than a game developer. How retarded is that concept?!

It's a little difficult to produce good creative work if everyone you know keeps telling you that what you're doing is a big waste of time.


Singaporean game developers have already fought societal stigmatisation to pursue their passion and I can see that more and more Singaporeans are pursing their own dreams instead of ascribing to old mindsets. Here's a crazy idea: MAYBE THEY FEEL FREE TO PURSUE THEIR OWN DREAMS BECAUSE THE GAMES TAUGHT THEM HOW TO!

We just need a bit more time to really get completely "out of our boxes".

TYLER launchs it's first commercial product - Mobile Weapon!

Check out the first PC game developed in SMU - Mobile Weapon! Visit our site www.mobileweapon.net and play it for free now!

Insights from VC meeting in Palo Alto

Hi Guys, back from my trip to San Fransisco. I visited Palo Alto and Silicon Valley while there and got some tips from a VC. For the full lowdown on the trip you can check my blog at coreconstruct.blogspot.com in a day or 2 from now.

Here are some insights which are useful if you want to raise money in US instead of Singapore:

- US investors/VCs generally only invest in companies which are operating in the US.

- They have quite clear distinctions on the roles of VCs and angel investors. VCs are really not for small time "just starting up" startups.

- You need to be making money before you can get US VC money.

I guess I'm fortunate that my company has alot of users in the US. I guess we'll just get alot more users, earn money from them, set up a US entity and then we can start pitching to VCs there. :-P