Thailand’s Startup SceneFCCT

24 August, 2017

Bart Medici, Founder and Managing Director, Bangkok Entrepreneurs

About Me

• In Thailand since late 2006

•Entrepreneur• Digital Advertising Agency• Venue-Booking Startup• Tech Event Business (Bangkok Entrepreneurs)

•Consultant• Digital Advertising• Business Setup• Startups (Fundraising)

•Networking Event Organizer since 2012

Bangkok Entrepreneurs:Our Ambition

1. Connect Business People (Networking)

2. Exchange Experience and Ideas

3. Create Quality Content (talks, panels, workshops)

4. Help to Establish a vibrant Tech Community

5. Link with Regional Contacts (Entrepreneurs, Investors, Organizations, Job Seekers, etc.)

Bangkok Entrepreneurs:Our Events

1. Monthly Networking Events with Speakers2. Conferences• Thailand Startup Summit• Thailand Mobile Summit• Thailand e-Commerce Summit• Digital 16 Conference

3. Workshops• Entrepreneurship• Fundraising• Digital Training

Best Startup Ecosystems

Source: Global Startup Ecosystem Report and Ranking 2017.

Who are the Unicorns?197 Unicorns = Startups with a valuation > $1 Billion

Where are the Unicorns?>100 in USA >50 in China 10 in India 2 in SG 1 in Indonesia

Thailand in Southeast Asia

•2nd Largest Economy(after Indonesia),

•Strategic Location,

•1st Tourism Destination(32.6M Tourists in 2016),

•Best ‘Cost of Life /Development’ Ratio.

Source: http://data.worldbank.org/country/thailand - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

Thailand Key Digital Statistical Indicators

Thailand Rank in SEA

• Population: 68 Million 4th after ID, PH and VN

• GDP (Nominal): $406 Billion 2nd after ID

• Internet Users: 46 Million 4th after ID, PH and VN

• Internet Penetration: 67% 5th after SG, MY, PH and VN

•Mobile Subscriptions: 90 Million 4th after ID, VN and PH

•Mobile Penetration: 133% 4th MY, SG and VN

• Social Media Users: 46 Million 3rd after ID and PH

Source: http://data.worldbank.org/country/thailand - https://www.slideshare.net/wearesocialsg/digital-in-apac-2016

Emergence of the Thai Startup Scene

•Before 2012 The Era of Local Players

•2012-2013 The Rise of the TelcosThe Rocket Internet Invasion

•2013-2015 The Rocket Internet Effect

•2016-Now Market Concentration

Thailand Tech Scene before 2012Domination by Local Players

= Yahoo!

= Amazon

= Groupon

= Expedia

2012-2013: The Rise of the Telcos

disrupt the TOT Internet provider monopoly and boost the Internet speed (2013: 4G)

invest $2 Million in Ookbee (e-Book Startup)

launch the first Startup Accelerator Program: Dtac Accelerate

???

•Venture Builders or Startup Studio: They build Startups

•Headquarters: Berlin, Germany

•Business Model: Copycats of Successful Startups

•1999: Alando = eBay (acquired for $43M by eBay)

•2008: Zalando = Zappos.com (shoes & fashion online)

•2010: CityDeal = Groupon (acquired for > $100M by Groupon)

•2012… Southeast Asia!

2012-2013: Rocket Internet Enters Southeast Asia

= Amazon

= Zalando (Europe) = Zappos (US) = Shoes & Fashion Online

= Food Delivery (Similar models in Europe and US)

= Uber or Grab

2012-2013: The Rocket Internet Invasion!

Rocket Internet Changes the Rules

•New Business ModelSpend first, make money later

•New EthicsNo rules for business, everything goes

•New HR MethodsPoaching, High Salaries, Cool Startup Offices, Free Lunch

•New TalentsHundreds of Consultants and Investment Bankers are recruited in London, New-York, Paris or Berlin and sent to Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore or Kuala-Lumpur

The Rocket Internet Effect

•Thailand gets New Talents

•Thailand attracts Investors

•Bangkok becomes a place for Startup Founders

•Ex-Rocket Internet Execs start their own Startups(Hotel Quickly, Pomelo, Rabbit Internet, GoWabi, etc.)

•The World starts to look at SEA and Thailand for Startups

=> Emergence of a vibrant Tech Startup Scene

2016-17: Market Concentration

• Lazada is bought by Alibaba (China)

•Zalora is bought by Central Group (Thailand)

•FoodPanda is bought by Delivery Hero (Germany)

•Easy Taxi is gone

•No more high profile Rocket Internet Ventures…

=> Fewer new talents, fewer new Startups=> Invasion by giant tech companies from China (Alibaba,

Tencent, Ant Financial), USA (Amazon, Uber Eats, Expedia,

Netflix), Singapore (Property Guru) or Indonesia (Traveloka)

Thailand Tech StartupsToday

•5,000 to 10,000 active Startups

•<300 significant Startups (= real traction)

•<200 that raised funding

•<30 that raised more than $1 Million

•<10 that raised more than $10 Million

•0 that raised more than $100 Million

•0 Unicorn (Valuation > $1 Billion)Source: Estimations by Bangkok Entrepreneurs

15 Thai Startups You Should Know(The Million Dollar Club – Raised $1 to $30 Million)

Blue (11) = One co-founder or more is/are foreigner(s) - Underline (5) = Headquarter is out of Thailand

(Logistics – 28,8M)

(ebooks – AIS – 28M)

(FinTech – 20.4M)

(Restaurant Booking – 15,5M)

(e-Commerce – 12,6M)

(FinTech – 10M)

(e-Commerce – 9,88M)

(Internet – 9,1M)

(SaaS – 6,7M)

(Hotel Booking – 5,66M)

(Gamification – 2,943M)

(HealthTech – 2,5M)

(InsureTech – 2M)

(Restaurant Reviews – 1,5M)

(e-Commerce – 1M)

Key Verticals & Key Players (Global & Local)

E-Commerce Travel FinTech Logistics Transportation

Food Delivery Restaurant Booking Ticketing

LazadaWeLoveShopping

TaradCdiscount11StreetCentral

AgodaExpedia

Booking.com Traveloka

Hotel QuicklyAirlines

Omise2C2P

PaypalLocal Banks

Thai PostKerry

aCommerceGrab

Lalamove

Grab Uber

AllThaiTaxiLine Taxi

FoodPandaUberEats

Healthy Food StartupsDYO Food Startups

Pizza, McDonald’s, etc.

EatigoChope

Hungry Hub EZtable

Booking.com

EventbriteTicketMajorEvent Pop Zip Event TicketBox

Grocery DeliveryHappy Fresh Honest Bee

CentralCP Group

Big CTesco

Accelerators, VCs and Investors

•Telcos (AIS, DTAC, TRUE)

•Banks (SCB, Kasikorn Bank, Bangkok Bank, Krungsri)

•Corporate (SGC, PTT, Sansiri, Ananda, K2)

•Foreign VCs (Golden Gate Ventures, Cyber Agent Ventures, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Gobi Partners, DMP, East Ventures, etc.)

• Local Individuals (Angel Investors)

Lack of Private Accelerators and Local VCs

Offices and SpacesA new way of working

•Co-Working Spaces(Hubba, LaunchPad, The Hive)

•Serviced Offices

• Low-cost Offices

•Accelerator and Startup Studio Offices

•Open Working Spaces (TCDC, Central Embassy Open House, etc.)

Central Embassy Open House

Opportunity: Remote Workers, Temporary Offices

Tech Events and Organizations•Regional Event: Echelon (e27)

•Networking Events:• BKK Web Meetup• Bangkok Entrepreneurs / WebMob

•Tech Conferences:• Thailand Startup Summit• TechSauce Summit• Government Events (Startup Thailand, Digital Thailand)

•Organizations: Bangkok Entrepreneurs, Hubba, etc.

No Central Organization

Government•Program: Thailand 4.0

•Funds (promises)

•Events: Startup Thailand, Digital Thailand, etc

No real investment, no active support.

The Singapore example: Investment in Grab

VC FundState-owned National Fund

Grab moved their headquarters from MY to SG

Thailand Challenges in Southeast AsiaNever Number 1

•Singapore is still the ‘Silicon Valley’ of SEA: Entrepreneurs, Investors, Banks, Government Support, Corporate Headquarters, Media…

•Malaysia has a strong and efficient Government support

• Indonesia has the population: 260M – 40% of SEA

•Vietnam is more Foreigner-friendly

•The Philippines speak better English

•Myanmar…

Conclusion: Challenges and Opportunities of the Thai Startup Scene

•Opportunities• Asia is the leading market for Startups and Tech in the future • Thailand has a role to play as a regional hub

•Challenges• Asia needs more innovation and less copies• Southeast Asia needs to compete with China and India• Thailand needs to become a key country in Southeast Asia:

1. Social: Attract More Foreign Talents

2. Legal: Make Business Easy for Startups (Visa, Work Permit, Ownership, Company Setup, etc.)

3. Financial: Improve Regulations and Banking System

Thank You!Bart@Bangkok-Entrepreneurs.com