MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Power and fortune is shifting from the western hemisphere slowly into the east, and as the entire world looks towards Asia’s rising economy, authors Ezra Ferraz and Gracy Fernandez collected their exclusive conversations with various business leaders into a book entitled Asian Founders at Work.
The two generously gave adobo magazine access to an excerpt of their book, which is an essential compilation of in-depth, incisive interviews with over 20 top technopreneurs from the region including Min-Liang Tan (Razer), Maria Ressa (Rappler), Chatri Sityodtong (ONE Championship), Patrick Grove (iflix), and Khailee Ng (500 Startups).
Questions about early difficulties, fundraising, business pivots, strategic partnerships, exits via acquisition or IPO, and more are answered in great detail to shine a light on the founders’ unique experiences. Learn directly from game-changers in their own voice. By documenting these stories, the authors have created the largest and most comprehensive record of successes to date. The book caters to a wide readership base, whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur yourself, a business student wanting to become well-versed in international practices, or an owner looking to expand to the area, this book provides a thorough guide to the startup culture in Asia from the most knowledgeable sources possible.
See the excerpt below for their conversation with iflix Co-Founder, Patrick Grove:
In 2014, Patrick Grove co-founded iflix, a video-on-demand subscription service headquartered in Malaysia, with backing from Catcha Group, the digital venture group that he founded in 1999. Grove had a broader goal for both sides of iflix’s marketplace: to combat piracy, the most common way people in emerging markets access entertainment, and to provide fans with great international and local content through one convenient
platform.
Now boasting a monthly base of 19 million users across Asia, iflix may be on its way toward an IPO. Amazingly enough, iflix would not be Grove’s first IPO; he has already taken five companies public.
Gracy Fernandez: You founded the Catcha Group back in 1999, and it’s grown to be one of the leading investors in the digital sector, especially within the ASEAN. A few of the notable investments in Catcha’s portfolio include the iProperty Group, owner and operator of Asia’s number-one network of property websites, and iCar Asia, the ASEAN’s largest network of automobile sites. What made you venture into the video-on-demand industry?
Patrick Grove: I think many who venture into a new industry first see a problem they want to fix. In our case, my co-founder Mark Britt and I observed the proliferation of video-on-demand in North America and Europe, powered by the Internet, that hadn’t yet made its way to Asia. While the West had access to major Hollywood shows and movies, people
closer to home were much more likely to buy a pirated DVD in order to be part of the global conversation. We figured everyone deserved to be entertained, especially markets that, from a Western perspective, were often overlooked. The chance to turn that around by delivering a service that simply didn’t exist at the time, and tap into the multibillion-dollar piracy industry, were compelling.
Fernandez: In 2015, iflix launched operations in Malaysia and the Philippines after it received $30 million in funding from Catcha and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company [PLDT], the largest integrated telecommunications company in the country. Can you share a bit on how you designed the company and developed the product to stand out from other existing video-on-demand providers?
Grove: At the time, many of the markets we launched in shared a common set of challenges—things that people in the West may take for granted. For example, not everyone in our markets had a credit card, so we were challenged by ways to collect payment. We partnered with, and got support from, each market’s telecommunication giants. iflix was then bundled in telco deals for the benefit of customers, and the telcos had a value-add to attract new customers and keep existing customers. In this way, iflix could collect subscriptions directly from the telcos, instead of individual users. It was an incredible opportunity to reach large audiences very quickly.
Read the rest of the excerpt at:
Asian Founders At Work Excerpt by adobo magazine on Scribd
Buy the full book here on Amazon.
