The document provides advice for entering and succeeding in Southeast Asian markets. It notes that each market has unique political, economic, social and cultural factors. It recommends starting in Singapore due to its English language, developed startup system, and role as an innovation leader in the region. It also advises thoroughly researching local conditions, committing to staying in the region long-term, partnering with local companies, and adapting products to each market.

1. Yuri Anisimov
Ability Factors Pte. Ltd.

2.  Each market within the ASEAN is
unique in its own way due to political,
economical, social and cultural factors
 Knowing the market is more important
than any brand cache you may have
 People want to see that you are part of
the scene with a commitment to stay

3.  English speaking
 Large amount of multi-nationals,
financial hub, investors/ strategic
partners, seed money and grants
available
 Ideal entry point for SE Asia
 Ease of doing business
 Relatively well developed start up
system due to Government support

4.  Not being left behind approach makes
Singapore a natural leader in adopting the
latest solutions especially if endorsed by
the Government as futuristic
 Singapore is a small market but of one the
most competitive in the world
 It is safer to run a pilot in Singapore and
validate the suitability of the solution to
the regional nuances. It also helps the
entrant to prepare a list of reference sites
for the regional markets

5.  Singapore leads the adoption of a new
product or solution
 Malaysia would uptake the offering within
the next 12-24 months
 Indonesia and Philippines trail by another
18-24 months
 Markets like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia
and Myanmar within South East Asia that
are attractive but differ in language,
culture and economics (+5 years)

6.  Low trust culture and people want to see that
you are part of the scene with a commitment to
staying in the region before investing
 Investment gap between seed investors and
VC’s
 Service level requests and demands are higher
 Small population – you need to be thinking
global from the outset
 Staffing may be a challenge – some skill
shortage, having right people on board is crucial
to success.
 Culturally diverse and sensitive

7.  Market research to see if there is real
opportunity for the offering and if the
market is matured enough to receive the
offering.
 Ensure if there is a Product-Market fit, as
it may require tweaking the product
features to suit local conditions or change
the business model
 Scout for potential partners who can front
the offering while the company provides all
necessary handholding from beside.

8.  Allowing sufficient time for visas and start
up stages.
 Managing capital to expand into the
region.
 Seeing the region and Singapore as a long
term relationship.
 Mistakes are not easily forgotten here
 The commercialisation gap exists - a large
mass of IP being patented and inventoried

9.  Arrive and commit: not a matter of logistics and short
notice. It’s about showing commitment. When you are
asked at the start of every initial meeting:
 How long have you been in Singapore?
… the question really being asked is:
 How long are you staying?
 Get a local partner: Interconnection is one of Singapore’s
social strengths; it’s easy to get left out from opportunities,
not through active discrimination but because it will be
assumed that you know what’s going on through one of the
informal networks
 Singaporean government agencies are hands-on; concerned
that businesses should be independent and that they do
not become semi-detached organs of the public sector living
from one subsidised project to another. Hence the ability to
direct strong policy from the centre.

10.  Direct messages and questions are best
addressed verbally, one-on-one and face
to face in an informal setting.
 Face applies to institutions and nations
as well as individuals
 Make the connection to the local life -
life is just different here

11.  Thinking of Singapore as a company
building a brand, rather than the country
that it really is, sometimes helps to make
sense of it
 Price factor: people will pay good money for
a good product when the benefit is tangible,
or linked to privilege and aspiration; there
is a cultural aversion to paying for ideas,
expertise and consultants of all kinds
 Higher non-billable-time overhead here
than expected

12. Not related to Russia:
 No $1B Exists in Asia
 Lack of systematic exit markets does not allow to
predict capital gains and defies the investment
model
 Government intervention – “We are not promoting
startups like “GrabTaxi”
 Venture Capitalism is counter –natural
 WhatsApp valuation in 2014 was $22B (company
without profit or business model)
 Nokia was sold for $7.2B in 2013
 Incubators are giving grants to young locals that know
the world “gaming”

13.  Russia is still an unknown huge cold country with hard liquor
consumption, and predators on the street. Image created by Hollywood
Movies
 No interest in manufacturing in our Far East
 Low interest in Infrastructure Investment in Russia
 Lack of understanding the importance of Trade Mission and government
efforts to promote the image
 No developed NMC from Russia to create informal tech community and
businesses around
 Community is small (20k Australians; 45k British, 350k Indians,
Russians – 3-5k)
 Russians are largely professional and business-oriented
 A few successful companies started by Russians – Novatte, Actronis, Parallels,
Sportsmaster and venture funds – Digital Media Partners,
 No business clubbing (Russian Club has different goals)
 Academics and Researches
 Government delegations on a mission to travel around
 Smart but unexperienced in business

14.  Late Entry: Russia is 20 years late to enter the
market, lost momentum
 The developing world has supplied 60-90% of the
growth of Europe’s big firms in recent years
 Asian Market started to develop only after
Sanctions are introduced
 Venture firms like Target Ventures, Runa
Capital, TMT Investment, Prostor Capital,
Almas Capital still focusing on the Western
Markets
 Low penetration of large corporations from RF

15.  Weakens the image of a Russian entrepreneur
 Exchange Rate
 Access to the funding because of the sanctions
 even local banks that are not required to participate in
sanctions, are hesitating to credit as the can loose US
based clearing license
 Some banks are closing operational accounts for local
companies for transactions with Russian banks (at the
same time trying to enter market in Russia)
 Collaborations in strategic areas are scrutinized
(defense, electronics, Oil & Gas)
 Getting business visas, opening bank accounts
takes more time recently

16.  Insufficient Strategic planning
 often just an idea to try in Asia without concept
 Poor understanding of the market
 Insufficient business planning
 Planning the business – not accounting for operational expenses
while computing required financing
 Going cheap – requesting to much in advance
 Poor marketing differentiation
 Rushing into a new market unprepared
 Market research, event if carried out does not focus on local market
needs and society needs, but focuses only on the existing product
 Ignoring opportunities, lack of flexibility
 Market entry concept not offering a solution to existing problem

17.  Being insensitive to local culture
 Language – “lost in translation” - missed clues, body
language, etc.
 Lack of commitment to relocate
 Not seeking a local partner; miscalculating when to hire
country manager vs. finding a partner
 Not engaging local partners/staff
 Failing to cultivate local talent
 Not being prepared to invest in hiring well-qualified
professionals to help with localization
 Not anticipating supply-chain issues
 Failing to club - Networking mistakes

18.  Not having an MBA equivalent on a team
 Inefficient decision-making
 Over-reporting and over managing everything
 Our excessive reporting in government sector
 Failing to follow up and loosing time/focus
 Delayed follow ups create reputational risks
 Avoiding confrontation
 be open - you have only one chance
 you have only one chance
 Letting your business lost in translation – not hiring an
interpreter or not bringing along local partner
 Unexpected procedural risks
 Bureaucracy, anticorruption laws that calls for workarounds

19.  Marketing-template mentality
 Many markets are turbulent, evolving, and defy easy categorization.
 Ignoring the “YO” Factor
 Asian countries consumers are both Young & Old at the same time
 Misjudging communal mind-set
 Greater sense of community influence consumer behaviour.
 Not accumulating marketing memory.
 Valuable local marketing knowledge is lost, local relationships, a key
Asian asset, are also wasted,
 Not localising the product
 One strategy could be to out-localize the locals
 Not building sufficient government relationships
 Ignoring R&D potential
 Making brand licensing mistakes, not prioritizing IP protection
 Visibility gap – not exhibiting at the conferences

20.  Internet of Things IoT Asia 2015 , Singapore, April
8-9th
 iDA Smart Nation Innovations, Singapore, April 22
 CommunicAsia 2015, EnterpriseIT Asia 2015,
Broadcast Asia 2015 , Singapore – June 2 -5
 TechVenture 2015, TechnoInnovation 2015,
Singapore, September 21-22
 Future Cities Asia, Kuala Lumpur, October 20-22
 Cloud Expo Asia 2015, Singapore October 27-28
 International Robot Exhibition 2015, Tokyo,
December 2-5

21.  A*STAR Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Day,
Tech In Asia , Singapore May 6-7
 Echelon Asia Summit, Singapore , June 23 -24
 Red Herring Asia, Hong Kong, August 25-27
 ICT: Big Data, Cloud and Security, Singapore,
July 27-28
 015 International Conference on Control,
Automation and Robotics (ICCAR 2015) , Singapore,
August 11-14
 Digital Forensics in Asia (DFIA 2015) Singapore,
October 14-15
 Asia Clean Energy Summit Singapore, October 27-
28