The Runway Ventures

Get the weekly newsletter to help you learn from startup mistakes and become a better founder.

Every Sunday, we analyse and share:

• 1 failed startup ☠️
• 2 costly mistakes made ⚠️
• 3 lessons learned for founders 🧠

90% of startups fail because founders made mistakes. Don't be one of them.

Subscribe for free here 👉🏻 www.therunway.ventures

Founder

beehiiv

beehiiv empowers you to create, monetize, and grow your newsletter with an all-in-one publishing suite.

(right team, great product, crazy execution)

Angel Investor

Fathom - AI Meeting Assistant

Fathom records, transcribes, highlights, and summarizes your meetings so you can focus on the conversation.

(proud user of Fathom)

X10 Media

X10 Media, a regional influencer agency established over 7 years ago before Influencer Marketing became part of the mainstay, holds a network of over 3,000 Influencers with a combined 30 million network reach in Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia.

The agency has served over 1,000 brands including Pepsi, Singtel, Capitaland, LVMH, Warner Music, Owndays, Casetify among others.

With its proprietary Leadgram technology and data-driven insights, X10 Media empowers brands to achieve exceptional results through influencer campaigns.

X10 media currently owns 3 business units — Faves, X10 Ventures & TheSpokenTribe, that span regionally across 3 countries in Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia.

🌏 Faves (micro-influencer marketing arm) runs a combined network of 10 million reach in Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia.

🌏 X10 Ventures (technology arm) empowers brands with our proprietary technology.

• Leadgram was launched as a first-of-its-kind software in Asia to deepen social media campaign ROI & sales/traffic conversions for brands & companies.
• We retarget consumers that engages on influencers/brand content to create conversations leading to higher call to actions.

🌏 The Spoken Tribe (LinkedIn marketing arm) brings professional voices to endorse companies and brands through the word-of-mouth recommendations.

👉🏻 With a commitment to excellence and innovation, X10 Media continues to drive impactful influencer marketing solutions for brands. Visit www.x10.media to learn more.

CTO (Acquired by TSL Media Group)

Admond Lee

On a mission to make data science accessible to everyone through consulting & corporate training.

Data science consulting and analytics services for startups, SMEs, and marketing agencies.

✅ Previous projects include:

• AI & marketing consulting
• Web analytics & data visualisation
• Web scraping & marketing analytics
• Crypto price prediction model using deep learning with millions of sentiment data points


✅ Corporate & Institutional Training (Data Science / Analytics):

• SPH, DBS, MINDEF, Singtel, NTU, NUS, UTAR, Decoded


▶️ Learn more at www.admondlee.com

Consulting Data Scientist | Corporate Trainer

chatted.ai

Get AI insights from data in seconds and make informed decisions 10x faster.

1. Upload your data
2. Ask questions
3. Get actionable insights

That's it.

❌ No more formulas
❌ No more pivot table
❌ No more learning how to code
❌ No more waiting for your reports

✅ Just ask.

Sign up for free here 👉🏻 chatted.ai

... and start chatting today 🧠

YouTube

Making videos focusing on data science, programming, and tech stuff in general.

👉🏻 Link to channel: youtube.com/@admond1994

Content Creator

Staq

At Staq, we are building the universal API to help fintech companies securely access financial data from SMEs in a quick and easy way across Southeast Asia.

We are reimagining the technical infrastructure to drive financial inclusion for businesses in Southeast Asia.

Our mission is to empower you to build amazing financial products for businesses with more visibility and informed decisions. 

With Staq:
• You can easily and securely access financial data from businesses for SME lending, user identity verification, compliance and KYC etc. 
• Businesses can instantly share their data instead of sifting through tedious UX from multiple banks to extract bank statements. 

Headquartered in Singapore, Staq is backed by Entrepreneur First, the leading startup incubator in the world.

Co-Founder / CTO

Entrepreneur First

Entrepreneur First is the place where the ambitious come together to build globally important technology companies.

Founder in Residence (EFSG10)

Medium

Contributing Writer | Towards Data Science

Co-Founder & CTO @ Staq | Data Scientist

I’m a physicist turned data scientist, now a founder building The Runway Ventures — a weekly newsletter to help people learn from startup failures to become the top 1% founders.

I spent the first 3 years of my career helping companies solve business problems as a data scientist. Meantime, I was also a corporate trainer, speaker, and writer in data science. Then, I spent the next 3 years building startups. 1 failed, 1 acquired.

🧗🏻 This is how I got here:

• Got my degree in Physics from Nanyang Technological University.

• Started as a data scientist at SME (Titansoft), then MNC (Micron) before joining a startup (Hackwagon).

• Quit my job during COVID (wild timing), joined an incubator, found a co-founder, and built my 1st startup (Staq). Spent 1.5 years building Staq but we failed. Despite our mistakes, we learned a lot.

• Was very lost after my 1st startup’s failure. Spent the next 2 months doing self-reflection and exploring my curiosity.

• Started my 2nd startup building Leadgram at an influencer marketing agency (X10 Media). 8 months later, we got acquired by The Smart Local (TSL) Media Group.

***

After 3 years of building startups, I'm convinced that mistakes are the best teachers to become a better founder. For any startup, there are many ways to succeed, but only a few ways to die.

That’s why I started The Runway Ventures. 

Every Sunday, I analyse and share 1 failed startup story, 2 mistakes made, and 3 lessons learned with actionable tips to help you learn from startup failures.

Real life case studies, with key takeaways you can apply in your business.

No theories or BS.

99% of startups failed because founders made mistakes.

You’ll learn why and how startups failed to become the top 1% founder.

🤝🏻 Join us here (it’s free!): www.therunway.ventures

🔗 FB: @admond1994
🔗 Twitter: @admond1994
🔗 Instagram: @admond1994

- find a problem
- validate the problem
- find a beachhead market
- validate with target audience
- get paying customers from day 1
- money starts flowing into your bank
- investors reach out and beg to fund you
- raise from investors in 1 month (easy money)
- hire more employees and move to a new office
- scale the product and team (growth > everything)
- happyness

The harsh truth?

Being a founder sucks.

You may have happyness on Day 1, but soon enough you'll feel that you're eating glass and staring into the abyss.

Because you:
- realise the problem isn't a real problem
- need to talk to users, validate, and repeat
- the beachhead market isn't the right market
- your target audience doesn't want to pay you
- money only flows out (not in) + struggle to pay bills
- investors said, "this is too early for us" and ghost you
- no money to hire employees + can't even pay yourself
- no customers + no traction + no growth = running out of money
- feel like shit

90% of startups failed because founders made mistakes. But it doesn't have to be this way. 

You can drastically reduce the probability of dying (higher chance to succeed) as long as you don't make big mistakes, stay in the game, outlast everyone else and win.

How? 

By learning from other people's mistakes.

That's why I'm writing failed startup stories in my newsletter to help founders become smarter operators. 

Every Sunday, you'll get 1 failed startup story, 2 mistakes, and 3 lessons learned with actionable tips to build and grow your business.

Join 12,000+ founders here and make 2025 your best year ever (it's free!): https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

P.S. I guarantee this is the best 5 mins you'll ever spend to learn from failed startup stories and become a better operator

What's your goal in 2025?

🤝🏻

#startup

Helping you become the top 1% founder by learning from startup failures | 2x founder | 1 exit | Founder @ The Runway Ventures 🚀

BREAKING: Octopus is sinking.

(How Octopus went from waste management to $5M scandal)

🇮🇩 Founded by Hamish Daud and his 4 friends in 2020, Octopus is a reverse-logistics startup that promised to revolutionise waste management.

For manufacturers — Brands and FMCG producers can track and collect their waste using Octopus’s real-time data dashboard, ensuring they don’t end up in landfills (TPA).

For waste collectors — They are incentivised to collect waste and ensure waste is properly processed through Octopus’s platform.

🚛 The idea is brilliant. Octopus tackled a massive problem in Indonesia — waste management.

At its peak, Octopus raised $5M from Openspace and SOSV and gained considerable traction (1,700 waste banks, 14,600 trained and verified collectors, 200,000+ platform users).

However, Octopus started sinking 6 months after raising fund.

Everything collapsed when:
- employees got unpaid salaries for 6 months
- CEO lied about holding a degree from UC Berkeley
- Hamish faced allegations of harassment against a former employee (shared by whistleblowers)

This is, by far, the most dramatic startup failure I've ever seen.

Here's the full failed story of Octopus: https://lnkd.in/gBFrTPiw

P.S. I guarantee this is the best 5 mins you'll ever spend to learn from failed startup stories and become a better operator

P.S.S This story was co-created with Nelson Ng . I'm blown away by the insider news and untold story after digging deeper.

🤝🏻

#startup

BREAKING: FishLog is sinking.

(How FishLog went from fishery to $3.5M fraud scandal)

🇮🇩 Founded in 2020 by Bayu Anggara, Reza Fahlepi, and Abdul Halim, FishLog is a B2B platform aimed at revolutionising the fragmented cold chain fisheries system in Indonesia.

It provided services in 3 areas:

Logistics — Established FishLog Quality Centers (partnership with local cold storage and aggregator partners) to optimise cold chain distribution, improve efficiency, and stabilise supply and demand.

Marketplace — Real-time B2B marketplace where fisheries businesses could see inventory in a standardised manner (price & quality).

Financing — Provided immediate payments to fishermen upon delivery to distributors using inventory financing from fintechs.

⛴️ The problem was massive as the fisheries industry contributed 3% to Indonesia’s GDP.

At its peak, FishLog raised $3.5M from Accel, Insignia Ventures Partners, and BRI Ventures + gained crazy traction:
- 3000 metric tons in cold storage inventory
- 20,000 metric tons of inventory (B2B marketplace)
- $3 million in financing for fishermen & fisheries businesses

However, FishLog started sinking 1 year after raising fund.

🚨 Everything collapsed when the company:
- hired ~60 people in the sales team with inflated salaries
- failed to raise Series A round funding (VC suddenly pulled out)
- 3 rounds of layoffs
- ran out of investors’ money
- CEO refused to pay severance to employees
- inflated their revenues (fake transactions from invoices) 
- used employees' names to create fake companies to get loans
- Bayu was trying to sell FishLog without shareholders’ approval letter

This is, by far, the most dramatic startup failure I've ever seen.

Want to know why and read the full failed story of FishLog? The newsletter will be sent to my subscribers at 8pm today.

Join 9,000+ operators here: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

P.S. I guarantee you won't find this story anywhere else

P.S.S. I'm blown away by the insider news and untold story after digging deeper

♻️ Repost to share this with your network if you find it helpful 

🤝🏻

#startup

My first startup failed. We almost raised our Seed round. I almost became a millionaire (on paper) at 28 — but instead, we shut down.

I was 28 when I started Staq and I had just one goal: build something people want (and get rich).

We raised a total of $100k for our pre-seed round. In talk with some of the largest digital lenders in SG to be our customers for pilot tests.

And, for a while, my cofounder and I thought we were on the right track.

We were raising $1M for our Seed round. We thought we gonna make it and close the deals with a lead investor.

From 10 potential lead investors became 10 rejections:

• 5 rejected us
• 3 pulled out saying "This is a tough space"
• 2 said "We need to see more traction"

We were burning $5k per month with $10k in the bank. We were dying with 2 months of runway left.

At that point, we knew it was over. 2 months later, we decided to shut it down.

📌 3 learnings:

1. If I were to do it all over again, I'd focus on identifying the right problem and solving the problem for customers. No fundraising round or PR can save you if you're not solving problem for your customers.

2. Building a startup is mentally and emotionally taxing. You should only build a startup if you care enough about solving a problem and you think you're the right team to solve it.

3. Never raise money when you're desperate for money. Alway raise money in the position of strength, not the other way round.

That's why I'm building The Runway Ventures — a weekly newsletter to help you learn from startup mistakes and become a better founder.
​
My 1st startup failed terribly because of my costly mistakes. Don't be like me.
​
Join 10,000+ founders here (it's free!): https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq
​
What was the biggest mistake you made in your startup?

🤝🏻

#startup

30 lessons I’ve learned after 3+ years as a founder: 
 
1. Launch now. 
2. Learn to say no. 
3. You're not alone. 
4. Invest in yourself. 
5. Motion ≠ Progress 
6. Fail fast, learn fast. 
7. Know when to pivot. 
8. Prospects always lie. 
9. Hire the right people. 
10. Don't skip the basics. 
11. Profitability > Growth 
12. Build a founder brand. 
13. Find the right mentors. 
14. Have 7 hours of sleep. 
15. Ask the right questions. 
16. Give more than you take. 
17. Solve your own problems. 
18. Exercise for better health. 
19. PMF = Customer Retention 
20. Never outsource the core tech. 
21. Take care of your mental health. 
22. Meditate to practise mindfulness. 
23. Don't confuse users with customers. 
24. Validate first before building anything. 
25. You're who you surround yourself with. 
26. Focus on your customers, not investors. 
27. Prioritise tasks using Eisenhower Matrix. 
28. Fall in love with the problem, not solution. 
29. Have a morning routine that sets you up for the day. 
30. Everything around you was built by people no smarter than you. 
 
Lastly, enjoy the ride. 
 
What has been your biggest learning this year?

***
🧠 Want to become the top 1% founder by learning from startup failures?

Every Sunday, I share 1 failed startup story, 2 mistakes, and 3 lessons learned with actionable tips in my weekly newsletter.

Join 10,000+ founders here (it's free!): https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

🤝🏻

#startup

When my first startup died, I felt relieved.

Weird, right? Relief probably isn't the emotion you'd expect. 

But after months of keeping up appearances, pretending we were "crushing it", the weight finally lifted.

There I was, after 1.5 years of building Staq with Frederick Sia (the best co-founder I could ever ask for), the financial API for SMEs in Southeast Asia. The ending was quiet - no paid contracts, no fundraising, no acqui-hire deal. Just silence.

And then... relief.

Relief from the daily pressure of watching our runway shrink.
Relief from forcing optimism in investor meetings.
Relief from pretending we had it all figured out.

See, every founder starts with the same dream - building the next unicorn. That ungrounded optimism isn't a bug, it's a feature. Without it, none of us would survive the late nights, rejections, and uncertainty.

After we shut down Staq, the next 2 months were the darkest of my life. Depression hit hard. I questioned everything about myself as a founder, as a person. The relief of ending had given way to something heavier.

But then something beautiful happened.

I started talking to other founders. 

They shared their own stories of failure - raw, honest conversations about rebuilding. These weren't the polished success stories you see on TechCrunch. These were real stories of human struggle and resilience.

These conversations saved me. They showed me that the relief I felt wasn't about giving up - it was about being honest with myself.

That's why I'm hosting Startup Fxckups Night with GenieFriends - a space where startup builders can share the real stories that shaped their journey.

No sugar coating. No toxic positivity. Just honest conversations about:

- The mistakes that made you wiser
- The pivots that made you stronger
- The challenges that made you better
- The community that kept you going

Meet your hosts - builders ready to share their unfiltered stories:

• Jake Berber, Co-Founder & CEO at Prefer Coffee
• Ned Phillips, Founder & CEO at Bambu
• Eldred Wee, Founder & CEO at Edenity
• Sam Neo, Founder & CEO at Stories of Asia
• Rae Fung, Founder & Speaking Coach
• Joshua Woo 胡, Co-Founder at Recruit Fast
• Min Chon, Leow, Investment Associate at Blauwpark Partners  

Whether you're an aspiring founder, current builder, or investor, come learn from real stories of failure and resilience.

Join us at GenieFriends on 11th Jan. No pitch decks. No vanity metrics. Just real builders sharing real stories.

Because sometimes the best way forward is to admit where we went wrong, embrace it, learn from it, and become 10x better.

Secure your spot here: https://lu.ma/oh250111-sg 

(We'll approve the right profile)

What's the biggest startup fxckup you've made?

🤝🏻

How I.F.F.I went from mega farm to mega failure:

(a S$39.4M mistake)

🇸🇬 Indoor Farm Factory Innovation (I.F.F.I) wanted to revolutionise urban farming by establishing the Singapore's first soil-based indoor mega farm.

This wasn’t just any farm. It was designed to produce the most nutrient-saturated vegetables year-round, leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet the growing needs of urban farming.

And Singapore needed it the most, why?

Over 90% of Singapore’s food is imported from 170 countries. When shit happens (i.e. COVID-19), Singapore needs to maintain its food security and reduce its reliance on food imports.

That's where I.F.F.I came to the rescue by using advanced engineering and robotics to optimise farming processes + crop yields.

At its peak, I.F.F.I secured a S$39.4 million grant from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and was projected to produce between 800 to 1,000 kg of vegetables daily.

However, the agri-party didn't last long.

Everything collapsed when:
- the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains
- company faced rising operational + production costs
- unviable business model
- lack of consumer demand
- its parent company suddenly filed for insolvency

My takeaway?

High-Tech isn’t always High-ROI without positive unit economics.

Want to know why and read the full failed story of I.F.F.I? The newsletter will be sent to my subscribers at 8pm today.

Join 12,000+ operators here: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

P.S. I guarantee this is the best 5 mins you'll ever spend to learn from failed startup stories and become a better operator

🤝🏻

#startup

My 2024 goal is to hit 10,000 subscribers.

Today, I did it...

It still blows my mind how crazy the past 12 months have been, especially when I was stuck at 1,300 subs in June and thought it was impossible to hit my goal.

So what kept me going? It's because of my WHY.

My first startup (Staq) failed terribly. Closing down was the darkest period in my life, not to mention the 2-month depression that came after that.
 
After talking to many successful founders, I saw a “pattern” and couldn’t unsee it. I realised most of them are successful because they learn from mistakes. Most importantly, they learn from other people’s mistakes. 

They learn why and how other startups failed, the mistakes made by founders, and how not to die. That’s why Staq failed. That’s why 99% of startups died because founders made mistakes. 

Look around you. How often do you see founders share their mistakes and lessons learned? Almost little to none. This is especially true in Asia where being vulnerable to share mistakes is a sign of weakness. It’s a cultural taboo. 

That means if we don’t capture this wisdom (mistakes + lessons learned), history will keep repeating and many founders will repeat the same mistakes made by others in the past. 

• founders will quit
• many startups will die
• the rate of innovation will be slower
• the rate of societal value creation will be lesser

🔥 This is a f**king big problem. That’s why I’m building The Runway Ventures. That’s what keeps me going. It’s time to help more founders not die. It’s time to fix the startup ecosystem.

That's it. That's my WHY.

What's your WHY to do what you're doing today?

P.S. I'm forever grateful for your support to TRV. We're not there yet. Heck, we're just getting started. Thanks for being part of this crazy journey with me.

🤝🏻

#startup

Dec 2023: 0 subs
Jan 2024: 27 subs
Feb 2024: 441 subs
Mar 2024: 760 subs
Apr 2024: 1,109 subs
May 2024: 1,184 subs
Jun 2024: 1,381 subs
Jul 2024: 1,717 subs
Aug 2024: 2,672 subs
Sep 2024: 4,396 subs
Oct 2024: 5,089 subs
Nov 2024: 6,302 subs
Dec 2024: 7,934 subs
Jan 2025: 12,690 subs

I started my newsletter in Dec 2023 with 0 subscribers.

First 6 months - felt like shit
Next 6 months - felt less shit

This month - 🤯

If this doesn't show the power of consistency, I don't know what does.

Whatever you do, don't give up, keep showing up. Because sometimes the breakthrough might just be one step away from you.

What's your goal in 2025?

P.S. Join 12,000+ founders to learn from failed startup stories + become smarter operators here: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

🤝🏻

#startup

Cleve.ai has gone viral recently.

I finally know why:

Beyond tracking my postings and engagements in 2024, the AI-generated summaries are top-notch. 

Here's 10 lessons I learned in 2024 (after writing 50 failed startup stories):

1. Adaptability is crucial in a volatile market.
2. A great idea isn't enough. Execution is key.
3. Transparency and trust are essential in leadership.
4. Funding can become a burden if not managed wisely.
5. Learn from failures. They often provide the best lessons.
6. Planning for downturns can save a startup in tough times.
7. Prioritise a sustainable business model over rapid expansion.
8. Exit strategies should be considered early, not as a last resort.
9. Returning capital to investors can be a sign of integrity, not failure.
10. Community feedback is valuable for assessing business direction.

90% of startups fail because founders made mistakes. Don't be one of them.

Join 9,800+ founders here to learn how not to die: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

P.S. Thanks for making this for LinkedIn creators like us -  Ashvin Praveen, Lizzie Tan, Muhammad Fathy Rashad 🚀

#startup #linkedin

LinkedIn Unwrapped (2024)

Startup Fxckups Night is happening next Saturday.

It’s a fun, unfiltered night where founders share their biggest f**kups and lessons learned. We're also curating the guests list to maximise luck surface area for everyone.

​​It's a reverse panel so we give the stage to you — you ask the questions, not the panel moderator.

Excited to have the amazing hosts with us:

🧠 Jake Berber (Co-Founder & CEO at Prefer | bean-free coffee)
​Ask ⁠Jake about building a foodtech business, being a first-time founder, and marketing hacks

🧠 ​Ned Phillips (Founder & CEO at Bambu B2B Robo Advisor & The Sales Movement by ne:D)
​⁠Ask Ned about how to sell without selling, B2B sales, wealthtech
​
🧠 Eldred Wee (Founder & CEO at Edenity)
​Ask Eldred about Mergers & Acquisitions for 🇸🇬 SMEs, Fatherhood and Entrepreneurship, Hainanese Identity and legacy
​
🧠 Sam Neo (Founder & CEO at Stories of Asia & Personal Brand Lab)
​Ask Sam about Personal Branding, Entrepreneurship journey, community building
​
🧠 Rae Fung (Founder & Speaking Coach)
​Ask Rae about being a more powerful communicator, growing the impact of your message, and building a timeless personal brand.
​
🧠 Joshua Woo 胡 (Co-Founder at Recruit Fast Pte Ltd)
​Ask Joshua about how to start a business, recruitment, and career

🧠 ​Min Chon, Leow (Investment Associate at Blauwpark Partners)
​⁠Ask Min Chon about what investors look for, fundraising process & dynamics and identifying business models for scaling

Whatever you do, just don't die.

Join us here: https://lu.ma/oh250111-sg

P.S. The early bird price is ending today, grab it before it's too late.

🤝🏻

I've received many DMs asking me why I removed the previous LinkedIn post about FishLog, so I figure that it'd be better to clarify here.

Current status:
-⁠ ⁠in discussion with FishLog for cross verification
- ensure story is factual + accurate + balanced + unbiased

Next steps: 
- ⁠update the story and publish it in my newsletter
- ⁠join us to read the story firsthand when it's out: https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

I appreciate FishLog team who reached out to me directly with a good faith to provide clarifications, and willing to share due diligence and audit documents conducted by credible 3rd party institutions.

🤝🏻

#startup

My 10 years career in 10 lines:

Year 1: I loved Physics
Year 2: Internships got rejected by all companies
Year 3: Thought I was gonna do PhD in Particle Physics (lol), but found my passion in data science after joining CERN
Year 4: Decided to change my career to data science + did a bunch of DS internships
Year 5: Started my first full-time role as a research engineer in ML
Year 6: Micron's director took a bet on me when I got little DS experience (I didn't even know SQL)
Year 7: Realised I love teaching, so I joined a local startup to teach data science.
Year 8: Realised I love building things, so I quit the job + build my first startup (Staq)
Year 9: Staq failed terribly, got depressed for 2 months, learned a lot, then built my 2nd startup at X10 Media
Year 10: Timing was right, we got acquired, had my 1st exit, and now building The Runway Ventures to help founders become smarter operators by learning from failed startup stories

What about yours?

When first-time founders try to build a startup:

Most people don't know,

I'm an introvert.

But everything changed when I started stepping out of my comfort zone to:
- shake hands
- meet cool people
- listen + talk to them
- be inspired by their stories
- learn from their mistakes + experience

I'm still an introvert, but joining the right events allows me to learn directly from people who have walked the path, failed, and succeeded.

Their journey.
Their mistakes.
Their learnings.
Their wisdom.

Huge leverage.

That's why I'm organising Startup Fxckups Night with GenieFriends to give you the access to learn from other founders' mistakes + become smarter operators.

It's happening this Saturday at 8pm.

25+ sign ups so far. We still have a few more slots left (capped at 30).

Join us here: https://lu.ma/oh250111-sg

P.S. You're who you surround yourself with

🤝🏻

#startup

🇸🇬 Over 90% of Singapore’s food is imported from 170 countries and regions.

This reliance creates a single point of failure (not good).

So Indoor Farm Factory Innovation (I.F.F.I) wanted to reduce reliance on food imports, decrease food miles, and enhance the resilience of Singapore's food system.

How?

By cultivating vegetables indoors with advanced engineering and robotics that optimised crop yields and ensured consistent quality.

The results?

I.F.F.I was projected to produce between 800 to 1,000 kg of vegetables daily.

However, precision farming took a dark turn. 

In May 2024, news broke that I.F.F.I had ceased operations at its Tuas facility.

Here's why and how I.F.F.I collapsed: https://lnkd.in/gfXKZU_i

P.S. It turned out that other agri-tech startups (VertiVegies, Sky Greens) in Singapore were also facing similar problems.

Thought?

🤝🏻

#startup

I began 2024 by sending my first ever newsletter to 27 people, and am closing out the year today by sending to 11,217 readers.

Crazy.

I’ve always enjoyed writing, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. Each newsletter takes me between 1-5 days (sometimes weeks) to research, write, edit, and publish. 

It honestly required a ton of sacrifice and discipline. Whenever I was asked about my plan for weekends, my answer has always been the same — writing newsletter (and my friends would often roll their eyes 🙄😂). 

Writing is easy, but writing consistently week after week — that is tough, very tough. But guess what? I’m truly proud because I know I ship something meaningful every week. 

All that said — launching The Runway Ventures has become one of the best investments I’ve ever made. 

Many of you have told me how much you’ve learned from these failed startup stories, and it still gives me goosebumps when I think about it now.

Here's my 2024 review on:
- how far we've come
- how it was started
- my vision for TRV

Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gvhnjBPs

Thanks for the amazing 2024. 
Happy New Year, and see you in 2025 ✌🏻

P.S. How would you sum up your 2024 in one word?

🤝🏻

800 founders.
80% decision makers.
100+ investors (VC + angels).
$50,000 deals + crazy benefits.
Networking + warm  introductions.
1-to-1 business + investor matching.
Valuable insights from industry leaders.
Connect with key stakeholders from government.

This is what you'll get at Entrepreneurship Conference — one of the biggest startup conferences in Malaysia organised by BEAMSTART.

You've probably seen how the government is pushing hard to lift the startup ecosystem in Malaysia, so I won't talk much about it.

But the bottom line is this — Malaysia has a huge potential to become the next "Bay Area", but the journey isn't easy.

That's why many startup ecosystem builders like BEAMSTART are lifting the startup ecosystem in Malaysia by bringing the brightest founders and investors together to make it happen.

That's why I'm excited that The Runway Ventures is partnering with them to give you the access to these opportunities.

Join us here: https://lnkd.in/g79GAnPe

P.S. Don't forget to use "runway" to get 30% off 

Thought on Malaysia's startup ecosystem in 2025?

🤝🏻

#startup

The less you do, the more you achieve. 

Early-stage startups often fail because they try to do too much. 

They add too many features, chase too many markets, and measure too many things. This kills their focus and slows growth. 

They can’t find product-market fit because they’re not serving a single customer well.

To win, early startups must focus hard. Cut extra features. Offer one key thing. Serve one ideal customer in a "beachhead." 

Forget copying big companies. Master one thing, then scale.

Here's what happens 

1. Most Founders Fall Here
• Multiple products
• Multiple markets
• Multiple customer types 

2. Split Focus Means
• Higher burn rate
• Slower execution
• Confused customers
• Lost momentum

The Focus Formula:
✓ One killer feature
✓ One crystal-clear value
✓ One ideal user
✓ One key metric to track

Remember 💡
"Chase one rabbit, catch one rabbit. Chase two rabbits, catch none."

#StartupAdvice #Focus #Growth
--------------------------
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Don't chase 2 rabbits 👇

The number of startup shutdowns on Carta hit a new high in Q1 2024.

I'm sad and optimistic.

Sad because many founders relied too much on VC money and forgot about business fundamentals.

- They focused on funding confidence (short term) instead of profitable confidence (long term)
- And when shit happened (climate changed, unable to fundraise), everything collapsed

Optimistic because that means if you just made the right decisions, did the right things, focused on the long-term path, you could have survived and outlasted everyone + won the game.

While 99% startups grew at all costs and died, you grew slowly and profitably + become the top 1%.

Want to become the top 1% founder?

Every Sunday, you'll get 1 failed startup story, 2 mistakes, and 3 lessons learned with actionable tips in my weekly newsletter to build and grow your business.

Join 12,000+ top operators here (it's free!): https://lnkd.in/gdDrhgtq

🤝🏻

#startup

Taplio

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