Participated · Series A · Aug 2021

Jenfi provides revenue-based financing to online businesses, offering funding from $10,000 to $1 million with flexible repayment plans of three to 12 months. The company was founded in 2019 by Jeffrey Liu and Justin Louie and is based in Singapore. Since inception it has deployed more than $25 million in non-dilutive capital to about 600 companies, whose aggregate sales exceed $150 million. Jenfi differentiates via a proprietary risk assessment engine that integrates with accounting software, payment gateways, e-commerce platforms, marketplaces and advertising channels to continuously monitor borrowers. The firm has implemented a machine learning-assisted underwriting system and is adding local data integrations (including Haravan, KiotViet and most banks in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia) to improve credit decisions. Future plans include refining underwriting and risk capabilities, working with synthetic data, building a tech platform for third parties to use its scoring models, launching dynamic limits and an on-demand financing product for recurring ad spend. Jenfi provides revenue-based financing of up to $500,000 with flexible, target-based repayment plans and a flat fee, positioning itself as “growth capital as a product.” Founded in 2019 by Jeffrey Liu and Justin Louie, the company focuses on digital-native firms such as SaaS providers and e-commerce sellers and runs a fully online application process that can deliver financing in under 24 hours in some cases. Its proprietary risk assessment engine integrates data from bank accounts, accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks), payment gateways (Stripe, Braintree), e-commerce platforms (Shopify, Shopee, Lazada) and advertising platforms (Facebook Ads, Google Ads). Jenfi reports that the average customer saw compounded sales growth of ~26.5% over three months, 60% over six months and 156% over 12 months; aggregate sales across its portfolio exceed $30 million. The company previously raised $25 million in debt financing from San Francisco-based Arc Labs and aims to deploy $15 million by July 2022. Part of the new funding will be used to build additional integrations and automated analytics and to expand tools and services beyond financing to help portfolio companies grow. Jenfi offers growth-focused financing to small and medium businesses in Southeast Asia, lending directly or issuing a virtual Jenfi Mastercard for purchases. The company funds marketing-driven growth and takes a percentage of future revenue rather than imposing fixed repayment schedules. Jenfi partners with marketing agencies and services to help borrowers optimize alternative marketing channels, while avoiding becoming a direct service provider. Founders Jeffrey Liu and Justin Louie launched the business from a base in Singapore and are positioning marketing growth as their initial product focus. Since launch last year the startup has onboarded 50 borrowers and lent SGD$600,000 to date. Jenfi is currently going through Y Combinator and plans to expand to additional geographies and broaden its product offering over the next two years.

Led · Series A · Sep 2018

Ohmyhome is a Singapore-based online property marketplace. The company operates a platform for property transactions and related services. The article reports that Ohmyhome raised $2.92 million (S$4 million) in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Golden Equator Capital. Other participants in the round included family offices and individual investors. No additional product details, operating metrics, or future plans were provided in the article.

Led · Series A · Feb 2017

Vault Dragon is a Singapore-based startup that operates in the digital healthcare data space. The article identifies the company primarily by its focus on healthcare data but does not detail specific products or services. Vault Dragon closed a S$1.64 million (US$1.16 million) pre-Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Golden Equator Capital and Raging Bull. The article does not disclose operating metrics, revenue, user counts, or the intended use of proceeds. No information on founding year or prior financings is provided in the article.

Led · Series A · Sep 2016

Glints operates a talent development and recruitment platform that connects employers with professionals across five markets. Its platform hosts three million professionals and 50,000 companies, including AIA, IKEA, GetGo, KKday and Gameloft. The company says annual revenue and gross profits grew 2.5x year-over-year and that annual revenue has been growing at a triple-digit percentage. Glints reports positive contribution margins across all business units, with Indonesia and Vietnam remaining profitable. Remote hiring is a major growth driver: remote cross-border job postings grew more than 3x year-over-year and over 11x in the past two years. The company plans to expand its talent supply base in the Philippines, grow employer demand globally, and hire for its product and tech teams. Glints operates a full-stack career platform that includes a job marketplace, community features, and online skills education targeted at young to mid-level professionals. The platform hosts more than 7,000 active job listings and attracts roughly 4 million visitors per month. Glints says it has been used by over 1.5 million professionals and 30,000 organizations, including Gojek, Tokopedia, Starbucks and Mediacorp. One of its products, TalentHub, is a cross-border remote work hub that doubled its business in 2020 as employers became more open to remote hiring. The company positions itself as a solution to regional tech talent shortages by helping firms hire teams across Southeast Asian countries. Glints plans to use new capital to expand further in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan and to hire for its product and engineering teams. Glints is a Singapore-headquartered recruitment and hiring platform. The company is described in the article as a recruitment platform. Glints has raised $6.8 million in a Series B round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, according to a statement. The article identifies the financing as a Series B round. No other investors or additional financial details were disclosed in the article. The article did not provide operating metrics, future plans, or use-of-proceeds information. Glints operates a career discovery and development platform that helps young people explore internships, graduate roles and professional-development resources in Singapore. The platform aims to guide users to discover career paths and develop the right skill sets while enabling employers to attract suitable talent. It lists internships, graduate jobs and career-development content and tools for early-career professionals. The company is led by Oswald Yeo, Ying Cong Seah and Qin En Looi. Glints raised funding to support regional expansion and product development. The company reported a $2M Series A to finance those plans. Glints is a Singapore-based platform that helps graduates and students enter the workforce by pairing job and internship listings with training, employer challenges, personality tests and profile badges. It operates a talent-scout model where employers list vacancies for free and pay only when they interview a candidate. The site reports over 7,000 registered students and some 600 companies on its platform in Singapore. Glints runs employer-set challenges (examples include Easy Taxi and SPH) to give candidates practical experience and badges to help them stand out. The founding team graduated accelerator JFDI Asia and includes three founders who deferred graduate-school offers. The company is weighing regional expansion (Indonesia or the U.S.) later in the year and expects to seek another funding round to support growth. The business recently closed a seed financing of SG$475,000 (US$380,000).

Participated · Equity · Jul 2016

Paktor operates a Tinder-like mobile dating app alongside an offline matchmaking service. The company claims over 20 million users worldwide, employs 110 staff, and is four years old. It recently hit net profitability and had raised $22 million prior to this new round, including a roughly $10 million round this past summer that it has not yet spent. Paktor is using new funding to expand beyond pure dating into "social entertainment," though specific product details have not been disclosed. CEO Joseph Phua said the cash cushion allows the company to explore one-to-many and multi-person media experiences, citing products like House Party and Momo's live-streaming feature as reference points. The business also powers bespoke dating services with media partners in Latin America, the U.S., and Europe while maintaining a focus on Southeast Asia and neighboring markets. Paktor operates a Tinder-like dating app that has expanded into offline events and services such as group travel and speed dating. The company is pushing a wider global expansion with recent launches planned for Japan and South Korea and hires of former IAC executives to run international growth. Paktor has pursued M&A and media partnerships to extend distribution, acquiring South America-based Kickoff and nearing two further acquisitions that would bring its combined footprint to about 15 million registered users. The company previously reported around six million registered users in its core Southeast Asia base (no updated figure provided). Paktor says engagement has risen — average daily swipes increased from 160 to 200, average daily time from 30 to 40 minutes, and active chats (3+ exchanges) have grown 200%. Financially, it is targeting at least $10 million in revenue for the year and has introduced smaller, more affordable subscription options for emerging markets. Paktor operates iOS and Android dating apps and has also launched a web-based version and a desktop site to boost engagement. The app has 1.5 million registered users (60% aged 18–24), has generated over 40 million matches and records about 10 million swipes per day. The company has physical presences in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan and has piloted an offline, specialist one-on-one matching service called Gai Gai in Singapore. Paktor is focused on a sustained marketing push across Southeast Asia and plans to roll out differentiated versions of its offline service in its four largest markets over the next year. The team was founded in July 2013 by Joseph Phua, Ng Jing Shen and Charlene Koh. For now the company is not heavily monetizing but may introduce subscription services in the future.