State of Asian startups 2019

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Are startups hopeful about 2020?

Do employees feel secure about their jobs?

What workplace messaging apps are they using?

Inspired by venture capital firm First Round’s famous State of Startups survey, which is mainly conducted in the US annually, we at Tech in Asia sought answers for our own community.

We collated 672 responses, mostly from early-stage startups in Singapore and Indonesia, giving our research a unique Asian context.

Our survey has plenty of room for improvement, of course. If you’d like to collaborate with us or want to see our poll become a regular project, let us know.

Here are the key insights and full results from TIA’s State of Asian Startups 2020.

1. Startup workers appear to be happy with the hours they keep.

Most startup folks clock in seven- to 10-hour work days - that’s in line with typical office workers. Scenes of startup employees pulling all-nighters are also rare.

That’s why they’re not complaining much: Most believe that their hours are good or neutral, even if they sometimes bring work home. They also don’t receive overtime pay.

Founders, of course, are usually the last to leave the office. Close to 40% of them work 11 hours or more a day. It’s a tiring - and lonesome - journey.

2. Majority of startup employees would like more benefits.

Cash-strapped startups tend to skimp on employee benefits. But that hasn't stopped employees from asking for more.

The top request from employees is healthcare. However, that's already one of the most common benefits that startups offer.

3. Startups are cautiously optimistic about 2020.

A huge chunk of respondents have a rosy view of their country’s tech industry and economy. Two-thirds of them feel secure about their jobs. Among those with stock options, two-thirds expect to at least partially cash out in the next three years.

But while most startups are planning to hire and raise money this year, most people believe that it will be harder to find jobs and attract funds to invest in their companies (First Round's survey takers felt this, too).

4. Asian startups no longer look to the US as the top source of inspiration.

There was a time when startups in Asia aspired to be an Uber for this or an Airbnb for that. Nowadays, though, China is leading the way for our respondents, who also cited their own companies as models, followed by US players.

Asian names were predominant when survey takers picked what (or who) has made the biggest positive impact on the region’s tech industry:

Grab and GoJek
Alibaba and Jack Ma
Softbank
Tencent
Tokopedia

Google was the highest-ranking non-Asian example, coming in at number six.

5. WeWork has the biggest negative impact on Asia's tech industry right now.

The reasons are hard to miss: the company’s extravagant spending, the absence of corporate governance, and the consequences of its botched initial public offering on startup fundraising. Following behind WeWork was one of its investors, SoftBank - no surprise there.

Rounding out this “downers” list were Donald Trump, Grab, and Facebook. While respondents were not required to explain their replies, it’s not difficult to guess their logic.

For those who selected President Trump, it's likely the US-China trade war. Those who singled out Grab and other unicorns were concerned about cash burning, which means that when it comes to talent, these giants can outbid lesser-funded startups.

As for which company was the biggest Asian tech flop of 2019, Honestbee was no. 1 - that's likely due to our audience skew and coverage - while WeWork came in second.

6. Founders still see SoftBank as a choice fundraising target.

Despite riding out a rough year, the Japanese conglomerate is still a preferred option for many founders. Other obvious picks include Sequoia Capital, East Ventures, 500 Startups, and Golden Gate Ventures. (Disclosure: East Ventures and SoftBank are investors in Tech in Asia).

It’s obvious that having good branding does not necessarily equate to being a good investor (here’s a list of some of the best-performing funds in Southeast Asia). However, all of the firms highlighted by survey takers do have some marquee investments.

7. Few founders and employees report facing workplace discrimination.

The good news: Only 15% of respondents indicated that they’ve experienced discrimination at work.

The most common types of discrimination are based on race and nationality, followed by age and gender.

The bad news: About half of women who reported facing discrimination pointed to gender as a reason. That’s compared to 6% for men.

Also, while men and women have similar chances of encountering discrimination, women are more likely to report facing more kinds of prejudice than men.

8. 21% of people have, or know of people who've experienced sexual harassment at work.

The figure is identical among founders and employees, and appears to be much lower than the 49% reported in the First Round survey.

It’s not so easy to draw conclusions from this, though. Sexual harassment could indeed be less common in this part of the world than it is in the US. But it could also signal that in Asia, there are different ideas or a lack of awareness about what harassment is, or even a fear of speaking up about it.

9. Initial coin offerings are dead. Long live blockchain!

More survey takers are optimistic about blockchain, though the gap between them and those with a gloomier view is narrow.

Most also think that ICOs will be less popular this year (though the truth is, they’re already dead). Interestingly, 12% of respondents would still consider it in 2020. Another 12% of companies are using blockchain in some capacity.

It’s not a given, though, that blockchain users are the ones eyeing ICOs. About two-thirds of those in favor of such an offering aren’t using blockchain tech.

10. Slack is the go-to workplace messaging app.

Nearly half of founders and employees use Slack as their chat app at work, while Skype is in second place. Three-quarters of folks that did our survey are on some kind of office messaging app.

Here’s another twist: Microsoft Teams, which is touted as a Slack killer, is a distant third at 13.8%.

But demographics may play a role here - perhaps Teams has more traction among larger teams and companies? Or is it possible that Teams’ numbers are inflated, as some have alleged?