Singapore-based Launcho Ventures has launched a new venture studio in Southeast Asia, seeking to build successful startups in the region.
Startups will be created in-house through internal ideation as well as co-created with other founders in the region, according to a company statement. The program will be milestone-driven, giving founders sufficient time to prove their concept and potential opportunity to pivot.
The key features of Launcho’s co-creation model include a SGD 3,500 (USD 2,560) monthly salary for founders during the program as well as free office spaces in Singapore and access to Launcho’s team and network. It also aims to inject up to SGD 300,000 (USD 219,500) into new companies, helping them scale and transform ideas with viable business cases into independent firms.
Some of the latest ventures in Launcho’s portfolio include Korean feminine hygiene brand Vasol and lifestyle products marketplace Blue Basket.
Launcho founding partner Martin Berry noted that Southeast Asia presents vast market opportunities due to its size and growth over the past few years. But its venture ecosystem is still young, and it’s one factor that holds the region back, he added.
Berry cites two major hurdles that first-time entrepreneurs struggle with: Finding a good co-founder and raising the funding needed to bring their idea to life.
“Launcho was created to solve these pain points and enable first-time entrepreneurs to focus on what really matters—building the business,” he said.
Prior to Launcho Ventures, Berry built and sold companies with values in excess of USD 600 million. He has also made over 50 venture investments into early-stage startups to date.
The executive founded Gong Cha Korea in 2012 and went on to acquire its parent company Royal Tea Taiwan in 2016. Gong Cha now has 2,000 outlets across 18 countries worldwide.
This article first appeared in Tech in Asia.