FirstCOUNSEL is at the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) STARTUPS today! ACE STARTUPS is a membership scheme whose goal is to build a community and support startups. Usually the fee to join is $100, but currently they are offering the 1st year of membership for free! Members get perks including exclusive access to ACE's network of investors, corporate partners, opportunities for co-innovation projects, usage of partners' spaces, access to a members' lounge. Join now

"DBS Bank is developing an online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace so that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can sell goods and services to large companies, even multinationals. The platform will give SMEs access to supply chain connections, as well as financing and payment solutions that are usually only open to large corporations. The portal, which is being supported by 99%SME partners Mediacorp, Mastercard and Singtel, is expected to be launched by the end of

"The following is an edited excerpt from The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferris. The excerpt is provided by Harmony Publishing... If you are nervous about making the jump or simply putting it off out of fear of the unknown, (these questions are) your antidote. Write down your answers, and keep in mind that thinking a lot will not prove as fruitful or as prolific as simply brain vomiting on the page. Write and do not edit – aim for

"[T]he gap within SME financing landscape has been a widely discussed topic in Southeast Asia, and with the rise of the FinTech, more alternative lenders are trying to fill the US$120 Billion financing gap in Southeast Asia through digital lending platforms. At Funding Societies, we conducted an extensive research and spoke to our business borrowers in Singapore, and identified 3 key reasons SMEs struggle in financing their businesses: 1. SMEs are not getting paid on time Any

Singapore has such a dynamic ecosystem that sometimes the number of events offered can be overwhelming. Here at FirstCOUNSEL, we're going to help you out by putting together a curated list of upcoming events in Singapore for start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs: Aug 8 - DrinkEntrepreneurs x The Hive (The Hive) $0+ Aug 13 - Innovators under 35 Asia Pacific Gathering (SGInnovate) Free Aug 13 - Innovation through Design Thinking (Found.Prinsep) Free Aug 23 - Startup Journeys by TRI

From Tech in Asia: The entire financial system could be due for an overhaul, and Asia is right in the center of it. Which company in Asia is most likely to challenge the status quo? An imperfect way to judge would be the amount of money they have raised. Using Tech in Asia’s data, we’ve generated this constantly updated list of 100 fintech companies in Asia who have raised the most money from investors. See the list here.

FirstCOUNSEL was at the first “Meet ASEAN’s Talents & Champions” (MATCH) Singapore roadshow at BLOCK71 Singapore. MATCH, powered by Ernst & Young, Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and Singapore Business Federation, will bring together global investment and ASEAN enterprise communities, showcase the best of next generation ASEAN start-ups and growth enterprises to the international FinTech community, and match them with private equit