

FirstCOUNSEL at National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2018
FirstCOUNSEL was at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2018 powered by Quest Ventures, Edge Society and Action Community for Entreprenurship, Singapore (ACE), where the guest of honor was Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade & Industry (Singapore). We look forward to seeing all of these startups with young founders thrive in the ecosystem, and are here to help them on their journey!


DBS officially launches business-matching programme for startups
"Singapore’s multinational bank DBS has officially launched its business-matching programme for startups, called Startup Xchange, in two of its biggest markets, Singapore and Hong Kong. The programme is designed to help DBS and its corporate and SME clients find solutions for their business by tapping on the expertise of startups, who will co-create these solutions with the bank. By working closely with the startups and clients, DBS wants to buck what appears to be a downward


Mark A. Cohen, Legalmosaic CEO and Inaugural LIFTED_SAL Catalyst-in-Residence, speaks about the Futu
FirstCOUNSEL had front row seats to hear Mark A. Cohen (CEO of Legalmosaic, Inaugural LIFTED Catalyst-in-Residence at Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), and a Global Legal Thought Leader) speak at SAL about “Planning Your Future in Future Law: Trends, Tools and Tips”. Big takeaways were: - “Law schools teach legal issues when clients want business solutions (that include a legal risk assessment).” - We need to provide people in the middle (the “sandwich”) more access to legal se


FirstCOUNSEL invited to take part in UK Dept for Int'l Trade Technology Mission
FirstCOUNSEL took part in the UK Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT) Technology Mission to Singapore. The largest ever cohort of technology companies came to Singapore for business matchmaking with Singapore-based companies. The day concluded with a reception at Eden Hall, the official residence of the British High Commissioner. We look forward to helping these companies set up in Singapore and grow their presence in Asia Pacific!


9 rising startups in Southeast Asia you need to look at
Check out these rising startups, where 6 out of 9 are based in Singapore: "1. First Circle (Philippines) Using its own credit assessment process, First Circle lends to SMEs, which are often ignored by banks because they’re perceived to be a greater risk than large established firms. Amount raised: US$26 million Round: Series A Investors: Venturra Capital led the round, with Insignia Ventures Partners, Silverhorn Investment Advisors, and Tryb Group joining in. Source: Tech in


Singapore, Germany to boost startup collaboration
"SINGAPORE and Germany are set to deepen their collaboration with a slew of announcements made on Tuesday at the inaugural Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific trade show held at the Singapore Expo. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed to boost startup collaboration between the two countries, which will support Singapore-based startups in their quest to expand in Germany and Europe.With that, Germany is now the newest addition to the Global Innovation Alliance Net


FirstCOUNSEL at “Korea Tech Demo Day”
FirstCOUNSEL was at the “Korea Tech Demo Day” powered by e27, GCCEI-StartupKorea and Gyeonggi Techno Park. The event showcased the best startups from the Gyeonggi province of South Korea (which is host to many world-class companies like Hyundai and Samsung, and has the highest GDP of all the South Korean provinces). 10 startups curated by South Korean government-funded organizations pitched the audience as they are looking to further expand into Southeast Asia. We heard from


New Singapore joint venture aims to connect and coach Series A+ founders
"A new joint venture has been formed in Singapore to help support and coach Southeast Asia-based founders who lead post-Series A companies. Called SEA Found.ers, the project is the result of a merger between three organisations: SEA Founders Group, a curated community for established Series A+ tech founders in Southeast Asia; Founders’ Coaching Pause Group (or the FCP Group), a bi-annual workshop for founders and ecosystem leaders; and community and co-working space Found., w


Singapore Will Help Crypto Firms Set Up Local Bank Accounts
"Singapore’s financial regulator is willing to lend a hand to cryptocurrency firms having problems setting up local bank accounts, but doesn’t plan to loosen its rules to lure more crypto startups to the country. 'We should not be trying to create an extremely lax regulatory environment in order to attract that kind of business,' Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon said Tuesday when discussing the crypto industry in an interview with Bloomberg News. '


FirstCOUNSEL COO Linda Schindler speaks at Edutech Asia 2018
FirstCOUNSEL COO Linda Schindler spoke today at Edutech Asia2018 (Asia’s largest education conference) on “What are modern employers looking for?” The other panelists included Yuvraj Raizada (Director, Credit Suisse Singapore), Susan De Silva (Consultant, Bird & Bird ATMD LLP) and Moderator Toby Berger (Managing Director, Revinate). It was an exciting day packed with informative panels, case studies, workshops and live demos of the latest edtech innovations and technologies.