Singapore Startup Network
Empowering Singaporean Startups with the Startup SG Ecosystem Platform by Red Airship
Startup SG (startupsg.gov.sg) is an initiative by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), a government agency driving enterprise development, that aims to showcase and represent Singapore's startup ecosystem on the global stage.
In 2018, Startup SG launched the Startup SG Network (SSN) to provide Singapore's tech startups with greater opportunities to expand globally and foster innovation alongside overseas startup ecosystems.
Red Airship designed and developed a comprehensive platform to connect startup founders, angel investors, venture capitalists, incubators, and government agencies, fostering collaboration and partnerships to elevate the local startup scene.
Summary
Red Airship designed and developed a comprehensive platform for Startup SG Network (SSN) to connect startup founders, angel investors, venture capitalists, incubators, and government agencies, fostering collaboration and partnerships within Singapore's startup ecosystem.
The team identified and addressed key challenges such as the lack of a single reference source for startups, the absence of automated information updates, no standardised definition of a startup, and limited virtual networking platforms.
The platform offers innovative features like online profile creation, a social network, a recommendation engine, instant messaging, a content management system, an internal business intelligence system, and third-party API integrations to serve the startup community better.
Throughout my 1 year working with the Red Airship team for Enterprise Singapore, they’ve proven to be dependable to meet tight deadlines. This is possible as the team is always quick to propose honest, workable solutions based on our business needs and the team is also efficient and well-versed in their SCRUM knowledge. Having said all this, I would strongly recommend the reliable team at Red Airship for any design and development projects.
Challenges Faced
SSN serves multiple roles, including infrastructure provider, community builder, connector, and representative of Singaporean startups. Balancing the needs across all these roles was crucial in laying the foundation for the platform. Red Airship's designers engaged with the ESG team through curated design activities to better understand SSN's requirements. They identified four significant challenges:
No singular source of reference on startups in Singapore
No automated information updates and workflows from various stakeholders
No centralised standard definition of a startup for government agencies to reference
Lack of a common startup-focused virtual networking platform linking startup founders, angel investors, venture capitalists, incubators and government agencies
Solution by Red Airship
Utilising data collected from design research activities, Red Airship conceptualised and designed SSN's new platform to empower ecosystem building. Embracing the spirit of innovation, SSN was open to experimenting with new technologies to serve the startup community better and achieve its goals. Key features built into the platform include:
Online profile creation for both startup companies and individuals, including profile management systems
SSN's own social network with a searchable directory of users
Social graph-aware recommendation engine for potential connections, such as matching a VC to a startup seeking specific support
Peer-to-peer instant messaging within the user's network
Content management system for ESG's content, events, and aggregated news
Internal business intelligence system for self-service data visualisation and management
SSN's API to integrate with third-party applications, expanding its usability
Red Airship also conducted Agile workshops to align with the SSN team, demonstrating how Agile methodologies can be applied to different projects.
- Startups
- 4693
- Investors
- 1073
- Incubators & Accelerators
- 222
