Press Release: SushiVid — A Southeast Asian Start-Up on the Rise
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In less than a year since its inception, SushiVid experienced rapid growth, thanks in part to being selected to participate in leading accelerators in Malaysia and Singapore — the MaGIC Accelerator, DBS Hotspot, and a shortlist spot with the DiGi Accelerator.
Being shortlisted for all three accelerators came as a surprise to co-founders Yuh Wen Foong, Mak Kwan Wuey, and Joelle Choong: “We applied to the MaGIC accelerator first, but the news would take some time and we didn't know when we'd hear, so we didn't want to miss our window and applied to others as well.”
While both MaGIC and DBS Hotspot provided stipends and cash without taking equity, Foong noted that what mattered more were the doors they opened: “MaGIC provided some of the best entrepreneurs in Asia as our mentors — people like Hans-Peter, the CEO of Lazada, giving us amazing insight into e-commerce marketing and trends.” Lazada went on to become one of SushiVid's first customers.
DBS Hotspot also introduced SushiVid to venture capitalists and Singapore-based customers, with Foong noting the opportunity for Singaporean brands to expand into Southeast Asia by hiring local influencers to run campaigns in new markets. SushiVid was the only advertising start-up in its cohort to reach DBS Hotspot's Lap 2 stage, unlocking a grant, a full-time developer for four months, legal services, and co-working space to support its Singapore operations.
“When we pitched for the accelerators, we were only in our second month of sales and didn't know if we could pull it off,” Foong recalled. “With our busy schedule, we managed to double our sales month-on-month, surpassing my own expectations.”