Now is the time to forge the path to a bright future

Already excited for Echelon? Buy your tickets here! Enter promo code ECHELONFUTURE for free tickets!

When Echelon was first organised, it was designed to gather a small, but enthusiastic group of people who were interested in bringing a startup culture to Singapore.

As it grew, and began to incorporate a regional focus, Echelon became a core ecosystem builder in Southeast Asia. My how things have changed.

In 2019, startup folks often talk about a saturation of events. Whether it is private companies or the government, a lot has changed in the decade since Echelon first got off the ground.

But what makes Echelon special is that we are the startup industry. We live this life day-in day-out — which means the event brings together the correct people. All of the attendees at Echelon are startup stakeholders with something to offer.

It also means we have our fingers on the pulse of the startup space, and one thing has become particularly clear: The maturation process has begun.

The days of “rah rah” ecosystem building are fading, and it is time to start to point what we have built in the correct direction. This means serious discussions about privacy, workplace culture, shady business practices and much more.

Also Read: Think you know the Marvel universe? Test your knowledge for Echelon tickets

It means looking to our neighbors in China and our faraway cohorts in America to learn from their history. One of the advantages of working in Southeast Asia is that we can learn from the mistakes made in China and the US. But rather than assuming we can learn-and-avoid, stakeholders need to see-and-prepare.

Just because a topic is not brought to the forefront in public dialogue does not mean it will not come to pass. So, if we already know Southeast Asia will need to navigate its maturation, then now is the time to begin the discussions.

At Echelon, a some of the talks that will aim to discuss these ideas are as follows:

  •  Can a regional startup hold its own against international players in a crowded e-payments space?
  • How much should we allow tech to aid a child’s learning journey?
  • Tech disruption in the newsroom; How the media landscape will shift in the next five years
  • How one e-commerce startup is reinventing itself after a layoff and rebranding
  • Building a healthier workplace using data; Are there really tangible benefits?

This year, we will bring together the Southeast Asia ecosystem to discuss these an other topics at Echelon Asia Summit 2019! Sounds pretty great huh? Register here!

Already excited for Echelon? Buy your tickets here! Enter promo code ECHELONFUTURE for free tickets!

Photo by Ian Yeo on Unsplash

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