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The ‘emerging market Netflix’ limps towards an anti-climactic IPO

The plan was seductive. Southeast Asia's most successful entrepreneur starts a company that is the answer to Netflix in emerging markets, where he founded and took five tech companies public.

 

Five years later, Iflix, too, is on its way to an IPO. However, it reaches there a veritable flop, rather than the blockbuster Patrick Grove envisioned. And certainly nowhere close to its manifesto.

 

"We will lead the Internet entertainment revolution in emerging markets, redefining television for over 1 billion people," the Iflix manifesto declares.

 

Today, Iflix shares 10% of the market with Viu and HOOQ. Netflix is nearing 15%, and YouTube is at about 50%.

 

Iflix will lead the revolution, the manifesto screams, by "BOTHERING TO SHOW UP (where the 'Seasoned Players' didn't)."

 

Not only did those seasoned players show up (Netflix went global roughly a year after Iflix started), but more are knocking at the door. India's Disney-backed Hotstar, China heavyweights Tencent and Baidu, as well as local giants GoJek and Grab.

 

The manifesto's battle cry? Revolution "By being incredibly scrappy. Pioneering through unchartered territories, making our mark in countries all over the world. #WHATEVERITTAKES"

 

Iflix sold its Africa business last December, was last month reported to have exited the Middle East, and plans to shut its engineering hub in Prague next month.

 

"We're not serious people, but we do mean business."

 

Iflix burns through $7 million per month, giving it a short runway. Last year, investors shied away due to concerns around financials and future sustainability. That left Iflix desperate enough to consider an initial coin offering (ICO).

 

A company that shopped itself with a $1 billion price tag in its heyday was valued at $300-$350 million in its latest funding round, where producers got equity for content licence deals.

 

What started as a Netflix-like service offering monthly subscriptions for a mix of Hollywood and local content, is today an ad-supported service focused on local programming.

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Savaari, in cruise control, might face a SoftBank-sized pitstop

Like any good ride, Savaari.com too has had its twist and turns. Some for the worse and, lately, some for the better. The latest is that the car rental startup, focussed solely on intercity rides, posted a profit.

A profit! Small—about Rs 20-25 lakh—but a profit nonetheless. A faraway dream for SoftBank-backed Ola and Uber. Remember, Uber admitted in its IPO prospectus that it might never be profitable.

Kudos then to Gaurav Aggarwal, CEO of Savaari! Especially since the milestone comes less than five years since what he calls a watershed moment. More precisely, since October 2014, when SoftBank poured $210 million into Ola and forever rerouted the course of the cab aggregation business.

Savaari buckled up for a rough ride. It couldn't find investors ready to take on SoftBank, so it laid-off employees, slashed costs and ultimately rejigged its business to focus only on intercity rides. A journey, as it turned out, that was worth it.

At stake, after all, was the $15 billion pot of gold called the intercity cab market, of which only 10% is online. A market that even the Ola-Uber duopoly has failed to crack.

So, Savaari has pulled out of a fishtail and seems to have a clear road ahead. However, a question looms: is a SoftBank-sized refuelling pitstop on its route? After conquering intercity with Ola and Uber, is intercity SoftBank's next target? Does Savaari need it? Can it really say "No" if they came with their infinite-page chequebook?

Maybe you can if you are Aggarwal. “The confidence of running a profitable business is unparalleled,” he says.

But enough from me. Let Nilesh, our contributor for this story, guide you through Savaari's journey so far and what lies ahead (*cough* SoftBank *cough*).

Travelling in and around #Colombo with my aunt Valerie Vaz

Travelling in and around #Colombo with my aunt Valerie Vaz

Go-Jek and Grab are turning Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem tribal

By now, you’ve read about SoftBank cocking a snook at its critics with its Vision Fund 2 announcement last week, scratched your head and moved on. Anything is possible in the world of tech investing today as long as it doesn’t violate the laws of physics, right?

An equally important show of strength is taking place in Southeast Asia. Grab and Go-Jek, ride-hailing companies that are morphing into super apps, are locked in a battle. A battle that is already Alibaba-Tencent like, say many investors.

Go-Jek is closing in on a $10 billion valuation. Grab, meanwhile, is valued at $14 billion. Grab’s ongoing Series H round is expected to close with a total of $6.5 billion raised. Go-Jek, on the other hand, is raising a Series F that, initially aimed at $2 billion, has reportedly been enlarged to $3 billion. 

The two platforms are gunning to become the de-facto gatekeepers to SE Asia’s digital economy as they begin to expand to services beyond ride-hailing. Companies entering the region, like, say, India’s OYO and BookMyShow, or those starting up locally, are flocking to Grab or Go-Jek to bet that on approach. It is early days, but the reach is potentially huge and instantaneous, as is the scope for funding and potential exits on these platforms.

This is a big deal in Southeast Asia, where few companies from outside the region have bought up local businesses. Go-Jek and Grab represent a new type of acquisition, with a local buyer and a local seller.

Jon Russell, our newest colleague in Bangkok, spoke to over a dozen VCs to understand how the battle lines, even on the cap tables, are being drawn. His story starts at a covert meeting in Jakarta in 2016 where top Go-Jek, Grab and Uber executives met to divide Indonesia’s mobility pie amongst themselves. The 2019 reality, not only furthest from that deal, is that it’s no more an Asian play, with Microsoft and Google each investing more than $100 million in Grab and Go-Jek, respectively.

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