The United Nation’s 26th Climate Conference, “COP26”, came to a close on November 12, 2021. The UN, itself, wasn’t fully pleased with the outcome. Besides weak commitments made by countries within, the conference also witnessed protestors opposing “greenwashing” and demanding “system change, not climate change” outside.
We all know about Apple’s success. With a US$2.4 trillion market capitalization and a range of tech and applications under its belt, the company has been consistently topping the charts in terms of sales. One of their most popular products, the iPhones, has earned Apple US$191.9 billion in revenue in 2021, with the company’s other tech following suit as well.
Imagine that you and your partners come up with an excellent business idea. After drafting a thorough plan, all you need is the money to execute it. For that, you can set up a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO. To join the organization, people buy tokens, gaining part ownership of your company while investing in it.
Imagine being paid generously for playing video games. Sounds like a dream—or an overly ambitious American movie—doesn’t it? Well, it’s reality for those following the rise of NFTs or non-fungible tokens. According to the Chief Executive of video game company Electronic Arts (EA), Andrew Wilson, collectible NFTs are “an important part of the future of [the gaming] industry”.
2021 has been a significant year for the crypto sector, especially as it pushes itself into the mainstream. As of yet, the legal status of cryptocurrency differs from country to country. In some parts of the world, its status is legally defined, such as in Ukraine, Canada and Indonesia; while in other parts, regulations and crackdowns are tightening, such as in China and Singapore.
The doge meme and the cryptocurrencies associated with it have been gaining popularity all through 2021, and you have business magnate Elon Musk to thank for it—from spending the first half of 2021 tweeting about Dogecoin to outrightly admitting that he doesn’t have any Shiba Inu.
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs have been taking over the digital world in 2021. The sales volume of NFTs reached US$2.5 billion in the first quarter of this year. Their popularity is evident with NFT memes like side-eyeing Chloe going for US$76,377.50.
You may not know what “metaverse” is, but you might have seen the buzz around it in the tech world. In the last few months, tech giants like Microsoft and Nvidia have shared their futuristic visions for the metaverse, and now Facebook is going all out with its metaverse ambitions.
In 2018, footwear giant Nike released an ad campaign to celebrate their 30th anniversary. One of the faces of their campaign was Colin Kaepernick—the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers who, before a match, kneeled in solidarity with African-American people who were being wrongly targeted by the American police force. Kaepernick had faced backlash for his public protest against racism; Nike faced backlash for supporting him. Nevertheless, Nike won more hearts than it lost.
Shoppers today want glowing skin, but not at the cost of the environment. That’s evident in the way they are shopping. A study by Wella’s weDo/Professional revealed that more than half of customers prefer buying sustainable beauty products. A Partner at McKinsey, Emma Spagnuolo, shared in a podcast, “Since we started doing our generational research in 2016.
The fashion industry has been repeatedly called out for the environmental impact of its production processes. The apparel industry, in particular, accounts for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions and consumes 1.5 trillion liters of water each year.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is about making your website stand out in search engines. With the right SEO strategy, you can rank among the top sites visible to users on Google search.
Collaboration is integral to business success. Startups collaborate with investors, employees, customers and various internal departments. Some kick it up a notch by collaborating with the big guns—billion-dollar corporations. Critics of this collaboration might label startups as “sell-outs”, but why should they pass on the opportunity to tap bigger resources? And why should corporations deprive themselves of unbridled innovation? Well, they shouldn’t. Here’s why.
Sales is integral to a company’s success. After all, it dictates how your business offering reaches and convinces your target audience. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, companies with a defined sales process earned 18% more revenue than companies with none. What’s more? Companies that used three sales pipeline tools efficiently had a 28% higher revenue growth! Building and maintaining a sales pipeline can make a huge difference to your business growth.
Education is no longer just about textbooks and chalkboards. And, rest assured, it’s not limited to students. With EdTech—technology that makes education more engaging—the education landscape is changing, and so is the demand. In 2020, the global education technology market was valued at US$89.49 billion.
From launching food and beverage (F&B) startups in Canada to co-founding Denzity and PropTech Institute in Hong Kong, entrepreneur Darren Wong has traveled a long and winding road. One that has led him to finally leave PropTech Institute and take on more ecosystem building work at the Hong Kong PropTech Association (HKPTA).
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