Why Singapore is the worst place to start a tech company

So you’ve got a space at LaunchPad, a few hungry graduates you call ‘employees’, a Slack chat up and running, and you’re all set to be known as ‘The Genius Behind The Next Big StartUp’.

But I have some bad news. It might be the idea of a lifetime, but starting a tech start-up in Singapore may be something to regret in the long run. Despite its reputation as the region’s start-up hub, the conditions here are far from ideal, especially if for those who are just starting out.

Here’s why:

Expensive tech talent

Key to every tech start-up is strong tech talent, and chances are, you’re not going to find that in the Little Red Dot. Look around — tech startups are springing up every day, but graduates with software expertise are rare gems.

Plus, the ones you can find here are often expensive. The head of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce recently recounted to The Straits Times difficulties faced by Silicon Valley technopreneurs in Singapore. They found a “shortage of good IT developers” with “unrealistic remuneration expectations”.

Don’t expect stellar quality either — he went on to say that these technopreneurs were “disappointed with the quality and quantity of output”. Ouch.

Expensive, well, everything else

IT geeks aren’t the only expensive realities in Singapore — everything else one could possibly need, from office rental to transport can quickly wipe out a young company’s funds.

Also Read: Baidu’s iQiyi said to have filed for US$1B IPO in the US

I’m not the only one saying it; property consultancy firm Knight Frank named Singapore the most expensive city in Southeast Asia for tech start-ups. Need I say more?

No promiscuity

Maybe it’s our conservative Asian values, but we somehow don’t seem to realise that promiscuity pays. Racking up experience at one firm and bringing it to another start-up isn’t stealing ideas, it’s spreading valuable insights and contacts throughout the start-up ecosystem! That brings the whole sector forward.

But remember, promiscuity is NOT job-hopping. That’s just not cool, man.

Also Read: A good chatbot is a USED chatbot

Last word: If you want the benefits of Singapore, but not its high costs, offshoring may be your best bet.

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Keith Tan is the Singaporean entrepreneur behind Start Now, a social enterprise that was acquired in 2015. His current venture, Wonderlabs, was co-founded with Ivan Chang. It operates 3 offshore software development centres in Indonesia, employing 125 software engineers in Yogyakarta and Bandung. Read more of his musings on entrepreneurship here.

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