LinkedIn's Top 10 startup marketers in SG

LinkedIn has unveiled its list of the top startups in Singapore that have recognised the transformative potential of AI and have leveraged Singapore’s talent pool amidst Southeast Asia’s competitive business and talent landscape in 2023. 

According to LinkedIn, with the emergence of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the stakes have never been higher for startups to adapt and keep pace so that they can thrive in the fast-evolving business environment. This year’s list reflects the country’s thriving ecosystem of innovative businesses.

The top startups list was compiled using LinkedIn data that considered billions of actions taken by over 950 million members on the platform. The data LinkedIn analysed spans four areas. These are employee growth, jobseeker interest, member engagement, and the startups' ability to attract top talent. 

The top 10 startups in Singapore are: 

1. Aspire 

Helming the CMO role at Aspire, an all-in-one finance software for growing businesses, is Joel Leong. Headquartered in Singapore, Aspire has over 400 employees across four countries and serves over 15,000 startups and SMBs in Southeast Asia. Leong co-founded Aspire in Oct 2018 and functioned as a country head as well for just over four years until January this year. He then took on the role of CMO at Aspire and has been with the company for just under a year now. 

Leong also has his share of expertise in the entrepreneurial sector and founded Grouphunt in 2014, Singapore’s largest group-buying community. He also founded online marketplace, Haystakt in 2012. 

2. Youtrip 

Youtrip is a regional financial technology startup for a multi-currency mobile wallet in the APAC region. Currently, it does not have a CMO but its COO, Kelvin Lam, oversees all marketing matters at the company, according to YouTrip.

Lam started out as a country manager based in Singapore in 2017 and held the role for two years. He was then promoted to regional general manager in 2019, where he carried out his duties in the role for two years before being promoted to COO. 

Lam oversees the overall revenue, strategy and operations of YouTrip and manages cross-functional teams of over 80 staff in Singapore and Thailand. He took over Youtrip’s marketing after Shawal Lee, who previously was the marketing lead, stepped down in July. 

3. Doctor Anywhere 

Helming the role of head of marketing for Doctor Anywhere is Ng Xiao Yuan. Launched in 2017, Doctor Anywhere is a tech-enabled, omni-channel healthcare service provider in Asia. Ng joined the company in 2021 as head of regional marketing, digital and programmes and helmed the role for just under a year. She was promoted to head of marketing in 2022, a role which she currently still holds. 

Ng previously was group head for brand and digital in Validus, an SME financing platform in Singapore from 2019. She cinched the role after being promoted from the role of head of marketing of Validus which she assumed in 2018.

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4. Getgo Carsharing 

Serving in the role of CMO for GetGo Carsharing is Johnson Lim. GetGo Carsharing is Singapore’s biggest carsharing platform that allows people access to cars whenever they might need them. Lim co-founded the company in August 2020 and assumed the role of CMO at the same time. He has been helming the role for the past three years. 

5. Advance Intelligence Group 

Helming the role of CMO at Advance Intelligence Group is Mi Li. Headquartered in Singapore, Advance Intelligence Group is an AI-driven technology company focused on transforming financial services and retail industries. Li has been in the role for four years since 2019 She is also head of AX studio, a role she manages alongside her CMO position. 

6. Sleek

Sleek is an SMEs' all-in-one digital platform, helping SMEs to kickstart and manage their business. The company has had Matthias Maximilian as its head of marketing for the past five months from June this year.

On top of this, Maximilian founded Pandemic Streetwear in 2017, an online shop which specialises in limited-edition oversized clothing and sneakers. He also currently holds the role of principal consultant for Summit Healthcare Indonesia, a role which he assumed in January this year.

7. Endowus 

Holding the role of CMO for Endowus, a Singapore-based financial technology company, is Jason Huan. Huan drives the overall growth strategy of Endowus as he oversees the branding, performance marketing, public relations and content verticals of the business. Huan has over 15 years of experience across various sectors, but mainly in finance and technology. 

Prior to Endowus, Huan was the CMO of Lazada, a regional e-commerce giant and subsidiary of Alibaba. He held the role for the Singapore branch for slightly over a year and the Philippines branch for almost a year after that till 2019. 

8. ADDX 

ADDX is an investment platform founded in 2017 that believes in making investing fairer and creating ways for investors to tap into wealth-generating possibilities, at lower, more accessible minimums. Currently, the company is supported by Ankit Narang as its head of marketing.

Narang has been in the role since 2021, overseeing CRM marketing, advertising campaigns, social media marketing and streamlining CS processes. 

9. Syfe 

Helming the position of CMO at Syfe is Sebastian Sieber. Syfe is a digital investment platform with markets in Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong. The company offers leading institutional methodologies and partners with global asset managers to achieve the best outcomes for one’s money.

Sieber has been in the role for almost five years from 2019. Previously, Sieber was the CMO for the Lazada Group in Indonesia. He was with the company for almost five years before joining Syfe. In that time, he was under contract by Rocket Internet for over a year. 

10. Thunes 

Irina Chuchkina is the current CMO for Thunes, a B2B company that powers payments for the world’s fastest-growing businesses. It supports 80 currencies and enables payments to 132 countries. Thunes is headquartered in Singapore with regional offices in London, Paris, Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, and Nairobi. 

Chuchkina joined Thunes in 2021 and is currently positioned in the regional office in London. Prior to this, she held the position of global head of brand and communications at Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-Service company that offers cloud-based access to Fintech and Payment capabilities anywhere in the world. 

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