SEA proptech LiveIn passes Endeavor Malaysia’s First Virtual Local Selection Panel

• Underwent COVID-19 cost-cutting measures, but kept morale high with open comms
• Partners CapBay to help property owners; PWYC scheme to assist renters and new tenants

Southeast Asian proptech startup LiveIn.com has successfully passed Endeavor Malaysia’s First Virtual Local Selection Panel, which was held recently.

LiveIn, which offers end-to-end medium to long-term room rental solutions for tertiary students and young professionals, has been facing tremendous challenge following the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release, the startup said it had to focus more on cashflow and managing their teams, on top of a struggle to articulate its value proposition effectively to the right stakeholders.

During the review sessions with Endeavor mentors, however, LiveIn’s chief executive officer Wen Khai managed to regain clarity of their core competencies and have thus successfully passed the First Virtual Local Selection Panel.

As part of the pandemic, LiveIn had to make necessary cost-cutting measures, including pay-cuts and restructuring exercises. In order to keep team morale high, Khai has been keeping open communication with the team and arranged for weekly updates (which they call Toast & Roast) to creative positive workplace energy.

The startup has also partnered with P2P financing platform CapBay to offer financing to property owners under their platform. This partnership helps property owners optimise cashflow quickly – something LiveIn hopes will ensure that they will be supported through the pandemic.

That’s not all of their COVID-19 response initiatives. The startup has launched the LiveIn Assist Rent-Relief Program, which offers a Pay What You Can (PWYC) scheme for accommodation and rent-relief assistance. This initiative, the company says, is to assist existing and new tenants with their accommodation arrangements during this crisis.

LiveIn has recently passed Endeavor Malaysia's 1st Virtual Local Selection Panel and as part of its efforts to service scaleups, Endeavor Malaysia will start working with the LiveIn team on business challenges, extending its network of mentors and resources to grow the company moving forward.

“My journey with Endeavor has been an exciting experience. I used to struggle in articulating LiveIn’s value proposition. The mentors that I have met throughout the Endeavor Selection Process were generous enough to share with me their experiences on a variety of subjects from new market entry to leading sales personnel. Their advice was clear and actionable that I found it useful when executing it in my day-to-day work with my team,” says Wen Khai (pic, left).

“As this is our first ever virtual Local Selection Panel, I hope we can make a bigger impact with entrepreneurs in Malaysia with the four pillars of support we are offering,” comments Endeavor Malaysia managing director Arthur Chan.

Established in 1997, Endeavor is a global “high-impact entrepreneurship movement” that selects, mentors and accelerates high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. Since its establishment, Endeavor has screened over 4,500 candidate companies and today actively supports 36 companies, collectively generating US$321 million (RM1.4 billion) in revenues and over 2,000 in jobs since selection.

As a local Endeavor Entrepreneur, Khai will now be supported by Endeavor by providing him with access to strategic advice, talent, capital, markets to scale his business to the next level.

Related stories: