When Equity is Too Precious: Percy Hung & Brian Tsang of Choco Up

Indo Tekno Podcast

Revenue-based Finance (RBF) is a form of financing which already has an established track record in the West, but is only now enjoying broader adoption in markets such as Indonesia. Choco Up is a first mover in the category in Asia, targeting ASEAN's USD300b business funding gap. Choco Up cofounders Percy Hung and Brian Tsang explain that RBF does not require any of the dilution of equity raising, or the complications of traditional bank borrowing, and thus has become an increasingly popular means of raising funds quickly. Such an arrangement, requiring API access to the entrepreneur's business, is useful in the age of mega-sales events such as Singles Day and 12-12), when sellers need significant capital quickly in order to build inventory, etc. RBF generally entails an agreement that the merchant or tech founder covers a one-time fee, and subsequently pays back (daily, weekly, monthly, per transaction, etc) through a revenue share.