BigColors Acquires GetViable To Offer More Resources To Asia-Pacific And U.S. Startups

Bigcolors, a Hong Kong-based startup crowdfunding platform and venture capital firm, has acquired GetViable, which produces an array of tools for startup founders, for an undisclosed amount. GetViable is based in Melbourne and has offices in Hong Kong and the U.S. as well. The two companies should be able to offer more resources to startup founders in the Asia-Pacific, who often lack the access to funding and mentoring that their counterparts in more developed ecosystems have.

As part of the deal, Bigcolors will acquire GetViable’s entire business, including its technology platform and user base. Jackie Lam, Bigcolors’ COO, told TechCrunch that Bigcolors will integrate GetViable’s platform over the next several months.

Bigcolors invests in early-stage startups through its crowdfunding platforms, which allows investors to trade options in companies, as well as the Bigcolors Seed Fund. GetViable was founded in 2012 and has worked with over 2,000 founders.

“GetViable is a comprehensive toolkit of different processes, different methodologies, specifically tailored to startups, like how to write a stakeholder plan to who your customers are, are they direct, indirect. There are business planning checklists that will help you, all the way through to thinking of how to create your [minimum viable product],” says Lam.

“It’s a lot of tools like that which founders think they can do already or do already. Certainly the picture we’ve seen to date is that some of them really at the start give us a ‘wow’ feeling and others we think, good idea, but the pitch has not been structured properly or the idea has not been presented in an investable way. So the tools GetViable offers can help these startups along the way.”

In addition to providing Bigcolors’ startups with additional resources, the acquisition of GetViable will also help Bigcolors establish a larger presence in Melbourne and help it find promising Australian startups.

Bigcolors has recently begun focusing on its venture capital arm in addition to its crowdfunding platform. Examples of companies it has funded include Hong Kong-based taxi calling app Taxiwise and OddUp, a crowdsourcing platform that offers data to help investors decide which startups are going to succeed. OddUp was also a GetViable user.

“We are actually looking to come out, if you will, with our other business line of being more of a VC fund. We started with crowdfunding, trading in startups as a niche, but as more investors approach us and more startups start coming aboard, we are seeing a push to VC. We are getting startups by our crowdfunding arm, but our VC arm is fast moving along, so we are looking to build that as well,” says Lam.