​Startup Fxckups is a panel discussion where founders will share their unfiltered startup fxckups, founder journey, and lessons learned to help you become a better operator by learning from their mistakes.

​Building a business is one of the most rewarding and one of the toughest journeys anyone can decide to embark on. But what happens when things don’t go as planned? When you struggle, pivot, or ultimately shuts down — what does life after failure look like? How do business owners pick themselves up, rebuild, and emerge stronger?

​Join us for an honest and unfiltered conversation with entrepreneurs who have navigated the highs and lows of building businesses. Featuring Derek Tan (Viddsee), SzeYing Teo (Ventur-io), and Stanley Kan (Seconds Media), this panel will explore:

• ​The emotional and professional toll of business failure

• ​Lessons learned from setbacks and how to apply them moving forward

• ​Strategies for rebuilding confidence, identity, and resilience

• ​How to turn failure into a stepping stone for future success

​Moderated by Admond from The Runway Ventures and hosted by RICE Media, this event is a rare opportunity to learning from the mistakes of others so you don’t have to make the same ones.

​90% of startups fail, but failure doesn’t have to be the end of your journey. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a founder navigating challenges, or simply curious about the realities of business resilience, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

​Agenda

• ​7 PM: Registration

• ​7:15 PM: Intro + Panel Discussion 🧠

• ​8:15 PM: Q&A

• ​8:30 PM: Networking + Chill (with snacks) 😎

• ​9 PM: Go home

​🔥 Meet Our Speaker

​Derek Tan (Co-Founder @ Viddsee)

​Derek co-founded and built Viddsee, a creator platform for premium short form content with over 3B+ views, 40M+ monthly reach, and 5K+ filmmakers.

​Throughout his 10+ years of building Viddsee, he has helped filmmakers tell their stories from Netflix to TikTok, growing it into an annual 7-figures business paying out millions to sustain filmmakers to do what they love, and impact billions of lives with their stories.

​In 2023, Derek decided to take a pause for 1+ year to focus on self and relationships, while reconciling with his identity loss (more to be shared at the event).

​His mission now is to amplify these stories, and empower knowledge creators to inspire the next billion.

​

​SzeYing Teo (Founder @ Ventur-io)

​SzeYing is the founder of Ventur-io — a platform connects top-performing Singaporean tech talent with innovative startups in the United States, helping busy tech founders build strong, resilient teams without the usual hiring headaches.

​Within 2 years, she has:

• ​Helped over 20 US early-stage startups build resilient teams

• ​Connected them with the top 5% of junior tech talent from Singapore

• ​Empowered over 100 young professionals to step out of their comfort zones and start their global careers

​

​Stanley Kan (Partnership & Performance Director @ Seconds Media)

​Stanley leads and advises multiple high performing marketing agencies (Seconds Media, DFRNT, Socialjet, DANAMIC & Alto Global) as well as angel invest in strategic business projects (i.e. F&B) aligned to his marketing expertise.

He enjoys growing businesses in markets across countries in the APAC region as well as to assist numerous clients on how marketing & technology can scale businesses.

Some of the notable portfolio of work that Stanley has managed ranges from SMEs to big conglomerates like Oki Data, Liebherr Appliances, Sephora, CUCKOO, Ferrari & Reckitt Benckiser (RB) etc.

​🧠 About RICE Media

​RICE Media is a digital platform that publishes cultural commentary, investigative reporting, and critical analysis. through our unique approach to storytelling, journalism, and community engagement, we help our readers to broaden their worldviews and think more deeply about life in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

​🚀 About The Runway Ventures

​The Runway Ventures is helping founders become better and smarter operators by learning from startup failures through its weekly newsletter. Every Sunday, you'll get 1 failed startup story, 2 mistakes, and 3 lessons learned with actionable tips to build and grow your business — all for free.

​Some of the most popular and exclusive failed startup stories we've covered include Flash Coffee, Octopus, TaniHub, Kaodim, Fusionex, and StayZilla.

​Since then, we've built a growing community of founders, VCs, and operators across Southeast Asia. That's why we're organising this meetup for you to learn directly from founders — be it their unfiltered startup journey, mistakes made, or lessons learned.

​90% of startups failed because founders made mistakes. Don't be one of them. Join us, and we'll see you there!