Bootstrapped but profitable now, SGeBiz finally ready for VC-funded growth

FOR three years, Singapore E-Business (SGeBiz) founders Edmund Nathan and Ernie Heng did not draw a salary. They struggled to provide for their families, and in the darkest of days the company had just S$5 in the bank.

The persistence is paying off. After five bootstrapped years, the one-stop electronic procurement-to-payment platform for both retail and food and beverage businesses is profitable. The company is now in advanced stages for its first major external fund-raising round from prominent venture capitalists to expand into South-east Asia. The amount of capital it is aiming for would be comparable to a Series B round.

"Bootstrapping gave us the freedom to make our own choices. To fall, learn from our mistakes and rise again," said chief commercial officer Benjamin Tay. "But now, our ambitious plans need more fuel in the rocket to blast off."