Different Metrics for Different Markets

People ask why Cambodian startups don't look like Silicon Valley startups, with unicorns and $100M rounds. Cambodia is a different market, and it needs different strategies.

Cambodia's GDP per person is around $1,600. The population is 17 million, and the tech scene is less than a decade old. The United States has about $70,000 per person, 330 million people and decades of tech behind it. What works there won't automatically work here.

Take a Cambodian company with 50 people on good wages and a service 10,000 people use regularly. It makes $2M a year and has been profitable for three years. Here that is a real success, because it creates jobs and adds to the economy. In Silicon Valley they might call it a lifestyle business.

Venture-backed and bootstrapped companies can grow side by side here. Some will chase venture-scale growth as the market matures. Others will build steady, profitable businesses that serve their communities for decades.

Some founders here copy aggressive growth before they have the foundation for it. They pay for ads at any cost and burn cash to capture the market, and they usually struggle. Cambodia doesn't have deep venture capital. If you burn through your runway in 18 months, there is often no next round.

The companies that last grow within their means and aim for profit early. They build real relationships with their customers.

We give founders the same advice. Know your numbers early. If a customer costs $50 to win and brings in $20 a year, understand that before you scale. People here earn, spend and behave differently from customers in the US, so build for them.

Look after your reputation, because in a small market word of mouth is the marketing that works. And plan years ahead. Cambodia can support solid, profitable companies without a $10 billion exit.

We build Cambodian companies that serve Cambodian needs and employ Cambodian people. We have worked this way for fifteen years, and it fits this market.