Ep 111: Building the hottest Southeast Asian Tech Startup Newsletter | Amanda Cua (Founder, Backscoop)

Amanda Cua is the founder of Backscoop: the hottest newsletter covering all things in the Southeast Asian startup industry.She’s only 20 years old but:Backscoop has already crossed 10,000 subscribers;Has attracted funding from Buko Ventures;Been featured on CNN; andHas moderated a Wild Digital firechat with Jaeson Ma of 88Rising & OP3N.All this - with no college degree.Who said COVID-19 pandemic projects can’t go far? 😉But if you listen to this STIMY episode, you’ll soon realise that Backscoop is so much more than a mere side project. Amanda envisions it to be a regional media company for the people in Southeast Asian tech.So if you’re interested in what drives Amanda, what it takes to run a newsletter that publishes x5/week (it now has a podcast!) & also what’s happening in the Southeast Asian startup space, then this is the episode for you.Highlights:7:00 Deciding to not go to university10:11 Maximising her gap year15:53 Cold outreach tactics17:38 Launching her own startup, Backscoop20:36 Why Southeast Asia (and not APAC)?26:59 Researching other newsletters29:58 The different iterations of Backscoop31:24 Dropping Soft Serve32:44 Most effective growth strategy34:34 Getting over stagnant growth35:56 Building a regional media company37:26 Trends in the Southeast Asian tech scene39:36 Accepting investment from Buko Ventures43:39 Launching a new product, One More Scoop44:55 What’s the value proposition?47:02 Serendipity49:37 Personal branding53:42 Competitor that Amanda admires & why📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/111🍦Subscribe to Backscoop: https://sparklp.co/p/9c1a338c2c 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you can find success & build a portfolio career on your own terms: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442