<article>After launching two digital platforms in 2014, Malaysia-based private investment company and incubator <a style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Idea+River+Run+" target="_blank">IdeaRiverRun Sdn Bhd (IRR)</a> is aiming to introduce three other digital businesses in January, its chief executive Nik Lim said in an interaction with DEALSTREETASIA.</article>

After launching two digital platforms in 2014, Malaysia-based private investment company and incubator <a style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Idea+River+Run+" target="_blank">IdeaRiverRun Sdn Bhd (IRR)</a> is aiming to introduce three other digital businesses in January, its chief executive Nik Lim said in an interaction with DEALSTREETASIA.
Among the digital platforms, news portal launched by IRR, <a style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://cilisos.my/">Cilisos.my</a> and travel deals site <a style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.tripsales.com/">TripSales</a> have already gone live. Another three platforms that will be launched in a month’s time include, property portal PropSocial, a go-­to source for event listings EventHaha and job listing site Green Jobs Bay.
Further down the road, in the first quarter of 2015, IRR targets to launch its DrinksOnline business too. It is still sorting out some back-end processes such as regulatory requirements and costing issues.
“We hope to kick off the New Year with a few announcements but really, we are trying to build several startup businesses at the same time, so it may take longer,” Lim said.
Despite picking up a  <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/tech-news-portal-dna-secures-300k-seed-funding/" target="_blank">stake in Malaysia-­based technology news portal Digital News Asia</a> , and pumping $700,000 into Singapore­-based data management platform and gaming startup <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/singapores-gimmie-secures-700k-funding-from-ideariverrun/" target="_blank">GimmieWorld Pte Ltd</a> Ltd, IRR is not positioning itself as a fund. Rather, its emphasis is on strategic investments that complements the portfolio of digital platforms it is building.
“There are two types of investments that we do – internally generated seed ideas from a team or a division that we invest into, if there is potential; and then investments like in DNA and Gimmie,” Lim said.
“We are a startup ourselves, having only been incorporated since February. We are in the business of creating digital businesses,” he said, adding that IRR owns all the digital businesses it establishes.
Lim explained that IRR is not a venture capital fund but primarily incubates ideas. There is no exit intention in IRR’s investments, although it is open to additional investors participating in a deal as well as co-­investments to scale up a business.
“We are not about the short term returns or shareholders’ return but long term strategic value. There is no intention to exit (from our businesses and associates) but of course if they get valued higher and if there is another strategic partner interested in them, perhaps a venture capital fund, we can look at taking on additional investors or would entertain the idea of co-investing with others,” he added.
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The talent IRR brings in, to run the startups it builds, is sourced externally. They are either domain experts or people who have shown passion in the particular field.
On its website, IRR has listed all its seed idea businesses. However, it termed investments like DNA, Gimmieand, <a href="http://www.mvp.com.sg/" target="_blank">MVP</a> (a video content agency from Singapore that has a JV with IRR, for Malaysia) as its associates.
To depict the synergy that IRR is cultivating within its portfolio of startups, Lim said MVP’s video content could be applied for its other digital businesses in time.
On its investment strategy, Lim said there was no fixed way of evaluating a brand or idea; it was more about the people IRR chooses to invest in. IRR was set up to explore digital communication, looking at businesses that have or can impact and how we can invest in those spaces.”
DNA, an independent technology news portal, secured MYR1 million ($300,000) in seed funding from IRR in November. The investment will fund DNA’s regional expansion in Southeast Asia, further build its team, and to develop new products and channels.
IRR made another investment in November, in digital marketing company Gimmie. IRR said in a statement that the funds will be used to scale up product development of GimmieX, described as the region’s first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) data management platform and to provide in-country support for the Gimmie loyalty programme in Asia.
IRR is substantially held by local advertising mogul Vincent Lee, who personally funds the investments. The team working at IRR holds a minority stake. The establishment of IRR appears to be another chapter of Lee’s angel investment journey.
Lee made his first angel investment of MYR 2 million ($570,000) in 2012, in mobile payment solution provider <a href="http://www.softspace.com.my/" target="_blank">Soft Space International Sdn Bhd</a>. The investment is parked under diversified communications group Foetus International Sdn Bhd, where Lee is group executive chairman.

IdeaRiverRun to launch 3 new digital biz in Jan

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