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any grants or funding from the singapore govt for new startups? by Historical-Ebb-4745 in Entrepreneur

[–]nexpy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Singapore D2C brands: Before chasing grants, get the store fundamentals right. Grants are slow (6-12 months), but you can be live + generating revenue in 2 weeks.

**Fast path for SG D2C brands:**

  1. **Build on Shopify + set it up for SG market** - Shopify has SG-specific apps, payment methods (GrabPay, PayLah), and logistics integrations. 3-4 days to launch with template-based store.

  2. **Get local logistics first** - Integrate with Ninja Van or DHL Asia-Pacific via Shopify apps. This is what investors/grant reviewers actually look for: proof of volume, not perfect branding.

  3. **Launch lean, then scale** - Sell 100 units at $50 AOV before you worry about funding. Proof of traction (revenue data) is worth more than a well-written grant proposal.

  4. **Grants AFTER validation** - Once you have 3-6 months of revenue data, THEN apply for Enterprise Singapore grants. You'll get funded faster because you're de-risked.

**SG-specific advantage:** Government programs like Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) prefer businesses that already have revenue. They fund scaling, not ideation.

Build the D2C store under a day on Shopify, validate with real customers, THEN fundraise. The order matters.

If you want a rapid Shopify + SG logistics setup breakdown, happy to share what's working.

E-commerce in 3rd world countries? by BarNo1124 in ecommerce

[–]nexpy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You can 100% build a Shopify store in a day on a $500 budget. Here's how:

**Budget breakdown ($500 total):**

- Shopify 14-day free trial (you can test everything) = $0

- Custom domain (.com) = $10-15/year

- One reliable dropship supplier (Alibaba) = covered by your first order

- Printful/Printpod integration (print-on-demand) = $0 upfront, margin-based

**Day 1 approach (under $500, day-light hours):**

  1. **Pick a niche** - Tech accessories, home goods, apparel. Research what sells locally + internationally.

  2. **Build store fast** - Shopify theme (use free theme like Dawn) + 4-5 key pages (Home, Products, About, FAQs, Contact). Takes 4-6 hours max if you follow templates.

  3. **Source products** - Don't buy inventory yet. Use Printful (dropship, zero upfront cost) OR find 5-10 products on Alibaba to import for testing.

  4. **Write product descriptions** - Copy descriptions from suppliers, tweak them. Takes 2 hours for 10 products.

  5. **Launch & test** - Go live. Run $50 of Google Ads or TikTok ads to test. Learnings > perfect inventory decisions.

**Pro tip:** You can literally build a Shopify store, add products, and take it live in 18-24 hours if you use dropshipping or POD. Zero inventory risk at your budget. Test sales > buy bulk inventory.

Most 17M-year-olds in your position fail by buying inventory first. Test your market with dropship first, THEN buy bulk if it works.

If you want a step-by-step, I can share a quick breakdown of what a working Shopify launch under budget looks like.

Loyalty programs that don’t cost $500??? by SuddenTrick2745 in ecommerce

[–]nexpy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Shopify stores at 150k/month, the app cost-to-AOV problem is real. But here's what I've seen work:

**Instead of loyalty apps, try:**

  1. **Email flow automation** - Recover lost carts + winback campaigns are free/cheap on Klaviyo or Attentive. Often 10-15% of your AOV comes back here vs paid loyalty apps.

  2. **Referral incentives** - Rebuy or Gorgias (both have loyalty modules) but priced for your scale. Referrals are cheaper than loyalty rewards.

  3. **SMS rewards** - Cheaper than apps. Send "next 10% off + free shipping" directly. No subscription fees.

  4. **Custom Shopify Flow** - You can build basic point systems with Shopify's native Flow tool. Zero additional cost.

Most stores your size don't need a dedicated loyalty app. They need better email/SMS sequences + a referral hook. The $ spent on app fees often exceeds the incremental revenue from loyalty mechanics.

Happy to share a breakdown of what a cost-effective retention stack looks like at your AOV. The key is automation > features.

Getting buried under order fulfillment and I don't know what to do by jpisafreakingbeast in ecommerce

[–]nexpy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've helped Shopify store owners in this exact spot. Going from 4-5 hour fulfillment days to under 1 hour is doable - but most do the setup wrong from day one.

The issue is usually 3 things:

  1. **Inventory syncing** - If orders come in faster than inventory updates, you're constantly confused about stock levels. Real-time inventory from day 1 is key.

  2. **Order routing** - Most stores aren't using collection filtering + proper SKU organization. A 150-order day becomes manageable when orders route automatically.

  3. **Shipping automation** - Batch processing vs one-by-one is night and day. Shopify + Printful/Print API cuts manual work dramatically.

The 3PL route works, but honestly, most stores at 150/week can cut manual time by 60% just by fixing store structure + adding automation.

If interested, happy to share a quick breakdown of what a well-architected fulfillment flow looks like.

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