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; and

Has 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 university

10:11 Maximising her gap year

15:53 Cold outreach tactics

17:38 Launching her own startup, Backscoop

20:36 Why Southeast Asia (and not APAC)?

26:59 Researching other newsletters

29:58 The different iterations of Backscoop

31:24 Dropping Soft Serve

32:44 Most effective growth strategy

34:34 Getting over stagnant growth

35:56 Building a regional media company

37:26 Trends in the Southeast Asian tech scene

39:36 Accepting investment from Buko Ventures

43:39 Launching a new product, One More Scoop

44:55 What’s the value proposition?

47:02 Serendipity

49:37 Personal branding

53:42 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