In this day and age, studying a market can be as simple as typing keywords on your preferred search engine. Hitting the enter button will swamp you with case studies, researches, and facts enough to feed you with the right information. I know this goes without saying, but the phrase “do your research” means a lot less nowadays.

Primary and Secondary Research

Gathering secondary data is somehow an easier form of researching. It’s faster and more accessible than actually doing your own study plus it usually costs next to nothing. All hail the internet!

Providing very specific information is where secondary research falls short. These resources are limited to what have only been studied and not all of them are even accurate especially when time is relative to the research. Sometimes, the best course of action to get the exact information you need is to do primary research. This goes to those whose market are niche or are simply searching for definite results.

AQWIRE Tours Around Asian Countries

One of our reasons for flying around Asia is to study each country’s community. We believe that statistical data found on the internet and other sources are not enough to define how different communities respond to a relatively new product.

Our goal is to design a platform that addresses real world problems. This mindset drives us to travel all across Asia, and soon, in Europe. We understand that one country’s need does not reflect all the others’ and that the best way to empathize with them is to have interpersonal connection present in between.

Jacquiline Romorosa, Sr. Business Analyst of Qwikwire, at Bangkok, Thailand Blockchain Meetup

Flying to multiple countries with the sole reason of conducting research might harm the company’s pocket though. We have to make the best out of our trip, that’s why in addition to our prior motive, we also prepared presentations for the audience to impart knowledge about Blockchain, Cryptos, and the future of the Real Estate Market as well as to gradually build the AQWIRE community country by country. This will not only help them understand the purpose of our visit but more importantly, will give them deeper understanding of the technology and what it is capable of.

Singapore and Malaysia Tour

On March 02, 2018, the AQWIRE team landed in Singapore to mark the start of our Asia tour. During the time, Ray Refundo, founder and CEO, was also invited to be a panelist at ASEAN Connect 2018. The perfect opportunity led us to hold our first meet up in Singapore where we gathered people from both the real estate industries and crypto space.

Ray Refundo, founder and CEO, at Trehaus Co-working Space in Singapore

The very next day, the AQWIRE team arrived at WORQ Co-working in Kuala Lumpur to be greeted by a crowd consisting of real estate agents, university students, and paralegals. The meetup lasted for over two hours with valuable insights being exchanged around.

It was no surprise to us that the sentiments we have received from each country differ greatly from one another. Although the two are neighboring countries, their regulations, norms, cultures, and markets are equally unique and demand different approaches.

Thailand and Vietnam

Few weeks after our successful event in Singapore and Malaysia, the team flew all the way to Thailand to commence with the second batch of the Asia tour. Scott Yu, Co-founder and blockchain developer alongside Jacquiline Romorosa, Sr. Business Analyst and ICO Specialist represented AQWIRE this time.

rPod Co-working in Pattaya, was our first stop in Thailand. Our visit there granted us the chance to speak with people from different real estate agencies. We were showered with a staggering amount of information essential to our platform’s development. But little did we know, the biggest surprise was yet to come.

Right after we concluded the event, we were approached by one of our attendees and introduced himself as Andrey Shishkin, a blockchain developer from Russia. He expressed his profound interest in the project and that if given the chance, he would love to work with our team. We were surprised as much as we were delighted. We exchanged contacts and kept in touch until just last May, he officially joined AQWIRE as a Smart Contract Developer.

Andrey Shishkin with the AQWIRE team

The meetup in Pattaya was shortly followed by another one in Bangkok the next day. We were attended by several professionals from the real estate industry and crypto space. One of the attendees was Goshintas Wongrattananukul from Bitcoin Center Thailand who then invited us over to their office the following day. Our unexpected visit prompted us to gain additional insights relative to how the crypto market behaves in Thailand. More importantly, we have developed a strong rapport with Goshintas and his team which eventually led us to win him as our Thailand community manager.

From left to right: Scott Yu, Goshintas Wongrattananukul, Jacquiline Romorosa, Renz Marcelo

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam was our last stop during the trip. The fact that there’s a strict regulation on the usage of cryptocurrency in the country didn’t hold the community back on expressing their interest in the technology. As a matter of fact, crypto-centric groups in Vietnam have been sprouting up since the beginning of 2018. Lucky enough, we were able to meet with several thought leaders from some of these growing communities which ultimately made our stay more worthwhile.

Japan

It’s the land of innovation and the one who introduced cryptocurrency to the world. Japan was the first country outside Southeast Asia that AQWIRE set foot in. Being the birthplace of crypto gave Japan the upper hand to lead its growing market. Cryptocurrency and blockchain are easily considered known by the majority of their population. Leaflets, TV ads, and Billboards relating to the technology were not easy to miss when we were strolling around Tokyo.

Inno Maog, CMO and Scott Yu, Blockchain Developer, giving a presentation at Factoria Co-working space in Tokyo, Japan

The overwhelming popularity of cryptocurrency in Japan made the country a sizable market for crypto and blockchain-related products. We were very fortunate to have one of our investors, Yoshichika Azuma, to guide us around Japan and have us meet people who later became significant to the development of our project.

AQWIRE team with Yoshichika Azuma and Irino Yuki of Carbyne Inc.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Our timely visit in Jakarta led us to participate in one of their biggest blockchain events, Crypto Event Blockchain Indo, where we met several other ICOs and Crypto investors. The main highlight of the event was the Cryptoparty night, where we were introduced to notable investors and players in the cryptospace.

Cryptoparty Night in Jakarta, Indonesia

The 2-day crypto event was more than enough for us to garner insights that later helped us prepare for our own meetup at Avenue8 offices during the time. We used what we learned to forge a deeper connection with our attendees which consequently rewarded us with more valuable takeaways.

More Tours to Come Soon

Activities like these require deliberate preparation and high supply of energy. True, it may cost a startup like us an arm and a leg to execute but the fun of meeting new people and learning their culture just can’t compare. The benefits we reap from such are truly more rewarding and yield far greater results. We are very positive that through these tours, we can create a truly needed platform that solves real world problems.

That has been, and will always be, our goal.