| SCALING UP IN S'PORE, CHINA, GERMANY |
 "We are currently exploring co-operation opportunities through, inter alia, joint ventures, partnerships and/or the formation of strategic alliances, with parties who are interested in establishing incubators, together with us, in various countries, including Singapore and China. "To this end, we intend to set up an incubator in Singapore in 2016. We believe that, coupled with adaptations to meet local needs and practises and training for staff from such potential new overseas incubators in our existing incubators in Israel, we can successfully implement and scale our business model in these countries. "We have earmarked approximately S$5.0 million of the proceeds from the Placement to be used for this purpose." -- The Trendlines Group IPO prospectus 16 Nov 2015. |
TRENDLINES GROUP HAS SUCCEEDED as an incubator in Israel, so "it's time for us to expand. Our principal markets for expansion are Singapore, China and Germany," said Trendlines Group Co-Chairman Todd Dollinger.
In Singapore, "as we met with universities and investors, we saw there is a substantial amount of inventive talent in this country," he said in response to a question after his recent presentation at CIMB.
The business model for Trendlines' incubator in Singapore will be similar to that in Israel but will be adapt to local conditions, he said. 
Co-Chairman Todd Dollinger at the recent annual showcase in Israel of Trendlines Group's portfolio companies to investors.
Photo by Leong Chan TeikTrendlines, which listed on the Catalist in Nov 2015, will seek Singapore government funding and other non-dilutive funding.
Mr Dollinger said that various government bodies have warmly welcomed Trendlines' plan and "we expect extensive funding for the incubator and portfolio companies."
Employment interviews for Singapore staff of the incubator have begun. Some employees will travel to Israel to learn how Trendlines works and adapt the principles to Singapore conditions.
But will there be quality start-ups in Singapore that Trendlines can help develop? Mr Dollinger is positive about that, going by discussions management has had with various parties in Singapore.
"We are very adept at identifying unmet market needs and working with the right people. We see that there is a substantial amount of invention in Singapore that is simply not being commercialised. There's a lot of intellectual property that's just sitting on the shelf. That's true of many countries too."
Still, there is likely a challenge -- finding entreprenurial people who will give up their jobs, and take risks to pursue their dreams. "In Israel, we are very comfortable doing that."
Yes, there are more young Singaporeans these days who start up their own businesses but the focus of Trendlines is on healthcare technologies and agritech technologies, and these are typically developed by people who have been in those fields for many years, if not decades.
| "We see that there is a substantial amount of invention in Singapore that is simply not being commercialised. There's a lot of intellectual property that's just sitting on the shelf. That's true of many countries too. We are very adept at identifying unmet market needs and working with the right people." -- Todd Dollinger |
So, it is yet to be seen how Trendlines will be able to attract such individuals to its Singapore incubator.
The Israeli model provides for substantial stock options for CEOs and equity stakes for the experts who are the innovators. They also get "reasonable salaries".
Beyond monetary carrots, the people whom Trendlines bets on, said Mr Dollinger, are "those who are very driven, and have a real need to prove something to someone, such as themselves. We also have a considerable number of people with a sense of mission -- they have a specific idea that can improve the human condition, and they believe, and we concur, they can drive it to success."
One thing is sure: "Whereever we work, you will see there is always one constant in how we approach our companies, and that is by being completely in love with them -- by being involved in technology development, business development and, of course, in the financing of those companies," said Mr Dollinger.
| TRENDLINES GROUP -- IN A NUTSHELL |
 Trendlines Group organises an event every year in Israel for investors to get to know its portfolio companies. Photo: Company♦ It is intensely involved in its portfolio companies, supporting their technology development, business development, R&D, market and commercialisation strategy, funding strategy, finance and marketing communications. ♦ Trendlines is considered the best incubator in the medical technology space in Israel. ♦ B.Braun, a German healthcare provider with €5.4bn in sales, is a strategic investor with a 4.2% stake which it acquired for S$7.1 million during Trendlines IPO. ♦ Trendlines currently has a portfolio of 47 companies, of which 17 are in commercialisation stage. ♦ Its ultimate value lies in helping its portfolio companies to raise more funds and exit profitably eventually. |
