Direct-to-Consumer brands are all about going direct to the customer and acquiring them, bypassing middlemen and traditional distribution channels like agency forces and retailers, but this may have been much tougher than anticipated. While DTC brands like Warby Parker and Spotify were some of the hottest names in tech, in recent times the tone has become more pessimistic, even B2C fintech companies like Robinhood and Klarna haven’t been spared from this.

Today on BizBytes we take a local look by speaking with Wong Wai Ken, Malaysia Country Manager of wealthtech player Stashaway, and Jonathan Ong, Head of Direct-to-Consumer with Indonesian insuretech Qoala, about how are both these fintech players are navigating the current environment, but also a look back at how they entered and built up their businesses here and how their strategies have evolved since entering Malaysia.