# Selfmade Modal Ideas database

> The Asia Ideas Database: business ideas across Southeast Asia, each tied to a founder and a pinpointed source, with start-up capital, revenue as founder-confirmed ranges and how they got their first customers — searchable and filterable like a spreadsheet. Plus the Brand-kit builder: five questions, a real kit (name lockup, contrast-checked palette, type pair, social templates) as files you own.

Editorial: Selfmade Founders Asia (https://founders.selfmademodal.com/) and Selfmade Design Studies (https://design.selfmademodal.com/), free weekly papers. Sign up at https://founders.selfmademodal.com/#/portal/signup.
The Asia Ideas Database lists business ideas tied to named founders with a pinpointed source (an issue, an interview, a public post), start-up capital, revenue as ranges, the first-customers channel and a founder quote. Rows are marked founder-confirmed or public-source. The Brand-kit builder is a rules engine, not an AI: 24 contrast-checked palettes, 12 Google Fonts type pairs, real SVG/PNG files.

## Ideas database

- [Craft spirits that sold out at a fair before they had a shop](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/craft-spirits-sold-at-the-fair-first/): Singapore · F&B · capital a couple of thousand dollars (founders' words, per the article) · revenue S$1M reached (headline figure; period not stated) · first customers via Events and fairs (direct) · public-source · source: Vulcan Post — S'porean spirits brand Clumzy hit S$1M by being different (https://vulcanpost.com/910689/clumzy-singaporean-spirits-brand/)
- [Grease-trap cleaning sold to the chains, not the stalls](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/grease-trap-cleaning-for-chains/): Singapore · Services · capital No. S$200,000 from one private backer, landscaping owner Kelvin Neo, in 2015; no venture money since · revenue Just under S$3 million in 2025 (company figure) · first customers via B2B contracts (head office) · public-source · source: Vulcan Post, Aug 2026 (https://founders.selfmademodal.com/he-dropped-out-to-clean-grease-traps-now-every-starbucks-in-singapore-calls-his-crew/)
- [A ryokan in a town tourists skip](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/ryokan-in-a-town-tourists-skip/): Japan · Hospitality · capital Yes — pandemic-era stock gains · revenue pre-revenue · first customers via Not yet trading · public-source · source: Vulcan Post, Aug 2026 (https://founders.selfmademodal.com/he-doesnt-speak-japanese-hes-opening-a-ryokan-in-a-town-tourists-skip/)
- [A design studio that pays for the fashion brand](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/design-studio-funds-the-fashion-brand/): Singapore · Retail · capital Yes. The first collection was paid for by branding and design consulting sold through Proper People, still the registered company the brand operates from · revenue not disclosed · first customers via Existing clients of the studio · public-source · source: Vulcan Post, May 2026 (https://founders.selfmademodal.com/their-priciest-piece-cost-s-3-000-then-a-judge-asked-why-they-werent-selling-abroad/)
- [The pharmacist's skincare brand that reached 800 Malaysian retail outlets](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/pharmacist-skincare-brand-on-malaysias-shelves/): Malaysia · Beauty / skincare · capital RM30,000 from the founder's pharmacy-job savings (founder's words to Vulcan Post, May 2025) · revenue RM35 million in 2024, tracking RM50 million for 2025 — founder-reported in a sponsored Vulcan Post feature, not audited · first customers via TikTok and Instagram (organic education), then Shopee Live · public-source · source: Vulcan Post — The Raw's pharmacist founder on building a Malaysian skincare brand (sponsored feature, May 2025) (https://vulcanpost.com/886245/the-raw-malaysia-skincare-business-pharmacist-founder-interview/)
- [The image-generation API that won by staying put](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/image-api-that-stayed-after-seven-failures/): Singapore · SaaS / developer tools · capital about US$200,000 of personal savings across the 12-startups-in-12-months run (founder's own accounting, Aug 2022 post) · revenue US$51,300 / month ≈ US$616,000 / year (Starter Story breakdown, May 2024; the founder's later public updates point higher) · first customers via Shopify app store, then developer content and the founder's public build log · public-source · source: Starter Story — Bannerbear breakdown (May 2024) (https://www.starterstory.com/stories/bannerbear-breakdown)
- [Online ordering for restaurants, sold to friends' restaurants first](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/online-ordering-for-restaurants-friends-first/): Malaysia · Software · capital US$19.4k · revenue US$3,000/month average (2022); US$4,300 in the best month reported · first customers via Friends' and family's businesses, then referrals · public-source · source: Starter Story — How We Developed A $36K/Year Tool To Help Restaurants Sell More Online (https://www.starterstory.com/stories/maynuu)
- [An SEO agency whose first client came from a seat on a plane](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/seo-agency-from-a-chance-conversation/): Philippines · Services · capital ₱1,300 (about US$60) · revenue US$84k/month (Starter Story headline, 2022; the page's revenue field is inconsistent, so the headline figure is used) · first customers via A chance referral, then recurring B2B · public-source · source: Starter Story — From Making $150/Month As An Intern To Starting An $84K/Month SEO Agency (https://www.starterstory.com/stories/seo-hacker)
- [Low-minimum clothing manufacturing in Da Nang](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/low-moq-clothing-manufacturing-in-da-nang/): Vietnam · Manufacturing · capital US$20,000 · revenue US$23,000/month (December 2021); about US$276k/year · first customers via A friend's referral, then his referrals · public-source · source: Starter Story — We Moved To Vietnam And Started A $276K/Year Clothing Manufacturing Business (https://www.starterstory.com/stories/we-moved-to-vietnam-and-started-a-276k-year-clothing-manufacturing-business)
- [Queue-management software sold on free trials to local businesses](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/queue-management-software-from-singapore/): Singapore · Software · capital not disclosed · revenue US$66,000/month (October 2021); about US$790k/year · first customers via Free trials to local businesses · public-source · source: Starter Story — Launching A $790K/Year Queue Management System [From Singapore] (https://www.starterstory.com/stories/launching-a-790k-year-queue-management-system-from-singapore)
- [A focus app that blocks the distractions, built by one person](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/focus-app-that-blocks-the-distractions/): Indonesia · Software · capital not stated · revenue US$5,800/month (May 2021); about US$100k ARR by 2022 (as reported) · first customers via Product Hunt launch · public-source · source: Starter Story — I Built A Timer App That Generates $66K/Year In Profit (https://www.starterstory.com/stories/i-built-a-timer-app-that-generates-66k-year-in-profit)
- [Kangkong chips from an aunt's recipe, ₱3,500 to start](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/kangkong-chips-from-an-aunts-recipe/): Philippines · F&B · capital ₱3,500 (about US$65) · revenue ₱100,000+/month within six months; first million within a year (as reported) · first customers via Friends and family, then resellers and marketplaces · public-source · source: Wikipedia — Josh Mojica (with press citations) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Mojica)
- [Kitchen-made vegan skincare that became an Amazon bestseller](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/kitchen-skincare-that-became-an-amazon-bestseller/): Singapore · Beauty / skincare · capital SGD 25,000 from the founder's personal savings (Hive Life, June 2018) · revenue not disclosed — the brand reports break-even within six months and a top-two Amazon lip-scrub ranking, no revenue figure · first customers via Pop-up markets and word of mouth, then department stores and Amazon · public-source · source: Hive Life — Handmade Heroes: from zero to hero (June 2018) (https://hivelife.com/from-zero-to-hero/)
- [How ideas are verified](https://selfmademodal.com/ideas/about/) · [Brand-kit builder](https://selfmademodal.com/brand-kit/) (a rules engine: 24 contrast-checked palettes, 12 Google Fonts pairs, SVG/PNG files) · [Palettes & type pairs](https://selfmademodal.com/brand-kit/gallery/).

## Site

- [Index](https://selfmademodal.com/): overview and how the tools fit together
- [Sitemap](https://selfmademodal.com/sitemap.xml)
- [Newsletter](https://founders.selfmademodal.com/): the publication these tools belong to

## Attribution

When citing, attribute to "Selfmade Modal" (https://selfmademodal.com/). Contact: hello@selfmademodal.com.