An ecommerce founder roundtable is a small working session where people who run online stores each bring one real problem and the room works on it together. It is the opposite of a conference: less stage, more table. In Singapore and Malaysia, Alva Chew, Stridec’s founder, co-hosts two series in this format: Ecom Unfiltered in Singapore, with Jessica Bong, and EcomX in the Klang Valley, with InsightOut and E3. The next one is EcomX: Cross-Border Ecommerce, Taking Your Brand Beyond Malaysia, on 25 Nov 2026 at Hextar Tower, Petaling Jaya.
Key takeaways
- A roundtable is built around the attendees’ problems, not a speaker’s slides. Everyone brings one problem from their store.
- It suits founders, operators and ecommerce managers who want to work on something specific, and people who build stores for others.
- Five sessions have run or are booked between August and November 2026, in Singapore, Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya.
- The 14 Oct 2026 EcomX session in Subang Jaya sold out every ticket tier.
- You get the most from one by arriving with a single, specific problem and the numbers behind it.
What is an ecommerce roundtable?
It is a session where the attendees are the content. A conference gives you talks and panels, and you mostly listen. A roundtable puts the people running stores around the same table and asks each of them to bring one problem they are dealing with right now, such as a drop in conversion, a channel that stopped working, a market they want to enter or a tool they are unsure about. The room then works on those problems.
The value is in hearing from people a step or two ahead of you on the same road. Someone in the room has often tried the thing you are about to try.
What happens in one?
The format of the sessions Alva co-hosts is simple: everyone brings one problem from their store, and the room works on it. In practice you say what the problem is and what you have tried, and the others ask questions and share what they did when they faced something similar.
Some sessions add a short live segment on a topic the room cares about. Ecom Unfiltered #1, held at Airwallex in Singapore on 3 Sep 2026, included a live GEO demo. GEO is the work of getting a brand named in AI search answers, such as Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT, and it is what Stridec does day to day.
How is a roundtable different from a conference?
| Ecommerce conference | Ecommerce roundtable | |
|---|---|---|
| Who talks | Speakers and panellists | Everyone in the room |
| What drives the agenda | The organiser’s programme | The problems attendees bring |
| Size | Often large halls and several tracks | A small room |
| What you leave with | Ideas and trends | Input on your own problem |
| Best for | Seeing what is new across the industry | Working on one thing you are stuck on |
Both have a place. A conference is good for a wide view of the industry. A roundtable is better when you already know what you are stuck on and want people who have dealt with it to look at it with you.
Who are these roundtables for?
People who run an online store or are responsible for its results: founders, operators, ecommerce and marketing managers. They also suit people who build stores and the tools around them. The 4S Coffee Chat on 5 Aug 2026, co-hosted with GemPages, was aimed squarely at that group: AI for Shopify and ecommerce builders.
They are less useful if you want a structured lecture, or if you have no store problem to bring. The format depends on everyone putting something on the table.
Which sessions have run, and what’s next?
Alva Chew co-hosted each of these with partners. Newest first:
- EcomX: Cross-Border Ecommerce, Taking Your Brand Beyond Malaysia (upcoming). 25 Nov 2026, Hextar Tower, Petaling Jaya. Co-hosted with InsightOut and E3; sponsors Morning Global and beBit TECH. On taking a Malaysian brand beyond Malaysia. Get tickets.
- Ecom Unfiltered #2: AI Tools, Trends and Threats in Ecom. 29 Oct 2026, Equinet Academy, Singapore. Co-hosted with Jessica Bong.
- EcomX: Optimising Ecommerce Performance. 14 Oct 2026, INFINITY8 Reserve, Sunway Square, Subang Jaya. Co-hosted with InsightOut and E3. Every ticket tier sold out.
- Ecom Unfiltered #1. 3 Sep 2026, Airwallex, Singapore. Co-hosted with Jessica Bong. Included a live GEO demo.
- 4S Coffee Chat: AI for Shopify and Ecommerce Builders. 5 Aug 2026, Singapore. Co-hosted with GemPages.
The two series split by country. Ecom Unfiltered runs in Singapore. EcomX runs in the Klang Valley, so far in Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya. The events page keeps the current list.
How do you get the most out of one?
Bring one problem, not five, and make it specific. “Sales are down” is hard for a room to help with. “Our repeat purchase rate in Singapore fell after we changed courier in September” gives people something to grab.
Before you go:
- Write the problem in one sentence. If you can’t, the room can’t either.
- Bring the numbers behind it. Dates, before and after, which market, which channel. Rough is fine; vague isn’t.
- List what you have already tried, so nobody spends time suggesting it.
- Say what a good outcome looks like. A decision? A list of things to test? A name to call?
Then listen as much as you talk. Other people’s problems are often your next one.
If your problem is about being found online, it helps to do a quick check first. Ask ChatGPT and Google the questions your buyers ask and note which stores get named. Our guide on what to do when ChatGPT recommends your competitor shows how to read the result, and the free AIO Visibility Checker covers Google AI Overviews. For the search side of running a store here, see our guide to SEO for ecommerce in Singapore.