One More Scoop: Recent Episodes
BackScoop and Amanda Cua
One More Scoop is where you get to hear the unfiltered stories of Southeast Asia's top tech startup founders, executives and VC investors.
Listen to their personal journeys, get to know who they really are and find out what actually happens behind the scenes. It’s honest. It’s casual. And this is totally not your usual “thought-leader” kind of thing.
One More Scoop is a podcast by BackScoop. BackScoop is a free daily newsletter read by thousands of founders, execs and investors in Southeast Asia. We make it fun and easy to stay updated with the latest news on Southeast Asian tech and startups in minutes.
Subscribe for free: www.backscoop.com.
CJ Looi is the co-founder and CEO of PixCap. There, PixCap's mission is to make 3D accessible to everyone, starting with graphic design.
3D opens up many possibilities for designers, including mockups, realistic visuals and animations. Yet, the complexity of accessing 3D technology remains a challenge.
PixCap overcomes this by offering a vast library of 3D templates on the browser through WebGL, enabling brands and designers to customize mockups, icons and 3D animations at scale.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Personal Growth and Family Dynamics
[00:04:55] - Strict Upbringing and Video Game Influence
[00:11:42] - Study Abroad and Startup Challenges
[00:18:52] - Inspired Journey to Entrepreneurship and Tech
[00:24:09] - Career Transition From Banking to Startups
[00:31:19] - Transitioning to Entrepreneurship Through Internships
[00:38:38] - Journey Through Tech Careers
[00:48:35] - AI Motion Capture Technology Pivot
[00:53:41] - Evolution of 3D Design Software
[01:03:55] - Evolution of PixCap's 3D Tools
[01:08:58] - The Challenges and Fulfillment of Startups
[01:14:58] - The Three C's
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Cj Looi’s social media pages:
Cj (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-looi/
PixCap (Website): https://pixcap.com/index.html
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dhruv Arora is the Founder and CEO of Syfe, Asia’s leading holistic digital wealth management platform empowering people to build their wealth for a better future. Built on the pillars of access, advice and affordability, Syfe caters to the different wealth needs of individuals with diversified proprietary portfolios, cash management solutions and brokerage. Syfe has grown quickly since launching in 2019, with nearly 5% of adult Singaporeans using the platform to achieve their financial goals.
Licensed and operational in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, Syfe has customers from 60+ countries. The company has raised $52M and is backed by leading global investors including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Unbound, and partners from DST.
Before starting Syfe, Dhruv was part of the early core team that built Grofers (now Blinkit)—a Softbank and Sequoia-backed e-commerce company acquired by Zomato for US$570M—where he led the Product, Growth and Consumer verticals.
Topics:
[00:00:02] – Dhruv's Childhood and Interests
[00:09:35] – Career Path Discovery in Finance
[00:11:06] – Navigating Career Challenges in Finance
[00:19:04] – Investing Journey and Career Transition
[00:27:34] – Career Transition and Entrepreneurship Exploration
[00:31:35] – Startup Growth, Transition, and Learning
[00:39:47] – Entrepreneur's Journey to Starting SAIF
[00:48:33] – Navigating Startup Challenges and Employee Retention
[00:56:22] – Finding Purpose Through Work and Growth
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Dhruv Arora’s social media pages:
Dhruv (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/arora-dhruv/
Syfe (Website): https://www.syfe.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joe Zhang is a Partner at TNB Aura, focusing on the fund's operations in research, investment, and portfolio management. Before TNB Aura, he worked at Fosun RZ Capital, where he focused on investments in Southeast Asia's growing tech startups.
Joe's background includes venture building, technology consulting, wealth management, and engineering before he entered the VC field. He graduated as a top MBA student from the National University of Singapore and holds an Engineering degree from the same institution.
Topics:
[00:02:27] - Childhood Memories and Curiosity
[00:06:24] - Boarding School Experience and Friendships
[00:11:51] - University Experience
[00:22:25] - Navigating Career Paths
[00:35:39] - Leveraging Relationships for Career Advancement
[00:42:38] - End-to-End VC Investment Approach
[00:50:12] - Early Investments & Top-Down Approach
[00:54:39] - Breaking Into Venture Capital Industry
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Joe Zhang’s social media pages:
Joe (Linkedin): linkedin.com/in/joe-zhang
TNB Aura (Website): https://www.tnbaura.vc/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Patrick Gentry is the founder and CEO of Sprout Solutions, a SaaS startup building HR solutions for the Philippines. In 2023, they raised a $10.7M Series B. Before Sprout, Patrick was the co-founder of KMC Solutions and was working for a startup in Silicon Valley.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Stacie Chan is the Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at 1BStories, an AI storytelling company. She spent eight and a half years at Google leading product partnerships on Google's 1 billion user consumer products including Google News, Search, Web and Assistant. Before Google, she was an award-winning journalist in Silicon Valley, managing a team of 10 reporters for AOL's Patch.com. But that's not the most interesting part about Stacie. Fun fact: She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her voiceover acting work.
Topics:
[00:01:06] - Meet Stacie Chan
[00:04:43] - Parental Support in Acting Career
[00:07:34] - Expanding Horizons Through Animated Roles
[00:10:49] - Navigating Career Changes and Unexpected Opportunities
[00:19:49] - AOL's Patch
[00:29:48] - Global Opportunities at Google
[00:33:58] - Building a Company With Charismatic Vision
[00:38:44] - Navigating the Fundraising Landscape
[00:41:53] - Lessons From Big Tech to Startups
[00:52:33] - Career Sacrifices and Fulfillment
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Stacie Chan’s social media pages:
Stacie (Twitter): https://twitter.com/staciechan?lang=en
1 Billion Stories (Website): https://www.1bstories.com/#home
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joan Yao is the Vice President of Investments at Kickstart Ventures Inc., the corporate venture capital arm of Globe Telecom. Prior to Kickstart, she was Investment Manager for Southeast Asia at LGT Venture Philanthropy, a global impact investing firm headquartered in Europe.
Kickstart Ventures manages the Philippines’ largest technology venture capital funds, investing globally in early- to growth-stage tech startups via three funds, including the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture Fund (“ACTIVE Fund”). Kickstart is a wholly-owned corporate venture capital firm of Globe Telecom, the Philippines’ leading mobile operator.
Topics:
[00:05:29] - Losing a loved one
[00:11:29] - Choosing a Major and College Experience
[00:25:22] - The Link Between Finance and Narrative
[00:34:21] - LGTVP - A Funny Misunderstanding
[00:37:21] - Unusual Job Demands and Youthful Enthusiasm
[00:41:39] - First Investment and Growing Friendship
[00:47:36] - Decision Making Authority and Stereotypes
[00:51:11] - VC and Tech Startups in Asia
[00:58:16] - Investments in Agriculture and HRIS
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Joan Yao’s social media pages:
Joan (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanyao/
Kickstart Ventures (Website): https://kickstart.ph/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rishab is Partner, Seed investments at Jungle and heads up First Cheque@Jungle. He has a passion for building businesses and working closely with entrepreneurs through key inflection points in their journey. As an angel investor with 15+ companies in his portfolio, Rishab loves rolling up his sleeves and working with these founders on product, go-to-market and fundraising aspects of their journey.
Jungle Ventures is a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on early to growth-stage investments in Southeast Asia and India, with a focus on building long-lasting businesses. Jungle partners with the region’s most exciting founders to build high-growth, capital-efficient technology businesses, and supports their growth from seed to unicorn to IPO. The Jungle portfolio includes regional and global category leaders like Kredivo, Moglix, Pomelo, Livspace, builder.ai, Sociolla, and more.
Topics:
[00:03:23] - Education, Sports, and Regret
[00:08:35] - Choosing University and Pursuing Dreams
[00:14:48] - Impacts of Undergrad Experience in Texas
[00:17:53] - Interning at Motorola and Immigration Challenges
[00:24:49] - Building Relationships and Embracing Diversity
[00:27:08] - Career Transition and Pursuing Higher Education
[00:31:11] - Considering Future Work Opportunities in Asia
[00:41:23] - Entrepreneurial Journey in Different Startups
[00:46:59] - Opportunity to Join Jungle Ventures
[01:00:42] - Balancing Work, Family, and Investments
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Rishab Malik’s social media pages:
Rishab(Linkedin): linkedin.com/in/rishabmalik
Jungle Ventures (Website): https://www.jungle.vc/
First Cheque (Website): https://www.jungle.vc/first-cheque
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fandy Cendrajaya is the Founding Partner of Kopital Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-focused fund based in Southeast Asia that is looking to invest in 40 Companies in the next three years. Before Kopital Ventures, Fandy was an angel investor and F&B entrepreneur.
Topics:
[00:02:08] - Childhood and challenges growing up
[00:04:45] - Journey Towards Education and Self-Realization
[00:09:12] - Painful Lessons in Failing School
[00:12:50] - Education Opportunities in the US
[00:31:05] - First Successful F&B Venture
[00:38:29] - Becoming an Angel Investor
[00:42:04] - Hardest Part of Angel Investing
[00:46:50] - Micro Fund for Early-Stage Investments
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Fandy Cendrajaya’s social media pages:
Fandy (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/fandy-cendrajaya-903b92152/
Kopital Ventures (Website): https://kopitalventures.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Abhay Saboo is the co-founder and CEO of CoLearn, one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing K-12 edtech platforms. By providing access to the best teachers across the country for just $7/month through cohort-based live classes, CoLearn is gradually increasing the motivation of Indonesians to learn.
Before CoLearn, Abhay founded Viva Health - one of Indonesia’s largest primary care chains, with 100+ pharmacies and clinics spread throughout the islands of Java and Bali.
He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Passion for Education and Healthcare
[00:05:25] - Childhood Hobbies and Memories of Malls
[00:09:26] - Education and Study Abroad Experiences
[00:12:58] - Tutoring and Choosing Electrical Engineering
[00:20:31] - Studying at Georgia Tech, Feeling at Home
[00:24:17] - Georgia Tech Co-Op Program and International Experience
[00:31:05] - Working at GE Healthcare
[00:39:21] - Entrepreneurship, Education, and Retail in India
[00:49:26] - Longevity and Growth of Businesses
[00:55:38] - Vipassana Meditation and Life's Epiphany
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Abhay Saboo’s social media pages:
Abhay (Linkedin): linkedin.com/in/abhay-saboo-3700218
Website (CoLearn): https://www.colearn.com/
Website (Viva Health): https://vivaapotek.co.id/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Reinaldo Tendean is the co-founder of Finku, a personal finance app that serves 700,000 Indonesians. Their app solves the inefficiencies of financial planning through seamless tracking, spending analysis and help support Indonesians receive access to financial products as well. In 2022, they raised the $2.8M seed, led by B Capital.
Topics:
[00:05:51] - Considerations in Choosing an Engineering Major
[00:08:26] - Trash's Impact on Floods and Careers
[00:12:09] - Exploring Waste Management Startups
[00:22:46] - Exploring Career Options
[00:25:30] - Pursuing Soccer at a Lower Level
[00:34:09] - Career Planning in Consulting
[00:39:55] - Building a Personal Finance Startup
[00:44:05] - Building Confidence in a New Product
[00:50:26] - Balancing People Management With Leniency and Strictness
[00:54:54] - Evolution of an End-to-End Financial Service
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Reinaldo Tendean’s social media pages:
Reinaldo (Linkedin): linkedin.com/in/reinaldo-tendean
Website (Finku): https://www.finku.id/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chris is the founder of Klikit, with an enterprise technology stack. Klikit helps restaurants, bars, and hotels become far more efficient in their day-to-day operations by providing an all-in-one operating system for them to manage their key and core services. Previously VP at Gojek and the first APAC Head of Growth for Uber Eats, Chris leads a team across APAC, servicing thousands of brands and millions of orders every single year.
Topics:
[00:06:29] - Juggling Degrees and a Startup Job
[00:15:02] - Challenges and Localization in Uber Eats
[00:24:37] - Seeking Like-Minded Driven Individuals
[00:28:29] - Challenges in Building klikit
[00:33:18] - Tips for Solo Founders
[00:37:09] - Overcoming Cancer in Early Career
[00:40:38] - Finding Clarity in Diagnosis
[00:51:10] - Platform Monopoly Creation in SaaS Companies
[00:55:21] - Limited Second Order Thinking in Tech
[01:01:36] - Personal Goals Outside of Work
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Chris Withers’s social media pages:
If you are a founder struggling, Chris is open to chatting. Feel free to connect with him on Linkedin or email.
Chris (Linkedin): linkedin.com/in/chrswthrs
Website (klikit): https://klikit.io/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wing Vasiksiri has raised two solo-GP seed funds focused on Southeast Asia. He is currently the founder and general partner at WV, having previously founded iSeed SEA in 2020. He partners with founders at the earliest possible stages with a focus on Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Previously, he was an operator on the Venture team at AngelList, where he built products to serve fund managers and angel investors in Silicon Valley.
Download Wing's Thailand Payments Sector report for free here: forms.gle/25oK5Y8EPte17ZRs8
Topics:
[00:03:12] - Influences on Career
[00:06:23] - Career Paths, and Berkeley Experiences
[00:14:56] - Entrepreneurship and Dropout Rates at Berkeley
[00:22:34] - The Role of Chance and Randomness
[00:26:38] - 500 Startups Portfolio Strategy and Expansion
[00:36:01] - First-Time Fund Manager Experience in Venture
[00:42:56] - Fundraising Challenges for Venture Capital Funds
[00:48:35] - Surprising Sales Aspects in the Job
[00:54:18] - Importance of Transparency in Startup Failures
[00:59:48] - Thai Payments Report
[01:05:02] - Becoming a Jiu Jitsu Black Belter in 10 years
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Wing Vasiksiri’s social media pages:
Wing (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/vasiksiri/
Website (Personal): https://www.wingvasiksiri.com/
Website (iSeed Asia): https://www.iseed.vc/home
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ying Cong Seah is the co-founder and Head of Labs for Glints. He is responsible for new products and market development. He currently leads the Vietnam marketplace. At 21, he dropped out of Wharton Business School to run Glints full-time; building and leading the data, product, and engineering teams since 2015. Ying Cong is passionate about running high-trust, high-functioning engineering and product teams.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Henry Motte-Muñoz is the founder of Philippine EdTech, Edukasyon.ph, and also serves as a founder and CEO of a new venture called EDGE Tutor, which was spun out of Edukasyon. EDGE Tutor is a platform that offers comprehensive tutor support solutions, from sourcing and screening, to training and retaining highly qualified tutors. They recruit licensed teachers in emerging markets, starting with the Philippines. And after a thorough selection and onboarding process, they provide continuous training and place them in tutoring companies in 20 plus countries globally.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Academic Pressure in MBA Programs
[00:01:50] - Introduction to Henry and his ventures
[00:05:28] - Upbringing and Dual Heritage
[00:09:07] - Importance of Dual Roots
[00:09:40] - Impact of Moving and Restarting
[00:13:39] - Dreaming of Journalism and Finance
[00:14:57] - Balancing Dreams and Financial Security
[00:15:28] - Pragmatic Job Search in the UK
[00:16:45] - College Life and Hobbies
[00:20:18] - Challenging Experience in Investment Banking
[00:27:28] - Taking an MBA
[00:30:05] - MBA as a Transformative Experience
[00:32:35] - Philosophical Focus in Business School
[00:35:57] - Post-MBA Career Choices
[00:40:51] - Gender Divide in Leadership
[00:42:30] - Spinning Out EDGE Tutor
[00:44:24] - Transitioning Roles
[00:48:48] - Dealing with Toxic Star Performers
[00:54:45] - Getting to Know Each Other
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Henry Motte-Muñoz’s social media pages:
Henry (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/henrymottemunoz
Website (Edukasyon): https://www.edukasyon.ph/
Website: (EDGE Tutor): https://www.edgetutor.co/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kosuke Sogo is CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group, and oversees the expansion and growth of the company and its business units in globally. AnyMind Group is a technology company for the business supply chain that provides software and solutions for end-to-end commerce enablement. Before founding AnyMind Group, he was Managing Director, APAC for MicroAd Inc, and the youngest-ever director for the company.
Topics:
[00:00:01] - Introduction and Business Development Strategy
[00:01:39] - AnyMind Group and Kosuke's Background
[00:02:24] - Childhood and Inspiration
[00:07:40] - Moving to Tokyo and University Life
[00:09:06] - Internship Experience and Career Choices
[00:18:37] - Opportunities in Jakarta, Indonesia
[00:21:15] - Starting AnyMind Group
[00:23:42] - Meeting his Co-founder and Early Days
[00:26:13] - Global Approach to Product Development
[00:32:20] - Acquiring Companies and Identifying the Right Opportunities
[00:38:30] - Role of the CEO
[00:39:25] - Company Alignment
[00:41:11] - Company Stages
[00:42:27] - Adapting to External Factors
[00:45:24] - Why Kosuke did a skit pretending to be an employee
[00:57:50] - Importance of Team Structure and Fair Evaluation
[00:59:24] - Continuous Challenge of Hiring the Right Team
[01:00:13] - Differentiation through Future Vision
[01:01:42] - Personal Life Goal - Contributing to Education
[01:03:28] - Closing Thoughts and Gratitude
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Kosuke Sogo’s social media pages:
Kosuke (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/kosuke-sogo
Website: https://anymindgroup.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Adrian Li is the founder and managing partner of AC Ventures, formerly known as Convergence Ventures. AC Ventures is an early stage, Indonesia-focused tech VC fund. They manage five funds with an AUM of over $500 million and a portfolio of over 120 businesses. Investments led for the fund include Payfazz, Koinworks, Julo, Stockbit, Xendit, Astro, Carsome, and more.
But that's not the most interesting part. Adrian's first startup was Idapted, where as CEO and co-founder, he raised two rounds of funding, led the company to be the largest live online English training service in China of all places, and also exited the company.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Childhood Influences and Personal Journeys
[00:11:08] - Boarding School Experience and Oxbridge Goals
[00:14:47] - Academic Study and Goal Setting
[00:23:28] - Backpacking Through Remote China (aka, the scariest trip of his life!)
[00:33:25] - Failed Entrepreneurial Attempt With Essay-Exchange Website
[00:36:09] - The Struggles of Investment Banking
[00:38:45] - MBA to Starting a Venture in China
[00:46:14] - Testing English Language Product in Beijing
[00:49:20] - Entrepreneurship and Investment in Indonesia
[00:56:20] - Entrepreneurship, Advice and Personal Goals
[01:01:41] - Benefits of Physical Fitness for Life
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Visit Adrian Li’s social media pages:
Adrian (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/adrianmli
Website (Personal): https://www.adrianli.me/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jeremy Tan is the co-founder of Tin Men Capital, a venture capital firm that invests primarily in B2B technology startups focused on Southeast Asia.
Before Tin Men, Jeremy started as a first class chemical engineering graduate from Cambridge trying to break in the world of finance. He worked his way up and had a 17-year long career in corporate, landing senior executive roles at global multinationals like Morgan Stanley, Trafigura Group, Puma Energy and more. Outside of work, Jeremy's also a father and loves soccer.
Topics:
00:00:00 - Overcoming the Fear of Failure
00:02:26 - Modest Beginnings and Childhood Memories
00:07:21 - School Life and Pursuing Higher Education
00:10:41 - The Turning Point of Getting into Cambridge
00:11:16 - Reflections on the Journey
00:15:45 - Jeremy's Shift in Mindset
00:16:32 - Jeremy's International Friend Group
00:17:27 - Jeremy's Aspiration to Become a Refinery Engineer
00:20:40 - Jeremy's Career Transition into Finance
00:25:05 - Jeremy's Experience Living Abroad
00:31:47 - Building Deeper Relationships in Business School
00:33:01 - Feeling Inferior at Harvard vs. Cambridge
00:34:35 - The Importance of Articulation and Communication Skills
00:37:01 - Transitioning from Finance to Venture Capital
00:39:57 - The Journey to Starting Tin Men
00:46:32 - Balancing Work and Family Life
00:47:24 - Choosing Between Startup and MBA
00:49:06 - Being True to Yourself
00:52:22 - Bridging the Gap with Parents
00:55:28 - Personal Life and Relationships
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: backscoop.com.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Jeremy Tan’s social media pages:
Jeremy (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremytanpz/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dondi Hananto is a Partner at Patamar Capital based in Indonesia.
Before Patamar Capital, he made early stage investments through Kinara Indonesia and prior to that spent 13 years in commercial banking. He started his career at HSBC and 2 other Indonesian banks, where he served in various roles including business development, credit, and risk management
Topics:
[00:02:21] - Embracing technology in the 80s
[00:07:29] - Studying abroad in Singapore
[00:11:34] - Shaping the way we learn
[00:14:14] - Living in a diverse dorm
[00:19:10] - Singapore vs. Indonesia lifestyle
[00:23:41] - Double major in IT and marketing
[00:29:11] - Getting into credit risk
[00:32:37] - Equity investment in Southeast Asia
[00:38:43] - Finding what you truly enjoy
[00:43:22] - The toughest part about being a VC
[00:47:09] - Trust and collaboration in startups
[00:53:27] - Politics in the company
[00:57:21] - Starting a unique business
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Dondi Hananto’s social media pages:
Dondi (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/dondihananto
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Vamsi Krishna is Co-founder and CPO at Multiplier, a global employment platform that allows businesses to employ compliantly in markets where a legal entity has not been established.
He leads the product development of Multiplier, ensuring that the infrastructure, platforms and automation processes remain reliable and effective at all times.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Roller Coaster of Emotions
[00:00:40] - Multiplier's Mission
[00:03:12] - Childhood and Boarding School
[00:07:09] - Boarding School Experience
[00:13:50] - Working Culture in Japan
[00:15:21] - Joining Funding Societies
[00:20:07] - Early Days of Multiplier
[00:22:20] - Lessons Learned in Product
[00:27:50] - Flexibility in Roadmapping
[00:28:59] - Delegation and Trust
[00:31:24] - Importance of Hiring the Right Team
[00:32:26] - Sacrifices and Emotional Roller Coaster
[00:34:15] - Personal Interests
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Vamsi Krishna’s social media pages:
Vamsi (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/vamsi-krishna-38534b5b/
Multiplier (Website): https://www.usemultiplier.com/
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Amit Saberwal is the Founder and CEO of RedDoorz, Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing online hotel management and booking platform.
He began his career in the traditional hospitality industry at notable hotels across India. Then, he joined the travel tech scene with India’s largest online travel company, makemytrip.com, where he was the Chief Business Officer – Hotel and International Markets. In his role, he played a key part in the leadership team that was instrumental in shaping the company, growing it to IPO stage in three years and getting it listed on NASDAQ in 2010 with 85,000 properties globally.
Founded in 2015, RedDoorz has grown into a regional powerhouse with operations in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines– with a vision to build the region’s leading new-generation multi-brand accommodations platform. This new multi-brand approach comprises affordable, popular economy brands, lifestyle concepts, and in-demand long-term stays.
Topics:
[00:03:45] - Importance of family influence
[00:06:04] - Diving to see unique aquatic animals
[00:12:21] - Transitioning from traditional hotels to an online travel company
[00:19:03] - Embrace new opportunities and take risks
[00:24:22] - Entrepreneurship requires decisive decision-making
[00:34:11] - Adaptation is key for success
[00:36:27] - Resilience and alignment drive success
[00:42:33] - Value: Clear direction, strong leadership
[00:50:25] - Reading and movies as escapism
[00:55:10] - Making a meaningful impact quietly
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/itsAmandaCua
Visit Amit Saberwal’s social media pages:
Amit (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-saberwal-05b7233/
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Jeep Kline is a Founding Partner at MrPink VC, a LATAM-focused fund. She also is an operating executive and is currently president and board of directors at AHEAD Medicine, a life science company in the US. And before AHEAD Medicine, she is also a senior executive at Intel, where she pioneered, launched, and scaled the company's first Android-based tablet device globally. Apart from that, she also founded SeaSky Lab, an organization that brings knowledge and resources from Silicon Valley to Asia for tech entrepreneurs and is also a current faculty at UC Berkeley.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Overcoming Failure and Rising Back Up
[00:05:31] - The Influence of Family and Education
[00:11:14] - Embracing Failure and Finding Opportunities
[00:13:59] - Learning from Failure and Seeing the Bigger Picture
[00:15:19] - Conclusion: Embracing Failure and Moving Forward
[00:16:53] - The Importance of Failure and Learning
[00:18:29] - Dreaming of Making an Impact
[00:21:49] - Taking Risks and Overcoming Rejection
[00:27:11] - Transitioning to the Private Sector
[00:30:42] - Making an Impact with Technology
[00:34:55] - Impact at a Global Scale
[00:35:54] - Pioneering the Low-Cost Tablet
[00:39:29] - The Mindset of Engineers
[00:43:24] - Venture Capital and Broad Impact
[00:47:09] - Founding Mr. Pink
[00:53:11] - The Lifecycle of Venture Capital Funds
[00:54:10] - Impact Investing and Teaching
[00:55:13] - Investing in Emerging Markets
[00:56:33] - Balancing Work and Personal Life
[00:58:10] - Personal Life Goals
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Jeep Kline social media pages:
Jeep Kline (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeepkline/
Jeep Kline (Twitter): https://twitter.com/jeep_kline
Media Interview (Website): techsauce.co/en/saucy-thoughts/jeep-kline-world-bank-silicon-valley
MrPink VC (Website): https://mrpink.vc/en/home-english/
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Hester Spiegel is the Co-founder of Epic Angels, the largest female only angel investor network investing in startups in APAC and the founder of the school 42 campuses in Germany. Before becoming a founder and entrepreneur, she had an international career with Price Waterhouse Coopers and Deutsche Bank. She currently lives in Singapore and is a mom to two boys under 10.
Topics:
[00:00:26] - Tech can unlock unique skills
[00:10:36] - Embrace cultural diversity and curiosity
[00:11:15] - Stay open-minded, ask, and be curious
[00:15:48] - University life in Amsterdam
[00:24:23] - Education system needs digital transformation
[00:31:42] - Education system needs to change
[00:37:19] - Adapting to change is crucial
[00:47:13] - Building a female-led startup community
{00:52:33] - Supporting women in startup investing
[00:56:42] - Building Epic Angels while juggling other work
[01:01:57] - Flexibility and community drive success
[01:03:14] - Teaching kids about entrepreneurship
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Hester Spiegel social media pages:
Hester Spiegel-vdSteenhoven (Linkedin):
https://sg.linkedin.com/in/hesterspiegelvandensteenhoven
Epic Angels (Website): https://www.epicangelnetwork.com/
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Cha-Ly Koh is the Founder and CEO of Urbanmetry, a data company that cleans and analyses large amounts of city data, through its proprietary algorithms. Trained in city planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cha-Ly hopes to help governments, city planners, corporations and urban dwellers by providing insights into the city with big data. Since its founding, Urbanmetry has provided intelligence to various listed companies and government agencies including Sime Darby Property, Sunway Property, UEM Sunrise, Naza TTDI and so on.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - The Addictive Experience of Doing Something Different.
[00:03:36] - Urbanmetry: Digitizing the Experiential Part of the City.
[00:07:28] - Cha-Ly's Educational Journey and Passion for Challenging Paths.
[00:12:22] - Following in the Footsteps of a Successful Cousin.
[00:14:12] - UWC's Value in Seeing Things Differently.
[00:16:39] - Mahindra UWC Experiences.
[00:18:33] - Adventures in Darjeeling.
[00:20:29] - Lifelong Relationships from UWC.
[00:22:48] - Choosing Architecture and Physics.
[00:26:28] - Transition to Urban Planning.
[00:32:34] - The Frustration with Decision Making.
[00:33:55] - The Importance of Data in Decision Making.
[00:35:23] - The Lack of Data-driven Decisions.
[00:39:39] - The Consequences of Ignoring Demand.
[00:41:07] - Urbanmetry's Role in Decision Making.
[00:48:47] - The Importance of Resilience and Experimentation in Entrepreneurship.
[00:49:45] - Overcoming Challenges in the Early Stages of Urban Metric.
[00:53:41] - Life at Urbanmetry Now.
[00:55:22] - Balancing Work and Family Life.
[00:57:52] - Personal Happiness and Hobbies.
[01:05:25] - Pursuing a PhD.
[01:06:33] - Diving Deep into Minds.
[01:07:02] - Privilege of Education.
[01:07:12] - Gratitude for the Conversation.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Cha-Ly Koh’s social media pages:
Cha-Ly Koh (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/cha-ly-koh
Urbanmetry (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/urbanmetry/
Urbanmetry (Website): https://www.urbanmetry.com/
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Brian Lim is Head of Rainmaking Expand at Rainmaking APAC, a venture development firm recently acquired by consulting firm Bain and Co. that builds new startups and helps the world's most promising startups scale in new markets.
Through Rainmaking Expand, Brian and his team help growth-stage companies seeking to enter new markets internationally scale up by securing successful commercial outcomes and creating new revenue streams.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
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Susli Lie is a partner at Monk's Hill Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early stage tech startups in Southeast Asia. Before Monk's Hill, Susli co-founded ErudiFi, a Y Combinator back tech enabled education financing company for the [inaudible] Indonesia and the Philippines. Born and raised in Jakarta, Susli is a mom of two and is an advocate for supporting women in tech.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Intentionality in Personal and Professional Life
[00:01:15] - Childhood and Opportunities
[00:07:21] - Studying Abroad and Divergent Path
[00:10:35] - Studying in the US
[00:14:20] - Striving for Excellence
[00:19:43] - From consultant to chief of staff
[00:22:39] - Influencing without authority
[00:30:36] - Finding the Right Co-Founder
[00:34:52] - Early Days of Danacita
[00:40:07] -Challenges of being a female founder
[00:44:57] - VC is a people-driven business
[00:47:43] - Personal goals outside of work
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Susli Lie’s Social Media Pages:
Susli Lie (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/susli/
Monk’s Hill (Website): https://www.monkshill.com/team-members/susli-lie
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Sagar Khatri is the co-founder and CEO of Multiplier, a comprehensive platform to take care of your global teams’ payroll, taxes, social contributions and local insurance policies. They last raised a $60M Series B in 2022.
Topics:
[00:02:23] - Childhood in small town India.
[00:04:21] - Resilience and drive for achievement.
[00:05:07] - Influence of parents on success.
[00:08:32] - Opportunities and drive shape success.
[00:09:43] - How IIT Bombay shaped me.
[00:12:09] - Creating a well-rounded profile for success.
[00:12:48] - Becoming the head of placements.
[00:15:20] - Ethical practices in candidate evaluation.
[00:19:06] - Learning from a charismatic person.
[00:20:26] - Shift in mindset towards startups.
[00:23:06] - Starting my own business.
[00:25:31] - Global HR solution for businesses.
[00:26:36] - Multiplier's global reach.
[00:31:13] - Sacrifices of being a founder.
[00:33:04] - Importance of responsible financial management.
[00:35:27] - Decentralizing decision making.
[00:37:22] - Outside interests and hobbies.
[00:42:00] - Politics as a personal goal.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Sagar Khatri’s social media pages:
Sagar Khatri (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/sagar-khatri-53529359
Sagar Khatri (Email): sagarkhatri1193@gmail.com
Multiplier (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/usemultiplier/
Multiplier (Website): https://www.usemultiplier.com/
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Alfredo Molinas was CEO of FoodRazor, a Singaporean F&B startup that he joined in 2020. FoodRazor got acquired by fellow F&B startup OrderEz earlier this year. Before joining FoodRazor, Alf finished off his MBA at INSEAD and spent over 7 years working in Asia at Rakuten and Education First.
Topics:
[00:02:00] - Childhood adventures and interests
[00:05:27] - Being a global citizen
[00:08:11] - Taking harder classes at HL
[00:10:31] - Importance of critical thinking skills.
[00:11:22] - The satisfaction of mathematical proofs
[00:15:10] - Studying math and philosophy
[00:16:00] - Exploring new opportunities and experiences
[00:18:30] - Safari on horseback
[00:23:03] - Sports and cultural organizations
[00:26:07] - Campus life and city safety
[00:32:45] - Corporate Japan was hilarious
[00:34:11] - Assigned to the legal department
[00:38:07] - Discovering entrepreneurship during MBA
[00:41:43] - Hiring challenges during COVID
[00:45:17] - Loyalty to the vision
[00:50:03] - Using Food Razor at Dubai World Expo as an auditing tool
[00:54:54] - Lessons learned from startup
[00:58:43] - Graduating from elite universities
[01:01:27] - Starting a family and triathlons
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Alfredo Molinas’ social media pages:
Alfredo Molinas (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/alfredomolinas
Alfredo Molinas (Website): alfmolinas.com
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Daan van Rossum is the founder and CEO of FlexOS, a Work Tech startup that helps hybrid and remote managers level up their leadership game. The company raised $1 million from investors including DO Ventures, VIK Partners, Vulpes Ventures, Hustle Fund, Wing Vasiksiri (iSeed SEA), and Plug and Play Ventures, who previously backed Paypal, Dropbox, Webflow, Nerdwallet, and more.
Mark Sng is a partner at Gentree Fund, a Philippine VC firm anchored by the Sy Family, and focused on Philippine startups and Southeast Asian startups looking to enter the Philippine market. Before Gentree, Mark was a VC at Go-Ventures, a Gojek backed VC fund and also held roles at Gojek and TAEL Partners.
Topics:
[00:02:01] - Singaporean upbringing and academic success.
[00:05:50] - Swimming and cross-country enjoyment.
[00:08:23] - Understanding loan restructuring process.
[00:10:00] - Multiple internships in finance.
[00:13:28] - Second internship opportunities.
[00:16:01] - Internship program and training.
[00:19:03] - The biggest startup exit.
[00:21:01] - VC fund operations and relationships.
[00:24:07] - Being energized in the VC industry.
[00:27:44] - Information asymmetry and access.
[00:31:23] - Go-Ventures mandate and fund increase.
[00:34:06] - Bella's vision and achievements.
[00:37:00] - Philippines digital economy potential.
[00:39:00] - Funding trends in the Philippines.
[00:42:12] - Burning money for growth.
[00:46:05] - Cycling and road bike accident.
[00:49:37] - Personal life and goals.
[00:51:30] - Running routes in Singapore.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Visit Mark Sng’s social media pages:
Mark Sng (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/mark-sng-a3b3ab48
Gentree Fund (Website): https://www.gentree.asia/
Gentree Fund (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/gentree-fund/about/
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Timothée Grassin is the co-founder and CCO of TendoPay, a Philippine startup that offers employee benefits. They were recently acquired by Tonik, a Series B fintech in the Philippines. Before TendoPay, Tim founded two agencies focused on design and advertising.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Raising Money in the Philippines
[00:01:10] - Tim's Background
[00:06:07] - Growing Up in Kenya
[00:10:01] - Going to Canada
[00:15:07] - Starting TendoPay
[00:14:35] - Finding His Passion for Finance and Entrepreneurship
[00:21:04] - Creating Stinson Design
[00:25:04] - Selling Stinson Design
[00:26:19] - Building an Agency
[00:28:14] - The Rise of SaaS
[00:29:02] - Candy Banners' Inception
[00:32:34] - Managing Multiple Businesses
[00:33:01] - Discovering the Philippines
[00:38:09] - The Birth of TendoPay
[00:41:48] - Adjusting to Life in the Philippines
[00:44:45] - Building Tendo Pay in the Philippines
[00:47:13] - Challenges of Running a Startup in the Philippines
[00:49:12] - Raising Money for Tendo Pay
[00:51:32] - Managing a Team in the Philippines
[00:55:05] - Life after Acquisition
[00:57:08] - Emotional Attachments to Selling a Company
[00:59:18] - Financial Planning after a Successful Exit
[01:01:31] - Angel Investing
[01:02:26] - Personal Goals outside of Work
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
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Visit Tim Grassin’s social media pages:
Tim Grassin (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/timgrassin
TendoPay (Website): tendopay.ph
TendoPay (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/tendopay/
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Ami Sugiyama and Shusaku Hayakawa are the co-founders of Secai Marche, a farm-to-table startup based in Malaysia. Since it was founded in 2018, Secai Marche has been bridging the gap between F&B retailers, hotels, restaurants, and cafes by connecting them directly with farmers in Japan and Malaysia.
Before Secai Marche, Ami was at Deloitte and was previously in the tea importing and exporting business and had owned a successful cafe Shu, on the other hand, was a senior manager at Deloitte, supporting companies venturing into the global agriculture sector. He has also held positions as a managing director for agriculture companies in both Japan and Hong Kong.
Topics:
00:00:00 - Typical farming supply chain
00:07:55 - How Shu and Ami met
00:09:26 - Why they quit Deloitte to start Secai Marche
00:16:47 - Introduction to Farm Direct
00:21:31 - Finding the Right Co-Founder
00:25:07 - Building the Infrastructure
00:28:17 - Impact on Farmers and Restaurants
00:32:53 - Spending Time with Farmers and Restaurants
00:34:54 - Malaysian Farming Industry
00:41:01 - Expansion to Singapore
00:44:17 - Starting a Business in a New Country
00:47:41 - Personal Lives of Founders
00:52:17 - Childcare in Japan vs. Malaysia and the Philippines
00:53:45 - Remote Work and Wider Options for Women
00:54:21 - Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship
00:56:05 - Personal Goals Outside of Work
00:57:16 - Making Something from Start to Finish
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
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Visit Ami Sugiyama’s social media pages:
Ami (Linkedin): https://my.linkedin.com/in/ami-sugiyama-96984715b
Secai Marche (Website): https://secai-marche.co.jp/
Visit Shusaku Hayakawa’s social media pages:
Shusaku (Linkedin): https://jp.linkedin.com/in/shusaku-hayakawa-bb61325/en
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Winnie Chua is the co-founder and CPO of the full-stack insurtech startup PolicyStreet. Founded in Malaysia 2017, they recently raised a $15M Series B and are active across Southeast Asia and Australia.
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Background and Childhood
[00:04:50] - Choosing a Safe Career Path
[00:09:06] - Studying Overseas
[00:11:51] - Challenges of Studying Overseas as a Woman
[00:16:17] - Moving Back to Malaysia
[00:18:27] - Career Growth at Allianz
[00:21:51] - Working in Germany
[00:26:22] - Overcoming Fear and Doubt
[00:29:04] - Being a Female Minority
[00:32:23] - Embracing Femininity in Leadership
[00:34:07] - Embracing Your Natural Inclinations
[00:36:29] - Corporate vs. Startup
[00:41:50] - Sacrifice and True North
[00:48:12] - Managing People
[00:52:14] - Female Founder Challenges
[00:59:01] - Growing Policy Street
[01:02:51] - Future Plans
[01:04:26] - Hai Di Lao Model
[01:06:30] - Scaling Up
[01:09:10] - Founder's Imposter Syndrome
[01:11:09] - Personal Life Achievements
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Winnie Chua’s social media pages:
Winnie Chua (LinkedIn): linkedin.com/in/winniechua
PolicyStreet (Website): https://www.policystreet.com/
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Bhavik Vashi is the Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Carta, a software company that aims to create more ownership in the world by creating a central registry of private assets, providing infrastructure for innovators, and enabling more liquidity.
Carta is privately-held, with top-tier investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Ventures, among others, and was last valued at more than 7B USD as of its Series G fundraising round in 2021, which was supported by their own private capital markets platform called CartaX.
Prior to Carta, Bhavik spent nearly a decade at Anaplan, across a variety of different roles and regions, where he helped build and scale the company from Series C through an IPO in 2018 and an eventual sale to Private Equity for 10.4B USD in 2022.
Topics:
00:02:22 - Childhood, growing up in the US, and passion for basketball.
00:06:35 - Early career and interest in tech.
00:15:53 - Career Focus
00:17:37 - Consulting vs. Audit
00:24:22 - Transition to Anaplan
00:27:54 - Career Milestones
00:29:57 - Early Days at Anaplan
00:39:05 - Big Mistakes
00:42:32 - Prioritizing Character and Motivators,
00:43:54 - The Future of Work
00:45:08 - Traveling for Business in China
00:50:43 - Working in APAC and Problem Solving
00:55:11 - Leading at Carda
00:56:50 - Bhavik's Leadership Style
00:59:18 - Carta's Expansion Plans,
01:01:03 - Bhavik's Daily Routine
01:04:59 - Shifting Priorities
01:10:37 - Personal Goals: Career in government, or non-profit organizations to make an impact.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Bhavik Vashi’s social media pages:
Bashik (Linkedin): https://sg.linkedin.com/in/bhavikvashi
Carta (Website): https://carta.com/sg/
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Yu Taniguchi is the CEO of TableCheck, a restaurant booking and guest experience platform with more than 7,800 clients worldwide and 220+ Michelin-starred restaurants in its portfolio. Our motto is ‘Dining Connected’ and our mission is to help restaurants and hospitality operators connect directly with diners while building guest loyalty and driving revenue.
How did Yu Taniguchi’s childhood and working as a salesperson, shape his entrepreneurial approach as TableCheck's founder and CEO? What were the significant challenges he faced while working for a startup in Japan? How did he identify the need for a restaurant booking and guest experience platform, and what inspired him to found TableCheck?
Topics:
[00:01:32] - Childhood and Education
[00:05:59] - Dropping out of High School
[00:13:14] - Thinking Outside the Box
[00:17:47] - Becoming a CEO at 23
[00:19:47] - Managing a Startup
[00:22:06] - Starting a Company
[00:27:40] - Passion for Restaurants
[00:29:32] - TableCheck's Global Expansion
[00:32:10] - TableCheck's Clients and Global Challenges
[00:37:36] - TableCheck's Early Days and Fundraising
[00:40:05] - Approaching the Japanese Market
[00:44:16] - Helping Restaurants Obtain More Diners
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Yu Taniguchi’s social media pages:
Yu (Linkedin): https://jp.linkedin.com/in/yutaniguchi
TableCheck (Website): https://www.tablecheck.com/en/join/
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Tanuja Rajah is a Partner at M Venture Partners, a Singapore based early stage BC. Before MVP, she founded dating startup Love Spark and was launched manager and entrepreneur first.
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Grace Sai is the Co-Founder and CEO of Unravel Carbon, an enterprise software that helps companies track and reduce their carbon emissions, backed by Sequoia and Y Combinator.
Grace is a 2 times exited founder, a VC, a Kauffman Fellow, and is widely regarded as a node of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Asia.
How has Grace Sai's experience as a two-time founder of venture capital firms contributed to her success as the co-founder and CEO of Unravel Carbon? What are the benefits of Unravel Carbon's enterprise software solution that sets it apart from other carbon emissions tracking tools? How did Grace Sai's involvement with Books for Hope shape her perspective on social entrepreneurship and impact-driven initiatives?
Topics:
[00:00:00] - Shifting Away from Doing Things Directly
[00:08:10] - Childhood and Early Vision of Success
[00:11:25] - Living abroad in Singapore
[00:12:15]- Formative experience in junior college
[00:17:23] - Starting Books for Hope
[00:21:27] - Starting a Social Enterprise
[00:23:19] - Oxford MBA Experience
[00:29:06] - Impact Hub Singapore
[00:31:24] - Lessons from Acquisitions
[00:38:40] - Unravel Carbon's Mission
[00:40:00] - Reducing Carbon Emissions for Enterprises
[00:45:25] - Importance of Disclosing Greenhouse Gas Numbers
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
BackScoop (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/backscoop
Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Grace Sai’s social media pages:
Grace (Linkedin): https://sg.linkedin.com/in/gracesai
Grace (Twitter): https://twitter.com/GraceSai
Unravel Carbon (Website): https://www.unravelcarbon.com/
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Florian Jaques is the co-founder and CEO of Midstay, a tech platform for remote workers that helps businesses and individuals break through the isolation of working from home. Florian describes how he went from being a gamer to a business owner and how Midstay is working to solve the problems of working from home and traveling. He also talked about Midstay's platform, which matches users with people who have similar hobbies based on who they are and where they live.
How did Florian's upbringing and his parents' professions shape his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for projects? How does Midstay's platform facilitate connections between remote workers and recreate the social interactions found in a traditional office setting? What specific challenges in the remote work and travel industry did Florian identify, and how does Midstay's platform aim to address these challenges?
Topics:
[00:00:01] - Team Retreats
[00:04:45] - Florian Jaques's Passion for Gaming
[00:10:25] - Making Money from YouTube Banners
[00:14:38] - Flexible Learning and Remote Work
[00:16:33] - Traveling at a young age
[00:21:48] - Story of the music festival
[00:27:43] - Deciding to stop the festival
[00:29:45] - Staying in Bali during COVID-19
[00:32:17] - Staying Productive While Traveling
[00:33:22]- Being a Digital Nomad and Settling Down
[00:37:06] - Midstay's B2C Platform
[00:39:09] - Midstay's B2B Expansion
[00:42:25] - All-In-One Solution
[00:45:59] - Breaking the Friction of Meeting New People
[00:47:29] - Loneliness in remote work
[00:46:45] - Recreating the social environment of work
[00:50:40] - Challenges of Building a Startup
[00:52:36] - Importance of Social Connections While Traveling
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Florian Jaques’ Social Media Pages:
Florian (Linkedin): https://sg.linkedin.com/in/florian-jacques
Florian (Twitter): https://twitter.com/floflojack
Midstay (Website): https://www.midstay.com/
Midstay (Twitter): https://twitter.com/mymidstay
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Nicolas Bivero is the CEO and co-founder of Penbrothers, a professional employer organization (PEO) that helps companies around the world scale and grow their businesses through building remote teams from the Philippines. Nicolas is passionate about creating meaningful work opportunities for Filipinos and bridging the talent gap in Asia’s startup ecosystem. Under Nicolas’ leadership, Penbrothers has grown rapidly, serving clients in a wide range of industries, from tech startups to e-commerce companies. The company aims to create 5,000 more jobs for Filipinos by 2026.
How did Nicholas' experiences moving to different countries shape his approach to business? What are some of the biggest challenges that Penbrothers faced in building remote teams, and how did they overcome them? How does Nicholas balance managing the emotional demands of his role as a CEO, and what strategies does he use to maintain his well-being?
Topics:
[00:02:31] - Childhood and Moving
[00:04:06] - Experience in Japan
[00:06:07] - Adapting to New Environments
[00:09:01] - Dreams of working in a multinational
[00:11:57] - First trip to the Philippines
[00:14:18] - Setting up a company in the Philippines
[00:17:40] - Learning from a mentor
[00:19:18] - Career path and founding Penbrothers
[00:21:37] - Starting Penbrothers
[00:26:05] - Growing the Business
[00:28:54] - Funding the Company
[00:30:06] -Challenges in Growing the Business
[00:33:41] - Managing People and Emotions
[00:36:57] - Evolution of Penbrothers
[00:40:22] - Contributing to the Philippine Economy
[00:43:10] - Personal growth through building a business
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Nicholas Bivero’s social media pages:
Nicholas (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-bivero-13700110
Penbrothers (Website): https://penbrothers.com/
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Erik Jonsson is Partner at Antler Vietnam where he oversees Antler's Vietnam operations, based out of Ho Chi Minh City. Erik started his career in London's Square Mile as an investment banker on the trading floor, selling interest rates derivatives. After a month's trip to Vietnam in 2008 he fell in love with the country and decided to permanently move there in 2011. He spent his first year in Vietnam with Vietnam Investments Group in the private equity space and subsequently ventured down the entrepreneurial path as Co- founder/CEO with five different ventures. Erik was identified as one of Sweden's tech super talents by Dagens Industri in 2016 and is currently a board member of both for-profit and non- profit organizations in Vietnam.
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Erik Jonsson’s social media pages:
Erik (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/jonssonej
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Franco Varona is the Managing Partner of Foxmont Capital Partners, the Philippines' only independent VC firm.
They recently announced the close of Fund 2 at $21M, which will invest in early-stage, Philippine-focused startups.
Before Foxmont, Franco was the General Manager of Grab Philippines when it was first starting out in the country. He is also the co-founder of media company GMI Post and watch store Vintage Grail.
What was it like for him to move to the Philippines as a Filipino-Canadian after being born and raised in Canada all his life? How did Franco's experience during the 9/11 attack in the US change his life? How did his experience as an entrepreneur help influence the start of Foxmont? Why does VC matter so much not just to the local startup ecosystem, but to the entire country?
Topics
[00:02:13] - Franco's early life in Canada
[00:05:53] - Interest and hobbies growing up
[00:08:20] - Impact of growing up with mostly female friends
[00:08:34] - Growing up with girls
[00:11:14] - Moving to the Philippines
[00:15:51] - Meeting Jesse Maxwell
[00:16:54] - Building Strong Relationships
[00:20:01] - Meaningful Connections
[00:23:37] - Leaving the Philippines
[00:25:53] - Integration into Local School Culture
[00:29:04] - Challenges with Local Curriculum
[00:31:19] - Choosing Syracuse University
[00:33:09] - 9/11 Experience
[00:39:36] - Traveling Sales Job
[00:41:24] - Founding Global Media
[00:42:29] - Building Grab in the Philippines
[00:47:05] - Challenges of Raising Money
[00:47:54] - Venture Capital Landscape
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Franco Varona’s social media pages:
Franco (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/francovarona
Foxmont Capital Partners: https://www.foxmontcapital.com/
Franco (Twitter): https://twitter.com/francovarona
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Tiang Lim Foo is currently the managing partner and co-founder of Forge Ventures, a venture capital firm that aims to partner with founders in Southeast Asia at the pre-seed or seed stage. Tiang has an impressive background in the venture capital industry, having been a partner at SeedPlus, a leading seed fund in Southeast Asia Supported by SGInnovates, Jungle Ventures, Cisco, and the IFC. Prior to his venture capital career, Tiang launched and managed Evernote's operations in Asia.
What inspired Tiang to co-found Forge Ventures, and what is the firm's investment focus in Southeast Asia? What were some of the key lessons that Tiang gained from investing in seed-stage startups in Southeast Asia? How did his experience managing Evernote in Asia shape his career path in venture capital?
Topics
[00:02:23] - Childhood and Education
[00:05:34] - Working at a Startup in Mobile Payments
[00:07:15] - Launching Evernote Operations in Southeast Asia
[00:09:00] - Emergence of Southeast Asia's technology and venture ecosystem
[00:11:06] - Moving to Singapore to study English and the ability to speak any language
[00:16:16] - Importance of deliberate practice, T. Fu talks about his experience
[00:19:51] - International Experience
[00:26:54] Difficult Moments
[00:27:49] - Being a Role Model
[00:29:35] - Impact of Marriage and Fatherhood
[00:35:18] - Curiosity and Making Your Own Luck
[00:37:47] - Building a lasting franchise
[00:40:34] - Involvement in company building
[00:44:02] - Proactive work and strategy sounding board
[00:45:58] - Challenges of being a VC
[00:48:22] - Spending time with family
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
Visit BackScoop’s social media pages and show your support!
BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyA
Visit Tiang Lim Foo’s social pages:
Tiang Lim Foo (LinkedIn): https://sg.linkedin.com/in/tlfoo
Tiang Lim Foo (Twitter): https://twitter.com/tianglim?lang=en
Tiang Lim Foo (Substack):https://substack.com/profile/16062924-tiang-lim-foo
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Honey Mittal is the co-founder and CEO of the low-code firm Locofy.ai, which automates the process of turning your concepts into code that can be used in the final product. With its low-code development tools, Locofy hopes to combat the worldwide scarcity of tech expertise. His experience includes stints as CPO at FinAccel, Homage, and Wego prior to joining Locofy. Honey is a seasoned pro in the mobile app sector, having created numerous popular apps for smartphones and wearables. Honey has been working in the 'everything mobile' industry for the past seven years.
What aspects of his job shaped him into the successful entrepreneur that he is now? What inspired him to launch a low-code development startup to address the worldwide tech talent shortage? What was the impetus that caused him to change course and proceed in a different direction?
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Amanda speaks with Arnold Chan, the Hong Kong & Southeast Asia General Manager for Airwallex. He handles Airwallex’s overall business growth in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, building out its local commercial teams and operations and helping businesses in those regions leverage fintech solutions to grow internationally.
Before Airwallex, he was the founder and executive chairman of Teach4HK, a local education social enterprise in Hong Kong.
How has Arnold's passion for people development and empathic leadership driven his career and the way he works? What motivated him to move from NGO to startup? How did he shift from working for an NGO to working at a high-growth startup?
Topics:
00:01:15 - Started career at Goldman Sachs
00:06:18 - Using nonprofit expertise to become Hong Kong's Growth Chief
00:09:25 - The importance of constant growth
00:14:38 - Passion for Learning and People Development
00:17:26 - Starting a Nonprofit Teach4K
00:19:36 - Empathy in Leadership
00:24:19 - Developing Personal Relationships with Team Members
00:28:19 - Maintaining Personal Relationships in a Small Team
00:44:20 - Importance of Empowerment in Managing a Remote Team,
00:48:50 - Hiring and Managing Your Own Team
00:50:44 - Challenges of Managing Growth Across Markets
00:52:43 - Importance of Calibration in Leadership
00:57:59 - Motivating Underperforming Team Members
00:59:54 - Building a Culture of Growth
01:00:23 - Personal Goals: Promote people development and leadership that values empathy and growth.
01:01:13 - Advocating for People Development
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Airwallex (Twitter): https://twitter.com/airwallex
Airwallex (Website): https://www.airwallex.com/
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Joshua Kevin was the founder and CEO of Talenta an Indonesian HR software startup that was acquired by Mekari in 2018. Now, he is Experiments Lead at Xendit.
How did Joshua overcome obstacles and develop resilience during his entrepreneurial journey? How attending startup events helped Joshua learn the power of professional networking and access invaluable industry knowledge and connections? In what ways has Joshua found optimism and inspiration in the realm of technology?
Topics:
00:02:04 - Childhood and Inspiration
00:04:20 - Gambling and Turning Point
00:06:23 - Entry into Tech Industry
00:13:21 - Getting into the startup ecosystem
00:16:17 - Managing two jobs and graduating early
00:19:58 - Working in East Ventures and Tech in Asia
00:22:18 - Using Credentials to Gain Access
00:29:50 - Starting Talenta
00:30:02 - Knowing When to Quit
00:32:07 - The challenges of Building Talent
00:35:51 - Onboarding Grab and Go-Jek
00:38:27 - Personal Cost of Being a Founder
00:40:24 - Challenges of Being a Solo Founder
00:42:27 - Scaling a company and hiring management
00:45:30 - Challenges of exiting a company
00:47:59 - Personal impact of exiting a company
00:50:20 - Living a Double Life as a Founder
00:57:11 - Finding a Company That Matches Your Expertise and Values
01:01:30 - Inspiring Others Through His Life
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Joshua (Linkedin): https://id.linkedin.com/in/joshuakevin
Joshua (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/joshuakevin/?hl=en
Mekari Talenta (Twitter): https://twitter.com/talentaco
Mekari Talenta (Website): https://www.talenta.co/en/
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On today's episode, Amanda speaker with Fannie Lin, co-founder and CEO of Ailiverse, a no-code AutoDL platform that allows anyone to build custom Computer Vision models with small datasets.
Before Ailiverse, Fannie co-founded her own edtech startup that taught affordable and high-quality GRE English courses to Chinese university students who want to study overseas.
Marina Tran-Vu is the founder & CEO of EQUO, a Vietnam-founded sustainable brand providing 100% plastic-free and compostable solutions for everyday single-use plastics. Their products are made from materials like grass, rice, coconut, sugarcane and coffee.
They have raised over $1.3 million USD for their seed round, and been featured in global media including Forbes, Shark Tank Vietnam and Front Office by PlayersTV in the US.
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Patricia Sosrodjojo is a partner at Seedstars International Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund focused on emerging and frontier markets. She is a seasoned investor and executive, having worked in the US, Asia, and globally. She has a passion for creativity, storytelling, and understanding people's motivations.
Balancing creativity and business: How does Patricia Sosrodjojo navigate the two and make them work together? Traveling and discovering cultures: How has this influenced Patricia's work and the decisions she has made? Exploring different roles and industries: What has Patricia learned from her journey of switching between different industries and roles?
Show notes:
Topics:
00:00:32 - Who is Patricia Sosrodjojo?
00:03:12 - How Patricia ended up working at Lehman
00:06:55 - Driven by a passion for advertising and a thirst for adventure
00:08:04 - Her internship at Lehman Brothers
00:14:58 - Innovation is the link between advertising and commerce
00:17:10 - Showing Patricia's creativity and love of music and dancing
00:21:28 - Going overseas gave Patricia a level of independence
00:27:38 - Discrimination towards women in the workforce
00:31:08 - Operating as a VC in Southeast Asian technology
00:37:40 - What was Patrica's path to VC and becoming a Partner?
00:47:18 - One area of growth for Patricia was going beyond Southeast Asia
00:52:21 - Fundraising for her university at a "student call center"
00:56:31 - What's one thing Patricia wants to achieve in her personal life?
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Patricia Sosrodjojo and Seedstar’s social pages:
Patricia (Linkedin):https://id.linkedin.com/in/patriciasosrodjojo
Patricia (Instagram:) https://www.instagram.com/patriciasosrodjojo/?hl=en
Seedstars (Website): https://www.seedstars.com/
Seedstars (Twitter): https://twitter.com/Seedstars
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Beth Ann Lopez is the co-founder and CEO of Docosan, a Vietnamese health tech firm that connects thousands of healthcare professionals that provide online and offline care, as well as DTC, doctor-guided home testing, treatment, and monitoring packages, to enhance access to healthcare. Beth worked as a market launcher and Director of Public Affairs at SwipeRx before joining Docosan. She has a master's degree in public health from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
How did her childhood in New Mexico influence her desire to work in public health? What systemic issues affecting healthcare access in Cambodia prompted her tech startup, Docosan? How did she overcome the obstacles throughout her transition from operator to founder?
Topics:
00:01:09 - Who is Beth Ann Lopez?
00:03:04 - Growing up in New Mexico and what influenced her to healthcare path
00:05:52 - Joining the Peace Corps and poor healthcare in Cambodia
00:08:33 - Launching the SwipeRx in Cambodia and Vietnam
00:10:09 - Started Docosan to simplify healthcare access for everyone
00:14:28 - How public health systems in Cambodia and Vietnam differ
00:16:09 - Unforgettable experiences while living in Cambodia
00:26:02 - How does Docosan help individuals acquire healthcare easily?
00:31:20 - The significance of price transparency
00:32:36 - Docosan Cares offers therapeutic treatment packages
00:34:03 - Docosan sample collection decreases stigma, saves money by eliminating requirements for physical infrastructure
00:38:02 - Docosan acquire analytics, detect trends, and design funnels
00:40:15 - US tech startups operate differently from Vietnamese companies
00:49:55 - Things that female founders typically discuss
00:57:29 - Proper sleep is the key to everything
00:58:36 -Take care of yourself, first things first
00:59:24 - Find a good community that will support you
01:02:41 - Beth’s take on entrepreneurship
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Beth Ann Lopez’ and Docosan’s social media pages:
Beth Ann (Linkedin): https://vn.linkedin.com/in/balopez999
Docosan (Website): https://docosan.com/en
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Jeremy Au is Chief of Staff and an investor at Monks Hill Ventures. Apart from Monk’s Hill, he is an active angel investor and hosts the Brave Southeast Asia Tech podcast. Before Monk’s Hill, he co-founded and exited his startup called CozyKin in the US and co-founded the non-profit Conjunct Consulting.
What was he like growing up? How did Jeremy Au overcome grief after the passing of a loved one? How did he restart his life and career?
Show notes:
On today’s episode, Amanda speaks with Jeremy Au. He’s Chief of Staff and an investor at Monks Hill Ventures. He is an active angel investor and hosts the Brave Southeast Asia Tech podcast. Before Monk’s Hill, he co-founded and exited his startup called CozyKin in the US and co-founded the non-profit Conjunct Consulting.
00:01:06 - Who is Jeremy Au?
00:02:35 - A computer geek and a gamer
00:17:10 - Commitment phobic and figuring how to be in a serious one
00:24:40 - Choosing something that nobody else is doing
00:33:43 - Ended up deferring admission in Harvard to find the right successor
00:44:19 - Self awareness is the backbone of a successful product
00:46:55 - From a founder to VC, what’s the difference?
00:48:48 - VC representing the capital side, level of collaboration, strategy and time horizon
00:50:54 - The best part of having kids and it’s priceless!
00:52:05 - Jeremy’s typical weekend
00:55:15 - Eat, Pray, Love with a hiking twist
00:56:42 - 1 month walking is one thing I want to do!
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
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Visit Jeremy Au’s social media pages:
Jeremy (Linkedin): https://sg.linkedin.com/in/jeremyau
Jeremy (Twitter): https://twitter.com/jeremyau
Jeremy (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz/?hl=en
BRAVE SEA (Website): https://www.bravesea.com/
Monk’s Hill Venture (Website): https://www.monkshill.com/platform-team/jeremy-au
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Kimberly Yao is the co-founder and CEO of CloudEats, a multi-brand cloud kitchen active in the Philippines and Vietnam and has raised a total of $13 million in Series A. She previously co-founded and exited her own on-demand liquor startup, Boozy, and has been involved in the F&B industry since childhood.
How did she get into the food and beverage industry? How did she learn to build a scalable, long-term business? What were the specific hurdles she faced as a female founder?
Show notes:
On today’s episode, Amanda speaks with Kimberly Yao, the co-founder and CEO of CloudEats, a multi-brand cloud kitchen active in the Philippines and Vietnam and has raised a total of $13 million in Series A. She previously co-founded and exited her liquor startup, Boozy, after two years of management.
How did her F&B career influence her decision to launch her own startup? What were the particular challenges she encountered as a female founder? How did her initial startup help her develop as a founder?
Topics:
00:02:31 - Food is my passion
00:04:13 - Being a part of the Palace Group and learning a lot from mentors
00:06:09 - Managing Boozy as an integral part of her career
00:08:21 - How to build a scalable, sustainable, financially viable business
00:10:09 - Turning off autopilot mode
00:12:37 - Allowing people to discover their own professional or personal purpose
00:15:02 - Addressing the lack of help and support for women leaders
00:16:53 - Personal struggles and looking forward fulfilling the dream
00:21:01 - Turning the pros into more opportunity for women
00:24:32 - Managing anxiety
00:26:04 - How does Kim spend her normal weekend?
00:28:22 - Understand what your body needs in order to make healthy choices
00:29:57 - How I achieve in business determines how I succeed as a person
00:32:05 - If you want to start a successful business, you need to love it every single day
00:33:32 - Starting a family as a personal accomplishment
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Kimberly Yao’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kimyaoza/?hl=en
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Steve Sy is the founder and CEO of Great Deals Ecommerce, an end-to-end Philippine ecommerce enabler that helps global and local brands sell and grow online. He is an experienced entrepreneur and business leader, having started his first venture at the age of 7.
Show notes:
On today’s episode, Amanda speaks with Steve Sy, founder and CEO of Great Deals Ecommerce, an end-to-end Philippine ecommerce enabler that helps global and local brands sell and grow online. An ambitious entrepreneur since age two, struggles to reconcile his goal of becoming a millionaire with his newfound faith, and embarks on a journey to make an impact for generations to come.
How did faith change his perspective on money? How did he redefine success after making his first million? How have his faith and family affected his life and career decisions?
Topics:
[00:02:36] - How Steve earned his first peso
[00:06:28] - The influence by their parents to do business at an early stage
[00:09:20] - Getting involved with the business
[00:14:17] - Balancing studies and hitting the goal
[00:17:55] - Steve aka The Divisoria Guy
[00:20:37] - Life is more than just making money
[00:22:51] - A very traumatic experience
[00:24:13] - Change of faith and choosing their own paths
[00:27:28] - Money is a fuel for your dreams
[00:29:09] - Having debt at 28 years old
[00:32:04] - Faced adversity and ecommerce as a blessing
[00:33:47] - Paying taxes led to his company being investable.
[00:37:29] - Venturing into ecommerce industry
[00:39:05] - Trying Lazada’s new business model
[00:41:18] - From offline stores and concentrating online
[00:42:20] - Setting up Great Deals
[00:45:14] - Becoming the number one fashion brand in the Lazada platform and getting noticed by bigger brands
[00:47:15] - The principle of building capabilities
[00:51:34] - 50, 000 orders and a whole lot of problem
[00:53:33] - Surpassing challenging times
[00:56:16] - The angel investor
[00:58:16] - Seed investment
[01:00:16] - From 1.1 billion to 4.4 billion revenue
[01:01:35] - The difficult parts of building a business
[01:02:48] - Making mistakes and acknowledging it
[01:04:02] - Success is nothing if you don't have success in the family
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Hsu Ken Ooi is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Iterative, a twelve week Y Combinator-style startup accelerator focused on Southeast Asia. He previously co-founded Decide.com (acquired by eBay), was VP of Product at Weave (acquired by Lunchclub) and was CPO at Workmate.
How did teenage rebellion and curiosity lead to his poor performance in school? What changed everything for him? How did he get into startups?
Topics:
[00:00:40] - Introduction to Hsu Ken Ooi
[00:05:49] - Growing up in Penang
[00:07:50] - More about Hsu Ken
[00:10:41] - Rebellious side of Hsu Ken
[00:12:31] - Hsu Ken pushing his boundaries
[00:15:29] - Choosing your own life
[00:18:37] - What kind of career did he want to get into?
[00:23:39] - Starting his own startup
[00:28:26] - Hsu Ken’s companies coming out one by one
[00:32:48] - Something can be fun, but also painful
[00:43:39] - Imposter syndrome
[00:48:18] - Hsu Ken’s love for math
[00:51:33] - Hsu Ken: If there's anything that I care about, it's curiosity
[00:54:29] - Rethinking ecosystem programs particularly in Southeast Asia
[00:59:11] - Doing Iterative really makes you think about startups more broadly
[01:00:17] - Reasons why startups don't work
[01:03:49] - A community of peers
[01:05:05] Hsu Ken: I want to go to outer space
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Amanda (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
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On today’s episode, Amanda speaks with Qin En Looi, a Principal at Saison Capital, where he actively leads pre- seed and seed investments in Fintech and Web3 firms, Prior to that, he served as co-founder and COO at Glints, the leading talent ecosystem in Southeast Asia.
In his free time, he founded and hosts Parents in Tech, a podcast for parents in Southeast Asia.
What made him decide to drop out of college? What were the events in his early life that shaped his path? What series of fortunate events that led him on an unlikely journey to co-found Glints?
Topics:
[00:01:15] Introduction
[00:02:33] Doing research papers at 15 and family background
[00:05:41] Taking a leap
[00:06:06] Chances and opportunities
[00:08:05] Stanford: dream school
[00:10:55] Serendipity
[00:12:39] Internship while serving military service
[00:14:06] Angel investing
[00:15:04] Research as a passport to international travel
[00:16:20] Taking chances, opportunities that changed his life
[00:17:56] Every day is a new a challenge
[00:25:51] What's safest might not be the best
[00:26:48] Parenting goals and challenges
[00:28:48] Letting go
[00:32:09] Appreciating your team wholeheartedly
[00:35:18] Interacting with team members' families to further educate them about life at work in a startup
[00:40:32] A parent’s dream: Getting a degree
[00:44:58] Understanding what’s really important and less important
[00:46:29] Graduating from Stanford in two years
[00:48:56] Fun times at Stanford
[00:52:23] Sentimental reflections: being at the right place at the right time
[00:54:36] Balance in every aspect of life
[01:01:23] Equal parenting
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Visit Amanda Cua’s social media pages:
Linkedin: https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeyAmandaCua
Visit Qin En Looi’s social media pages:
Linkedin: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/looiqinen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/webthreedad
Parents in Tech: https://www.parents.fm/
Saison Capital: https://www.saisoncapital.com/
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Kevin Brockland is the founder and Managing Partner of Indelible Ventures, a seed-stage VC targeting tech-enabled B2B products that can scale internationally. He also runs his own podcast called SEA of Startups, where he speaks with founders across Southeast Asia.
What was his life like growing up in a small town in the US? How did he end up on Wall Street? What brought him to VC all the way in Malaysia?
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
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Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
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Visit Kevin Brockland’s social media pages:
Kevin Brockland (LinkedIn): (99+) Kevin Brockland, CFA | LinkedIn
Indelible Ventures (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/indelible-ventures/
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On today’s episode, Amanda speaks with Dexter Ligot-Gordon, the co-founder and CEO of Swarm, a community connecting founders with freelance tech builders. He was also the co-founder of Kalibrr, the first Southeast Asian and Philippine startup accepted into the global startup accelerator Y Combinator. Before his career as a founder, he spent almost ten years in public service, helping Filipino-Americans break through the glass ceiling.
What motivated him to pursue a career in public policy for nearly a decade? What was it like to build a startup in the early days of the Philippine startup ecosystem? How did it all lead to Swarm?
Topics:
- Who is Dexter Ligot-Gordon?
- How his family impacted him and how he got involved in job matching opportunities
- Changing rules and creating opportunities
- Kalibrr as a game changer
- Fending off major tech companies
- From social studies educator to politician
- Becoming student regent at UC Berkeley
- Building programs for Filipino-American students
- Turning point: political career
- Moving back to Philippines
- Combining tech, entrepreneurship and strategy
- Alignment, ability to bring solutions to that affects people's lives
- Working at Swarm is about range of commitment
- The early days of Kalibrr and building a startup in the early days of the Philippine (and Southeast Asian) startup ecosystem
- Funding the business
- Creating a culture of learning and training team members
- What are the challenges and motivations as he builds a startup?
- Living in a hostel and the birth of Kalibrr
- What he wants to achieve in his personal life
Like the show? Subscribe to the BackScoop newsletter to stay updated with the latest news in Southeast Asian startups in minutes: https://www.backscoop.com/.
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BackScoop (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/backscoop/
BackScoop (Twitter): https://twitter.com/BackScoopHQ
BackScoop (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/BackScoop
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Amanda (Linkedin): https://ph.linkedin.com/in/amanda-cua
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Dexter (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ligotgordon
Swarm: https://www.swarm.work/
Swarm (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/company/swarmnow/
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Ronald Ishak is the co-founder and CEO of Hacktiv8, a coding bootcamp that teaches Indonesians how to code and helps them get hired as web developers. He started out in the Indonesian tech scene in 2008 when he was in his early 20s. Now, after nearly 15 years in the tech scene as a founder, CEO and CTO, he’s been able to launch, fail and grow multiple startups.
Learn about the accidents, the unexpected, what he learned and what success now means to him. How did he get into the tech scene in the first place? What did he suck at as a founder early on? What helped keep him going in the toughest times? What is life like now?
In this episode, you will learn the following:
- How Ronald's early life influenced his entrepreneurial journey
- Maintaining good relationships with people you have worked with
- His accidental launch of a BlackBerry app and the surprising response it received
- Significance of inner peace and faith in his profession and personal life
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Visit Ronald Ishak’s social media pages:
Hacktiv8: https://www.hacktiv8.com
Linkedin: https://id.linkedin.com/in/ronishak
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One More Scoop is where you get to hear the unfiltered stories of Southeast Asia's top tech startup founders, executives and VC investors. Listen to their personal journeys, get to know who they really are and find out what actually happens behind the scenes. It’s honest. It’s casual. And this is totally not your usual “thought-leader” kind of thing.
One More Scoop is a podcast by BackScoop. BackScoop is a free daily newsletter read by thousands of founders, execs and investors in Southeast Asia. We make it fun and easy to stay updated with the latest news on Southeast Asian tech and startups in minutes.
Subscribe for free: www.backscoop.com.