BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Adriel Yong discuss how to choose great VCs, conduct reference checks, increase capital optionality, and the red flags to watch out for. “Building a great business with product market fit gives you a lot of capital optionality. You don’t have to build a billion-dollar company in order to raise millions of dollars. It means if you're trying to raise from ange...

Will Fan is an accomplished business leader, writer, and academic. He is the CEO and Head of School at NewCampus , a prestigious business school catering to emerging leaders in Asia. Prior to this, Will was the co-founder and CEO of QLC , a successful startup focused on virtual internships. Will is also a respected writer and has contributed articles to e27 and Forbes Business Council . Will holds...

In this discussion, Jeremy Au and Valerie Vu explore the Vietnam market from both bull and bear perspectives. The bull case is supported by factors such as education, foreign direct investment, and "friendshoring," while the bear case highlights concerns about exit pathing, the stock market, and banking liquidity. The conversation also covers the potential impact of the anti-corruption campaign an...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au answers a listener’s questions about why founders “show off”, the fiduciary duties of executives, board members, and VCs, and the advantages of being able to raise capital in startups and how to responsibly deploy it.  “The difference between privilege and advantage is what you are doing with it. A lot of people have advantages but they just sit on them. They’re...

Roger Egan is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He is currently Cofounder & CEO of Nurture , a pre-launch EdTech / Media startup that enables children to co-learn with their parents via fun, bonding activities. Prior to Nurture, Roger was Cofounder and CEO of RedMart , the largest online grocery in Singapore. Roger has an MBA in Entrepreneurship from INSEAD Business School and a BA in...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh delve into F Prime’s 2023 report on fintech , and also empowerment and gender equality for women on International Women’s Day. They also discuss the rise of Pay Now and its impact on the payment industry, taking the lead over traditional players like MasterCard .  Check out F Prime’s 2023 State of fintech report here .  “Intellectually, everybody...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au discusses the dynamics of the metaverse. He explains the parallels between the development of AI and VR in terms of generational adoption, the bullish market of VR in the long run, and the rise of whales in the next generation. "At the end of the day, is virtual reality dead? The answer is no. It's alive in the hearts of Generation Alpha who will really drive it...

Caela Tanjangco is a Director for Asia at Endeavor Catalyst . She started with Medical School but later pursued a business career, including founding a healthcare startup. She is also Co-Chair of the Impact Council at the Global Shapers Community and holds a Master's Degree in International Management and a BS in Psychology. "We have companies that have raised Series B, had the first female founde...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh discuss luxury, startup marketing, and the three types of human stories. Shiyan explains how talent and supply chain management drive economies of scale in the luxury industry. Jeremy emphasizes the importance of understanding consumers and being a great communicator to succeed in marketing. The discussion also touches on how the three types of hu...

Sabrina Ooi is the cofounder & CEO of Calm Collective Asia, an organization with the mission to normalize mental health conversations in Asia. She is a mental health expert by experience, having achieved personal recovery and well-being through her journey with bipolar disorder. Through her work with Calm Collective, she has consulted for and created global mental health programs for brands li...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au talks about the "resurrection" of deceased characters in the form of a hologram, the impact of digital avatars on the film industry and the different fidelity resolutions of personal avatars. “All of us are already digitally immortal. Anybody who has a public presence can have a hologram. If I give access to my private copyrighted materials and private communica...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au reflects on deep learning breakthroughs’ timeline, AI’s impact on military technology and the increased incentives for more AI engineer training, funding and integration, based on a ChinAI article written by Jeffrey Ding. “AI is going to accelerate the military-industrial complex. It’s not just good for the economy or academics, but also for national security. T...

In the latest episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh analyze January Capital's monthly report on Southeast Asia, focusing on the region's marketplaces with low margins. They delve into how these marketplaces are leveraging embedded finance to increase their profit margins, while also considering the role of retention in simplifying their operations. Furthermore, the discussion also touches upo...

Michael Kosic is a Managing Partner of the Loyal VC , founded in 2018. Loyal runs a global venture fund with flexible redemptions and a proprietary gate-stage process, reducing investment bias and unlocking greater returns. Loyal draws on Michael's lifelong experience as a technology entrepreneur, professional Industrial Engineer, and Angel Investor, while heavily leveraging his INSEAD network, wh...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Adriel Yong discuss the typical ticket size for angel investors and its expected equity, LP fund allocation on specific verticals, pitfalls to avoid, current media and art initiatives and trends like NFTs and generative AI and transitioning to a VC role from a corporate partnership director background. Read the transcript at: www.bravesea.com/blog/angelinv-q...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh delve into the fascinating topic of crowding out younger startups and its impact on the startup ecosystem. They also explore the potential of generative AI to shape the future generation, and how Singapore's 2023 budget applies to Southeast Asia. Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://w...

Raunak Mehta is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in consumer internet and insurtech startups in Asia. He currently serves as the Cofounder & CEO of Igloo . Previously, he worked with Flipkart and Zalora . Raunak is knowledgeable about the first principles mindset, building companies from scratch, and new technologies. Get transcripts, startup resources & community d...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy talks about the benefits of podcasting in his personal and professional life, the learnings he had about podcast production, having a sustainable operation and monetization constraints. Show notes at: www.bravesea.com/blog/podcasting-qna Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vak...

Clemens Feil is a growth equity investor at the International Finance Corporation , where he leads investments in Asian emerging markets for companies in services industries to scale beyond the venture phase. He aims to create a sustainable investment ecosystem in emerging markets with measurable impact and strong returns. He has over a decade of experience in private equity investing and has led...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy answers listeners’ questions about becoming a VC, such as how to leverage founder-operator experience, which funds to focus on and if an MBA is necessary for the transition. Show notes at: www.bravesea.com/blog/vc-qna Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e Ti...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh discuss tech layoffs, other opportunities during the recession period, advice on finding a job, and maintaining managerial humanity when conducting layoffs. Show notes at: https://www.bravesea.com/blog/tech-layoff Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6B...

Vinay Palathinkal is Regional Head, Wise Platform at Wise . Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise is a leader in cross border money movement, moving more than $132 billion every year and employing 5000 people across 14 global offices. Wise Platform is the third and newest pillar of Wise ’s products, allowing platforms like Google Pay and banks like Monzo to integrate and benefit from Wise ’s global...

In this episode of BRAVE, Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh discuss the Asia Partners report on Southeast Asia. They talk about the emergence of talent mafias in Southeast Asia, such as the Zalora Talent Mafia, and the potential for other talent mafias to emerge. They also discuss the importance of English language fluency and the emergence of "sea turtles" who have studied in the US and are now returning...

Nicole is the CEO and co-founder of Tiger New Energy . Prior to starting her own venture, she worked as a management consultant at BCG. After graduating from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School in 2021, Nicole chose to pursue her vision of helping emerging countries transition to renewable energy solutions by building her company in Bangladesh, a country with a population of 160 mil...