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

Viktor Kyosev , Chief of Staff at Docquity , and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Navigating Startup Failure: Viktor shared his experience as a founding team member of Greenhouse, a premium coworking space startup in Indonesia. Faced with declining performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company went through layoffs and failed pivots before he made the difficult decision to shut down operations. He r...

BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast: Indonesia eFishery Unicorn Scandal Q&A, Fraud, Due Diligence & Governance Failures & Toxic Founder Pressure & Temptations - E534 Jeremy Au and Gita Sjahrir discussed: 1. Indonesia eFishery Unicorn Scandal Q&A: Jeremy and Gita analyzed the fraud involving eFishery’s co-founders, including Gibran Chuzaefah, who allegedly falsified financial stat...

Jeremy Au discussed three key insights on Southeast Asia venture capital. First, he highlighted the "Series B Valley of Death," where local funds support pre-seed to Series A, and global investors focus on later stages, but Series B and C funding gaps force startups into aggressive cost-cutting or revenue expansion. Second, he emphasized the importance of timing in venture bets, arguing that start...

JingJing Zhong, the Co-founder and CEO of Superbench and Jeremy Au discussed: AI Impact on Service Businesses: JingJing explained how AI advancements have transformed traditional service industries. Previously, AI struggled with logic and calculations, making it unreliable for tasks like generating service quotes. Now, improved reasoning allows AI to think through multi-step processes, reducing hu...

Jeremy Au referenced Asia Partners’ report predicting a surge in Southeast Asian unicorns based on macroeconomic fundamentals, and discussed the GDP per capita “time machine” phenomenon where Chinese and American founders enter Southeast Asia to replicate proven business models in frontier markets. He also shared an LP’s perspective on Southeast Asia's underperforming VC funds, questioning whether...

Jeremy Au explored the intricacies of understanding customer personas and the challenges of market research. He emphasized the importance of creating nuanced personas for effective marketing, distinguishing them from harmful stereotypes by grounding them in real customer behaviors and needs. He shared insights on the pitfalls of traditional survey methods, particularly how timing and context can l...

Nicolas Bivero, CEO & Co-Founder of Penbrothers, and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Japan Intern to Philippines Director: Nicolas Bivero shared his journey as a Venezuelan-German, transitioning across continents and industries. His early exposure to Japanese culture through karate and aikido, influenced by his father, inspired his eventual move to Japan. Initially planning a six-month stay, Nicolas s...

Jeremy Au explored the evolving venture capital landscape in Southeast Asia by linking GDP per capita thresholds (US$5K in Vietnam, Indonesia & Philippines vs. US$94K Singapore) to the rise of unicorns like Gojek and Grab. Jeremy also explored the implications of high global interest rates, which have reshaped venture capital deployment, shifting focus toward early-stage investments while redu...

Jeremy Au examined the evolution of technology marketing and communication, emphasizing the transformative impact of AI, the importance of addressing consumers' primary problems, and the iterative nature of innovation in startups. Jeremy stressed the necessity of solving consumers' most pressing problems at the right moment to achieve product-market fit, illustrating this with real-world scenarios...

Kristie Neo , VC (Southeast Asia) Editor at DealStreetAsia , and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Channel News Asia to DealStreetAsia VC Editor: Kristie began her journalism career at Channel News Asia (CNA), working in documentaries and later transitioning to business news. She emphasized CNA’s commitment to telling stories through an “Asian perspective,” which shaped her approach to reporting. Later, Kri...

Shiyan Koh , Managing Partner of  Hustle Fund , and ​​Jeremy Au discussed: 1. eFishery Fraud Allegations: Once an Indonesian agritech darling, eFishery’s end-to-end aquaculture solutions were lauded for their potential to improve farmers’ productivity and incomes. eFishery had achieved a $1 billion valuation in 2023, backed by investors like Temasek, Sequoia, Northstar, and GGV Capital. Whistleblo...

Jeremy Au discussed the financial returns of venture capital. Firstly, he explored the concept of power law returns, emphasizing that only 4% of startups generate 10-50x returns, with examples like WhatsApp achieving 50x and Zoom delivering 22x even at later stages. He highlighted this phenomenon's prevalence in industries such as Hollywood (blockbusters vs. average films) vs. aviation (budget air...

Yudara Kularathne, CEO & Cofounder of HeHealth, and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. D*ck Pics for Science: Yudara described the progress of HeHealth, an AI-powered men’s health app launched in 2022. The app helps users detect sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by analyzing images. Within two weeks of its release, the app received over 20,000 downloads globally, including from countries like Uzbeki...

Jeremy Au explored the nuances of venture capital through three lenses. He described how LPs, such as sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors, pursue diversification and long-term returns, often seeking a 25% net IRR to justify the high risks of VC, as seen in Southeast Asia's emerging tech ecosystem. Using the "2 and 20" model, Jeremy explained that a. general partners commit 1% of the...

Jeremy Au  discussed the nuanced challenges faced by venture capitalists in assessing startups, emphasizing the importance of local expertise and first-principles thinking. For example, he shared how his understanding of Singaporean founders—gained through years of personal interactions—provided him with an edge over Silicon Valley VCs. He highlighted the risks of fraud in Southeast Asia, citing c...

Pinn Lawjindakul, Partner of Lightspeed Southeast Asia and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Bain Consultant to Grab Head: Pinn recounted her shift from Bain & Company, where she started as an intern in 2011, to joining Grab in 2015 during its rapid expansion. She highlighted the operational and cultural differences between consulting in San Francisco and Southeast Asia, noting the latter’s more hierarc...

Jianggan Li, Founder & CEO of Momentum Works, and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. China Exporters vs. Trump: Jianggan Li shared his experiences from nine trips to China, highlighting how exporters are stockpiling goods to mitigate U.S.-China trade tensions amid 2025 Trump-era tariffs. Discussions in Hangzhou emphasized the limits of the “China Plus One” strategy, with countries like Vietnam and Indone...

In this lighthearted episode, Jeremy Au sits down with fellow podcaster Edric Poon, host of Podcaster’s Playground, for a unique twist on the usual format. Armed with a deck of “Truth or Drink” cards, the duo tackles unexpected and hilarious questions that reveal surprising insights about their lives and quirks. Highlights include: - Edric sharing his passion for the iconic Elvis-inspired Super 55...

Dave Overton, Founder of Symph.co & Geeks On A Beach, and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Philippines Humanitarian Commitment: Dave recounts moving to the Philippines in 2003 with his wife, a midwife-turned-doctor, who co-founded a nonprofit delivering over 7,000 babies in the past two decades. What began as a temporary three- to five-year plan evolved into a long-term commitment to creating impact in...

Franco Verona, Managing Partner of Foxmont Capital Partners and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Foxmont Capital VC & BCG Report: Franco recounted Foxmont Capital Partners’ journey since its founding in 2018, highlighting 40 investments across fintech, deep tech, and consumer goods. Their Philippine Venture Capital Report in collaboration with BCG has been instrumental in attracting global attention to...

Jay Fajardo, Executive Director of IdeaSpace & QBO and Jeremy Au discussed 1. Philippines Founder Exit: Jay’s journey into tech began in 1983, when his father gifted him a Sinclair ZX81 computer, inspiring him to teach himself programming. By 15, he developed payroll software that he sold to a distributor, marking his entry into entrepreneurship. In the late 1990s, as technology director at Bu...

Carlo Chen-Delantar, Co-founder of Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Philippines 2025 Challenges: Carlo highlighted the 2024 Philippine Horizons Report, calling for the full implementation of the Innovative Startup Act of 2019 to address gaps in visas, taxes, and funding. Ambitious goals, such as creating four unicorns by 2030 (with GCash and Maya leading), face challenges fro...

Join Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner of Hustle Fund, as they share 5 bold predictions about Southeast Asia's tech ecosystem, including how VCs continue to shift their strategy, silent death of funds and the second-order impact of US-China decoupling on regional markets. Balancing optimism with pragmatism, they also discuss 5 wishes for the region, including overhauling financial account...

Sean Ang, Chairman of NUS Alumni Ventures, and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. NUS Alumni Ventures: Sean shared how NUS Alumni Ventures (NAV), established in 2020, connects NUS alumni to startups across Southeast Asia for partnerships and investments. Inspired by Stanford Angels, NAV focuses on matchmaking rather than direct funding, organizing four major events annually to link startups with alumni in va...

Cheryl Lau from “Edit History” Podcast and Jeremy Au discussed: 1. Law & PHD Dropout: Cheryl reflected on leaving law school in Hong Kong in 2018 despite earning a scholarship due to self-awareness gained during internships and to focus on a research degree instead. She later had to choose to drop out of her Hong Kong PhD during the pandemic in order to join her now-husband in Singapore. She s...