Rising Giants

We are welcoming back Rithy Thul to Rising Giants to mark our 100th episode release! In the last two years Rithy has been busy building and supporting the next wave of grassroots tech innovation in the country focused mostly on KOOMPI (computers) and Selendra (web 3). SmallWorld Ventures has been at the forefront of building the startup community in Cambodia providing a collaborative space for ent...

Shivam Tripathi is joining Rising Giants this week! Shivam started his career at J.P. Morgan in Mumbai, he then discovered his passion for entrepreneurship and began his journey into Cambodia in 2013. During his time in Cambodia, he co-led the creation of OBOR Capital, a leading investment firm in the country and went on to be a Co-Founder of Camboticket, Cambodia's pioneering travel ticketing...

On this week's episode of Rising Giants, Max Thornton and Dom Kalousek welcome Thierry Tea, CEO at Negocia Capital and VP at OCIC Group. Thierry shares his journey of being inspired by his parents and grandparents who were entrepreneurs in Cambodia in the 1960s and 70s, and his 10 years in the corporate world before taking a sabbatical to start his own entrepreneurial journey. He is now workin...

On this week's episode of Rising Giants we are excited to host Siriwat Chhem, Director, Asian Vision Institute, Startup Advisor. In the episode, Siriwat discusses the implications of the digital economy and the use of AI in society, and his approach to learning which includes a diverse range of sources as he shares his journey of becoming a tech educator, and his insights on the differences in...

On this episode of the podcast, Max Thornton and Dom Kalousek are joined by Socheata Bun to discuss the influencer marketing industry in Cambodia. They talk about Socheata's journey in the marketing space, the competitive nature of the beverage industry, and the income earned by influencers. They also discuss the 'Beyond The Games' campaign, the key trends impacting digital influencers...

This week on Rising Giants we have Sopheak Chheng, he is the Founder of Rean Thort and Host of the most popular Cambodia podcast, Rean Podcast, having hosted many of the top influencers in the country across music, film, gaming, sport etc. Rean Thort started out in 2014 as the 'The First Free Photography & Video Tutorials in Khmer Language in Cambodia', but since then has grown to clos...

We are welcoming Richard Yim back on RG to a deep-dive into the topic of artificial intelligence (AI)! Richard is a leading technology entrepreneur in Cambodia, the Founder & CEO of Quantum, having been recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia and ASEAN Top 40 Under 40. Quantum is a metal fabrication manufacturer that helps companies launch new products more efficiently. They also launched their...

On this week’s episode of Rising Giants, Max Thornton and Dom Kalousek interview Ley Kamthong, a successful entrepreneur and CEO of CheckinMe. Thong shares his journey of going abroad for university and work, how that inspired him to build his startups CheckinMe & PAPA Deliver, and how he focuses on understanding how to scale a business. CheckinMe is a SaaS business that automates the workplac...

On this week's episode of Rising Giants, we have Lida Loem, Co-Founder & Head of Learning Design (Techincal Advisor) of SHE Investments. A Co-Founder of SHE, Lida has been co-designing and leading the delivery of SHE Incubator, Accelerator, Financial Literacy, and Investment Readiness Programs with hundreds of women each year since March 2015. With over 10 years’ experience in Facilitation...

On this week's episode of the podcast, Abby Kuba shares her experience as a key figure in the preparation of the Southeast Asia games and the ASEAN Para games. She talks about the challenges she faced, including dealing with different country protocols and researching historical meanings of sports. Key Points from the Show: Cambodia’s Historical Moment: Highlights From The 32nd Southeast Asia...

Tune in this week as we have the pleasure of having Jeremy Au, VC, Monk's Hill Ventures, Founder, BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast 3 key topics to dive into: Spreading the news of Cambodia's Startup Ecosystem to Singapore VCs! 🌏 Keep Startups Weird; what does it mean to be a founder in SEA? 😜 The Categories of Startup Builders in Cambodia & SEA 🦾 Join us on this episode of the podc...

On this episode of the podcast, we delve into the world of e-commerce in Cambodia with VTENH's CEO Sirivudh Sarin. In the episode, we discover how VTENH is using AI to predict customer behavior and improve product recommendations, as well as the impact of social commerce on the industry. We also explore the competitive landscape of e-commerce in Cambodia and VTENH's unique culture and mana...

This week on Rising Giants we welcome Tong Hour (Key) and PingAnn Oung, the Co-Founders of Attire Lounge, the first sartorial gentlemen's style consultant house in Cambodia with a variety of ready-to-wear collections including sartorial, groom, and office wears available in-house. What we dive into in the episode: Building A Team That Embodies Your Brand 🧱 Bake Bread Before You Start a Baking...

Welcome back to Rising Giant, Hosted by Max Thornton and Dominic Kalousek, speaking with the leading entrepreneurs, investors, and creatives in Cambodia’s vibrant startup scene to learn what it takes to be a Rising Giant.  On this week’s episode, we will be releasing the last of our panel discussions on our podcast channel, with this week’s debate “Finding Your Place in the startup space. You will...

If you missed our first annual Start-Up & Innovation Festival held in Phnom Penh in April 2023, don't worry - we've got you covered! Tune in digitally right now and listen to some of the most influential minds in the startup founder scene in Cambodia: 💸The Best ways to raise startup funding in Cambodia - panel 4 Max Thornton - Rising Giants (moderator) Vireak Chea - PillTech Jolyda So...

If you missed our first annual Start-Up & Innovation Festival held in Phnom Penh in April 2023, don't worry - we've got you covered! Tune in digitally right now and listen to some of the most influential minds in the creative industry in Cambodia: 🎤Cambodia’s expanding creator economy - panel 3 Penhleak Chan - Raintree Development (moderator) Sopheak Chheng - Rean Podcast Sok Visal -...

If you missed our first annual Start-Up & Innovation Festival held in Phnom Penh in April 2023, don't worry - we've got you covered! Tune in digitally right now and listen to some of the most influential minds in the startup founder scene in Cambodia: 🦾The most important trends impacting startups in Cambodia - panel 2 Richard Yim - Quantum (moderator) Daneth Reasmey - Tenbox Langda Ch...

Welcome back to this week's episode of Rising Giants, where we are thrilled to share some exciting news with you. If you missed the first annual Start-Up & Innovation Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, don't worry - we've got you covered! We will be releasing all 5 panel discussions on our podcast channel, starting with "The Key Issues Impacting Venture Capital in Southeast Asi...

KESORRR is a Cambodian singer, songwriter, and creative entrepreneur. Before embarking on her solo career KESORRR was the lead vocalist in SmallWorld SmallBand, a contemporary musician group, one of the leading bands in Cambodia, a unique showcase of this generation’s talent of Cambodia. Kesorrr is also a co-founder of PlerngKob, (“The Sacred Fire” in English), a creative house of dynamic young gr...

Welcome back to this week's episode of Rising Giants where we have the pleasure of speaking with Pisey Khun, CEO and Co-Founder of Workingna - Cambodia's leading automated hiring platform in Cambodia helping connect employers and job searchers all in one place. Through Workingna, the company offers employers less stress and guesswork in the hiring process by providing a one-stop automation and ana...

Teaser for our upcoming Startup & Innovation Festival on April 8 in Phnom Penh! Hear in person from Bora Kem (Mekong Strategic Capital), Sopheak Chheng (Rean Podcast), Kounila Keo (Mekhala), Chy Sila (Sabay), Sok Visal (KlapYaHandz), Richard Yim (Quantum) and many more! 🗓 Saturday, 8th April 2023 🕛 Doors open at 12 - 8pm 📍 Factory Phnom Penh 🎟 Tickets:  • Student: $10  • General: $20 All F&B inc...

Welcome back to this weeks episode of Rising Giants where we have Chandara Tuy, CEO of Wonderpass on the show. Wonderpass is the leading smart ticketing and technology provider founded in 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and backed by Canadian venture capital firm, Haystack Fund. The company features two distinct platforms - "LIVE" a smart ticketing app and wearable tech for music, sports, events and...

Leap joins us today on Rising Giants, he is one of Cambodia's top tech founders, running one of the leading Ed-Tech startups in the country! Through Sala, highschool students in Cambodia can seek advice and guidance, and do the test to find out what might be their best fit major and professional career be. Students can easily access the information, compare, and seek for best offers from each coll...

Welcome back everyone and thank you for joining us for another episode of Rising Giants with your hosts Max Thornton and Dom Kalousek, where we talk with the leading entrepreneurs, investors, and creatives in Cambodia’s vibrant startup scene to learn what it means to be a Rising Giant. On this weeks episode, we have the huge pleasure of speaking with Daniel Pacheco, Co-Founder and CEO of Samai Dis...

Welcome Kiriroth, the Founder & CEO of BanhJi to Rising Giants, he is one most well known FinTech entrepreneurs in Cambodia being at the forefront of bringing tech solutions to the finance industry. BanhJi is an award-winning inclusive FinTech startup providing MSMEs with a financial platform and applications that are fully connected with the payment and financing ecosystem to enable smart dec...