Unsensible - The Asian Startup Podcast

The tools banks rely on to catch fraud were designed for a world without deepfakes or AI voice cloning, but those threats are growing faster than legacy systems can adapt.  Baran Ozkan, co-founder and CEO of Flagright, has teamed up with a long-trusted friend to build an AI-native system that helps companies stay ahead of financial crime. Backed by Y Combinator and now running in 35 countries acro...

We use the internet every day, but 99% of our data relies on fragile, undersea fiber optic cables that are completely unprotected from accidental cuts or deliberate sabotage. Dr. Mohammad Danesh, co-founder of Transcelestial, is solving this global security threat by building an unhackable internet backbone using high-bandwidth space lasers. 💡 What You'll Learn: The fragility of the global intern...

Psychiatrists have no objective feedback. Every other field of medicine does. Dr. Bechara Saab left his neuroscience lab at Zurich Psychiatry Hospital to fix that, and the data suggest he's onto something remarkable.   In this conversation, Dr. Saab shares how Mobio Interactive is bringing objective measurement to mental healthcare through over 1,000 psychotherapy sessions across seven languages....

What if all your loyalty points, credit card deals, and travel rewards lived in one open ecosystem, built around you instead of the banks? In this episode, we talk to David Wang , founder of Krip , Hong Kong’s first centralised credit card deals platform, now part of HeyMax , the Singapore-based startup redefining loyalty across Asia. David shares how recognising just how much value gets lost in e...

Women don't understand their own physiology - not by accident, but by design. It won't make money to educate them about simple changes that could improve their health. So the system keeps them suffering in silence. Pri Aggarwal is breaking that cycle. After leaving a stellar corporate career at top multinational corporations across Asia-Pacific, the Wharton scholar founded Aura Fem Health, a holis...

AI can translate your IPO or ESG report—but can it do it right? Colin Hong , Co-Founder of DeepTranslate , reveals how his Hong Kong startup outperforms Google Translate and ChatGPT in the most high-stakes corner of translation: finance and legal compliance. In this episode, we cover: Why niche AI is the only way to beat Big Tech The hidden 20% translation gap that LLMs miss How data compliance fe...

🍽️ From WeChat frustrations to restaurant revolution. Discover how one founder's personal pain point led to Bistrochat, now transforming how restaurants across Asia handle bookings through chat and AI Jonathan Nguyen sits down with Hacene Taibi, co-founder of Bistrochat , exploring how a simple frustration with restaurant bookings via WeChat sparked a business that's revolutionising the F&B in...

🇭🇰 From London to Hong Kong: How Louisa Dearlove spotted a gap in Hong Kong's fashion market and turned it into Fengxiang, a clothing rental platform aimed to give women in Hong Kong access to affordable contemporary fashion and to drive sustainable fashion habits. Could shared wardrobes be the future of sustainable fashion? In this episode, we chat with Louisa Dearlove about building Hong Kong's...

Director of Accenture's FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific reveals the top tips to joining this exclusive accelerator that has helped raise $6.6 billion for alumni companies worldwide. Applications close 12 May! Episode summary Only 10 spots from 200+ applications. Zero cost, equity-free. Direct access to HSBC, JP Morgan, and UBS. In this episode, Hui Jackson shares her journey from founder (e-co...

🔍 Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Builds AI That Outperforms Nvidia, Google & OpenAI | Meet the 30-under-30 founder who raised $6.6M and secured 90+ global clients in under 2 years. His AI is transforming how hedge funds invest billions—could this change the future of finance forever? In this revealing conversation, Jonathan Nguyen sits down with Hojun Choi, co-founder and CEO of LinqAlpha, to explor...

Ever felt locked out of investing in the companies shaping our future? Florian Spiegel, Evident's founder, aims to change that. His vision? To make "private markets" a thing of the past. How's that for ambitious? In this chat, Florian discusses how Evident, operating from Hong Kong, is democratising access to alternative assets like private equity, using tokenisation and blockchain technology to b...

I’ve always maintained that the biggest competitors to a startup are often the paper process they replace. And especially in big banks, the incumbent is typically the way they’ve always done things. What I love about Jessica, Ankit and the whole Planto team is they’ve been grinding at this for 8 years now and they’re still pushing banks forward in one of the most important financial capitals in th...

What if you could prove your identity to anyone, anywhere, without sharing your personal details? Alex (David Alexander Scheer) from zkMe explains how zero-knowledge proofs could end the era of uploading ID documents to countless websites. But can a startup really take on tech giants like Google in the identity space? In this episode, Alex shares his vision for revolutionising digital identity. Fr...

Could this simple invention reshape fashion? In this episode, we sit down with Denise Ho, founder of KITDO( https://kitdo.co/ ), who transformed her 20 years of styling experience into an innovative solution that's changing how we interact with our clothes. From graduating RISD to working in New York's fashion scene, to becoming a sought-after stylist in Hong Kong, Denise shares her journey of cre...

In this episode of the Unsensible Podcast, Kimberley Lau and her team discuss the critical elements that can make a brand appear untrustworthy online. They explore the importance of visual presentation, the choice of words, and the necessity of testimonials and case studies in establishing credibility. The conversation emphasizes that even basic branding elements can significantly impact how a bra...

Journey into the Future of Human Behavior Analytics with Hayk Hakobyan If you enjoy deep dives into the intersection of technology, human behaviour, and business innovation, this conversation with InsightGenie's founder will captivate you. In this fascinating episode, we sit down with Hayk Hakobyan, Founder and CEO of InsightGenie (formerly BizBaz), to explore the revolutionary world of behavioura...

Eri Koyano's journey is nothing short of inspiring, as she unravels her path from a multicultural upbringing to founding menux, a platform set to revolutionise fan engagement at sports events. Growing up across the globe—from the US to Hong Kong, and now Japan—Eri's adaptability is her superpower. Transitioning from sports marketing at the Tokyo Olympics to discovering her passion for tech during...

Summary Pak-Sun Ting, founder of Votee, about the challenges and opportunities in AI, particularly for low-resource languages. Pak shares his journey from a stable banking career to entrepreneurship, discussing the importance of partnerships, and understanding the peculiarities of building a startup in Hong Kong. The conversation goes into the significance of localised language models, the fundrai...

We're pivoting because you're probably sick of hearing from Jonathan's squeaky voice and his face for radio (calm down guys, it's Jonathan, I can ugly shame my own face). What's New in Season 2: Additional hosts from our team, including Managing Director Jess, Head of Brand Karis, and Client Partner Kimberley with their own individual perspectives and hot takes. A new segment "DoubleClick" where w...

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Ryan Manuel, professor of Chinese politics turned tech innovator.  Dr. Manuel is Founder & CEO at tech startup Bilby where his team has developed a groundbreaking platform that is transforming how individuals understand and engage with governments. By deciphering legislative signals, they are changing the landscape of decision-making for businesses worldwi...

In this episode, we sit down with Joan Low, Founder and CEO of ThoughtFull, a startup with a unique mental health app that offers end-to-end care through daily bite-sized coaching.  Despite the crowded marketplace, ThoughtFull is gaining traction, especially in the corporate space, recently closing a $4 million funding round led by Temasek.  Joan shares her personal journey and the fragmented and...

In this episode, we are joined by Rajiv Chandna, Co-Founder of Envisso (formerly Kinetic), who shares how his venture is revolutionising payments in an effort to build a more frictionless e-commerce landscape. With $300 billion tied up in escrow worldwide, Rajiv highlights how the burdensome collateral demands stifle growth and can even spell the end for small businesses.  As we explore the comple...

Dive headfirst into the world of venture capitalism with Rachel, co-founder of Gateway Private Markets. Beginning her career as a banker in Asia to her role disrupting the private markets, Rachel's journey is one of innovation and perseverance. Rachael covers the the explosive growth in the startup sector over the past decade, examining the rise of unicorns and the increasingly diverse range of in...

Send us a text The funding environment is tough, but there is precedence. This episode’s guest, John D. Evans, CFA founder and general manager of SEIML Ventures, spent over 24 years as an investment banker, 12 years as a professor of practice, and 7 years in corporate finance. He's seen the highs and lows, booms and busts, of various economic cycles, making him a wealth of knowledge. With his uniq...

Meet Justin Chan, a Forbes' 30 Under 30 awardee whose groundbreaking tech invention could revolutionize healthcare as we know it. As the founder of Gense, Justin’s passion for positive impact and problem-solving is actualised through a palm-sized device that scans critical organs for disease in under a minute. His vision for a decentralized, accessible healthcare system is radical, but you'd never...