Asia Tech Podcast

By Michael Waitze Media

All Things Asia, All Things Tech... more

· Technology

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FAQs about Asia Tech Podcast:

How many episodes does Asia Tech Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 380 episodes available.

Asia Tech Podcast episodes:

October 12, 2021EP 147 - Ed Barker - SquarePeg - Optimistic Curiosity
It was good fun to talk to Ed Barker, a Senior Associate at Square Peg in Singapore. Square Peg has invested in some of the region's seminal startups, including Canva, Doctor Anywhere, Pluang, and many others.
Some of the topics Ed discussed:
As a youngster, Ed loved to tear down tech and put it back together

His first job was repairing computers at ANZ Bank

How he realized he loved technology but did not like IT

Was fortunate to have his consulting roles take him to Europe, the US, Asia, and Australia

Getting stuff done in a big organization is tough…need to have a 10X solution

The joy of going deep on things when he gets excited about them

Learning every single day

Some of the things you can not know about Southeast Asia unless you are on the ground

The employment of data to make better investment decisions

How to provide greater access to new services

Value creation versus value capture - finding the balance

How to effectively use talent globally
Some of the other titles we considered for this episode:
Taking Things Apart and Putting them Back Together

We’re Very Early in the Capital Journey

The Opportunity to Fundamentally Improve People’s Lives Through the Use of Better Technology

How Do We Reduce Friction?
...more
33min
October 05, 2021EP 146 - Oussama Labib - CEO and Founder at aeqlia - If You Want Better Performance, You Need to Change Behavior
It was really enlightening to talk to Oussama Labib, the CEO and Founder at aeqlia, an all-in-one team development platform. Oussama found his calling early in life and it is obvious that he is in the right place from his super positive attitude.
Some of the topics that we covered:
Oussama was born to French-Moroccan parents who had migrated to France for their education

As a teenager, he knew he wanted to work in the Human Resources field

Spent a year in Bora Bora working in the hospitality business while at University

Commuting with turtles versus commuting on the Paris metro

Upon graduation from business school, bought a plane ticket to Singapore with a friend and started looking for a job

Rose quickly to a leadership position at Ikea

The reason he left his job to start his own business

Why aeqlia was founded and why Oussama focused on EdTech

aeqlia is an Arabic word that means mindset

Companies are organized by teams, but most learning is focused on individuals

Experiential learning increases retention

Game-based learning is NOT Gamification

Building highly personalized team development journeys

Did Oussama coin the term "Instant Learnification"?

The four stages of becoming a high-performance team
Other titles we considered for this episode:
The Point Was to Travel

I Don't Look at My Choice as Weird

It Makes My Life a Little Bit More Purpose-Driven

Hit Repeat Every Single Day

It Was the Best Year of My Life

I Knew I Was No longer Going to Close Doors Myself

It Sets the Bar Quite High

Ideally, This Is a Never-Ending Process
...more
42min
October 01, 2021EP 145 - Victor J. Chow - CEO at 3 Square - This Is Where the Game Is Going
"The Irony Was Not Lost On Me" (a potential title for this episode...) was something Victor J. Chow, the Founder, and CEO of 3 Square, said to me when we were discussing his return to Taiwan. Victor's parents emigrated to the United States from Taiwan, settled in Connecticut, and built a successful, if not sprawling, food and beverage business. Like many children of successful immigrants, Victor wanted to carve his own path and made his way to Wall St...
Some of the topics we covered in more depth:
The expectations for the eldest son in a traditional Asian family

His lack of interest in his family's business and his path to Wall St.

His desire to head back to Taiwan was announced to his family more than it was discussed with them

Victor's desire to have a concrete plan for something to do in Taiwan led him to a scholarship to study Mandarin

After graduating from an intensive Mandarin course, starting a Montessori-style cram school

Created two branches of the school and sold the business 5 or so years later

Had been conceptualizing a 'digital food court' network for years

Launched 3 Square - An optimized and upgraded version of a cloud kitchen

Each kitchen is built to handle multiple brands and food styles

With one shopping cart, you can order from all the brands at one location

Uses data and data analysis to determine the optimal restaurant locations

Raised $1.2MM seed round to get started and is now raising more to expand in Taiwan and North and Southeast Asia
Some other titles we considered for this episode:
I Am Going to Go Back to Taiwan and Check It Out

It’s Foreign, But Not Totally Foreign

All of a Sudden, I Am Teacher Victor

The Irony Is Definitely Not Lost On Me

I Will Humbly Say That I Am Not That Surprised
...more
37min
September 28, 2021EP 144 - Rosina Mazumder and Yawar Mehboob - Arogga - It's Genuinely Solving a Fundamental Problem
I had so much fun recording this conversation with Rosina Mazumder and Yawar Mehboob, two of the four co-Founders of Arogga, Bangladesh's online pharmacy. You may hear us joking about Rosina's 'audio technician' at the beginning of the episode...that is actually Yawar, her husband and Arogga's CFO. Rosina is the CEO of Arogga. The other co-Founders are Shamim Hasan, the CTO and Fahad Hossain, the COO...quite an unbelievable team.
Some of the topics that were covered:
Both originally worked at investment banks in London

Left that life to become entrepreneurs in the world of cake and publishing

Rosina worked with Facebook on “She Means Business”

When COVID hit, took some time to reassess what they wanted to do

Got introduced to the world of startups in their native Bangladesh

This wife and husband team really work together well and have complementary skillsets

Arogga - a service that delivers medicine directly to your door

In Bangladesh, the pharmacy market is quite fragmented and disorganized

Complicating the customer journey is the fact that 20% of medicine in Bangladesh's pharmacies are counterfeit

Building a strong company culture

Managing through 40% month over month growth

Word of mouth matters, so service has to be key

What it means to be role models and also learning from the younger generation of founders
Other episode titles we also considered:
It Was Really Interesting Going from Corporate to Creative

Authentic, Less Expensive, and Convenient

There's Just Enormous Opportunity Right Now

What Has Been Amazing for Us Has Been the Word of Mouth

I Have Five Stents in My Heart

There Is a Definite Sense of Pride
...more
42min
September 22, 2021EP 143 - Paul Salnikow - Founder of The Executive Centre - Why Isn't Anybody Offering a Hotel for Companies?
Paul Salnikow, the Chairman and CEO of The Executive Centre joined the Asia Tech Podcast to discuss flexible work and what started as a niche product has grown into the centerpiece of not only the future of work but how we work today.
Some of the topics that Paul covered included:
Why he decided to attend Sophia University in Tokyo and the impact it had on his career

Working for a Japanese real estate company and getting sent to London to help open the office there

How the real estate market microstructure in London sparked the idea of a 'hotel for companies'

Moving to Hong Kong and setting up the office there

The founding of The Executive Centre after the Japanese real estate company decided to pull back from its foreign businesses

The evolution of The Executive Centre and the role that technology played

How the clientele has changed over time

The launch of the iPhone and the impact on office space usage

WeWork became the largest tenant in London and Manhattan!

The demise of WeWork, the hubris of its founders and investors, and why it ultimately failed

The future of work and flexible working spaces
Other titles we considered for this episode:
The Desks Shrank

Your Entire Office Existence Is In Your Telephone

I Had to Make Hong Kong Work or I Had to Pack My Bags

Technology Has Been the Most Important Driver of the Emergence of Flexible Office Space
...more
34min
September 17, 2021EP 142 - Greg Krasnov - Founder and Chief Bulldozer - Tonik Bank - What I Need Is a Bank That Will Help Me Save
Asia Tech Podcast was joined by Greg Krasnov. Greg is the Founder & CEO of Tonik, the first neobank in the Philippines. Tonik is backed by major international Venture Capital investors, including Sequoia Capital and Point72.
Prior to Tonik, Greg co-founded many other successful Asian FinTech companies (FORUM, Credolab, and Solarhome) and a consumer bank in Emerging Europe (Platinum Bank). An entrepreneur at heart, Greg launched his first business at the age of 18, earning his way through college through coding and PC repair.
Some of the topics Greg discussed:
Greg was born in Ukraine and moved to the United States when he was 16 years old

Most of his early career was in finance and private equity

FORUM was set up as an investment vehicle for Southeast Asia after watching what occurred in emerging Europe

Reviewed GDP per capita comparisons of the penetration of unsecured consumer finance in Southeast Asia

What he found was that in emerging markets at about USD 3K to 5K GDP per capita, you start to get exponential growth in the penetration of consumer finance

Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are all at that cusp of the GDP per capital inflection point

Why the team decided to launch in the Philippines

Putting your cash in a stash

One of Tonik's corporate values is having a sense of humor

Data and predictive analytics

Financial literacy and why it matters
Other episode titles we considered:
We’re the Opposite of That

A Fundamental Reshaping of the Value Chain
...more
32min
September 14, 2021EP 141 - Bianca Ho - co-Founder and COO of ClareAI - Small Businesses Need Different Things
Asia Tech Podcast thoroughly enjoyed speaking with Bianca Ho, a co-founder, and COO of ClareAI and WATI. Bianca is an ex J.P. Morgan Banker turned tech entrepreneur. ClareAI helps companies to have personalized conversations at scale by building customer engagement software based on WhatsApp Business API.
Some of the topics covered in this great conversation:
Business processes matter

Where can AI technology serve enterprises better

The impact of the NOW economy on the B2B landscape

Expectations for small businesses are very different than large enterprises

Walked through an example of how WATI can be used for a small business

The emergence of a no-code, low-code movement

The necessity to communicate and be close to your customers

Sequoia Surge

The importance of taking time out to think
...more
35min
September 09, 2021EP 140 - Shiyan Koh - Managing Partner at Hustle Fund - We Should Stick To the Process
The Asia Tech Podcast welcomed Shiyan Koh, a Managing Partner at Hustle Fund. Watch the video...it will all make sense. So many great nuggets came out of this conversation. One of my favorites was, "Great execution meeting high velocity."
Some of the other great topics we covered:
Built a financial services marketplace while living in San Francisco called Nerd Wallet

Prior to founding Nerd Wallet, did a tour of the financial services industry including a year working at Bridgewater Associates in Connecticut

Getting the right dev team in place and learning how to communicate the customer insight and customer problems effectively

Leaving the United States after living there for almost 20 years

Joining the Hustle Fund after being an LP in the first fund

Traveling around Southeast Asia talking to founders and realizing there was definitely a need for investors that had operating experience

The thing you are trying to optimize for in the early stage is learning and the faster you learn the better

The Angel Squad and the importance of angel investing

One of the goals is to get more women and minorities on cap tables
Other titles we considered for this episode:
I Was the Trains-On-Time Person

The World Is Incredibly Connected In Ways That You Could Never Expect

We Were Figuring Things Out as We Went Along

Survival Is a Prerequisite for Success
...more
42min
September 06, 2021EP 139 - Ee Ling Lim - 500 Startups - Uplifting People and Economies Through Entrepreneurship
The Asia Tech Podcast hosted Ee Ling Lim, Head of APAC Business Development at 500 Startups. I first met Ee Ling when we recorded her first ATP episode about Smarter Me. As the startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia continues to mature, we wanted to bring her back on the show to talk about the importance of entrepreneurship and ecosystem building.
Some of the topics covered include:
The sheer amount of change that has occurred since her last appearance on ATP

The continuing inspiration Ee Ling gets from young (even teenage!) founders

The synergies between 500 Startups and Smarter Me

Customer centricity is not just a buzzword

Creating value and delivering impact

Empathy for Founders and startup stakeholders

Maintaining an emphasis on team culture

How 500 Startups works with governments that want to build and nurture startup ecosystems

Corporate innovation and facilitating internal startups

What will the next five years look like?

Digitalization, Virtualization, Health and Wealth Security, Education, and Sustainability
...more
40min
September 02, 2021EP 138 - Bryan Falchuk - Insurance Evolution Partners - From Disruption to Evolution
The Asia Tech Podcast switched gears a bit and welcomed Bryan Falchuk to the show. Bryan is the Founder and Managing Partner of Insurance Evolution Partners. Bryan is an extremely talented and experienced advisor to the Insurance industry and a former C-level Property and Casualty Insurance and InsurTech executive.
Bryan is the best-selling author of "The Future of Insurance: From Disruption to Evolution: Volume I. The Incumbents" and "The Future of Insurance: From Disruption to Evolution: Volume II. The Startups"
Some of the topics covered in our discussion included:
Moving from the carrier side to the InsurTech side

The subtle differences between mutuals and reciprocals

Selling technology to incumbent insurers

Capacity needs to be treated strategically

Communication between re-insurers, insurers, and InsurTechs is paramount

Capacity, Underwriting, Reinsurance and what these terms mean

Some of the incredible stories in his most recent book

Purpose - The idea that you can not imagine NOT doing it

Do incumbents worry about Amazon

The future is about partnerships and collaboration

Parametric insurance
Some of the other candidates for this episode's title:
I Like Fixing Things

Taking the Risk Out of the Equation

The Grass Is Not Green Anywhere Unless You Garden
...more
59min

FAQs about Asia Tech Podcast:

How many episodes does Asia Tech Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 380 episodes available.