Billion Dollar Moves™ with Sarah Chen-Spellings | Global Venture Capital

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm. And with it, a whole conversation surrounding AI, it’s opportunities and yes perils. Well, to go deeper in this, I’m excited to speak with someone who has been working in this space of AI, VR and XR, immersive and extended reality long before it was the hype it is today. Martina Welkhoff, Managing Partner of WXR fund, an early stage fund that invests in two of the greatest opportunities of our time: the next wave of computing + female entrepreneurs; with companies like Obsess AI, BODs and Embodied labs in her portfolio.

Before that, Martina first founded her first startup over a decade ago in mobile gaming and after exiting that, she went on to found a VR production studio called ConveneVR. In this convo, Martina shares how she sees this cycle and the market shakeout, the danger of humanizing AI to the business opportunity of XR, we'll cover it all. Buckle up!

About Martina Welkhoff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwelkhoff/

FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

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Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we deconstruct the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

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PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

This week I’m chatting with a Billion Dollar Mover who absolutely captivated me when I first met her, but for a change, from the world of politics.

Phumzile Van Damme is a former Member of Parliament of South Africa, winning multiple awards for her work counter-electoral disinformation, digital rights and platform accountability focusing on Africa.

Phumzile’s first foray in the fight against disinformation centered on the rise and fall of the controversial global PR firm Bell Pottinger, who ran a race based campaign to ignite the differences between the people of South Africa, digging into its painful history of apartheid.

She presented the case on behalf of South Africa, and 2 weeks later, they shut shop, basically toppling one of the most powerful PR firms in the world.

What does it take to be a young Black Woman in politics, to build influence and lead with your principles still intact? Her Billion Dollar Moves is one I needed to deconstruct, that I thought all of us leaders could learn from. You don't want to miss it.

FOLLOW PHUMZILE:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phumzile-van-damme/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zilevandamme

FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

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Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we deconstruct the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

Welcome to Billion Dollar Bite!

Between the SVB collapse (and now First Republic Bank on the edge, with stock now down 95% for the year to date!), ChatGPT taking over and the "SAAS-cre", where valuations of Software-As-A-Service companies have taken a dive, for some, as high as 60%; it’s been a lot.

A question that I get asked in this environment is: how will we find outliers?

My answer: surface the unexpected leaders. The ones who have been underestimated, who may not come from a “cookie-cutter”, but are not afraid to be the first & only in many rooms, who know that rejection is part of the process and remain grounded to their vision, even if others don’t see it yet.

But don't only take it from me! Tune in to what unicorn funder, Cathy Gao, Partner at Sapphire Ventures and unicorn founder, Jack Smith, who sold Vungle for about $780M have to say.

Full episodes:

Jack Smith "SOLD MY STARTUP FOR $780M: Good, bad, ugly": https://spoti.fi/420sqgL

Cathy Gao "ENTERPRISE EATING THE WORLD: https://spoti.fi/3NeWcu9

Founder turned Funder, from Head of Digital Ventures of the BBC to Managing Director of Techstars, to now Managing Partner of Everywhere Ventures with 250 portfolio companies and counting, Jenny Fielding is the ultimate community builder and investor. Together with Scott Hartley, Jenny is today pursuing a global strategy, as U.S. venture capitalists have taken a step back from deals abroad; launching a new $25M fund, to be the first-check in for startups building in the future of money, health and work.

What does investing as a community mean, what do we think about the upset we’re hearing about Y Combinator’s new terms, how do you manage 500 Limited Partner investors in your fund and what is Jenny’s deepest insecurity? We cover it all and more.

About Jenny Fielding:

Pre-seed investor and mentor to hundreds of founders around the world. 2x entrepreneur and knows how challenging it is to build great products, inspire a team and keep the lights on. So she spends her time working to surround founders with the resources they need to thrive.

First check into 200+ startups including: Chainalysis, Alloy, Latch, Tempo Automation, Headway, Supergreat, Contra, Particle Health, Pair Eyewear, Solo Funds, Halp, Minded, Rupa Health, Morty, Wagmo, Smarthop, Solid, PathSpot, Remesh, Cube, OnePipe, Season, Parsley Health and so many more: https://angel.co/jenny-fielding

When not investing in companies... she's teaching (but really learning from) the next generation of future founders as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and Cornell Tech.

Twitter @jefielding

FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

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Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we deconstruct the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

For the Billion Dollar Mover that you are, this is not new news:

Silicon Valley Bank; what was said to be the epicenter of Silicon Valley tech and small businesses collapsed on March 10th after a run on the deposits doomed the banks plans to raise fresh capital.

At first, there was major concern that this crash will take the VC and startup ecosystem with it, but the gov swooped in and provided a backstop, and scraps of SVB was purchased by First Citizens Bank.

Catastrophe averted? Not quite.

Today’s episode is by no means a full breakdown of what happened, but answers this one question :

“Was this truly a Black Swan event? as Nassim Taleb explains it or really, a Gray Rhino, as Best-Selling Author, my friend Michele Wucker writes?

And today we have her on the show exactly to speak to this - How should you be thinking about risk and what next?

About Michele:

Strategic advisor and best-selling author Michele Wucker coined the term “gray rhino” as a call to take a fresh look at how we respond to obvious, probable, impactful risks. She founded the Chicago-based advisory firm Gray Rhino & Company and is a former media and think tank executive. Her four influential books include the influential global bestseller THE GRAY RHINO: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore and the recently released sequel, YOU ARE WHAT YOU RISK: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World.

Digital links:

Twitter @wucker

website thegrayrhino.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wucker/

FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

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Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

We’re bringing our next billionaire on Billion Dollar Moves; this time from Nepal, my friend Nirvana Chaudhary who is at the helm of Nepal’s first and only company listed on the Forbes list of Billionaires since 2015, valued in excess of $2.5 Billion.

What started in 1935 has today become a conglomerate of 136 companies and 76 brands spread across 30 different countries with over 24,000 employees. From FMCG, Hospitality, Finance, Real estate, Education, Retail; they cover the gamut. Most notably, they’re the brain behind the famous Wai Wai brand of noodles. The eldest Asian son in a family empire, Nirvana was early to make his mark, founding his first independent company at the age of 19; and has continued to grow the businesses from strength to strength; being featured on Forbes to Tatler’s most influential.

But what does it really mean to lead as the face of the next generation? How messy does family business get? And with friends like Bill Gates to Jack Ma, how has that informed what next for him? We cover it all in this episode.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Nirvana's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nirvanachaudhary/

More about Chaudhary Group: https://www.chaudharygroup.com/

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FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

--

Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

What does it take to sell and execute on what feels like an impossible vision?

This, is the task of a stem-cell scientist turned founder who is tapping into the multi-billion opportunity to create lab-grown crustacean meat.

Under Dr. Sandhya Sriram's leadership, Shiok Meats today is the world’s first cultivated shellfish meat company, and Southeast Asia’s first cultivated seafood and meat company. The startup’s mission is to bring delicious, sustainable, and healthy seafood to your table, using the cellular agriculture technology to grow meat from stem cells instead of slaughtering animals.

Since its inception in 2018, they have grown from 2 to over 50 employees today, made a strategic acquisition themselves, raised over USD 30 Million dollars from big names from Y Combinator to Korean Conglomerate CJ’s Food Arm.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Sandhya's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandhyasriram/

Sandhya's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sriramt_sandhya

More about Shiok Meats: https://shiokmeats.com/

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FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

--

Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

A ping on your phone takes you out of a conversation with a friend. At the office, a colleague interrupts your work on a project. At home, screens intrude on time with your partner.

Your goals don’t get done and it feels like someone (or something) is constantly pulling you away from what you really want to do.

Why does it seem we’re no longer in control of our attention or our lives?

How different would your life be if you were “indistractable”?

In today's conversation, Nir shatters the narrative that the problem is our gadgets, but a symptom of a deeper dysfunction, as he examines in his book 'Indistractable'. We also discuss his earlier book 'Hooked', what it takes to build habit-forming products, where your users come back again and again without maxing out that ad spend!

You don't want to miss this.

About Nir:

Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.

Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Review as, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.”

He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.

In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and Psychology Today.

Nir invests in habit-forming products that improve users’ lives. Some of his past investments include Eventbrite (NYSE:EB), Anchor.fm (acquired by Spotify), Kahoot! (KAHOOT-ME.OL), Canva, Homelight, Product Hunt, Marco Polo, Byte Foods, FocusMate, Dynamicare, Wise App, and Sunnyside.

EPISODE LINKS:

Nir Eyal's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nireyal

Nir's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/

A schedule maker tool Nir referenced here: https://nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/

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FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

#billiondollarmoves #venturecapital #investing #startupstories #productivity #leadership

In today's Billion Dollar Moves, we bust some myths about Southeast Asia's VC activity and the narratives driving the expansion seen in the region.

The key question: will the momentum survive this downcycle? I chat with Dmitry Levit, Founding Partner of Cento Ventures, a venture capital firm specialized in under-invested emerging digital markets, primarily Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In today’s Part 2 we go a little bit more 'micro' — what Dmitry is still excited by in building his portfolio.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

02:50 - What Dmitry is excited by in 2023: the future of digital

04:50 - How founders are building in 2023

06:11 - Trade exits getting dicey?

08:49 - The disappointment of Grab?

11:29 - Rocket Internet "burned the region for many investors for the next 10 years"?

16:47 - The future of the food delivery space

18:06 - How has Ukraine-Russia played out in Southeast Asia?

25:46 - What next for Dmitry after more than a decade with Cento?

27:17 - Billion Dollar Questions

Really power-packed, you need to be taking notes for these two episodes if you want to understand SEA; you don’t want to miss it.

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ABOUT DMITRY LEVIT:

Dmitry is the Founder of Cento Ventures. He is responsible for overseeing all investment and fund activities in Southeast Asia.

Dmitry formerly served as an advisor to several investment groups and corporations pursuing technology and media opportunities across developing Asia, with Media Development Authority of Singapore, Singtel, ru-Net, IDG Ventures Vietnam, SUP Media, Livejournal.com, Chinese Founders Fund, VIVA Media and Nusantara Ventures among his clients.

In 2008-2009, Dmitry was part of the investment team at IDG Ventures, where he provided extensive operational support to portfolio companies in Vietnam and was in charge of sourcing and assessment of investment opportunities in Indonesia and Singapore.

Prior to that, Dmitry spent several years in business development roles with Yahoo! Southeast Asia, negotiating a series of content, distribution, monetisation and technology deals for Yahoo! in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Dmitry also acted as a business strategist for the regional Managing Director, working on vertical strategies for e-commerce, gaming, travel, finance, telecom and other sectors.

EPISODE LINKS:

Cento Ventures Twitter: https://twitter.com/cento_ventures

Dmitry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levit/

Dmitry's report references: https://www.cento.vc/news-insights/

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FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

#billiondollarmoves #venturecapital #southeastasia #digital #investing #startupstories

In today's Billion Dollar Moves, we bust some myths about Southeast Asia's VC activity and the narratives driving the expansion seen in the region.

The key question: will the momentum survive this downcycle? I chat with Dmitry Levit, Founding Partner of Cento Ventures, a venture capital firm specialized in under-invested emerging digital markets, primarily Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro

02:07 - Russian born Israeli citizen, now the expert investing in Southeast Asia

06:30 - Predictability of the Southeast Asia startup ecosystem through 2014

08:23 - Narratives driving Southeast Asia

12:43 - Masoyoshi Son breaking the 'time machine' theory?

14:31 - E-commerce: a case study

16:25 - The evolution of capital players holding up the markets

21:28 - Market corrections and institutional capital

24:54 - Market slowdown, deals vs deployments

26:37 - Weakening capital markets and expensive bets

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ABOUT DMITRY LEVIT:

Dmitry is the Founder of Cento Ventures. He is responsible for overseeing all investment and fund activities in Southeast Asia.

Dmitry formerly served as an advisor to several investment groups and corporations pursuing technology and media opportunities across developing Asia, with Media Development Authority of Singapore, Singtel, ru-Net, IDG Ventures Vietnam, SUP Media, Livejournal.com, Chinese Founders Fund, VIVA Media and Nusantara Ventures among his clients.

In 2008-2009, Dmitry was part of the investment team at IDG Ventures, where he provided extensive operational support to portfolio companies in Vietnam and was in charge of sourcing and assessment of investment opportunities in Indonesia and Singapore.

Prior to that, Dmitry spent several years in business development roles with Yahoo! Southeast Asia, negotiating a series of content, distribution, monetisation and technology deals for Yahoo! in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Dmitry also acted as a business strategist for the regional Managing Director, working on vertical strategies for e-commerce, gaming, travel, finance, telecom and other sectors.

EPISODE LINKS:

Cento Ventures Twitter: https://twitter.com/cento_ventures

Dmitry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levit/

Dmitry's report references: https://www.cento.vc/news-insights/

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FOLLOW SARAH:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia founders, funders and execs. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.

--

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodes

Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal

Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

#billiondollarmoves #venturecapital #southeastasia #digital #investing #startupstories