Quote: “Success is born out of activity.”

In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, Michael Waitze is joined by Colm Hayden, the founder of Cadoo, a consumer service company dedicated in making financial incentives work to help people reach their goals. They discussed Colm’s crypto career, his interest in blockchain technology and bitcoin, as well as his experience as a young entrepreneur in the tech industry.

Becoming The Crypto Career Kid

“I was the bitcoin kid in highschool,” said Colm. 

Being born and raised in Berkley, California, “the heart of Silicon valley,” Colm was constantly exposed to the world of tech. He received an abundance of opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship, early stage companies and how to prosper and grow into the world of tech and digital-driven industries.  

He explained to Michael that his fascination with bitcoins and crypto currency started as a serendipitous accident. After finding out about this new type of digital asset from a senior who had joked about hacking in highschool, Colm fell down the rabbit-hole of bitcoin technology. 

How to Credentialize Yourself

“In business, you can become your own credential.” 

Growing up, we are generally told that it is important to go to college, and that getting a higher education to receive college a credential is the only path to success. But as times have changed, more paths have emerged and people are starting to create their own credential. 

Yet, there is still an unacknowledged pressure to go to college. However, Colm was never a “brainiac” and his grades held him back from his dream colleges. As he watched his friends enter the new chapter of their lives at places like UC Berkeley and Stanford, he felt like his unfortunate fate would be sealed shortly. 

But as Michael said, “success is born out of activity,” and this was especially the case for Colm. They discussed what led Colm to that final decision of not going to college, his experience of taking this alternative path, and what he learned from hustling through countless internships. 

Being a Young Founder

“Making a business at this young of an age shouldn’t be about the money. It should be about the connection and experience you get, because that’s really what’s going to help you out in the long-run,” Colm stated.

To learn more about Colm Hayden and how he became a young entrepreneur, listen to this episode of the Ignite Podcast today.

This episode was expertly edited and produced by Alanis Braun. You can see her portfolio here and her LinkedIn profile here.

Quote: “The best thing you can do to learn is to break something, and then try to fix it.”

In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, Michael Waitze is joined by Gautam Ganguly, the CEO and Founder of Foodie, a cloud-based restaurant automation and e-commerce platform dedicated to optimising user experience when ordering food. They discussed how Gautam went from software consulting to product development, the stigma around those in computer science, and the secret recipe for a successful product. 

Firing Up The Computer

“My first computer was what really fired me up,” said Gautam.

Gautam’s interest in technology came to him via a “Build-Your-Own Computer” kit that his father’s friend had gifted him and his family. He explained to Michael how his fascination for technology grew after seeing how the computer was put together and how easy it was to do so.

His father’s friend had urged him to experiment with it, saying that the “best thing you can do to learn is to break it, and then to try to fix it.” Gautam did just that. 

Gautam shares his early experiences with technology and explained to Michael that through firing up the computer, he also ignited a newfound passion. 

From Keyboard to Kitchen

“There are only three things you can be today as a young Indian person, you can either be a doctor, an engineer, or a family disappointment.” 

This mindset is far from uncommon in the Asian community, and like many people out there, Gautam was also faced with this uncomfortable choice. In his case, his mother wanted him to pursue a medical career after two generations of his family joined the armed.. 

However, Gautam decided he was going to carve his own path, and went on to tell Michael about his own journey after obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Applications.

Cooking Up the Product

“Foodie was born inside the kitchen of Pizzamania,” said Gautam. 

Gautam revealed to Michael that he had little to no experience in the food industry, let alone the e-commerce side of it. But as he stood in the kitchen of Pizzamania - a restaurant he had worked with - ideas started to emerge. 

He then went on to explain the secret recipe behind developing successful products. Gautam tells Michael that products should be built in an environment that needs it and discusses the importance of remembering that you are rarely your own customer.

To learn more about Gautam Ganguly and his successful approach to integrating technology and e-commerce in the food industry, listen to this episode of the Ignite Podcast.

The audio for this episode was expertly produced by Alanis Braun.

The music for this episode is 'Clear Progress' by Scott Holmes.

Quote: “Do it and ask for forgiveness later.”

In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, Michael Waitze is joined by Shannon Kalayanamitr, a partner at Gobi Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in emerging markets. They discussed how Shannon went from playing a character of a businesswoman in high school to playing in the real business field, finding her true direction and her very real and raw experiences in the early stages of her career. 

Daydreaming to Reality

“I envisioned flying up across the world doing business, didn’t know what kind of business, with different people from across the world,” said Shannon. It had always been clear in her head that she wanted to have a career in business, and she had never been afraid of the distance between her dreams and reality. 

Knowing that her passion was in business from a very early stage meant she had always been ready for her journey, but she also knew that making these dreams a reality was going to take hard work, perseverance and maybe a few tears. 

In this podcast, Shannon shared how she overcame several obstacles in her life, from the early stages of her finance career to her transition into entrepreneurship and then the tech industry. 

The Waves of Change

In waves of change we find our true direction, and that’s what happened with Shannon. 

In 2004 when the tsunami hit Phuket, Shannon flew down to help, doing everything from rescuing corpses to setting up scholarships and community funds. Shannon experienced managing money, finding partners and more. She explained that it was during this devastating turn of events where she got her real stance on entrepreneurship. 

Finding Your Ship

“I always played the same person in my highschool skits... I’d bring my dad’s suits to wear along with his briefcase. Little did I know that his briefcase would become a laptop,” said Shannon. 

Being late to even setting up an email, Shannon hadn’t expected that this wave of change was also going to lead her down a path into the tech industry. Shannon explained to Michael what she experienced as an older woman going into tech and the intimidation she felt, the struggle to increase Thailand’s internet penetration to create more opportunities, and the dizzying world of tech acronyms. 

Not Always Smooth Sailing

Shannon’s journey wasn’t always easy. When you first start off in a new industry, sometimes you’re afraid to speak up or share what you think, but the truer you can be yourself the more you flourish - in both your personal and professional life. 

After some tough back and forth conversations between her boss, Shannon found herself in a situation she did not wish to be in anymore and made the choice to stop the conflict and move on. Shannon then told Michael about the conversion with her boss that led her to put her foot down and said to herself that “boot camp was over.” 

To learn more about Shannon Kalayanamitr and her experience in banking, entrepreneurship, and tech, listen to this episode of Ignite today.

In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, Michael Waitze is joined by Kasper Dam, the founder and CEO of Kandio, a company that helps businesses recruit better tech employees. They discussed how Dam went from being a bartender to an entrepreneur, separating poor candidates from great candidates, and other sticky workplace dilemmas along the way. 

Breathing fire 

“At the time, I was a very simple student bartender at  my local bar, and I participated in a bartending competition and won.” It was through intense prep work, training and establishing his uniqueness in the crowd that granted him this victory - the man even breathed fire. 

Following that, Kasper got picked up by Diageo, the biggest spirits company in the world, who were eager to hire him to develop and execute concepts for their “Cocktail of the Month” project during Copenhagen Fashion Week in 2013. 

Although winning this bartending competition seemed quite simple, as a result of being in the right place at the right time, this moment allowed Kasper to hit the ground running in this entrepreneurial journey. It would not be long after this that Kasper established his own company. 

Failure is Not Fatal

But just like any journey, it wasn't always smooth sailing. 

He told Michael about a time when one of his projects "failed miserably." He recalled how he bounced back afterwards through gaining more experience on how to identify and capitalise on opportunities.

The two discussed how early success can be both a blessing and a curse as one may not be equipped to handle failures later on. 

From working in bars to setting the bar

Following that, Kasper explained the idea that got him to where he is now. “80% of the population think that they are in the top 20% of driving skills” said Kasper as he explained to Michael why he created Kandio. 

He said: “People really can’t judge themselves, and if you can’t judge yourself, how is a company supposed to?”

Which is why he created a method to help companies conduct an unbiased and professional assessment of any individual before hiring them. 

Companies will not only get a final assessment score from each individual candidate, but they are also given the distributed benchmark score of how they did, compared to other candidates, as well as the chances you will find a one that is better for that role. 

To learn more about Kasper Dam and his journey on becoming an entrepreneur for Kandio, listen to this episode of Ignite today.

In this episode of Ignite, Michael Waitze sits down with Mark McDowell, the Managing Director of Primal Digital Marketing Agency. They discussed how Mark got started in digital marketing, Primals processes, and the agency’s future plans. 

From Bangkok to Melbourne

“I got my first job selling barbeques in Bangkok,” Mark laughed as he told Michael how he became a digital marketer. Although it was a junior position, this grill job sparked his interest and passion for digital marketing. 

When Mark moved to Australia, he landed a job in a digital marketing agency. Before coming back to Bangkok, he managed to convince the agency’s owner to invest in building a digital marketing agency in Thailand. 

Although the pitch deck Mark presented was “terrible,” this seemingly risky venture paid off tremendously. 

Setting the right objectives 

The two then discussed Primal’s initial process of crafting a digital marketing strategy for their clients. 

“We begin by looking at their current situation,” Mark said. By looking at their client’s competitors, their target customers, as well as doing research on industry trends, Primal is able to identify areas of opportunities for their clients. 

This process is all about how Primal can form a strategy that allows their clients to achieve their objectives, whether this is through Google pay-per-click ads (PPC), social media, or search engine optimisation (SEO). 

Working with early-stage startups vs bigger brands 

The approach to helping companies grow their revenue from online channels can be vastly different, Mark said. 

Customer acquisition is extremely important for early-stage startups, even if it is not profitable for them. This is because these new companies need to show proof of concept and start gaining some market share as soon as possible. 

On the other hand, bigger brands are more concerned about investing in marketing in an efficient way that generates profits.

Building your personal brand

Finally, the two talked about building a personal brand and how it can help grow your business. For Mark, the idea of building a personal brand came along when Primal hired a PR agency. 

As a result of his efforts, Mark was recently listed in Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list of individuals in the media, marketing and advertising fields. 

Despite becoming the face of the company, Mark credits a lot of his success to his team.“I’m here now because I’ve had an amazing team behind me that enabled me to reach these heights. That’s extremely important,” he said. 

To learn more about Mark McDowell and Primal Digital Marketing Agency, listen to this episode of Ignite today.

In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, Michael Waitze talks to Jakob Lykkegaard about building businesses from scratch, the lessons Jakob has learnt over the years, staying mentally healthy, and more. 

Jakob has been involved with a handful of startups over the past decade. Currently, he is a Co-Founder and CEO of a new concierge platform called Ask Ava. He also runs a gaming studio called Lykke Studios, a member of Apple Arcade. 

The entrepreneurial mindset

Michael kicked off the podcast by pointing to an unlikely similarity between dieting and building a business from the ground up. The level of discipline required, as well as the systems that need to be set up, are very much comparable to each other, he suggested. 

While Jakob agreed, he added that you also need to have the curiosity about how things work. By being curious, you will be able to find gaps in the market and form business ideas that provide unique solutions to potential customers. 

Entrepreneurial lessons

“The more time you spend building things, the more you figure out what you want to do and what you are not good at,” Jakob told Michael

In other words, Jakob’s experience in the startup space has allowed him to understand his skill set, which is the ability to develop ideas fast, accompanied by the ability to convince others to invest time in his ideas. 

Building Ask Ava from scratch

Michael asked Jakob how he got started with Ask Ava and how he plans to scale the business. When Jakob started renting out a villa he recently bought in Phuket, his customers were always asking him about transportation, nearby leisure activities, and other amenities.He realised that there as a gap in the market where villa and Airbnb stayers could not get access to the type of services that are usually provided by traditional hotels and resorts. 

Jakob then developed an online platform that allows travellers to book transportation, leisure activities, and other concierge services in advance. 

Currently, the platform has been launched in Phuket as a test.

Is exponential growth good?

The two also discussed whether exponential growth in startups are healthy for their long-term growth. Jakob argues that exponential growth is good, as long as the business can be monetised quickly. 

Without a way to monetise the startup and start generating revenue when exponential growth occurs, startups are only losing money. 

But what signals should you be looking for when accessing whether your startup is scalable? Listen to this episode of the Ignite podcast to find out more about running a startup business today.

In this Ignite Podcast episode, Michael Waitze is joined by Ferdinand Gutierrez, the CEO of gaming entertainment startup Ampverse. In this episode, Michael and Ferdinand talked about the most important factor in the success of an early-stage venture, the startup mindset, and the future of Ampverse. 

The key to a startup’s success

Michael started off the podcast with a hard-hitting question about the most important factor to the success of an early startup.

Ferdinand clinched back with a straight forward answer: “It’s the mentality. You need to be stronger than the punch.” 

The startup journey is difficult and you need to be psychologically and physically strong to survive the initial pushbacks, he explained. 

The other important factor is to validate your ideas fast. “You need to try to get to the business as quickly as you can.” This means finding out early whether your ideas are feasible or not, he told Michael.  

This is because as long as startups continue to test with real users and learn about what they are doing, they can continue to figure out what users want and improve their products accordingly. 

This was also the case when Ampverse first started out. As Ferdinand puts it: “We didn’t have any technology. We just needed to see if there’s an appetite for what we’re doing.” 

For Ampverse, the answer was a resounding “yes,” and the rest is history. 

Having the startup mindset

For Ferdinand, you know when you have a startup mindset when you find it hard to ignore the pull towards starting your own business, even if you have a stable job. 

“I really love the start of businesses. I love thinking about what’s out there and trying to conquer a goal together with a team,” he reflected.

The future of Ampverse

Ferdinand’s vision for Ampverse is for it to be the biggest and brightest gaming entertainment company in Southeast Asia. 

While he is confident quality content will be the backbone of the business, he admits that the Ampverse team still figuring out whether a business pivot is necessary for them to achieve this goal. 

Currently, Ampverse specialises in connecting brands with content creators, as well as helping streamers become more brand-friendly without losing their authenticity. 

Nevertheless, the company has started new vertices, such as investing in an esports team to see if the venture is scalable. 

Ferdinand and his team at Ampverse are now in the process of recalibrating their company direction. 

“What are the bigger holes that we can plug if we become another type of business?” Ferdinand wondered. “Answering this question will be key to figuring out the future of Ampverse.” 

Tune in to this Ignite podcast episode to hear more about Ampverse, Southeast Asia’s gaming industry, and how you can improve your early-stage startup.

Quote: “It’s all about investing into people.” 

In this episode, Michael Waitze is joined by Geir Windsvoll, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of startup studio Santora Nakama. The two talked about startup models, working with new startups, and the emotional toll that comes with it. 

Darth Vader vs The Jedis - Contrasting startup models

Michael kicked off the podcast by asking Geir what his preferred startup model was, pointing out two models that are analogous to Darth Vader vs The Jedis. 

On the one hand, there’s an extremely structured model that focuses on the business side of things. Rocket Internet is a good example of this model. This model is aimed at putting a vetted talent pool together and have them work as a startup in a structured way. 

Meanwhile, the other model focuses on doing the complete opposite. Also known as a ‘speed dating’ model, it puts a large pool of talent together, allowing them to match, partner, and come up with a business idea under a limited amount of time. Antler is a good example of the ‘speed dating model’.

The result of this galactic battle? The Jedis won. Geir said he prefers the latter ‘speed dating’ model as it tends to be more user-centric, founder-focused, and innovation-driven. 

Putting pressure in a safe environment

“To generate ideas fast, you bring people together, make them feel safe and supported, but the pressure is also important,” Geir contemplated. The key to startup success is a good team that works well together and not a business idea, he continued. 

By introducing some pressure into a startup environment, you get a glimpse of how well a particular startup team works together in times of crisis. It allows you to look more at the team, how they adapt, and solve problems together, he said. 

Furthermore, pressure forces teams to develop their ideas fast without over-analysing them. It also helps remove the influence of personal connections when it comes to funding. This is because the time limit forces venture capitalists to make faster decisions based on data points instead of personal relationships. 

Getting to know Santora Nakama

Santora Nakama is a startup studio that acts as a Co-founder with startups to help lower their failure rates. The goal is to create a platform where people without financial security can still pursue their startup vision. 

“In other words, we’ll create a space for you and take some risks for you,” Geir summarised. 

At Santora Nakama, the Managing Partner stated, we place a lot of importance on figuring out team dynamics upfront. That’s because most startups fail because of co-founder fallouts. For this reason, Santora Nakama has made it their priority to make sure that the skills and personalities within startup teams complement each other. 

The biggest challenge - Knowing when to pull the plug

Finally, the two discussed the biggest challenge to managing a startup studio and the emotional toll that comes with it. 

Once you become emotionally invested in the team and the product, the mental pressure on dealing with how you treat startups can become very difficult, Geir admitted. 

To find out more about Santora Nakama and how they overcome this challenge, be sure to listen to this episode of the Ignite podcast!

In this first episode of the Ignite podcast, Michael Waitze is joined by Sergei Filippov, Managing Partner and Head of Investments and Consulting at Morphosis Capital Partners (MCP). The two discussed what diplomatic and military history taught Sergei about management consulting, MCP’s startup programs and the drawbacks of the ‘cash is king’venture capital mindset. 

Sergei Filippov, originally from Moscow, Russia, became interested in the startup ecosystem of Southeast Asia back in 2007. With decades of experience working with big firms like McKinsey, Yamaha, and Sony, Sergei offered his insights on how he has used his history degree to inform his management consulting services over the years. 

Learning from History

Michael and Sergei discussed the importance of conducting a feasibility study on new business models, expansionary plans, as well as other objectives. For Sergei, it’s all about understanding and solving problems for the business’s stakeholders. 

“Listen to the client first, be attentive to details. Otherwise, you might be solving a problem that’s not even there.” Sergei reflected. 

To fully understand the stakeholders’ problems, consultants will need to analyse and organise all the data available, while also identifying what the key goals of the business are. This was where Sergei’s training in history came in. 

From reading declassified FBI and CIA reports, Sergei noted, one starts to develop the ability to put a lot of information together and create a narrative or informed conclusion about what all the data means. The same principle applies to management consulting, where the ability to analyse and understand all the business data available is paramount to offering productive consulting services. 

MCP’s Ignite and Scale Up Programs

The two then went on to talk about MCP’s Ignite and Scale Up programs. The Ignite program is designed to help new startups develop their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and acquire their first clients in order to get funding.

Meanwhile, the Scale Up program is designed to help startups that have already developed their MVP gain some initial traction by improving their business model, upgrading their technology, and solve any other problems to get them through the next round of funding. 

The unique aspect of these two programs is that MCP is more open to help older, more mature entrepreneurs who have in-depth experience in their respective fields.

Is cash really king?

Before ending the podcast, Michael and Sergei talked about the importance of profit and cash flow in new startups. Sergei challenged the idea that startups need to be making a lot of money in order to earn VC capital, using gigantic online platforms like Youtube and Instagram as an example. 

Listen to our podcast to find to learn more about the key factors that contribute to the success of startups and find out how MCP can help scale your startup to the next level.