Low Level Barbarians (LLB)

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* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

Kicking off 2025 with something different. We sit down with Anna and Leo, two fearless indie filmmakers who left Russia to pursue free expression, true art, and their Hollywood dreams. Their journey is anything but ordinary, and they’re carving an uncharted path to greatness.

Check out Anna and Leo's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@motionandsounds

Lets Connect!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/annakadykova/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonid-shmelkov-82932ba0/

Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/JOgWqPbOVSE

00:00 Escaping Russia for Hollywood Dreams

01:12 Anna

04:36 Leo

07:19 Censorship in Russia

14:26 Getting Stuck in Sri Lanka

15:44 Countries With Big Independent Film Industries

19:29 Challenges Of Feature Film Funded by Russian Government

22:05 How Western People Perceive the War With Ukraine

24:53 Insider Insights On the War of Ukraine

27:56 What Would You Be Willing to Die For

28:40 Dying & Being Forgotten vs Being Remembered

32:37 Breaking Into the Film Industry

34:44 Contrarian Approach

37:28 Finding Authenticity In Your Own Voice

43:22 Forget the World Chaos By Surfing

45:29 Leaving the Sri Lankan Village

52:11 Re-doing the feature film

01:02:57 Most Ambitious Project

01:03:49 Blind Trust In Selling A Script

01:12:59 Balancing Art vs Commercial

01:14:19 Beginner's Mindset

01:15:46 Crisis As A Possibility & Thinking Big

01:23:13 Defining The Partnership

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* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

The final LLB episode of 2024 with Dave, Alex and Jianggan. Jianggan just got back from his 8th China trip of the year and updates us on what is happening in China. We cover the attitude of the youth in China currently, SEA vs Chia logistics, and some thoughts around the impact of the new US administration coming in. We close out with some thoughts that characterized 2024 and some takes for 2025.

Lets Connect!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidqchang/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/jianggan/

Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/F4EYjIonWBB

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:45 Updates From Shanghai/China

03:39 Current Attitudes of the Youths in China Right Now

05:46 Interest Rates in China

06:38 Logistics in China vs Southeast Asia Development

23:15 China in 2025

28:17 Takes on Trump & uncertanity going into 2025

30:44 Art Of The Deal - Anchoring

36:05 Joe Biden pardons

39:09 United Health Care CEO Assassination

46:50 How Would you Characters 2024

58:59 Contrarian Takes for 2025

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Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

This is the first time I ever met Whei Chern & Dmitry. We barely exchanged maybe more than 2-3 messages before this episode. In this episode I do real time feedback of seeing this deck and meeting the the founders of MIEA health for the first time.

Lets Connect!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitriy-chekin/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/whei-chern-ho-8015a235/

Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/Vho8S2YDmcw

00:00 Pitch Deck Breakdown - MIEA Health | E:53

00:18 The Premise & Context

01:26 Intro Of the Founders

01:35 Dimitry

02:43 Founding of MIEA

03:19 Original Idea of MIEA

05:06 The Hundred Year life

07:25 What MIEA Does Today

09:27 Give Me A Concise Elevator Pitch

11:53 Investor Sentiment In Southeast Asia

16:08 Founder Roles

17:04 First Feedback On Elevator Pitch

19:35 My Understanding Of The Pitch So far

20:42 Pitch Deck Review - Slide 1

24:00 Slide 2 - Purpose Slide

32:01 Slide 2 - Problem Slide

34:36 Slide 4 - Problem Slide

36:11 How Important is the USD150B Statistic

41:44 Slide 5 - Product

45:53 Why Solve THIS problem - Clarifying Original idea

48:46 General Feedback From Other Investors

50:28 Mismatch of Investor Expectations vs Stage of Venture

51:31 Slide 6 - Product Slide

51:47 Understanding Incumbent Solutions

54:02 YC Bible - Do Things That Don't Scale

57:31 Slide 7 - Market Sizing

01:03:04 Slide 8 - Competitive Analysis

01:07:11 Slide 9 - Competitive Advantage

01:11:40 Slide 10 - Go To Market

01:14:26 Slide 12 - Notable New Clients

01:15:25 Slide 13 - Team Slide

01:18:13 Learn More About the Founders

01:19:19 Founder Motivations

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Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

Did you miss the Devcon Conference? Maybe you just want an update of what is going on in crypto. Tune in to find what happened and what to expect for crypto going into 2025

Lets Connect!

* Justin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahnjustin/

* Chong - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chongsiong/

Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/xCBWINyxpEB

Chapters:

Condense Takeaway

00:00 Intro

00:57 How Has Devcon Changed in 2024

02:58 Bangkok Hosting Devcon

04:48 Continued Eth Ecosystem Growth

06:25 Scam Phase Is A Feature Not A Bug

07:16 Solana Rise To Prominence

08:32 Meme Coins Galore

09:56 Regulation Is Key Moving Forward

11:28 Some Predictions

Podcast Start

17:19 The overall VIBE of Devcon 2024

19:56 Why Bangkok This Year?

22:23 Are There Enough Developers Still?

26:08 Can't Escape Meme Coins - Where has utility gone?

27:41 Does Utility Matter Anymore

31:55 Life Cycles Of Crypto

33:42 Solana Has Embraced The Degen Narrative

35:32 Discussing Trading Volume of BTC, ETH, SOL

36:56 Centralized Exchanges Are Slowly Dying

39:25 Is the Market Topping?

41:17 Will there be a Spillover Effect From Bitcoin

42:46 Beyond The Meme Coins - Any Fundamental Changes?

51:48 The Most Exciting Thing to Come Out of Devcon

55:29 AI and Crypto C r urrency Tokens

01:00:20 Pump.Fun Craze

01:01:06 Main Events & Speakers At Devcon

01:02:57 Quidli Update

01:05:45 Looking Ahead to 2025

Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

Support the pod!

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Connect with us!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/jianggan/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidqchang/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/joonchan/

Jianggan drove up from Singapore to do a live episode. Dave has been right for years calling the US election, and Jianggan has been reading too much Wechat media. In this episode we unpack some of Jianggan’s conspiracy ideas (don’t take it so seriously) but in-between we discuss a lot of the fundamental issues of current US politics, the deep state, why the presidency matters and much more. Lastly! We finally pin down Joon and hear his pitch for the current business venture he is pursuing.

Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/anem3Q6zxeS

Chapters:

Part 1

00:00 Intro

00:44 US Elections

01:27 Biden Is A Double Agent

05:01 Biden Garbage Context

05:30 Why Did Biden Call Maga People Garbage

08:19 Democratic Party Looking For A Scapegoat

11:49 Jianggan's Next Conspiracy

12:17 Is Trump A Long Term Master Strategist

14:39 The Deep State

17:57 Bureaucratic sclerosis

22:21 Why Does the Presidency Matter Then?

22:42 Institutional vs Outsiders

25:32 Why Did Trump Lose To Biden

27:12 Trump's Super Power

28:08 Difference in Campaign Strategies

35:03 Founder Mode vs CEO Mode

35:38 Jianggan's Third Conspiracy Theory

37:04 What Wil Trump Achieve

39:13 Effects Of Tariffs

44:50 On Ukraine & Gaza

47:35 Tariff Effects on Asia

Part 2: Joon's New Venture

57:19 Joon's New Venture - Black Gold

59:01 what is Biochar

01:01:13 Why Not Sell The Biochar

01:02:12 Joon's Motivations

01:03:32 Business Model

01:08:38 Carbon Credits

01:09:18 Market Sizingr

01:10:47 Hurdles To Clear

01:14:02 Competitors

01:15:32 Ideal Lead Investor

Dewan's First Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/44AcLcd870CBIikhY8hctG?si=85c2b544ceba4d63

Dewan has been involved in entrepreneurship for more than 10 years. He recently exited his first and venture as a co-founder after a 7 year grind. We recap his journey and the tough lessons he learned along the way. While the venture might been seen as a failure, the journey was invaluable.

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Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

Raw Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/3ByjRDGDjrb

Chapters:

00:00 You Won't Fail If You Align Your Values | E:51

03:33 Vintages of Investments

10:08 Dojo KL - The Journey

10:21 Seduced by High Valuations

11:23 Red Flags 5-6 Months in

14:27 When Is Your Gut Right Or Wrong About Uncertain Opportunities (Full Body Yes)

18:16 Navigating Stakeholders When All Is Wrong

19:53 Testing for Honesty In Partnerships

25:29 Other Co-working that blew up

27:50 Pivots & Roller Coasters (1.5 years onwards)

28:50 Addressing A Failed Partnership

30:29 Pick Your Investors Carefully

32:38 How to Practically Align Values With Stakeholders

37:55 Does Co-Working Only Wwork If You Are the Landlord

42:35 Evolution of Dojo Services

45:15 Problems With New Business Model

53:05 Operating During Covid

57:29 The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back

01:08:55 Success Or Failure For Dojo

01:11:08 How It Ended

01:11:33 is there brand value in co-working?

01:12:44 Cutting Losses

01:15:34 Biggest Takeaways

01:16:42 Building For Yourself

01:17:56 When Ignoring Data Is Good

01:19:40 Biggest Takeaway

01:20:57 What Is Dewans Strongest Expertise

01:28:31 Carrying Lessons Forwardr

01:36:57 Advice To Those On The Journey

Y.K. Goon's Previous Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3LOd7lkqNME5uIqKUQidh5?si=d1ebc504f5eb41df

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* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

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Connect to Y.K.!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykgoon/

Another old episode from the catalogue. If you ever wondered how or why someone invest 100% of their net worth in crypto look no further. In this episode we explore how YK navigated the centralized exchange fiascos of 2023, the bottlenecks for mass adoption of crypto, some of YK's best investments and how YK avoids post exit investment regret. In part 2 we talk about the broad implications of VR and lastly we talk about how YK is using A.I. in his daily software engineering job as CTO of Kakitangan

00:00 Intro

01:24 Recap From Previous Episode

02:22 Investing In Crypto

03:50 YK's Workflow in Crypto

06:40 On FTX Fiasco

10:31 Luna Effect on YK's Portfolio

14:39 Real Yield vs Scam Yield

17:28 Old Fiat to New Fiat

20:22 What Is the Bottleneck for Mass Adoption of Crypto

24:26 Why 100% In Crypto

27:11 Weakness of Crypto Currencies

32:32 What Does Mass Adoption Mean

36:58 Diversification Strategy

38:33 Investing and Managing Risky Assets

43:50 Successful Investments

50:21 Did Livepeer Exceed Your Expectations

52:09 Post Profit Regret

54:14 Measuring Performance

56:18 How Much Value Lost From the Peak

58:41 Views On Institutional Money ON-Chain

01:03:19 What's New In Crypto

01:06:16 Thinking About Investing In Games

01:19:22 NFT's built on Bitcoin

01:22:18 Cryptocurrencies are like cities

01:25:50 YK's Excitement on VR

01:26:55 Playing VR Doom

01:27:22 Tech, Media, Reality Thesis

01:29:47 Why Is Mainstream Against the Idea of VR

01:31:32 State of VR

01:41:31 Is Our Generation More Pessimistic

01:43:51 Media Consumption Horizon

01:48:33 Today's Zeitgeist

01:51:23 Prompot Engineering

01:54:13 Using LLM's to Code Wwith Teams

01:59:02 Does TEchnical Debt Reduce wwith AI

02:06:55 Closing Thoughts on LLMs

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* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

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Connect to Max!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-maze-8294366b/

This was filmed back in mid-2023. Max is a film director and writer who also has the technical expertise to build neural networks and work in AI. He possesses a rare combination of technical and artistic abilities, which he's using to create the world's first AI movie director. Although this footage is over a year old, much of what Max discusses remains timeless and relevant today

00:00 Introduction

THOUGHTS FROM MAX

02:09 Perfectionism & Capitalism

08:03 Balancing Personal Brand vs Personal Expression

14:36 Structures & Constraints On Creativity

VSTORY

15:52 VSTORY Elevator Pitch

17:58 Inspiration For VSTORY

25:43 Building An AI Director

28:12 Stakeholders in Media Production - Problem Focus

32:29 Tying the Thesis Together

34:06 Benefit for Studios

35:14 Market Sizing

37:28 Quality vs Making Money

43:41 VSTORY's Positioning

46:44 Defensibility of VSTORY

53:17 People Behind VSTORY

01:00:34 Cap Table

01:06:43 Tech vs Business Aspects

01:10:00 VSTORY Traction & MVP

01:19:06 What is VSTORY fundraising For

THOUGHTS ON AI

01:21:20 Thoughts around AI

01:25:10 Most Important Thing About AI Today

01:35:24 Detour Ukraine and Ideas of Belief to Choose

01:40:04 Is The Future Dystopian or Utopian?

01:44:32 Biggest Misunderstanding About AI

Need help with market expansion, product market fit, growth, or fundraising? Reach out!

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Lets Connect!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/norhakim-sanwan/

Sitting down with Hakim, CEO and Co-founder of Mascon Technologies, to dive deep into the $14 trillion maritime industry and how digital transformation is revolutionizing maritime safety and seafarer operations.

Hakim shares his journey from being a seafarer himself to solving real-world problems with cutting-edge tech, helping to increase safety, trust, and operational efficiency. Discover how the lack of verification in traditional methods has caused significant economic losses and why Mascon's solutions are poised to disrupt the space.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:19 Elevator Pitch

03:09 Value Aspect Of Safety Marine Economy

06:31 Lack Of Safety Equals Huge Economic Loss

09:11 Market Sizing of Maritime Industry

10:49 Breaking Down The Value Chain

18:47 Ship Man Power Organization

21:41 Competition in Maritime Tech Space

28:45 Best Innovations in the Maritime Industry

32:27 Contrarian Views In Maritime Industry

38:22 Views On Port Congestion

44:45 Labor Shortages

49:50 Tackling Certification

51:34 Mascon Core Focus - Problem/Solution

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Lets Connect!

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderle/

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-ng-ff/

Vertical farming once promised to revolutionize agriculture, but with billions lost, can Future Farms revive the dream? In this video, we examine the rise and fall of vertical farming, its impact on the agriculture industry, and how Future Farms could drive the next wave of innovation. We dive deep into industry trends, lessons from past failures, and explore how investors and entrepreneurs can seize new opportunities in agriculture technology. Watch now to discover the future of farming and share your thoughts in the comments!

Key Topics Covered:

Vertical Farming Industry Overview (2000-2024): Understanding the rise, fall, and current state of vertical farming.

Future Farms Thesis & Scalability: Can future farms scale effectively with significant investment?

Product Innovation: What are the "better" products in agriculture, and how can they drive success?

VC Learnings: Insights from VC-backed vertical farms that went bust and what can be learned from their mistakes.

Positioning in Asia: How Future Farms is strategically positioned in Asia to leverage market opportunities.

Business Strategy: Key strategies for scaling, market sizing, and optimizing resources like electricity and water.

Government Mandates & Tech Innovation: The role of food security mandates and how technology innovation builds a competitive moat.

Founder & Team Insights: Exploring the motivations, backgrounds, and challenges of the founding team.

Chapters:

00:00 After Billions Lost in Vertical Farming, Is Future Farms the Key to a Comeback? - E:46

00:24 Future Farms Elevator Pitch

01:23 Vertical Farming Industry Overview 2000-2024

06:53 Future Farms Thesis In Vertical Farming

12:12 Can Future Farms Scale With Big Money?

13:55 What Are "Better" Products in Agriculture?

15:08 Learnings From VC Backed Farms

17:27 How is Future Farms Positioned in Asia

18:33 Low vs High Margin Strategy

21:40 Future Farms Focus vs Traditional Agriculture

23:05 Problem vs Solutions

24:18 Busine ss Strategy & Scaling

25:52 Market Sizing

26:30 Should VC Dollars Look At This Space

27:10 Future Farm Approach To Solutions

30:41 Learning From Customers

33:10 Plant Nutrients Focus

37:23 Optimizing Electricity

41:35 Optimizing On Water

42:35 Tackling Scale

47:38 Government Mandate in Food Security

48:20 Tech Innovation Focus

50:04 Developing a Moat

52:02 Founder Grit & Motivations

54:50 Team Background

57:30 Founder Conflicts -Core Guiding Principles

59:48 Growing The Team

01:06:10 Fundraising

01:09:39 Funding Allocations