UVC

In this podcast episode, you will learn:

• What is venture philanthropy? How is it different from a VC fund?
• What is the investment thesis at Kickstart ventures? What has Kickstart’s journey from its first fund right up to the recent (third) fund been like?
• Why does Kickstart invest in startups throughout the globe as opposed to the conventional approach of VC funds of focusing on particular geography?
• Are big conglomerate businesses better off investing in startups or having an internal innovation team?
• Over the years, how far has the Philippines come when it comes to the digitization of consumers and enterprise experience? How big can the digital economy in the Philippines be in the coming years?
• Social movements or trends (in the startup world) that Joan thinks have a lot of growth potential in the Philippines or globally in the coming years like B2B e-commerce, agriculture, healthcare, and education
• Joan answers the question ‘What are the traits of a great founder?’ by mentioning various factors such as being able to build a team, being humble, open-minded, decisive with a strong point of view about a particular thing, the one who understands the market and its requirement and the one who considers himself responsible enough for taking wrong calls and yet pivoting a way out of it
• What are some ways in which the Philippines startup ecosystem has improved over the years?

About

Joan Yao is the Vice President of Investments at Kickstart Ventures Inc., the corporate venture capital arm of Globe Telecom. Prior to Kickstart, she was Investment Manager for Southeast Asia at LGT Venture Philanthropy, a global impact investing firm headquartered in Europe. For six years, Joan was primarily responsible for the sourcing, screening, execution, and management of LGT VP’s deals in the region. In 2015, she served as a consultant to the Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines, advising on policies and programs related to MSME development, tech startups, inclusive business, and social enterprise.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Why was becoming a VC a more appealing decision for Do instead of just continuing to build startups? How did the factors such as his ten years of work experience in building and growing startups, working with big corporates, and understanding how investments work affect his decision?
• What are the challenges that he faced and the lessons that he learned along the journey of building his first business - ispeaking.org?
• How different are today’s startup founders from Do’s generation ten years ago? How has the startup ecosystem in Vietnam changed in terms of knowledge base, VC investments, opportunities, per capita GDP of the consumer base, etc?
• Why are all the limited partners in Thinkzone’s second fund local Vietnamese? How is that advantageous for the fund?
• Why does Do work with just five startups at a time at Thinkzone accelerator? Why is the due diligence process one month long?
• What are some of the difficulties facing startups and VCs that can be solved with better public policies?

About
Mr. Bui Thanh Do is the Founding Partner & CEO of ThinkZone Ventures, Vietnam's largest local-resourced venture fund with $60 million in fund size, investing in technology startups from Pre-Seed to Series A in various verticals. Before founding ThinkZone, Do Bui had more than 11 years of experience in startups and startup-support activities in the field of technology. 

He has also operated as a C-level leader in many large companies and corporations.

• Vice President & CPO of Five9 Vietnam - One of the leading companies in Vietnam in telecommunications, big data, and providing a credit-scoring platform for banks with more than 50 million USD in annual revenue.
• Co-founder of TechElite (with its products including bigtime.vn & worktime.vn), CCO of Co-Well Asia - One of Japan's leading IT solution providers with more than 500 engineers.
• A former manager at Microsoft Vietnam, one of the first members of Money Lover (a personal financial management application with more than 10 million users

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Why Joseph started a VC fund specializing in healthcare?
• What are some of the interesting innovations happening in the three areas of focus for the healthcare tech industry namely prevention, diagnosis,and absolute cure?
• 3 strategies that startups can use to ace fundraising
• Why it’s important for startups to do a competitor analysis before approaching VCs and how startups can do it well?
• If a VC withdraws a term sheet, who looks bad? The VC or the startup?
• What were the challenges that Joseph faced while raising capital for his VC fund and the lessons he learned?
• Why is Joseph interested in investing in healthcare startups focusing on respiratory health?
• Can we ensure that this is the last pandemic? If not, how can we do things better in the future?

About

Joseph Mocanu is an angel investor and the founding partner of the Verge Healthtech fund focusing on seed-stage healthcare technology companies relevant to emerging markets based in Singapore. He was born in Romania, and he was a scientist researching new cancer therapies, a medical device entrepreneur, and a management consultant for Oliver Wyman where he led life sciences and digital health across Asia before he started his journey as an investor.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• What is FounderSuite? What are the ways in which FounderSuite facilitates fundraising?
• Why FounderSuite over spreadsheets?
• How did Nathan redirect his entrepreneurial spirit to create a SaaS product aimed at entrepreneurs?
• How can founders lookout for clues for a good founder-VC fit?
• What’s the roadmap for a founder to materialize their ‘dream team’?
• What’s the right way to make yourself conspicuous in the industry before approaching your A-list investors?
• How to deal with rejection and contradictory feedback from various investors?
• How valuable are Investor Updates to propel a startup’s growth prospects?
• How can founders get a quicker ‘no’?
• The seasonality of fundraising in the west

About

Nathan Beckord is the CEO of Foundersuite.com a venture-backed company that makes the leading “funding stack” (investor database, CRM, pitch deck hosting, and Investor Update tools) for startups raising capital. Since launching in 2016, users have raised over $3 Bln in seed and venture capital.

Prior to starting Foundersuite, Nathan spent ten years working with over 150 startups as interim CFO, Business Developer, and Advisor. Nathan has an MBA in Entrepreneurship, a BSC in Finance, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). In his free time, he enjoys sailing, traveling, and riding motorcycles.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• What is the key quality required in an entrepreneur or VC entering 2022’s breakneck technology sector?
• Can speed of execution be an appropriate criteria when tracking a startup’s progress?
• How do VCs navigate the equivocality of a business’s input and output?
• What is the one hubris that usually afflicts entrepreneurs?
• How has abundant capital hampered the process of decision-making in startups?
• Why do most copy-cat founders end up chasing their own tails?
• Jeffrey’s estimation of the importance of mental health and skill coaching for founders and employees
• Why is there a staggering proportion of entrepreneurs who helplessly suffer from mental health issues? Is this a business-specific phenomenon or a fog hanging over all of society?
• Why is immunity to disappointments a superpower for founders when they are just starting off?
• Does a high management fee diminish the intangible incentives that are requisite for motivating a VC for calculated progress and returns?

About

Jeffrey Paine is a Co-founder and Managing Partner of Golden Gate Ventures, an early stage technology venture capital fund based in Singapore investing in Southeast Asia with over US$175 million under management investing in over 45 companies since 2012.

Jeff started and manages the Founder Institute in Singapore where he is currently overseeing its expansion in Southeast Asia, and Japan. Since 2010 the Founder Institute in Singapore has graduated over 100 companies. He is a recipient of the Founder Institute Director Award 2012 for “Greatest Ecosystem Impact” Worldwide (Singapore).

He is a Singapore native and graduated with a Bachelors of Business Administration (Information Systems) from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Hian’s meandering journey from Singapore to England, from computers to law, and how he ended up becoming an investment banker.
• Why does Hian liken entrepreneurs to underdogs? How can entrepreneurs transcend the underdog mentality?
• The success story of Kumu, a Filipino video sharing and e-commerce social networking service
• How does the face-off between tradition and innovation complicate decision making in VCs and startups? What is the best way to tackle such a situation?
• What was Hian’s vision for creating the The Unreasonable Podcast?
• Why does Hian ascribe immense importance to humanizing VCs? What personal efforts has he made to meet that end?
• What’s the best way to sift through and imbibe feedback?
• Hian’s definition of a ‘magical’ product
• How and why does Openspace nurture largely variegated expertise?
• Openspace’s data-driven approach to investing which employs active intelligence

About

As a co-founder of Openspace in 2014, Hian has worked side-by-side with Shane Chesson to build the firm and lead significant investments. He sits on the Investment Committee, focuses on new growth strategies, and represents Openspace on the Boards of some of our fastest growing investments, including Kumu, Nutrition Technologies, Love, Bonito and FreshKet.

He also led the first institutional fundraising round for Gojek. He has a great deal of practitioner experience having founded and built Asian Food Channel, a 24-hour pay TV channel, which was sold to US media giant, Scripps Interactive in April 2013. He is currently active on the Board of the Singapore Science Centre and sits on the A*STAR portfolio management committee.

Hian holds an MBA from INSEAD Singapore and a Law Degree from Trinity College, Oxford.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Jessica Liu’s journey from Associate in charge of the accelerator to a Partner at Appworks, a platform that connects investors and businesses, acting as an integral catalyst in Taiwan’s VC ecosystem in addition to being a venture fund.
• What is the equity-free Appwork Accelerator Program? How does it offer support and guidance to founders?
• The importance of the ‘dating period’ for the sustenance of a startup-VC relationship.
• Which domains is Appworks looking to invest in? 
• What does Appworks’ portfolio spectrum look like?
• Jessica’s idea of ‘founder exchange’, one of Appworks’ best strategies to boost founders’ growth and optimize outputs. 
• Appworks’ customized method of mentor-mentee relationship building, while staying clear of the matchmaker role.
• As an industry expert, what does Jessica think about the emerging possibilities of Web3? How would the ongoing digital revolution change the startup and investment landscape?

About

Jessica is a Partner leading our efforts in Southeast Asia and the region’s burgeoning blockchain ecosystem. She loves helping visionary founders realize their full potential. Jessica has been active in the digital industry since 2010, starting her career managing online marketing for Standard Chartered Bank’s cross-selling strategies before joining AppWorks in 2014. At AppWorks, Jessica has been closely watching the development of consumer internet applications, especially as they intersect with the increasing ubiquity of deep technologies. She previously served as an Associate in charge of our Accelerator and Southeast Asia initiatives amongst many other major projects before becoming a Partner in 2019. Jessica received her B.B.A from the University of Southern California.
 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode, you will learn:

• What is Edmicro’s macro approach in handling the Vietnamese ed-tech ecosystem?
• How does Edmicro add value to the education sector?
• What is the reasoning behind Edmicro’s predominantly B2B approach?
• How has technology and accessibility reformed the Vietnamese education system?
• Why do Linh and Yinglan ascribe as much importance to founder-product fit as to product-market fit?
• What are the key elements of a sustainable startup-VC relationship?
• What are the intricacies of Venture Capital as viewed from service-oriented and product-oriented perspectives? Are these two facets of VC complementary or contrastive?
• What were the factors that facilitated not just a tenable but an amiable relationship between Insignia and Edmicro?

About

Yinglan Tan

Yinglan Tan founded Insignia Ventures Partners in 2017. Insignia Ventures Partners is an early-stage technology venture fund focusing on Southeast Asia and manages more than US$450 million from sovereign wealth funds, foundations, university endowments and renowned family offices. Insignia Ventures Partners is the recipient of “Deal of the Year (Small Cap / VC)” for Ajaib (2021) by AVCJ and two back-to-back “VC Deal of Year” awards for Payfazz (2019) and Carro (2018) from the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and its portfolio include many other technology leaders in Southeast Asia. He also co-hosts the On Call with Insignia Ventures podcast, where he chats with portfolio founders and regional investors. An author on venture capital, startups and innovation, he recently published his fourth book, Navigating ASEANnovation (World Scientific, 2020). He also serves on the International Board of Stars – Leaders of the Next Generation, the Singapore Government’s Pro Enterprise Panel and is a Board Member at Hwa Chong Institution.

Linh Dang Bao

Linh Dang Bao is the CEO and co-founder of Edmicro. He is a seasoned operator in Vietnam’s education sector, having worked several years driving adoption of Intel Vietnam’s edtech solutions across the country through partnerships with government agencies and schools, prior to starting Edmicro. He took up his PhD in the Netherlands before he returned to Vietnam.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode, you will learn:

• Swapna's journey towards becoming a VC, and how her culture, upbringing, and work experience influenced the process
• How is Qualcomm any different from other corporate VCs in the industry? How does their portfolio thesis set them apart?
• Qualcomm's fulfilling journey with MapMyIndia, culminating in its stellar IPO performance
• How should founders practice prudence while utilizing capital, and intangible resources? An illustration of Shadowfax
• Why is Qualcomm particularly interested in logistics and supply chain startups? How can better infrastructure fully tap this sector's potential in India?
• What is Qualcomm Women Entrepreneurs India Network? How does it aspire to motivate women entrepreneurs in Deeptech?
• What are some inequalities and prejudices miring the Indian startup ecosystem?
• What are the changing trends in the Indian startup industry? What composes its potential as a global investment market?

About

Swapna Gupta is a Director at Qualcomm Ventures India, based out of the Bangalore office. She manages investments across all sectors in the technology related ecosystem. She spends a significant amount of time building a high-quality deal pipeline, executing deals and portfolio management. She has led and manages investments in companies such as Locus, Zuddl, Shadowfax, Ninjacart, Stellapps, Moveinsync and Reverie (Acquired by Reliance) among others. Prior to joining Qualcomm, she was part of the Investment Banking team at EY, India where she concentrated on Private Equity and M&A of Technology/Telecom companies. She is also part of class 25 of the prestigious Kauffman fellow program.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode, you will learn:

• What was Joshua's first working experience and how did it propel him to enter the world of VC?
• What are some of the prejudices that lead VCs to lose out on great startups?
• What are the two types of founders? Is one better than the other?
• What are the characteristics of a great entrepreneur?
• The one question that no one tells you to ask yourself before fundraising
• How does Mandiri Capital add value to its portfolio companies?
• What is Mandiri Capital's 'Inclusive Incubator Program'? How can it benefit you?
• What are some of the changing trends in the Indonesian startup ecosystem? How can entrepreneurs and investors steer its wheels in the right direction?

About

Joshua is an experienced tech investor in Indonesia. He has 8+ years of experience in the venture capital industry and has been managing a total of 6 funds to date. He is currently serving as Director of Venture Funds in Mandiri Capital Indonesia - the corporate VC arm of Bank Mandiri, which is the largest corporate bank in Indonesia. He is responsible for leading fundraising and investment operations of Mandiri Capital’s new venture fund vehicles.

Prior to Mandiri Capital, Joshua was the Vice President of Investments in MDI Ventures, corporate VC arm of Telkom Indonesia. Under his tenure, he led MDI Ventures’ investment department and managed to achieve a track record of 9 exits in 6 years of fund life with 100% DPI and managed to source 3 unicorns (startups with valuation > US$1Bn). Besides investment activities, Joshua is also actively involved in industry and market research where he co-led MDI Ventures' 2 whitepaper publications. 

Joshua holds a bachelor's degree in Economics (Cum Laude) from the University of Indonesia and was inducted into Forbes Asia 30 under 30 2021 in Finance & Venture Capital category. 

Notable deals: Kredivo, Mobile Premier League, Payfazz, PrivyID, Bukalapak, Whispir

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com