Asia Startup Pulse

Final call for signing up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 on Eventbrite [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast]. We will soon be back with the brand-new season. Today, ASP selected the special episode that Oscar Ramos sat down with venture capitalist and fintech investor Wei Hopeman. After beginning her career in financial services and investment banking, Wei co-founded Arbor Ventures in 2013, the first VC fund specialized in fintech in the Asian ecosystem. She talks to us about the growth of fintech, the benefits of corporate VCs, and how founders and corporate VCs can improve their interactions with each other. Show notes: 1:28 Intro 2:07 How Wei got into financial services 5:46 Going into investment banking 7:30 The growth of fintech in Asia 9:32 The lack of infrastructure in financial services 12:18 Launching fintech in China 15:18 Benefits of corporate VCs 17:08 Key questions a founder should ask corporate VCs 18:31 Key difference between types of VCs 21:02 Educating corporates in working with startups 23:17 Women in VC 30:16 The future of Arbor Ventures thanks to our host Oscar Ramos, guest Wei Hopeman, editor David and Geep, organizer Chinaccelerator and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website at Chinaccelerator Website [https://chinaccelerator.com/] Follow us on LinkedIn: Asia Startup Pulse [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse] Email us:team@chinastartuppulse.com [team@chinastartuppulse.com]

Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast] In this episode, we talk about Peng’s journey as an investor and how he perceives the great potential in Southeast Asia. More importantly, he summarizes a very important trend in SEA’s startup ecosystem, "Technification". We also talk about the impact that China's Internet giants have on SEA through investments and M&A. Show Notes: 2:26 Peng’s journey as an investor 3:54 Main differences btw seed round and Series A 9:47 More capital investment in SEA 10:52 The most interesting trend in SEA 11:28 “Technification” in China 12:36 The opportunities of “technification” in SEA 15:05 “There is no way for a company to grow that fast without technology” 18:03 The core DNA of a successful founding team 19:26 China’s role in SEA’s service industry 22:58 The role of Chinese and Japanese corporate venture capital in SEA 26:56 The infrastructure development in SEA 28:57 A hard push on deep technology in SEA? Many thanks to our guest Peng T.Ong; hostOscar Ramos; producers Eva Shiand Sagar Chaudhary; editorDavid; organizerChinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our websitewww.chinaccelerator.com [https://chinaccelerator.com/] Share, subscribe, review, enjoy! Follow us on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse] Email us:team@chinastartuppulse.com [team@chinastartuppulse.com]

In today’s episode, we talk with Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture funds. Sanjay also represents Blume on the boards of Arka Venture Labs and the Draper Venture Network. Blume focuses on Seed to Pre-Series A stages of funding and has made over 100 investments across its 10-year history across multiple funds. Sanjay has invested in and advises a wide portfolio of startups including GreyOrange Robotics, Dataweave, Locus, Tricog, LBB, Lulu, Lambdatest, TapChief (acquired by Unacademy), Nektar.ai, and Obviously.ai amongst others. What is the trajectory for Indian startups expanding abroad? How do they start in India and move to the US and SEA? How can startups build and sell remotely and operate in a virtual world? What are the repercussions of localization when internationalization? Sanjay, as an active investor in the space, brings his experience in answering all these questions and more! Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast] Show Notes 02:10 Introduction to Sanjay Nath 02:55 Sanjay’s transition from consulting to VC 07:41 The trend of Indian startups expanding overseas 11:20 Overcoming the barriers of  cross-border expansion 16:38 How Blume VC supports startups with their expertise and best practices 24:10 Localisation vs Internationalisation from Day 1 28:22 Popular revenue models among Indian startups 31:04 The second-order effect of Covid19 on cross-border expansion 38:22 Opportunities for Indian SaaS companies in China 41:05 Leveraging diaspora and ecosystems to expand to the US and Europe 45:17 Sanjay’s final thoughts Many thanks to our guests Sanjay Nath; hostOscar Ramos; producersEva Shiand Sagar Chaudhary; editorDavid Xu; organizerChinaccelerator; and sponsorPeople Squared. Be sure to check out our websitewww.chinaccelerator.com [https://chinaccelerator.com/] Share, subscribe, review, enjoy! To join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group  invitation. To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit  www.asiastartuppulse.com Follow us on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse/] Email us:asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com [asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com]

In this episode, we go deep into marketplaces  with James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures. James  was co-founder and COO of 55tuan, a NASDAQ listed e-commerce group that grew to more than 200 cities and 5,000 employees across China. Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast] Show notes: 2:43 - Introduction to James Tan 4:21 -  Transition from startup founder to venture capitalist 6:06 - Introduction to Quest Ventures 7:20 -  Most rewarding achievements of running a marketplace 9:37 -  Why James is excited about marketplaces 12:23 -  The advantages of a marketplace over a B2C company 15:41 -  How to manage and control your marketplace 17:55 -  The most innovative marketplace models that James has seen 20:28 - Is a marketplace in Southeast Asia a regional business? 23:21 -  The right time for marketplaces to internationalise 25:53 -  How should companies localise in Indonesia? 31:31 - Where should Indonesian companies internationalise to 34:13  - When should companies reconsider expansion 35:13  - How to innovate the marketplace revenue model? 40:11  - Does “marketplace” have a higher valuation multiple compared to e-commerce? Follow us on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse/] To join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group invitation. Email us:asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com [asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com] Many thanks to our guest James Tan; hostOscar Ramos; producersEva Shiand Sagar Chaudhary; editorDavid Xu; organizerChinaccelerator; and sponsorPeople Squared. Be sure to check out our websitewww.chinaccelerator.com [https://chinaccelerator.com/]

Having accomplished his goal of transforming the gaming industry, Johnson Yeh is now turning his attention to his long-time passion: circular economy and sustainability. He founded ROEHL to provide consumers with a more sustainable and convenient lifestyle, starting with a subscription-based home appliance service. Johnson recently sat down with Oscar Ramos in our Shanghai recording studio. Listen for their discussion on: * Why Johnson left his job at the summit of the gaming industry to pursue this mission * What we can do in a world of planned obsolescence * Economic benefits to a circular economy * How ROEHL is speeding up the rate of green-tech adoption, starting with air-purifying products * China’s leading position in green technology * The most exciting opportunities for new companies in the sector About the speaker: Johnson Yeh is the founder and CEO of ROEHL, the world’s first Lifestyle-as-a-Service (L.a.a.S) company. Before founding ROEHL in 2019, Johnson led Riot Games in China, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Under his leadership, LPL and e-sport went through a formidable transformation, becoming China's biggest spectator sport, with viewing numbers increasing by 15 times in 5 years. In 2019, the total number of hours watched reached 4 billion in China alone, surpassing CSL, NBA, and other traditional sporting events. Many thanks to our guestJohnson Yeh; hostOscar Ramos; producers Sagar Chaudhary and Lace Nguyen; editor David Xu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com [http://www.chinaccelerator.com/]. To join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group invitation. Follow us on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse [https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse/] Email us:asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com [asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com]