On Call with Insignia Ventures

Insignia Ventures Partners
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On Call with Insignia Ventures

Start your week with new ~30 min calls every Tuesday! Learning what it takes to build an impactful and enduring company in emerging markets globally is just a call away. Join Insignia Ventures' resident storyteller Paulo Joquino and founding managing partner Yinglan Tan on call with the likes of Indonesian unicorn founders, Dianping's founder, Alibaba Global Initiatives founder, MercadoLibre co-founder and former COO, veteran Japan SaaS VC, and more! Get diverse perspectives as they share origin stories, learnings on company building, and unique approaches to leadership.

  1. From Los Alamos Nuclear Physicist to Surfin CEO, Dr Yanan Wu's journey through market and tech cycles

    13 NOV

    From Los Alamos Nuclear Physicist to Surfin CEO, Dr Yanan Wu's journey through market and tech cycles

    The year is 2017. On a work trip to Bali, Dr Yanan Wu is inspired to take on the next stage of his career. Seeing the immense wealth gap in the market, he starts Surfin to leverage the emerging technological dividend around data analytics and AI in markets like Indonesia, where there is a demographic dividend of young, digitally savvy population with an unmet need for better financial services. Seven years later, Paulo goes On Call with Dr Wu to hear his story over the last 30+ years, from being a nuclear physicist in Los Alamos National Lab in the US to developing models for the capital markets at global financial institutions, and finally developing more equitable credit models for the underserved at Surfin. Surfin now serves 60 million users across nine markets globally with an ecosystem of financial service products ranging from financing to wealth management and credit cards, built on a proprietary core credit scoring engine. Insignia Ventures Partners recently invested US$12.5 million in their first institutional round after seven years of growing bootstrapped Timestamps (00:00) Introduction; (01:49) A Global Fintech Born out of Demographic and Technological Dividends; (11:38) Navigating the Nuances of Financial Services in Different Emerging Market Regions; (24:37) Building Models Through a Career of Technological Cycles; (30:07) Finding Allies in a World Class Board and 2800+ Employees Across the Globe; About our guest Dr Yanan Wu has had over 26 years of global investment experience serving in various financial institutions and family offices. He's also no stranger to fintech as well, having launched a robo-advisory startup prior to Surfin. He received his PhD in statistical physics from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and completed his post doctoral research at Los Alamos National Lab in the US. Connect with Yanan Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates Check out Insignia Business Review for more insights Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for all the news and resources Directed by Paulo Joquiño Produced by Paulo Joquiño The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    46 min
  2. AI Transformation Experts on How to Unlock AI Applications for Your Organization

    6 NOV

    AI Transformation Experts on How to Unlock AI Applications for Your Organization

    What does it really mean to develop AI use cases for your business?  For the launch of our latest playbook on AI Transformation (download your copy here!), we gathered a panel of digital transformation experts from established software solution providers and up and coming startups at the frontier of enterprise AI adoption. We’ve cut the best parts of this hour-long conversation into a podcast episode for you to digest the best practices shared by these leaders.  About our guests Alex Song is the current Chief Revenue Officer of WIZ.AI, overseeing the company’s revenue-generating strategies. Previously, he served as WIZ.AI’s Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, WIZ.AI has grown to over 300 business clients across 17 countries, with Fortune 500 companies and unicorn start-ups accounting for 60% of the company’s client profile. Alex is a senior business executive with over 11 years of leadership experience in both the technology and logistics sectors. Before joining WIZ.AI, he served as VP of Samsung SDS. Christian Schneider is the Co-founder and CEO of FileAI. He started his career in investment banking and consulting in Europe before moving into venture building with Rocket Internet in Singapore where he managed business intelligence for foodpanda. Thereafter, Christian co-founded Singapore-based foodtech startup DishDash.co, where he began working with Bluesheets co-founder, Clare, as it expanded to Australia. Franco Manuel is an Oracle NetSuite Master Principal Solution Consultant. He has spent more than a decade supporting business transformation through Oracle Netsuite, with a brief stint at Salesforce. He specializes in ERP / CRM pre-sales and consulting across multiple platforms, including Microsoft and IFS. Pandurang Nayak is Head of Solution Architects, ASEAN at AWS. Prior to AWS he has had a career as CTO/COO/CPO for several digital media companies in India. He was also previously a Technology Evangelist and Specialist at Microsoft. He is a lifelong software engineer and developer, since he taught himself web programming.  Directed by Paulo Joquiño Produced by Paulo Joquiño The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    37 min
  3. Tonik's Mila Bedrenets on Pioneering the Digital Banking Revolution in the Philippines | Call 171

    16 OCT

    Tonik's Mila Bedrenets on Pioneering the Digital Banking Revolution in the Philippines | Call 171

    The year is 2019. Mila Bedrenets, a fintech marketing exec with two decades of experience building companies from the ground up across markets, gets a call from a familiar voice. It's Greg Krasnov, a founder she has worked with twice previously, first on a bank in Ukraine and second on a solar energy fintech in Southeast Asia. He's inviting her to join him on his next venture: Tonik, the first of its kind digital bank in the Philippines. A trip to Manila and five years later, Mila has led the rapid evolution of the Philippines' digital banking industry, specifically from a user experience perspective. Her work has introduced new ways of doing time deposits, processing loan applications, integrating generative AI, among other micro-revolutions that we talk about on this episode of On Call with Insignia. We see how these add up to principled approach to innovation, driven by a simple question. Timestamps (00:00) Introducing Tonik’s Chief Growth Hacker; (04:23) The One Question to Ask for Growth Hacking; (16:03) Raising the Bar on Digital Banking; (23:09) Why Mila joined Greg, for the third time; About our guest Mila Bedrenets is currently Chief Growth Hacker at Tonik. Mila is a seasoned banking and fintech executive with experience across multiple countries and continents. She was previously Deputy CEO at SolarHome, enabling pay-as-you-go solar for bottom-of-pyramid clients in Southeast Asia. She also led marketing for several banks in Eastern Europe, including being Head of Marketing at Platinum Bank in the early 2010s. Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates: Check out Insignia Business Review for more insights Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for all the news and resources Directed by Paulo Joquiño Produced by Paulo Joquiño The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    25 min
  4. Cassandra Loh on the company culture behind Intellect driving mental healthcare access globally | Call 170

    4 SEPT

    Cassandra Loh on the company culture behind Intellect driving mental healthcare access globally | Call 170

    What kind of organization and culture does it take to foster the growth of a business driving mental health care access globally?  Our conversation continues with Intellect VP of Partnerships & Solutions Cassandra Loh. This episode we delve deeper into the inner workings of Intellect’s organization and how that has impacted her role driving global growth of the company. How do they marry the B2C and B2B2C features of the business? How do they ensure strategic partnerships are long-term? How does the partnerships team align with product, clinical, operations teams?  How has she evolved as a leader in Intellect and what has she learned from working alongside leaders like CEO and co-founder Theo as well as CEOs of their partner organizations?  Missed part one of the conversation? Watch the episode here. Timestamps (00:00) Have you watched part 1? (00:10) Highlights; (01:44) Driving global growth through Intellect’s unique approach to its B2C and B2B2C features; (08:19) Partnerships for the long-term; (10:17) Keeping a global company agile; (12:15) Cass’s Make or Break Moment at Intellect; (16:10) The psychology of working at mental health startup; (18:48) Rapid Fire Round; About our guest Trained academically in communications, with a strong interest and solid experience in Healthcare and Wellness, Cassandra Loh is an advocate of demystifying healthcare and making healthcare accessible for all. She has been working in the healthcare and wellness space for the last decade.  As the VP of Partnerships & Solutions at Intellect, she builds and maintains Intellect’s strategic and distribution partnerships regionally, builds Intellect’s regional expansion markets’ growth strategy, oversees Intellect’s consulting and solutioning arm, and oversees Intellect’s chain of clinics. She was Health and Wellness Lead at Cigna Singapore, and before that Manager of Innovation and Growth at Parkway Pantai Limited, under IHH Healthcare.  She received her Bachelors’ in Communication from the University of Buffalo, her Master’s in Communications Management from Singapore Management University, and her postgraduate diploma in Counseling Psychology from the College of Allied Educators.  The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    27 min
  5. Cassandra Loh on growing the global presence of Intellect's mental healthcare platform | Call 169

    28 AUG

    Cassandra Loh on growing the global presence of Intellect's mental healthcare platform | Call 169

    Launched in May 2020, Intellect today counts 3.5 million users globally, with services available in 30 languages and comprehensive local networks of mental healthcare providers across 60 countries worldwide. Its enterprise solution has been rolled out for multinational companies including Singtel, Shell, Merck, Schroders, as well as institutions like NTU, NUS, and the Singapore government.  A key driver of Intellect’s global expansion has been its ability to “build the market”, especially in a space that demands varying levels of education depending on the market. Unlocking these opportunities to “build the market” is its Partnerships & Solutions team led by VP Cassandra Loh (Cass).  We go on call with Cass to learn more about Intellect’s approach to global expansion, taking case studies in Singapore, Japan, and the US. How do they navigate the specific nuances of different markets? How do they prioritize hyperlocalization to deliver a world-class solution?  We also get a sneak peek behind how Cass’s own career led to a key piece in Intellect’s ongoing global expansion, their strategic partnership with IHH Healthcare.  Timestamps (00:05) Highlights; (01:17) Introduction; (03:13) Driving Partnerships for Asia’s Leading Mental Health Care Platform; (07:57) Partnerships in Intellect’s Global Presence: Singapore, Japan, and the US; (18:21) The Backbone of Intellect’s Global Partnerships Strategy; (21:57) Bringing Mental Health into Primary Care: Intellect's First Offline Clinic; (25:14) Realizing Intellect’s Global Impact; (27:53) Stay tuned for Part 2; About our guest Trained academically in communications, with a strong interest and solid experience in Healthcare and Wellness, Cassandra Loh is an advocate of demystifying healthcare and making healthcare accessible for all. She has been working in the healthcare and wellness space for the last decade.  As the VP of Partnerships & Solutions at Intellect, she builds and maintains Intellect's strategic and distribution partnerships regionally, builds Intellect's regional expansion markets' growth strategy, oversees Intellect's consulting and solutioning arm, and oversees Intellect's chain of clinics. She was Health and Wellness Lead at Cigna Singapore, and before that Manager of Innovation and Growth at Parkway Pantai Limited, under IHH Healthcare.  She received her Bachelors’ in Communication from the University of Buffalo, her Master’s in Communications Management from Singapore Management University, and her postgraduate diploma in Counseling Psychology from the College of Allied Educators.  The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    29 min
  6. Why this ecommerce BNPL exec made the leap to B2B commerce | Fluid CEO & co-founder Trasy Lou Walsh

    13 AUG

    Why this ecommerce BNPL exec made the leap to B2B commerce | Fluid CEO & co-founder Trasy Lou Walsh

    Lending is not for the faint of heart. But when Trasy Lou Walsh found the right partners to embark with on her first startup venture, she took the leap and started Fluid. With Fluid, she is working to bring consumer-level payment experiences to B2B ecommerce transactions, starting with handling buyer payments to suppliers (i.e., buy now pay later for B2B). Trasy goes on call with us to talk about what makes BNPL for B2B different from B2C (even across industries), how they have navigated the early challenges of building a lending business model (e.g., bringing a CFO on board, securing MNC clients like Coca Cola, etc.), and how building Fluid as its CEO has impacted her own perspective on entrepreneurship and motherhood. Timestamps (00:05) Highlights; (00:36) Becoming a founder; (06:12) Fluid’s first client and first VC; (11:58) Bringing consumer-level fluidity to B2B payment experiences; (20:58) The culture and talent needed to revolutionize B2B payments (24:59) Reflections on the future and the past; (30:00) Rapid Fire Round; About our guest Trasy Lou Walsh is CEO and Co-founder of Fluid. Prior to Fluid, she was Regional General Manager at BNPL startup Atome. Before that she was Head of Restaurant Operations at Uber Eats Asia Pacific. She received her MBA from HKUST Business School as well as an executive education at Harvard Business School. Follow Trasy on LinkedIn for more updates on Fluid Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates Check out Insignia Business Review for more insights Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for all the news and resources The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    36 min
  7. Everyone Has A Treasury Problem And The Modularized “CFO Office” Solution With Finmo CEO David Hanna | Call 167

    31 JUL

    Everyone Has A Treasury Problem And The Modularized “CFO Office” Solution With Finmo CEO David Hanna | Call 167

    More than two decades into his career in risk and compliance roles across PayPal, EY, ING, Rapyd, etc., David decides to not settle but go the other way -- start a company to bring “sexy” back to treasury. Timestamps (00:04) Highlights; (00:38) Everyone has a treasury problem; (04:07) Why is there a treasury problem and what recent bank runs have to do with it; (09:53) How it helps to have the grandfather of PayPal in Asia, and licenses too; (16:23) Are you sure you want to do this (so late in your career)?; (20:36) How global companies are bringing on the next generation of fintechs like Finmo; (25:36) Finmo’s modularized approach to solving the treasury problem; (34:04) Bringing sexy back to treasury by tackling the problem in reverse; (37:59) Rapid Fire Round; About our guest David Hanna is CEO and Co-founder of Finmo. He has had more than a 20-year career in risk and compliance leadership roles. Prior to Finmo, he was Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Rapyd, spent more than six years as Regional Director for Enterprise Risk and Compliance at Paypal, and more than six years as Senior Manager of Compliance and Regulatory at EY. He graduated from La Trobe University with a degree in Business Management. Follow David on LinkedIn for more updates on Finmo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paymentnerd/ Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insignia-ventures/ Check out Insignia Business Review for more insights: https://review.insignia.vc/ Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for all the news and resources: https://review.insignia.vc/ The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    41 min
  8. SuperApp execs' toughest challenge driving retail innovation in rural Indonesia | Call 166

    13 JUN

    SuperApp execs' toughest challenge driving retail innovation in rural Indonesia | Call 166

    We’re back with Nadira Zahiruddin and Gisella Tjoanda, VP of Innovation and VP of Business Development, respectively, at SuperApp (Super), the leading social commerce platform in Indonesia, innovating the future of retail in underserved areas in the country. In Part 1, we got caught up on Super’s business, how it's developed and evolved over the last year, especially when it comes to developing its portfolio of private label and exclusivity brands that contribute significantly to the business’s path to profitability.  In Part 2, we focus more on how Nadira and Gisella have grown as leaders since we last talked to them, and the most challenging and fulfilling parts of working at Super. Timestamps Timestamps (03:13) Highlights; (04:02) Introduction; (05:23) The Latest on SuperApp’s Path to Profitability: Private Label; (09:09) Growing Private Label and Exclusivity Brands; (16:21) Evolving Consumer Retail Behavior in Rural Indonesia; (19:08) How Much Closer To Becoming the Store-Less Walmart of Indonesia?; (23:12) Stay Tuned for Part 2 Next Week; The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.

    22 min
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Start your week with new ~30 min calls every Tuesday! Learning what it takes to build an impactful and enduring company in emerging markets globally is just a call away. Join Insignia Ventures' resident storyteller Paulo Joquino and founding managing partner Yinglan Tan on call with the likes of Indonesian unicorn founders, Dianping's founder, Alibaba Global Initiatives founder, MercadoLibre co-founder and former COO, veteran Japan SaaS VC, and more! Get diverse perspectives as they share origin stories, learnings on company building, and unique approaches to leadership.

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