Asia Startup Pulse Unknown

Final call for signing up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 on Eventbrite. We will soon be back with the brand-new season. Until then, stay tuned.
Fintech has come a long way in China, from barely being recognized to one of the fastest growing markets in the region. As the world’s leader in Fintech technology, China is a breeding ground for Internet finance companies, and accordingly, investment in the industry. With millions of users and an ever-growing number of fintech unicorns, the future of Internet finance looks exceedingly bright in China.
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
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Email us: 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
As we're gearing up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day, we will be back with brand-new season. Until then, stay tuned.
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.
Shownotes
2:26 Peng’s journey as an investor3:54 Main differences btw seed round and Series A9:47 More capital investment in SEA10:52 The most interesting trend in SEA11:28 “Technification” in China12:36 The opportunities of “technification” in SEA15:05 “There is no way for a company to grow that fast without technology”18:03 The core DNA of a successful founding team19:26 China’s role in SEA’s service industry22:58 The role of Chinese and Japanese corporate venture capital in SEA26:56 The infrastructure development in SEA28:57 A hard push on deep technology in SEA?
Many thanks to our guest Peng T.Ong; host Oscar Ramos; producers  Eva Shi and  Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com
Share, subscribe, review, enjoy!
Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse
Email us: 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
We will come back with the brand-new season soon. Until then, stay tuned.
ASP Selection: Inside the VC Mind (II)
In today’s rebroadcast, Inside the VC Mind Part II, we invite 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!
Show Notes
02:10 Introduction to Sanjay Nath02:55 Sanjay’s transition from consulting to VC07:41 The trend of Indian startups expanding overseas11:20 Overcoming the barriers of  cross-border expansion16:38 How Blume VC supports startups with their expertise and best practices24:10 Localisation vs Internationalisation from Day 128:22 Popular revenue models among Indian startups31:04 The second-order effect of Covid19 on cross-border expansion38:22 Opportunities for Indian SaaS companies in China41:05 Leveraging diaspora and ecosystems to expand to the US and Europe45:17 Sanjay’s final thoughts 
Many thanks to our guests  Sanjay Nath; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and  Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com
Share, subscribe, review, enjoy!
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Asia Startup Pulse Selection: Examining the Fundamentals of the Marketplace Business Model with James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures. 
As we're gearing up for our Demo Day, we will soon be back with a brand-new season next month. Sign up for  Demo Day Nov 24  to meet the 10 startups chosen for our latest cohort.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast
Today, we are going to dig deeper into marketplaces again with James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures. Prior to this, 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.
Show notes:
2:43 - Introduction to James Tan4:21 -  Transition from startup founder to venture capitalist6:06 - Introduction to Quest Ventures7:20 -  Most rewarding achievements of running a marketplace9:37 -  Why James is excited about marketplaces12:23 -  The advantages of a marketplace over a B2C company15:41 -  How to manage and control your marketplace17:55 -  The most innovative marketplace models that James has seen20:28 - Is a marketplace in Southeast Asia a regional business?23:21 -  The right time for marketplaces to internationalise25:53 -  How should companies localise in Indonesia?31:31 - Where should Indonesian companies internationalise to34:13  - When should companies reconsider expansion35:13  - How to innovate the marketplace revenue model?40:11  - Does “marketplace” have a higher valuation multiple compared to e-commerce?
Related Episodes
Building the Biggest Used-car Marketplace in SEA, with Aaron Tan, founder of Carro (Ep 159)
Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulseTo join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group invitation.Email us: asp-team@asiastartuppulse.comMany thanks to our guests  James Tan; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and  Sagar Chaudhary; editor David Xu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.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 guest Johnson Yeh; host Oscar 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.
To join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group invitation.
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Email us: asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com

EPISODE SUMMARY
We sat down with Kamarul Muhamed, founder and CEO of Aerodyne Group, a world-leading drone-based enterprise solutions provider, to talk all things drones, the Uberization of agritech, how drone tech has created a new market for technology talents. We also discussed why Southeast Asia, once dominated by traditional agriculture, is so bullish on new technologies, and the wonderful future of the region’s home-grown unicorns.
EPISODE NOTES
“Drones, in itself, is just a dumb flying platform. What makes it intelligent is the analytics and smart sensors; and how that can be disruptive in providing real value to our enterprise clients,” said Kamarul Muhamed, who founded Aerodyne in 2014 and has grown the company into a world-leading drone-based enterprise solutions provider and, more importantly, a pioneer in the use of AI for large-scale data operations and process optimization. Today, we sat down with Kamarul to talk all things drones, the Uberization of agritech, how drone tech has created a new market for technology talents. We also discussed why Southeast Asia, once dominated by traditional agriculture, is so bullish on new technologies, and the wonderful future of the region’s home-grown unicorns. 
About the speaker:
Kamarul Muhamed left the corporate world to pursue his passion in technology and digital innovation, founding Aerodyne in 2014 with a specialty in aerial imagery. The company has since pivoted to data intelligence, integrated solutions and now, Drone Tech, Data Tech and Digital Transformation (DT3). Ranked second in the world by Drone Industry Insights of Germany, Aerodyne has over 400 drone professionals operating in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAS) services sector, managing more than 300,000 infrastructure assets with 110,000 flight operations across 35 countries globally. 
Show notes:
01:39 Introduction to Kamarul Muhamed and Aerodyne Group02:29 How the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of agritech05:52 Contactless technologies to automate infrastructure operations for powerlining and solar farms07:15 Transforming traditional labor-intensive agriculture jobs into tech talents10:15 How the Uberization of agritech has created a new micro-economy13:05 Southeast Asia’s governments are already channeling agriculture subsidy into the adoption of technology18:36 How Aerodyne tackled the challenges of adoption and scaling a cross-border team22:00 The future of aerial robotics and AI’s pivotal role in the ecosystem26:40 Entering the bigger B2C market with the super-app model for agriculture32:35 What the world can learn from China’s speed of innovation and Southeast Asia’s massive opportunitiesMany thanks to our guests Kamarul Muhamed; host Oscar Ramos; producers Sagar Chaudhary and Lace Nguyen; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website 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
Email us: asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com