45 min
Rising Giants - N.23 David Totten, Managing Director, Emerging Markets Consulting Rising Giants
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- Entrepreneurship
This week we have the pleasure of speaking with David of EMC. David has built EMC into a leading regional consulting firm that uses international best practice methodologies and hard-won local knowledge to help clients answer their most difficult strategic questions when operating in the frontier markets of Cambodia and Laos. David is originally from the UK, with an extensive background that includes working in post-communist Russia, Germany, and Greece, operating mostly in the telecoms and software space before arriving in Cambodia in 2008 and joining EMC in 2011.
What we dive into:
- Witnessing the first wave of investment in Cambodia; launching the first commercial incubation program in the country in 2011-2013
- Market differences between Cambodia and Laos; how Laos is still a decade behind Cambodia in terms of free-market economics
- Strategies for dealing with adversity and doubt in business; 'cope with it, if you're not encountering it, you aren't trying hard enough'
If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about the startup and venture capital ecosystem in Southeast Asia, subscribe to our free Rising Giants Substack newsletter linked in the show docs. Each week we highlight a recap of the episode, job opportunities, entrepreneur resources, and links we like, as well as notable VC deal flow and startup news from every country in the region.
Rising Giants Newsletter
Rising Giants Website
This week we have the pleasure of speaking with David of EMC. David has built EMC into a leading regional consulting firm that uses international best practice methodologies and hard-won local knowledge to help clients answer their most difficult strategic questions when operating in the frontier markets of Cambodia and Laos. David is originally from the UK, with an extensive background that includes working in post-communist Russia, Germany, and Greece, operating mostly in the telecoms and software space before arriving in Cambodia in 2008 and joining EMC in 2011.
What we dive into:
- Witnessing the first wave of investment in Cambodia; launching the first commercial incubation program in the country in 2011-2013
- Market differences between Cambodia and Laos; how Laos is still a decade behind Cambodia in terms of free-market economics
- Strategies for dealing with adversity and doubt in business; 'cope with it, if you're not encountering it, you aren't trying hard enough'
If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about the startup and venture capital ecosystem in Southeast Asia, subscribe to our free Rising Giants Substack newsletter linked in the show docs. Each week we highlight a recap of the episode, job opportunities, entrepreneur resources, and links we like, as well as notable VC deal flow and startup news from every country in the region.
Rising Giants Newsletter
Rising Giants Website
45 min