The Generalists

Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr.

5.0 (2)
Technology
Updated Semiweekly

The hosts Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr., interview people around how they arrived in Singapore, their careers, their personal journeys and how the concept of being a Generalist influences their life and career. All episodes currently filmed F2F in the Poddster Singapore studios.

3d ago

Nir Eyal Live: Beyond Belief in Singapore (ep 87)

Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked, Indistractable, and Beyond Belief, joins The Generalists live in Singapore to talk about why beliefs shape what we see, feel, and do, why motivation is not just about willpower, and how limiting beliefs can quietly stop people from doing the things they already know they should do. 🤝 Sponsored by https://TAP4SRV.com - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 In this live episode, Nir explains the core idea behind Beyond Belief: the biggest obstacle is often not information, discipline, intelligence, or resources, but the beliefs that determine whether we persist or quit. The conversation explores the motivation triangle, why people fail to act on advice they already understand, how beliefs shape perception, why entrepreneurs see opportunities others miss, and why positive thinking or manifesting can actually backfire. 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 📖 What You’ll Learn • Why Nir believes the real bottleneck is often belief, not information or discipline • How Beyond Belief grew out of people reading Indistractable but not applying it • Why people often fail to do what they already know they should do • How the motivation triangle connects behavior, benefit, and belief • Why persistence matters more than intelligence, resources, or raw willpower • How beliefs shape what we see, what we feel, and what we are able to do • Why the rat persistence study reveals how quickly people can quit too early • Why entrepreneurs often see opportunities that other people miss • How beliefs filter reality through predictive processing • Why lucky people and unlucky people can experience the same world differently • Why manifesting and positive thinking can become harmful when they replace action • How athletes actually use visualization by preparing for obstacles • Why pain is data but suffering is interpretation • How Nir reframed ADHD from a limiting belief into a liberating belief • Why beliefs should be treated as tools, not truths • How prayer can have psychological benefits even when someone has doubts about faith 👤👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 👤 Guest • https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/ 🔗 Links and Resources • Nir Eyal: https://www.nirandfar.com/ • Beyond Belief: http://geni.us/beyondbelief • Indistractable: http://geni.us/Indistractable • Hooked: http://geni.us/hooked • Instagram: http://instagram.com/nireyal • Free Belief Guide: http://www.nirandfar.com/beyond-belief-live • Bonus Book Content: http://nirandfar.com/beyond-belief

35 min
May 20

OpenAI, NVIDIA & Singapore's AI Bet: GNA Weekly (ep 86)

GNA 4 is back with an Asia-focused breakdown of the biggest stories in AI, chips, cyber, infrastructure, capital markets, and startup funding. 🎟️ Generalists Live with Nir Eyal Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked, Indistractable, and Beyond Belief, is coming to Singapore for a live podcast with The Generalists. May 25th at Poddster, with a live conversation and open audience Q&A. Tickets: ⁠https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/beyond-belief-nir-eyal-live-podcast-with-the-generalists-tickets-1988068911632⁠ In this episode, Michael Smith Jr. and Raz Kotler cover Singapore’s huge AI week, including OpenAI’s S$300M commitment, Google’s national AI partnership, NVIDIA’s Singapore research push, and why Singapore is positioning itself as Asia’s AI hub. 🤝 Sponsored by ⁠https://TAP4SRV.com⁠ - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 📖 What We Cover • Singapore’s AI week, from OpenAI to Google, NVIDIA, and Anthropic • DayOne’s potential SGX-Nasdaq dual listing • Meta layoffs and Singapore’s tech workforce • Password stealers, AI scams, and safe words • Tata and ASML’s India semiconductor partnership • DeepSeek’s possible outside fundraise • JustCo’s SGX mainboard IPO • Samsung, SK Hynix, and the AI memory bottleneck • ByteDance, Kuaishou, Kling, and China’s AI video race • Baidu’s shift into AI infrastructure and GPU cloud • India, China, Korea, and Japan funding stories across chips, robotics, e-commerce, ride-hailing, and IPOs 👤👤 Anchors • Michael Smith Jr.: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/⁠ • Raz Kotler: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/⁠ 🔔 Listen and Subscribs • YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast⁠ • Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4⁠ • Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists⁠ 🔗 Resources and Links • OpenAI for Singapore: ⁠https://openai.com/index/introducing-openai-for-singapore⁠ • Google DeepMind Singapore AI Partnership: ⁠https://deepmind.google/blog/strengthening-singapores-ai-future-a-new-national-partnership⁠ • NVIDIA: ⁠https://www.nvidia.com⁠ • DayOne: ⁠https://dayonedc.com⁠ • DeepSeek: ⁠https://www.deepseek.com⁠ • JustCo: ⁠https://www.justcoglobal.com⁠ • Kling AI: ⁠https://kling.kuaishou.com⁠ • Baidu AI Cloud: ⁠https://cloud.baidu.com/en⁠ • Flipkart: ⁠https://www.flipkart.com⁠ • GO Inc.: ⁠https://goinc.jp

53 min
May 18

AI Gives Every Founder a Superpower (ep 85)

Mohan Belani, co-founder and CEO of e27, joins The Generalists for Episode 85 to talk about Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, AI adoption, Singapore’s future, founder quality, venture capital, and why AI is becoming an existential challenge for companies and workers alike. 🎟️ Join us at Echelon :: June 3rd and 4th :: https://echelon.e27.co/ In this episode, Mohan reflects on nearly two decades helping shape Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem through e27 and Echelon. The conversation explores how the region has evolved from the early startup wave into today’s AI-driven landscape, why Singapore remains one of the world’s best launchpads for founders, and why many ambitious AI-native builders still feel compelled to move to Silicon Valley. 🤝 Sponsored by https://TAP4SRV.com - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 Mohan also shares his perspective on AI adoption inside companies, why fear and inertia are slowing down enterprise transformation, and why leaders need to become AI change-makers rather than waiting for governments or employees to solve the problem themselves. The discussion covers founder quality, venture capital, uniquely Southeast Asian business models, AI implementation for SMEs, startup exits, sovereign strategy, and the balancing act Singapore faces as it tries to remain globally competitive in the AI era. 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 📖 What You’ll Learn • Why Mohan believes AI adoption is now existential for both companies and individuals • How Echelon evolved from an events business into a platform-centric ecosystem company • Why Southeast Asia still struggles with fragmentation despite 15 years of ecosystem growth • Why Singapore is a strong startup launchpad but not a true reflection of the region • Why many ambitious AI founders still feel compelled to move to Silicon Valley • How AI is creating fear and inertia inside large organizations across Asia • Why “AI will not replace you, someone using AI will” is becoming reality in workplaces • Why AI implementation matters more than fundraising hype today • How uniquely Southeast Asian startup problems are creating new investment opportunities • Why capital, exits, and market depth still remain major structural challenges in Southeast Asia • How companies like Baskit and Carro are building profitable regional businesses with disciplined growth • Why founders today have a lower barrier to entry but face a much higher ceiling for success • Why Mohan is cautiously optimistic about Singapore’s AI future • Why curiosity and experimentation are becoming essential traits for modern workers and founders • How founder peer groups and retreats help operators navigate business, family, and health challenges over time 👤👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 👤 Guest • Mohan Belani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohanbelani/ 🔗 Links and Resources • e27: https://e27.co/Echelon: https://echelon.e27.co/ • Orvel Ventures: https://www.orvel.vc/ • NUS Overseas College: https://enterprise.nus.edu.sg/education-programmes/nus-overseas-colleges/ • LittleLives: https://www.littlelives.com/ • Grab: https://www.grab.com/ • Carousell: https://www.carousell.com/ • PatSnap: https://www.patsnap.com/ • Baskit: https://baskit.app/ • Nas.io: https://nas.io/ • Supabase: https://supabase.com/ • Khosla Ventures: https://www.khoslaventures.com/ • Carro: https://carro.co/ • Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/podcast

55 min
May 14

Trump-Xi, Nvidia & OpenAI's Singapore Play: GNA Weekly (ep 84)

GNA 3 is back with another Asia-focused breakdown of the biggest stories in AI, chips, cyber, infrastructure, e-commerce, and geopolitics. In this episode of Generalists New Asia, Michael Smith Jr. and Raz Kotler cover the Trump-Xi meeting, Nvidia chip routes through Thailand, OpenAI’s Singapore-linked acquisition of Tomoro.ai, cyber attacks on Singapore telcos, DeepSeek’s rumored mega-round, Amazon’s exit from local delivery in Singapore, Korea’s AI memory boom, Foxconn’s ransomware issues, the Debug mosquito project in Singapore, Huawei’s chip push, and the growing race between China AI models and US frontier labs. 🎟️ Generalists Live with Nir Eyal Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked, Indistractable, and Beyond Belief, is coming to Singapore for a live podcast with The Generalists. May 25th at Poddster, with a live conversation and open audience Q&A. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/beyond-belief-nir-eyal-live-podcast-with-the-generalists-tickets-1988068911632 📖 What We Cover • The Trump-Xi meeting and why AI chips, Nvidia, Taiwan, trade, and commodities are all part of the same geopolitical conversation • Nvidia AI servers allegedly being routed through Thailand into China, and what that says about chip restrictions and enforcement • OpenAI’s acquisition of Tomoro.ai and why forward deployed engineers may become a major AI services model • Singapore telcos facing advanced persistent threat attacks, and why cybersecurity is becoming a board-level issue • DeepSeek’s rumored mega-round and how China may be backing its own AI champions in the US-China AI race • Amazon quitting local delivery and e-commerce in Singapore, and what it says about why Amazon struggled in Southeast Asia • Samsung and SK Hynix’s memory boom, AI-driven chip demand, worker tensions, and Korea’s role in the AI supply chain • Foxconn’s ransomware problem and why repeated breaches matter when manufacturers hold customer technical specs • The Debug mosquito project in Singapore and how AI could help fight dengue across Asia and Africa • Huawei’s chip push and how China is showing domestic semiconductor capability during a critical diplomatic moment • Chinese AI researchers moving to US frontier labs, and what that says about talent, chips, capital, and the real AI power balance • China AI versus Anthropic and OpenAI, and whether a “Chinese Mythos moment” could be coming soon 🤝 Sponsored by https://TAP4SRV.com - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 👤👤 Anchors • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 🔗 Resources and Links • Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com • Super Micro: https://www.supermicro.com • OpenAI: https://openai.com • Tomoro.ai: https://tomoro.ai • Palantir: https://www.palantir.com • Harvey: https://www.harvey.ai • Legora: https://www.legora.com • TPG: https://www.tpg.com • Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com • Claude: https://claude.ai • DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com • Amazon Singapore: https://www.amazon.sg • Amazon Fresh: https://www.amazon.sg/fmc/storefront • Lazada: https://www.lazada.sg • RedMart: https://redmart.lazada.sg • Samsung: https://www.samsung.com • SK Hynix: https://www.skhynix.com • Foxconn: https://www.foxconn.com • Debug: https://debug.com • Huawei: https://www.huawei.com • TSMC: https://www.tsmc.com #GeneralistsNewsAsia #AINews #Nvidia

59 min
May 12

Founder-Market Fit: The Real Startup Secret (ep 83)

Chris Mihos, founder of Make Banc, joins The Generalists for Episode 83 to talk about generalism, startup failure, crypto adoption, risk, and why the future of banking may be less about traditional banks and more about putting money to work through global financial rails. 🎟️ Join us live for Beyond Belief: Nir Eyal Live Podcast with The Generalists May 25th at Poddster - Just 60 seats available Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/beyond-belief-nir-eyal-live-podcast-with-the-generalists-tickets-1988068911632?aff=oddtdtcreator In this episode, Chris shares the story behind Make Banc, a crypto-powered financial platform designed to make money easier to grow, use, and protect. He explains why most people should not need to understand the full complexity of crypto infrastructure, just like they do not need to understand how the internet works to use it. The conversation explores crypto as global connectivity, custody, risk management, yield, membership models, stablecoin rails, and why users ultimately care more about outcomes than mechanisms. 🤝 Sponsored by https://TAP4SRV.com - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 Chris also opens up about the failure of his previous startup, OHRG, and the founder lesson it taught him: first-time founders often solve problems, not pains. He explains why product clarity, customer pain, and founder-market fit matter more than building an impressive solution. The episode also explores generalism, remote teams, psychological safety, high-agency hiring, and why being helpful, humble, and human is central to how Chris builds. 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 📖 What You'll Learn • Why Chris believes generalists are often more focused on outcomes than job titles • What “content generalist, skills specialist” means in practice • Why Chris’s previous startup failed despite strong intent and a powerful product • How first-time founders fall into the trap of solving problems instead of pains • Why crypto adoption depends on abstracting complexity away from users • How Make Banc thinks about fiat, crypto, custody, risk tolerance, and user control • Why Chris sees crypto as global financial connectivity rather than just currency • How membership models can create better incentives than airdrops and hype cycles • Why helpful, humble, and human became Chris’s operating philosophy for remote teams • How founders can build high-agency teams without relying only on traditional co-founder structures • Why failure is only valuable when founders learn from it quickly • How community, recovery, and family help Chris stay grounded while building 👤👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 👤 Guest • Chris Mihos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismihos/ 🔗 Links and Resources • Make Banc: https://www.makebanc.com • Chocolate Finance: https://www.chocolatefinance.com • Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/sg/ • Bitwise Asset Management: https://bitwiseinvestments.com • Coinbase: https://www.coinbase.com • Polymarket: https://polymarket.com • StraitsX: https://www.straitsx.com • Levi’s Singapore: https://levi.com.sg • McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com • Steven Bartlett: https://stevenbartlett.com • The Diary of a CEO: https://stevenbartlett.com/the-diary-of-a-ceo • The Ice Bath Club: https://www.theicebathclubs.com • Prefer Coffee: https://www.prefer.coffee • Moneyball: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/ • Physical: Asia: https://www.netflix.com/title/82006516 • Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger: https://www.amazon.com/Be-Useful-Seven-Tools-Life/dp/0593655958 • The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: https://www.navalmanack.com/ #CryptoForBeginners #StartupMistakes #FutureOfBanking

52 min
May 8

DeepSeek, Foxconn & China's AI Rules: GNA TLDR (ep 82)

In this TLDR episode of Generalists New Asia, Michael Smith Jr. and Raz Kotler break down the biggest Asia tech stories from GNA 2, covering China’s Meta-Manus intervention, Foxconn’s AI server boom, Indonesia’s eFishery fraud verdict, Singapore’s chip packaging edge, Goldman Sachs blocking Claude in Hong Kong, TikTok’s $25B Thailand infrastructure bet, Singapore’s AI and jobs debate, regional funding activity, and DeepSeek’s rumored mega-round. 🎟️ Generalists Live with Nir Eyal Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked, Indistractable, and Beyond Belief, is coming to Singapore for a live podcast with The Generalists. May 25th at Poddster, with 30 minutes of conversation and 30 minutes of open audience Q&A. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/beyond-belief-nir-eyal-live-podcast-with-the-generalists-tickets-1988068911632?aff=oddtdtcreator 📖 What We Cover • Meta, Manus, and why China may be setting new guardrails for AI companies moving across jurisdictions • Foxconn’s AI server boom and what it says about the next phase of the AI infrastructure trade • The eFishery fraud verdict and what it means for Indonesia’s startup ecosystem, investors, and accountability • Singapore’s Silicon Box and why advanced chip packaging could be an overlooked AI supply chain advantage • Goldman Sachs switching off Claude in Hong Kong and the geopolitical questions around enterprise AI access • TikTok’s $25B Thailand infrastructure bet and why land, power, data centers, and commerce matter in Southeast Asia • Singapore Parliament’s seven-hour debate on AI and jobless growth, and what it signals about the future of work • The Asia funding picture across India, Singapore, and Australia, from neo-clouds to AI customer experience startups • DeepSeek’s rumored mega-round and how China’s AI funding push could shape the global open-source model race 🤝 Sponsored by https://TAP4SRV.com - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 👤👤 Anchors • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 🔗 Resources and Links • Nir Eyal: https://www.nirandfar.com • Beyond Belief: https://www.nirandfar.com/beyond-belief/ • Sinocism: https://sinocism.com • Meta: https://www.meta.com • Foxconn: https://www.foxconn.com • eFishery: https://efishery.com • Silicon Box: https://www.silicon-box.com • TSMC: https://www.tsmc.com • Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com • Claude: https://claude.ai • Gemini: https://gemini.google.com • ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com • TikTok Shop: https://shop.tiktok.com • Singapore Parliament: https://www.parliament.gov.sg • Yotta: https://www.yotta.com • Toku: https://www.toku.co • DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com #GeneralistsNewsAsia #AINews #DeepSeek

26 min
May 7

DeepSeek, Foxconn & China's AI Rules: GNA Weekly (ep 81)

GNA 2 is back with another Asia-focused breakdown of the biggest stories in AI, startups, chips, infrastructure, geopolitics, and capital markets. 🎟️ Generalists Live with Nir Eyal Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked, Indistractable, and Beyond Belief, is coming to Singapore for a live podcast with The Generalists. May 25th at Poddster, with 30 minutes of conversation and 30 minutes of open audience Q&A. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/beyond-belief-nir-eyal-live-podcast-with-the-generalists-tickets-1988068911632?aff=oddtdtcreator In this episode of Generalists New Asia, Michael Smith Jr. and Raz Kotler revisit the Meta and Manus fallout, including what China’s unwind order could mean for Singapore TopCos, cross-border AI startups, foreign capital, and founders trying to move from China into Singapore. They also dig into Foxconn’s AI server boom, why AI infrastructure may still have room to run, the eFishery fraud case in Indonesia, Singapore’s advanced chip packaging story with Silicon Box, Goldman Sachs switching off Claude in Hong Kong, TikTok’s massive Thailand infrastructure bet, Singapore’s parliament debate on AI and jobless growth, funding activity across India, Singapore and Australia, DeepSeek’s rumored mega-round, and why US-China AI tensions are only getting bigger. 🤝 Sponsored by https://TAP4SRV.com - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 📖 What We Cover • Why the Meta-Manus situation still matters for China, Singapore, and AI geopolitics • What “unwinding” a $2B AI acquisition could actually mean • Why China may be setting guardrails for the next Manus-style company move • Why Singapore TopCos, foreign capital, and Chinese IP are becoming more sensitive • How Foxconn’s AI server business became bigger than its iPhone business • Why AI servers, CPUs, memory, and infrastructure remain central to the AI trade • What the eFishery fraud case means for Indonesia’s startup ecosystem • Why Michael thinks the eFishery situation raises questions beyond the founders alone • Why Singapore’s Silicon Box could matter in the global AI chip bottleneck • How advanced chip packaging in Tampines became a surprising Singapore innovation story • Why Goldman Sachs switching off Claude in Hong Kong raises geopolitical questions • Why TikTok is putting a massive infrastructure bet behind Thailand • How land, power, TikTok Shop, and ByteDance’s AI needs connect in Southeast Asia • What Singapore’s parliament debate says about AI, workers, and jobless growth • Why India, Singapore, and Australia are showing strength in the current funding market • How India’s neo-cloud and GPU infrastructure market is scaling • Why Toku, Level 3i, Formas.ai, and other AI companies show momentum in the region • Why DeepSeek may become China’s flagship AI model company • Why US-China AI tensions are likely to keep shaping startup funding, models, and acquisitions 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 👤👤 Anchors • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 🔗 Resources and Links • Nir Eyal: https://www.nirandfar.com • Beyond Belief: https://www.nirandfar.com/beyond-belief/ • Sinocism: https://sinocism.com • Meta: https://www.meta.com • Foxconn: https://www.foxconn.com • eFishery: https://efishery.com • Silicon Box: https://www.silicon-box.com • TSMC: https://www.tsmc.com • Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com • Claude: https://claude.ai • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com • TikTok Shop: https://shop.tiktok.com • Singapore Parliament: https://www.parliament.gov.sg • Yotta: https://www.yotta.com • Toku: https://www.toku.co • DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com • Echelon: https://echelon.e27.co • SuperAI: https://www.superai.com #GeneralistsNewsAsia #AINews #DeepSeek

48 min
May 4

What Failure Teaches You That Success Never Will (ep 80)

Admond Lee, founder of The Runway Ventures, joins The Generalists to talk about startup failure, legal threats, founder-market fit, and why Southeast Asia needs more honest conversations about what actually goes wrong when companies collapse. 🤝 Sponsored by ⁠https://TAP4SRV.com⁠ - Quickly find local Service Providers on WhatsApp! 🤝 In this episode, Admond Lee shares the story behind The Runway Ventures, a media and founder community built around one uncomfortable idea: founders learn more from failure than from polished success stories. After his own startup failed, Admond realized that most founders in Southeast Asia only hear the fundraising stories, the unicorn stories, and the wins. What they rarely hear are the mistakes, the wrong assumptions, the poor market timing, the missed founder-market fit, and the hard lessons that could help them avoid repeating the same failures. Admond also opens up about the risks of writing publicly about startup failures. He talks about receiving legal threats, cease and desist letters, pressure from founders and investors, and the challenge of balancing truth, accountability, and empathy when covering sensitive stories. The conversation also explores why failure is still so stigmatized in Southeast Asia, how this differs from places like Silicon Valley and Israel, and why ecosystem maturity requires more founders to talk honestly about what went wrong. 📖 What You'll Learn • Why Admond started The Runway Ventures after his own startup failed • What happens when startup failure stories trigger legal threats and founder backlash • Why Southeast Asia still struggles to talk openly about failure • How founder-market fit can make or break an early-stage startup • Why conviction should come from traction, not just belief • How Admond built a newsletter and LinkedIn growth system around failure stories • Why Admond believes curiosity, fast learning, and repeated action matter more than fixed job titles 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast⁠ • Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4⁠ • Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists⁠ 👤👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/⁠ • Raz Kotler: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/⁠ 👤 Guest • Admond Lee: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/admond1994/⁠ 🔗 Links and Resources • The Runway Ventures: ⁠https://www.therunway.ventures⁠ • Atomic Habits: ⁠https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits⁠ • James Clear 3-2-1 Newsletter: ⁠https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1⁠ • Principles by Ray Dalio: ⁠https://www.principles.com/⁠ • Bloomberg: ⁠https://www.bloomberg.com/⁠ • Funding Societies: ⁠https://fundingsocieties.com/⁠ • ShopBack: ⁠https://www.shopback.com/⁠ • Morning Brew: ⁠https://www.morningbrew.com/⁠ • The Hustle: ⁠https://thehustle.co/

51 min

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

The hosts Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr., interview people around how they arrived in Singapore, their careers, their personal journeys and how the concept of being a Generalist influences their life and career. All episodes currently filmed F2F in the Poddster Singapore studios.

Creator

Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr.
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

87
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2024
Show Website

The Generalists