Unsensible - The Asian Startup Podcast

Unsensible
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BRAVE SOULS WANTED. Failure almost certain. Attempting is unwise. Far east adventure. Success is changing the world. Join us on the Unsensible podcast where we talk to the Asian startups and their ecosystem partners who are intent on changing the world. 

  1. 5D AGO

    Dr. Bechara Saab and his journey to measure emotions

    Psychiatrists have no objective feedback. Every other field of medicine does. Dr. Bechara Saab left his neuroscience lab at Zurich Psychiatry Hospital to fix that, and the data suggest he's onto something remarkable.   In this conversation, Dr. Saab shares how Mobio Interactive is bringing objective measurement to mental healthcare through over 1,000 psychotherapy sessions across seven languages. From proving mindfulness works via smartphone to using fMRI to show exactly which brain regions change with therapy, he's building the tools that clinicians desperately need but never had. We explore his journey from small-town surgeon's son to youngest research intern at Procter & Gamble to principal investigator in Zurich - and why he walked away from academic prestige to tackle the "greatest problem in mental healthcare."   What You'll Learn How objective measurement is solving psychiatry's greatest problemThe science behind proving mindfulness works through brain imagingWhat it takes to transition from neuroscience researcher to startup founderWhy the prefrontal cortex matters more in mental health than most people realiseWhere mental healthcare is headed and why measurement will become the standard"Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interviews, investor insights, and pitch deck tips. Visit our website to learn more about our work with Asia's leading tech startups. ► Follow Dr. Bechara Saab & Mobio InteractiveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becharasaab/Website: https://www.mobiointeractive.com/

    36 min

  2. 11/14/2025

    David Wang on building the Future of Open Loyalty at HeyMax

    What if all your loyalty points, credit card deals, and travel rewards lived in one open ecosystem, built around you instead of the banks? In this episode, we talk to David Wang, founder of Krip, Hong Kong’s first centralised credit card deals platform, now part of HeyMax, the Singapore-based startup redefining loyalty across Asia. David shares how recognising just how much value gets lost in everyday spending led him to build Krip, a platform that helped Hongkongers spend smarter and ultimately drew the attention of HeyMax. In this conversation, he reflects on building a startup from scratch, navigating its acquisition, and finding new purpose leading the next phase of growth, all while reshaping how loyalty and rewards actually work. What You’ll Learn: How Krip became one of Hong Kong’s standout fintech success storiesWhy HeyMax’s “open loyalty” model could change how you earn and spend rewardsWhat founders should know before considering an acquisitionThe emotional reality of entrepreneurship, how to balance the highs and lowsWhere travel, tech, and loyalty are converging next in Asia

    36 min

  3. 10/27/2025

    Priyanka Aggarwal | 9 in 10 women suffer silently. She built an app to fix it

    Women don't understand their own physiology - not by accident, but by design. It won't make money to educate them about simple changes that could improve their health. So the system keeps them suffering in silence. Pri Aggarwal is breaking that cycle. After leaving a stellar corporate career at top multinational corporations across Asia-Pacific, the Wharton scholar founded Aura Fem Health, a holistic women's wellness platform, challenging 2,000 years of systemic negligence in healthcare. With 84% of women feeling unheard by healthcare professionals, Pri is building a safe space where ancient holistic practices meet modern science breakthroughs to serve the 9 out of 10 women silently suffering. In this episode, Pri shares her deeply personal journey from experiencing shrinking menstrual cycles and severe PMS while climbing the corporate ladder, to discovering that simple lifestyle shifts (not birth control pills or being told to "Shut up!”) could transform her health. We discuss the unexpected parallels between startup life and motherhood , the crucial need for balance over burnout, and the practical marketing and commercial rigour her corporate background provided in these early days.

    40 min

  4. 09/09/2025

    Colin Hong | DeepTranslate: How niche AI beats Google at finance translations

    AI can translate your IPO or ESG report—but can it do it right? Colin Hong, Co-Founder of DeepTranslate, reveals how his Hong Kong startup outperforms Google Translate and ChatGPT in the most high-stakes corner of translation: finance and legal compliance. In this episode, we cover: Why niche AI is the only way to beat Big TechThe hidden 20% translation gap that LLMs missHow data compliance fears hold back corporate AI adoptionCashflow discipline and hard lessons from startup lifeBuilding a team with two PhD co-founders (and why the “sales guy” matters)

    29 min
  5. Chat, AI, and the future of dining: Hacene Taibi's vision for restaurant tech

    07/21/2025

    Chat, AI, and the future of dining: Hacene Taibi's vision for restaurant tech

    🍽️ From WeChat frustrations to restaurant revolution. Discover how one founder's personal pain point led to Bistrochat, now transforming how restaurants across Asia handle bookings through chat and AI Jonathan Nguyen sits down with Hacene Taibi, co-founder of Bistrochat, exploring how a simple frustration with restaurant bookings via WeChat sparked a business that's revolutionising the F&B industry. Learn how Bistrochat consolidates reservations from multiple channels whilst building a powerful CRM that helps restaurants deliver personalised service. Hacene shares valuable insights about the true nature of entrepreneurial competition: 'It's not just a product to product competition. It's what are you ready to sacrifice for this to happen?' From coding in Phuket seven days a week for a year to strategically positioning against well-funded competitors, this conversation reveals the mindset required to build a successful startup in a competitive space. 🚀 Discover Bistrochat's expansion across Asia and why Hacene believes that in the AI age, a founder's greatest strength might be knowing what they don't know. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interviews, investor insights, and pitch deck tips.Visit our website to learn more about our work with Asia's leading tech startups. ► Follow Hacene LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/in/hacenetaibi Website: https://www.bistrochat.com/

    32 min
  6. Behind Hong Kong's first peer-to-peer fashion rental platform

    05/15/2025

    Behind Hong Kong's first peer-to-peer fashion rental platform

    🇭🇰 From London to Hong Kong: How Louisa Dearlove spotted a gap in Hong Kong's fashion market and turned it into Fengxiang, a clothing rental platform aimed to give women in Hong Kong access to affordable contemporary fashion and to drive sustainable fashion habits. Could shared wardrobes be the future of sustainable fashion? In this episode, we chat with Louisa Dearlove about building Hong Kong's first peer-to-peer fashion rental platform. She shares honest insights about launching an MVP instead of chasing perfection, how she has had to adapt to the local market, and how being a generalist became her entrepreneurial superpower. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interviews, investor insights, and pitch deck tips.Visit our website to learn more about our work with Asia's leading tech startups. ► Follow Louisa LinkedIn:   / louisadearlove Website: https://www.fenxianghk.com/

    19 min

  7. 05/07/2025

    How to get into the most competitive fintech accelerator in Asia

    Director of Accenture's FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific reveals the top tips to joining this exclusive accelerator that has helped raise $6.6 billion for alumni companies worldwide. Applications close 12 May! Episode summary Only 10 spots from 200+ applications. Zero cost, equity-free. Direct access to HSBC, JP Morgan, and UBS. In this episode, Hui Jackson shares her journey from founder (e-commerce startup Souk) to running one of Asia's most prestigious fintech accelerators. She reveals the three critical traits that predict startup success: resilience, clear vision, and ability to pivot. Learn exactly what it takes to get accepted, how the 12-week programme works, and why multiple alumni successfully pivoted from B2C to B2B after working directly with tier-1 financial institutions. Key takeaways Success traits: Resilience, clear vision, and willingness to pivotProgramme structure: 3 months, 3 stages, 3 types of mentorsSelection tips: Clearly articulate value proposition, show POC with FS clients, demonstrate scaling planInterview day: Expect 20-30 judges, come prepared, attend in person if possibleCurrent trends: AI, web3, ESG, regulatory tech, and gaps in insurtechNotable quotes "If you're coming in with the willingness to learn, you can open up a lot of opportunities. If you're coming in with the aim to sell, then you will close off great sharing opportunities." "The ability to pivot is very important. Some founders put blinkers on, trying to focus on improving their products, but not looking around what's happening." "We literally got direct access to the world's top tier financial institutions meeting their senior partners, senior stakeholders." Resources mentioned FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific: https://uns.sb/FILAPApplication deadline: 12 May 2025Programme details: Free, equity-free, 12-week acceleratorGlobal reach: Alumni from 39 countries, nearly 400 companiesAbout the guest Hui Jackson is Director of the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific at Accenture. A former founder herself, she brings unique perspective from both sides of the startup ecosystem. The Lab has been running for 12 years and is considered the anchor accelerator in Hong Kong. Connect with us Website: unsensible.com/podcastSubscribe for weekly episodes featuring unrelenting founders changing the world

    27 min
  8. This AI startup from Korea raised $6.6M in 2 years

    04/25/2025

    This AI startup from Korea raised $6.6M in 2 years

    🔍 Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Builds AI That Outperforms Nvidia, Google & OpenAI | Meet the 30-under-30 founder who raised $6.6M and secured 90+ global clients in under 2 years. His AI is transforming how hedge funds invest billions—could this change the future of finance forever? In this revealing conversation, Jonathan Nguyen sits down with Hojun Choi, co-founder and CEO of LinqAlpha, to explore how AI is revolutionising the investment landscape for hedge funds and financial institutions. Discover how LinqAlpha's hyper-automation platform is enabling analysts to function at superhuman levels, processing vast amounts of unstructured data and extracting meaningful insights that would traditionally take countless hours of manual work. From raising impressive seed funding to landing major clients like Samsung Financial Network and KPMG, Hojun shares candid insights about building a truly global AI company. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interviews, investor insights, and pitch deck tips.Visit our website to learn more about our work with Asia's leading tech startups. ► Follow Hojun & LinqAlphaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hojunchoi1214/Website: https://linqalpha.com/

    37 min
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BRAVE SOULS WANTED. Failure almost certain. Attempting is unwise. Far east adventure. Success is changing the world. Join us on the Unsensible podcast where we talk to the Asian startups and their ecosystem partners who are intent on changing the world. 

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