XA Podcast 023 | Board Fundamentals for Startups with Carmen Yuen and Ferish Patel | Governance Series by The XA Podcast: Fostering Inclusive Innovation in Southeast Asia

XA Podcast 030 | How to Secure Your First Board Position | Su-Yen Wong and Howie Lau | Governance Series

Are you a senior tech executive wondering how to level up with a board position? Why would they appoint you? And what would be the expectations, risks and rewards once you actually make it onto one? Find out in this latest instalment of the XA Governance Series.

Our SpeakersHowie Lau is the Managing Partner, Corporate Development, & Partnerships of NCS Group. He brings years of deep experience and thought leadership in the Info-Communications and Technology (ICT) sector. Prior to joining NCS, he was the Assistant Chief Executive, Media & Innovation Group, at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which is in charge of developing Singapore's technology, telecommunications, and media businesses, as well as developing technology capability. Prior to joining IMDA, Howie served as StarHub's Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Consumer Business, as well as Lenovo's Vice President of Corporate Development. He has over 25 years of corporate development, business leadership, and marketing experience with Lenovo and IBM in Asia Pacific, China, India, and Latin America. Howie is a member of several advisory committees and boards, including the Singapore Institute of Directors' Governing Council and the Science Centre Singapore's board. He was recognized as IT Leader of the Year 2020 by the Singapore Computer Society and received the Philip Kotler Marketing Excellence award in 2018.

Su-Yen Wong is the chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Directors, and she serves on the boards of several public, private, membership, and not-for-profit organizations in Australia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, and the United States. She was honored to be named in 'Financial Times' Agenda Directory of Top 100 Board Candidates With Pay-Setting Skills a few years ago – to date, the only individual from Asia to be included on the list. She chairs or serves on numerous nominating, remuneration, and audit committees, and she has expertise in business strategy, human capital development, and organizational transformation.She serves as the lead independent director at Yoma Strategic Holdings and on the boards of First Resources CSE Global and IMGA. She is a professor of global leadership at the National University of Singapore and a member of Duke University's Executive Education Faculty. She has also been a guest lecturer/speaker at programs hosted by IESE Business School (Spain), INSEAD (France), IPADE Business School (Mexico), Singapore Management University, and Yale University (USA). Discussion Points

[03:36]: How they secured their first board role

[09:51]: Career stages when they took their first board position

[11:54]: What it takes to be a good board member

[16:31]: Why a board might onboard someone with no prior experience

[19:38]: How to find companies that might want your expertise on their board

[24:11]: Preparing to be a good board member

[28:01]: What’s the compensation going to be like?

[29:38]: How to determine whether you are doing well

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

Find us online: ⁠Website⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠

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XA Podcast 029 | The Entrepreneur Gene | Roger Egan, Co-Founder, Nurture and RedMart

When everyone is saying No, how do you eventually get to a Yes? Sheer persistence. Roger Egan, Co-founder of and former CEO of RedMart joins Reza Behnam to discuss his journey of founding RedMart, overcoming many naysayers on the path to acquisition and what he's working on now.

Our Speakers

Roger Egan is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Nurture, a startup reimagining early childhood learning and development. Prior to this, he co-founded RedMart, a Singapore-based grocery business that was eventually acquired by Alibaba.

Discussion Points

[07:15] Co-founding a startup with his father
[09:50] INSEAD and the birth of RedMart
[13:00] Early challenges
[19:10] RedMart operations
[20:10] Exiting to Alibaba
[22:30] Lessons from RedMart
[24:45] Recruiting and retaining talent
[27:00] About Nurture

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 028 | Backing founders for life | Allen Taylor, Endeavor Catalyst

What would you say about a VC that uses all its profits to help establish economic opportunity in emerging markets? Or one that professes to back entrepreneurs for life, rather than on the strength of their business plan? Hear all about it from Allen Taylor, managing partner of Endeavor, a one-of-a-kind VC explicitly trying to use capitalism for good.

Our Speakers

Allen Taylor leads Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s innovative co-investment fund that has been recognized as one of the most active global venture investors in markets like Latin America and the Middle East. Since launching in 2012, Endeavor Catalyst has raised over $500M+ across four funds and made 250+ investments in 30+ different countries, including 47 unicorns. He also serves on the boards of several entrepreneurship and venture capital-focused organisations, including Kauffman Fellows, Alter Global and Scale-Up Ventures (Brazil).

Discussion Points

[01:30] About Endeavor
[03:18] Importance of Southeast Asia to Endeavor
[04:08] Endeavor’s unique economic model
[08:00] Southeast Asia and parallels with Latam
[12:29] How Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem could become a model for other markets
[15:33] Backing entrepreneurs for life
[18:05] Measuring impact
[21:38] Value of the Kaufman Program for General Partners

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 027 | Two sides of the startup investing table

In this episode, a little reminiscent of a Shark Tank investing recap, we bring together a founder and their investor to hear both sides of the investment story. Why did the founder, Damien, choose the XA Network and what value did he get from it? And what did Keemin, the investor, see in iPiD to make him want to invest? Plus, get a peek into the problem that they are solving and how it’s going so far.

Our Speakers

Damien Dugauquier is the co-founder and CEO of iPiD, a first-of-its-kind service that makes cross-border payments easy by needing only a simple proxy for the payee’s identity. Prior to founding iPiD, he worked at SWIFT and various financial institutions.

Keemin Ngiam is Head of Legal at Netease and was previously Director, Legal at Netflix. He is a long-time angel investor and is one of the investors in iPiD, where he is also serving as a legal advisor.

Discussion Points

[01:00] iPiD and how it is making cross-border payments easier and more fool-proof for institutions
[9:43] Genesis of the idea and why they are the best people to solve it
[12:25] Their journey so far
[14:48] Fundraising and the value of the XA Network beyond money
[19:32] The way forward
[22:33] Keemin’s journey as a long-time angel investor in Singapore
[23:45] How he sources deals and his portfolio allocation to angel investing
[27:39] How he selects deals and the reasons he joined the XA Network
[34:18] Why he invested in iPiD and how he is able to help them

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 026 | Board Composition with Abby Adlerman and Sze Meng Soon | Governance Series

There’s a lot a Board of Directors can do for a company. Its efficacy and vision play a tremendous role in a company’s success. Needless to say, a lot of thought goes into who should be on the board in the first place. Abby Adlerman and Sze Meng Soon join guest host Reza Benham to discuss this in detail.

Our Speakers

Abby Adlerman is the CEO and founder of Boardspan, a leading cloud based software and advisory company that focuses exclusively on helping Boards of Directors succeed. Abby brings more than 25 years of governance and board experience to Boardspans clients. Previously, she was on the leadership team at Russell Reynolds in Singapore and San Francisco. Abby is an alumnus of Lafayette College and Yale University, where she's a member of the entrepreneurship advisory board.

Sze Meng has senior leadership roles at Temus, JD.com, SingTel, PayPal and Visa and was a consultant at McKinsey and Monitor Deloitte. He is also the Managing Director of SSM Global Advisory. He was a board member of Go Jek, Tiki, JD.ID and JDL Express Indonesia. He is currently a Board Member of the Singapore Institute of Technology and various social entreprises. He graduated from Stanford University and Kellogg School of Management. He is an angel investor and certified coach.

Discussion Points

[03:05] Speaker introductions
[06:21] Why does board compliance often goes wrong?
[12:42] Why is board composition important?
[18:13] What is a good framework to choose board members?
[22:50] When is the right time for a startup to create a board of directors?
[27:40] What are some best practices with regards to board culture?
[32:43] How does a board achieve alignment of members and company goals?

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 025 | Eric Cheng on Building a Leading E-Commerce Marketplace | Founder Series

They say the third time’s a charm. And it really was for Eric Cheng, whose third attempt at a start-up turned out to become a leading car e-commerce platform. Were the previous two ventures in vain? No. He took their lessons and applied them to perfect Carsome. He reveals all in this episode.

Our Speakers

Eric Cheng is the co-founder of Carsome, the largest car e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia. The company has digitized the used car industry and caters to a wide market in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Eric has significant experience across the realms of digital strategy, technology, mobile advertising, and search advertising.

Discussion Points

Eric's journey from being an employee to an entrepreneur
Learnings that contributed to building Carsome
Carsome's stages of business growth
Three things a CEO must do
How to identify potential and quality employees
Overcoming setbacks in business
Southeast Asia's car market amidst the current financial crisis.

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 024 | From Inception to Acquisition: Tracking the Journey of a Successful Start-Up with Max Bittner

Starting and building a successful start-up is no mean feat. And Max Bittner has seen it all—from founding and building the Lazada Group to seeing its rapid growth across a span of just 4 years to it finally being acquired by Alibaba. Listen to his conversation with host Michele Ferrario to know about his journey.

Our Guest

Max Bittner is the CEO of the Vestiaire Collective, the leading online marketplace to buy and sell authenticated pre-owned luxury fashion. Prior to Vestiaire, he co-founded the Lazada group and served as the CEO from 2012 to 2018. He was the driving force behind the rapid growth of Lazada and the acquisition by Alibaba. Max served as Regional Partner at Rocket Internet before he launched Lazada in March 2012.

In This Episode

An overview of Max’s professional journey
Running an early-stage startup as a CEO
How funding affects company growth
The optimal time to sell your startup
Lessons from building Max’s startup, Lazada

Links

Episode transcript

Your Host

Michele Ferrario is an XA Member, as well as the co-founder and CEO of StashAway, a leading digital wealth manager that offers investment portfolios and wealth management solutions for both retail and accredited investors. Before founding StashAway, Michele was the CEO of the fashion e-commerce company Zalora and was a Managing Director at Rocket Internet. He started his career at McKinsey and spent time in private equity.

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

Find us online: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

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XA Podcast 023 | Board Fundamentals for Startups with Carmen Yuen and Ferish Patel | Governance Series

Startups are expected to move fast and break things. But too much of that and you land in hot water! That's why high quality startups spend time establishing a responsible and active Board. Find out how in this episode jointly presented by Singapore Institute of Directors and the XA Network

Our Guests

Carmen Yuen is a general partner at Vertex Ventures. For many years, she has served in Singapore’s government-backed venture capital initiatives, including EVBI. She’s also served as general mana of seeds capital, where she formulated policies to steer funding for seed-stage startups in the country. She currently serves on the boards of Tickle Media, Sunday Insurance, Speed Doc, and Turn Key Lender.

Ferish Patel is the Managing Partner of Cooley Singapore, which he founded in 2019. He has 20 years of experience advising founders and boards across the full life cycle of the new-age economy, including private financing, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and IPOs. His breadth of experience spans Asia, the USA, and Europe. He regularly mentors founders on founder impact groups and platforms across Asia.

In This Episode

The purpose, roles, and responsibilities of a corporate board
How startups should start thinking about boards
What a startup should expect from its board
How investors can prioritise their time as a board member across their portfolio
The difference between a board and a board of advisors
Assessing the efficacy and compliance of a board

Links

Episode transcript
Singapore Institute of Directors

Your Host

Reza Behnam, Founder of digital.direction and Senior Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mach49, is a veteran in the tech and digital space. He has founded and exited a number of companies in the MarTech and business analytics spaces and is an active angel investor in innumerable ventures. He is an active member of the Singapore Institute of Directors as well as the XA Network

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

Find us online: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

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XA Podcast 022 | Alex Gold on C-Suite Hiring, Self-Awareness and Culture | People and Talent Series

Hear from an acclaimed tech recruiter on how he got started in the business, the challenges of finding the perfect C-Suite fit, the importance of self-awareness and generalist skill-sets and some of his most memorable projects

Our Speakers

Alex Gold is the MD for True Search in South East Asia. True Search hires leadership for privately held, growth stage and PE/ VC backed internet and software businesses. Prior to this, he was the founder of Quantum Search, before which he held roles in S&P Global and Korn Ferry.

He is interviewed by Sergio Salvador, Chief People Officer of Carsome, who has prior experience at Egon Zehnder, Google, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Nokia as well as his own startup.

Discussion Points

The inception of True Search in SE Asia
Going against the grain with a different business model based on niche value
Why you need great teams to do well in SE Asia
The importance of self-awareness
The growing importance of being a generalist
Most memorable projects
Perspective on Culture
Thoughts on angel investing

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 021 | Relationships, Experimentation and Founding Teams with Vicky Chai | People and Culture Series

How do you build a great founding team? How do you handle moments of disruption, such as mergers or the mental health issues and increased isolation caused by working from home? And in a fundamentally people-oriented function, do you rely on your gut or act based on data and experimentation? In this episode we have Vicky Chai and Sergio Salvador discuss Vicky's long journey from software engineer to Chief People Officer and the challenges and lessons on the way

Our Speakers

Vicky is a versatile HR practitioner who designs and uses HR transformational initiatives to support business growth and solve long-term people issues. She relishes start-up roles and organisations, in companies that need to drive agility and constant change in order to grow. She has had both consulting and in-house operational & specialist roles across the full spectrum of HR in her 20+ years of HR career and was most recently the group head of people for Singlife with Aviva.

She is interviewed by Sergio Salvador, Chief People Officer of Carsome, who has prior experience at Egon Zehnder, Google, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Nokia as well as his own startup.

Discussion Points

Handling organisational integration during the merger of Singlife with Aviva
People philosophy at SingLife
Building a culture of experimentation
Using data to shape opinions
The importance of work relationships in sustaining mental health
Building great founding teams

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 020 | Resilience, Change and Culture with Shweta Shukla | People and Talent Series

Netflix has a unique approach to people and culture that is well known across the world. How did it maintain its strong culture through hyper-expansion? And what are some of the lessons in that for growth-stage founders?

Our Speakers

Shweta is the founder of The CultureGram, a platform for honest conversations about culture, the future of work, leadership, identity and embracing differences. Prior to this, Shweta was head of HR for Netflix in APAC, and part of the early management team in the region. Before that, Shweta led HR for Meta aka Facebook, across multiple countries in APAC.

She is interviewed by Sergio Salvador, Chief People Officer of Carsome, who has prior experience at Egon Zehnder, Google, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Nokia as well as his own startup.

Discussion Points

A bit about The CultureGram
Insider perspectives on Netflix culture
How Netflix maintained culture through growth and across geographies
How to take care of people while scaling
Importance of technology in managing talent
People-related advice for founders

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 019 | A Startup Approach to Nation-Building | People and Talent Series

Startup founders often associate government organisations with being plodding creatures, slow to adapt and reluctant to embrace change. But what if the organisation in question is a tech startup of it's own, tasked with implementing the tools and tech needed by a future-friendly and forward-looking government? What does it take to build a culture of excellence in an organisation that aims to move an entire nation forward into an increasingly tech-enabled era?

Our Speakers

D N Prasad is currently Senior Director for Strategy, People and Organization with the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), Singapore and is responsible for Corporate Strategy, Human Resources, Workplace, Culture and Organization Development. He is interviewed by Sergio Salvador, Chief People Officer of Carsome, who has prior experience at Egon Zehnder, Google, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Nokia as well as his own startup.

Discussion Points

Role of GovTech, Singapore
Truths about people and talent
Hiring focus for GovTech Singapore
Maintaining culture through growth
Learnings from the pandemic
Lessons for early stage founders scaling their teams
Building resilience to be able to manage change

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 18 | Driving Change During Hypergrowth at Gojek | People and Talent Series)

What worked as a new startup invariably stops working as you scale, especially so with people and teams. But the changes you need to make through various stages of growth can be surprisingly simple yet very effective.

Our Speakers

Sunil Setlur is the Global Chief People Officer at Gojek. He joined Gojek in 2019 and currently leads all aspects of human resource (HR) management at the company, with his function supporting thousands of employees around Southeast Asia. He is interviewed by Sergio Salvador, Chief People Officer of Carsome, who has prior experience at Egon Zehnder, Google, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Nokia as well as his own startup.

Discussion Points

Role of a Chief People Officer
Thoughts about Culture in organisations
Nurturing the culture at Gojek through hyper-growth
Changes to make the hiring process more effective
Simple things to improve retention
People advice for early stage startup founders

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 017 | Opportunities and Challenges in SE Asian FoodTech w/ Andre Menezes, Fengru Lin and Saurabh Bajaj

Many startups aim to be disruptive and revolutionary, but how many can claim to be changing habits ingrained in us since the dawn of evolution? In this episode we discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by foodtech entrepreneurs as they navigate the consumer adoption, regulatory and production challenges of changing the way we eat.

In this episode we have Andre Menezes (Co-founder and COO of TiNDLE) , Fengru Lin (Co-Founder and CEO of Turtletree Labs) and Saurabh Bajaj (former CEO* of Just Asia), who discuss the nuances of this new-age business. They are interviewed by Belinda Ong, General Manager of the XA Network

* Saurabh was the CEO of Just Asia at the time of the recording in Jun 2021

Discussion Points

Current and future opportunities for Foodtech
Encouraging consumer adoption
Handling regulation
Managing logistics and barriers to scale
Potential for Singapore and Hong Kong

Links

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 016 | XA Network and the South East Asia Angel Investing Landscape

What do successful angel investors look for in South East Asian startups? What are they advising their investees to do in the current market environment? And how does an influential angel network like the XA Network help with business growth and sustainability?

Find out in this episode with Alap Bharadwaj (Director, Google), Tony Zameczkowski (VP, Netflix) and Belinda Ong (MD, XA Network), members of the exec committee of the XA Network, SE Asia's premier angel investing network.

They are interviewed by Bernard Leong, founder of the Analyse Asia podcast and an XA member himself. This episode first appeared on Analyse Asia and is being cross-posted on the XA Podcast.

Discussion Points

Role of an angel investor
What angel investors look for
Early-stage startup valuation considerations
Clarity about the business problem
About the XA Network
How the XA Network can help startups
South East Asia’s startup ecosystem
Key trends in the post-pandemic world
The crypto wave in Southeast Asia

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

Find us online: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

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XA Podcast 015 | From Inception to IPO: Culture, Economics and Timing w/ Hari Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru

Have you ever wondered what it takes for a company to go public? How does the CEO prepare for the journey? What do investors look for? Find out directly from Hari Krishnan, CEO of recently-listed PropertyGuru about the steps and mis-steps they had on their journey to IPO.

Hari Krishnan is the Chief Executive Officer at the Property Guru Group, Asia's leading property technology company, where he recently led a successful public listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to Property Guru, Hari led LinkedIn in the Asia Pacific region, as the Vice President, and Managing Director. Apart from LinkedIn, Hari has successfully scaled operations in companies like Yahoo, Cisco, and Fox Interactive Media.

He is interviewed by Petrus Phoa, an XA member and the group Chief Information Officer at GoJek Southeast Asia's leading on demand ride hailing service platform. Prior to joining GoJek, Petrus worked at Orion governance, where he led business systems and operations.

Discussion points

Expectation setting as the new CEO of PropertyGuru
Reorienting culture to behave like a market leader
Leadership hiring philosophy
The hardest things to scale
Reason for the IPO and the timing of it
Thoughts on the current market conditions
When one should start thinking about profitability and corporate structure
The importance of strong unit economics

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

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XA Podcast 014 | One and Done: Building a Profitable Company on a Single Funding Round w/ Le Hong Minh, Founder of VNG Corporation

Could you ever imagine your “hobby” landing you in a position to impact millions of people around the globe? Or, better yet, heading down the path to IPO on just a single funding round? Well, that’s the story of Le Hong Minh, whose interest in playing online games led him to venture into the field of technology and founding his own company in 2004. If you're a keen hobbyist dreaming of making it into something more, check out today's episode of the XA Podcast!

Guest Profile
Mr.Le Hong Minh studied at the Monash University in Australia, working for PWC and VinaCapital before founding VNG in 2004. He is a leading thinker and speaker on technology trends, startups, and entrepreneurs in Vietnam. He is also a regular speaker on global stages, such as the World Economic Forum, Forbes on annual conferences, and the Economist conferences. Mr. Minh was honoured as one of the 10 most influential people on the Internet in Vietnam for the decade 2007-2017

Discussion Points

An idea and identifying its potential to grow
Dealing with hardships
Fundraising
Being present at the right place, at the right time
Identifying the best model for your business
Finding your motivators
Building partnerships
Going the IPO way.
Idea, intelligence, and humility go a long way

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The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

Find us online: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

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XA Podcast 013 | Active Intelligence and the Early Days of VC in SEA w/ Hian Goh, Co-Founder and General Partner, Openspace Ventures

What do you expect from a market that doesn’t have a developed ecosystem? Many investors are extremely cynical about it and rightly so. But these markets have asymmetries that come with a huge potential for investors to discover ;building themselves and in turn the market as a whole. If you want to listen from an expert about how he entered and saw a whole market evolve across Asia, this episode of XA Podcast is for you.

Guest Profile

Hian Goh holds an MBA from INSEAD Singapore and a Law Degree from Trinity College, Oxford. He co-founded Openspace in 2014 and now sits on the Investment Committee and the Boards of Kumu, Nutrition Technologies, Love, Bonito, and FreshKet. He is a well-known investor in Southeast Asian countries.

Discussion Points

Investing ecosystem and its importance
Building credibility
Working as a lone founder versus working with a team
Raising capital
Benefits of networking with the right people
Working with people possessing similar interests

Links

Follow the show on Apple and Spotify
View the transcript

—

The XA Network (formerly Xoogler Angels) was founded in 2018 as an exclusive investment network comprising senior executives from leading global and regional technology companies. Our mission is to provide smart capital to early-stage companies across Southeast Asia. The XA podcast brings together voices from the ecosystem that powers early stage investing across this vibrant region. Our guests include entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and of course XA Network investors.

Find us online: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

—

This podcast is powered by CrazyTok: We help experts become influencers.

Find us on our Website, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter

XA Podcast 012 | The Roxy Dynamic: Building Great Co-Founder Relationships w/ Ronald Ros and Rexy Dorado, Co-Founders, Kumu

Before you have funding, or product-market fit, or a business even, you have your co-founders. And it has been said that the co-founder relationship is almost like a marriage. It can be a magical partnership, where you see each other through thick and thin. Or it could be a match made in hell, ending with your startup imploding. How does one create a co-founder dynamic that’s built to last?

Roland Ros and Rexy Dorado are the founders of Kumu, the largest live streaming community app for Filipinos around the world. Since their launch in 2018, Kumu has passed over 10 million registered users across 55 countries. They recently closed their Series C round bringing Kumu’s total funding to over US$ 100 million.

Prior to Kumu, Roland built a career as a growth engineer in the US with a track record of helping Fortune 500 and high growth companies acquire millions of customers. Subsequently, he engaged in humanitarian work in the Philippines, where he was inspired to build a tech company with social impact.

As for Rexy, prior to Kumu he founded Kaya Collaborative, a nonprofit that connects Filipino diaspora to social causes back home.

Discussion Points

How they met while working on social initiatives for the Philippines
The Roxy dynamic - how they create a positive dynamic between the cofounders and even the leadership team
Evolution of Kumu from messaging to livestreaming
Becoming the Disneyland of social media
Developing their fund-raising strategy

Follow our show for more inspiring discussions with members, founders and investors.

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View the transcript here.

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XA Network was born out of the Google alumni network in 2018 and comprises senior leaders from global and regional technology companies, as well as founders of notable companies from across Southeast Asia. Our purpose is to foster inclusive innovation by empowering the tech community in Southeast Asia.

You can find out more about the XA Network here.

Follow us and our content on LinkedIn or Twitter

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This podcast is powered by CrazyTok: We help experts become influencers.

Find us on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter.

XA Podcast 011 | Coffee or Froth? Challenges in Finding Sustainable Businesses w/ Peng T Ong, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Monk's Hill Ventures

Join as as we discuss some of the key challenges facing startups with Peng T. Ong, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Monk's Hill Ventures.

Peng is a startup industry veteran with over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, founder, and investor in Silicon Valley and in Asia. After stints as an early employee in multiple startups, he went on to found successes like Interwoven and Match.com. Subsequent to those exits, he moved into VC, eventually co-founding Monk's Hill Ventures, a leading early-stage tech venture capital firm in Southeast Asia and one of the first Valley-style VCs in SE Asia with entrepreneurs funding entrepreneurs. He is based in Indonesia.

Peng is interviewed by Belinda Ong, Managing Director of the XA Network.

Discussion points

Follow our show for more inspiring discussions with members, founders and investors

Follow the show on Apple or Spotify

View the transcript here

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XA Network was born out of the Google alumni network in 2018 and comprises senior leaders from global and regional technology companies, as well as founders of notable companies from across Southeast Asia. Our purpose is to foster inclusive innovation by empowering the tech community in Southeast Asia.

You can find out more about the XA Network here.

Follow us and our content on LinkedIn or Twitter

------------------------------------------------------------------

This podcast is powered by CrazyTok: We help experts become influencers.

Find us on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter

XA Podcast 010 | "Sequoia's relentless focus on Endurance" w/ Abheek Anand, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital

We host Abheek Anand from Sequoia Capital and get under the hood on what drives the legendary venture capital firm forward. Abheek talks about how the firm focuses not on what could go wrong, but could go right, the incredible market upside of backing missionary founders, and what makes Southeast Asia more like Silicon Valley than India or China. Most of all, hear from Abheek on the foundational tenet that powers Sequoia: Endurance. One of the most illuminating episodes we've ever done!

You can find out more about the XA Network at https://xanetwork.co/ and follow us on Twitter @networkXa and LinkedIn.

XA Podcast 009 | "Building for Billions" w/ Steve Chen, Co-Founder, YouTube

We are honored to host Steve Chen, Co-Founder YouTube, and an XA Board Member. Hear from the internet hall-of-famer on working with legends such as Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Elon Musk at PayPal, creating and building YouTube, the importance of being deliberate about a multi-market strategy and the promise that innovation holds in APAC! You can find out more about the XA Network at https://xanetwork.co/ and follow us on Twitter @networkXa and LinkedIn.

XA Podcast 008 | "The future of work in Indonesia" w/ Wisnu Nugrahadi, Co-Founder & CEO, Sampingan

We host Wisnu Nugrahadi, Co-Founder & CEO of Sampingan, an XA Portfolio company. Hear from Wisnu on the importance of connections and friends in an entrepreneurial journey, navigating a tough 2020 and the future of work in Indonesia! Do check out Sampingan at https://www.sampingan.co.id/. You can find out more about the XA Network at https://xanetwork.co/ and follow us on Twitter @networkXa and LinkedIn.

XA Podcast 007 | Ian McKenna, Co-Founder & CEO, Infradigital

We host Ian McKenna, Co-Founder & CEO of Infradigital Nusantara, an XA Portfolio company. Hear from Ian on his entrepreneurial journey from day zero to solving digital payments pain points for Indonesia’s schools, why he’s excited about startups in Indonesia, and his love for “hard” sci-fi! Do check out Infradigital at https://www.infradigital.io/. You can find out more about the XA Network at https://xanetwork.co/ and follow us on Twitter @networkXa and LinkedIn.

The XA Podcast: Fostering Inclusive Innovation in Southeast Asia

By XA Network

Available on