Navigating Southeast Asian Business Cultures

In the third and final part of our conversation with Blake Larson and Alexander Le, the three ex-rocket alumni turned founders reflect on life after Rocket Internet, the challenges they faced during international expansion, and the lessons learned from managing teams across different cultural backgrounds.

Tune in as they discuss their strategies for balancing work-life demands, and how they’ve chosen their own paths in both business and life. The discussion goes beyond business, exploring cultural differences, leadership approaches, and the challenges of scaling operations across borders.

The final part of this series explores:

• Challenges of managing teams across different countries and cultures;

• “Coconut vs Peach” theory;

• Establishing company values across borders;

• Balancing ambition with reality, while staying true to personal and company values.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:00 Navigating cultural differences

4:30 EasyTaxi in Hong Kong

10:00 Balancing leadership in East and West 

12:40 Coconut vs. peach theory

16:30 Motivating employees in a startup

20:40 Lessons from mistakes

24:50 Epilogue

Featured materials: E92: Impact of Rocket Internet in fragmented markets: conversation with Blake Larson & Alex Le (2/3), The Impulso Podcast