Open For Business Series A, B, Then Exit? Why SEA Has a $400M Exit Ceiling
While the rest of Southeast Asia was chasing the "super app" dream and burning cash on subsidies, Qualgro took a different path. For the last decade, this VC firm has quietly focused on the "boring back end of the internet", B2B software, data, and AI.
General Partner Weisheng Neo joins us to explain why this approach is paying off.
He also discusses why the NASDAQ isn't always the best exit for regional startups (and why the Tokyo Stock Exchange might be), why he views the current funding climate as a "natural correction" rather than a crisis, and how to build companies for "quality growth" in an era of high interest rates.
We discuss:
Why Qualgro bet on B2B software over consumer tech.
The "mid-market ceiling": Why $200-400M exits are the sweet spot for SEA.
The Appier case study: Why they listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Identifying "AI-native" startups vs. ChatGPT wrappers.
Why "management by consensus" is a death knell for startups.
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