William Bao Bean Part 2 | Current Markets & Future M&A In Asia

In recent years, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with countries such as China, India and Japan leading the way. They have been developing businesses quickly by deploying new technologies and building massive startup ecosystems. As a result, VCs in this region is witnessing huge opportunities for growing companies. The number of startups in APAC is increasing rapidly, presenting massive opportunities for consumers, businesses, and capital allocators. 

This episode of The Negotiation is part 2 of our conversation with William Bao Bean. William is a General Partner at SOSV and Managing Director of Orbit Startups. Orbit Startups helps companies scale breakthrough technologies across emerging and frontier markets- the regions with the strongest growth potential. William is a senior advisor at SOSV and has been a pioneer in the tech and telecommunications space in Asia. During his time with SoftBank China & India Holdings, he led investments in companies such as Yodo1, DemystData, Lekan, and Massive Impact. 

In this insightful episode, William shares his insights on what is happening in the APAC region. He talks about the current, turbulent waters in the private, crypto and public markets, and discusses why it is essential to identify a startup's unfair advantage in today’s landscape. He also discusses his view of M&A activity in Asia over the coming years and explains why there is a flood of capital coming to the region. Enjoy!

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

• Turbulent waters in the APAC region for the private, crypto, and public markets as we head into 2022
• Identifying a startup's unfair advantage and why it matters
• M&A activity in Asia over the next few years
• Why is there a flood of capital coming to Southeast Asia?
• Maintaining a "startup attitude" is important when entering new markets.
• How technology has been used in the USA, specifically artificial intelligence, to bring about major changes
• How there are fewer barriers to starting a business in China thanks to technology
• Demographic changes in China and Southeast Asia and the opportunity for start-ups in the region.