From Startup Ecosystem Builder to Strategic Investor: E27 and Orvel Ventures with Mohan Belani

Jun 8, 2025

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"If you take a step back and ask, how has the last 10-15 years panned out? The truth of the matter is that Southeast Asia has not done as well as it should have based on the reports and projections that existed earlier. There have been fundamental flaws from a culture standpoint with respect to how the ecosystem has been shaped. I think there has been too much of a mirror of what's happening in Silicon Valley and figuring out how to replicate those concepts in Southeast Asia, whereas there should have been a better, more localized, customized, regional model to suit the culture and concepts in this region. We've mirrored our fundraising, our entire ecosystem to be too much like Silicon Valley - blitzscaling style model, power law style investing which in hindsight, maybe were not the right approaches. There's also been an over-reliance on funding." - Mohan Belani, CEO & Co-founder of E27, Partner at Orvel Ventures

Fresh out of the studio, Mohan Belani, CEO and co-founder of E27 and partner at Orvel Ventures, joins us to explore his 15 years of journey shaping Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem. In the conversation, Mohan reflected on the evolution of Southeast Asia's ecosystem through different eras and offered his perspectives in how startups need to navigate the current funding winter in Southeast Asia. He also shared the spark that inspired him to set Orvel Ventures and how the investment thesis will fit better for the Southeast Asia region. Last but not least, he offered his vision what great would look like for Orvel and E27 in the next decade.

Episode Highlights: [00:01:00] The Spark from Silicon Valley [00:03:00] Foundational Lessons for Entrepreneurs [00:07:00] The Origin of E27 [00:10:00] E27’s Evolution into a Regional Powerhouse [00:13:00] Navigating the Phases of Southeast Asia’s Ecosystem [00:17:00] Media as Ecosystem Infrastructure [00:20:00] Building Regionally with Roadshows [00:22:00] Hard Lessons from Regional Expansion [00:23:00] Adapting to Emerging Tech Waves [00:25:00] Misaligned Expectations & the Silicon Valley Mirror [00:28:00] The Birth of Orvel Ventures [00:33:00] The Orvel Ventures Investment Model [00:36:00] Red Flags & Green Flags in Founders [00:40:00] Rethinking Exit Pathways in SEA [00:45:00] Promising Sectors in 2024 [00:48:00] Thoughts on Governance Failures [00:52:00] The Need for Critique in SEA Media [00:54:00] Vision for E27 and Oval Ventures [00:57:00] Closing and Echelon 2025

Profile: Mohan Belani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohanbelani/

CEO and co-founder of E27: https://e27.co

Partner, Orvel Ventures: https://orvel.vc

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.

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