Billion Dollar Moves™ with Sarah Chen-Spellings | Global Venture Capital

We’re bringing our next billionaire on Billion Dollar Moves; this time from Nepal, my friend Nirvana Chaudhary who is at the helm of Nepal’s first and only company listed on the Forbes list of Billionaires since 2015, valued in excess of $2.5 Billion.What started in 1935 has today become a conglomerate of 136 companies and 76 brands spread across 30 different countries with over 24,000 employees. From FMCG, Hospitality, Finance, Real estate, Education, Retail; they cover the gamut. Most notably, they’re the brain behind the famous Wai Wai brand of noodles. The eldest Asian son in a family empire, Nirvana was early to make his mark, founding his first independent company at the age of 19; and has continued to grow the businesses from strength to strength; being featured on Forbes to Tatler’s most influential.But what does it really mean to lead as the face of the next generation? How messy does family business get? And with friends like Bill Gates to Jack Ma, how has that informed what next for him? We cover it all in this episode.--EPISODE LINKS:Nirvana's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nirvanachaudhary/More about Chaudhary Group: https://www.chaudharygroup.com/--FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal--Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

What does it take to sell and execute on what feels like an impossible vision?This, is the task of a stem-cell scientist turned founder who is tapping into the multi-billion opportunity to create lab-grown crustacean meat.Under Dr. Sandhya Sriram's leadership, Shiok Meats today is the world’s first cultivated shellfish meat company, and Southeast Asia’s first cultivated seafood and meat company. The startup’s mission is to bring delicious, sustainable, and healthy seafood to your table, using the cellular agriculture technology to grow meat from stem cells instead of slaughtering animals.Since its inception in 2018, they have grown from 2 to over 50 employees today, made a strategic acquisition themselves, raised over USD 30 Million dollars from big names from Y Combinator to Korean Conglomerate CJ’s Food Arm.--EPISODE LINKS:Sandhya's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandhyasriram/ Sandhya's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sriramt_sandhyaMore about Shiok Meats: https://shiokmeats.com/--FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal--Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

A ping on your phone takes you out of a conversation with a friend. At the office, a colleague interrupts your work on a project. At home, screens intrude on time with your partner.Your goals don’t get done and it feels like someone (or something) is constantly pulling you away from what you really want to do.Why does it seem we’re no longer in control of our attention or our lives?How different would your life be if you were “indistractable”?In today's conversation, Nir shatters the narrative that the problem is our gadgets, but a symptom of a deeper dysfunction, as he examines in his book 'Indistractable'. We also discuss his earlier book 'Hooked', what it takes to build habit-forming products, where your users come back again and again without maxing out that ad spend!You don't want to miss this.About Nir:Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003 and was dubbed by The M.I.T. Technology Review as, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote, “Nir Eyal is the habits guy. Want to understand how to get app users to come back again and again? Then Eyal is your man.”He is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life.In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, Time Magazine, and Psychology Today.Nir invests in habit-forming products that improve users’ lives. Some of his past investments include Eventbrite (NYSE:EB), Anchor.fm (acquired by Spotify), Kahoot! (KAHOOT-ME.OL), Canva, Homelight, Product Hunt, Marco Polo, Byte Foods, FocusMate, Dynamicare, Wise App, and Sunnyside.EPISODE LINKS:Nir Eyal's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nireyalNir's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/A schedule maker tool Nir referenced here: https://nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/--FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobalBillion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves#billiondollarmoves #venturecapital #investing #startupstories #productivity #leadership

In today's Billion Dollar Moves, we bust some myths about Southeast Asia's VC activity and the narratives driving the expansion seen in the region.The key question: will the momentum survive this downcycle? I chat with Dmitry Levit, Founding Partner of Cento Ventures, a venture capital firm specialized in under-invested emerging digital markets, primarily Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.In today’s Part 2 we go a little bit more 'micro' — what Dmitry is still excited by in building his portfolio.TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro02:50 - What Dmitry is excited by in 2023: the future of digital04:50 - How founders are building in 202306:11 - Trade exits getting dicey?08:49 - The disappointment of Grab?11:29 - Rocket Internet "burned the region for many investors for the next 10 years"?16:47 - The future of the food delivery space18:06 - How has Ukraine-Russia played out in Southeast Asia?25:46 - What next for Dmitry after more than a decade with Cento?27:17 - Billion Dollar QuestionsReally power-packed, you need to be taking notes for these two episodes if you want to understand SEA; you don’t want to miss it.--ABOUT DMITRY LEVIT:Dmitry is the Founder of Cento Ventures. He is responsible for overseeing all investment and fund activities in Southeast Asia.Dmitry formerly served as an advisor to several investment groups and corporations pursuing technology and media opportunities across developing Asia, with Media Development Authority of Singapore, Singtel, ru-Net, IDG Ventures Vietnam, SUP Media, Livejournal.com, Chinese Founders Fund, VIVA Media and Nusantara Ventures among his clients.In 2008-2009, Dmitry was part of the investment team at IDG Ventures, where he provided extensive operational support to portfolio companies in Vietnam and was in charge of sourcing and assessment of investment opportunities in Indonesia and Singapore.Prior to that, Dmitry spent several years in business development roles with Yahoo! Southeast Asia, negotiating a series of content, distribution, monetisation and technology deals for Yahoo! in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Dmitry also acted as a business strategist for the regional Managing Director, working on vertical strategies for e-commerce, gaming, travel, finance, telecom and other sectors.EPISODE LINKS:Cento Ventures Twitter: https://twitter.com/cento_venturesDmitry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levit/Dmitry's report references: https://www.cento.vc/news-insights/--FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobalBillion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia funders & founders. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves#billiondollarmoves #venturecapital #southeastasia #digital #investing #startupstories

In today's Billion Dollar Moves, we bust some myths about Southeast Asia's VC activity and the narratives driving the expansion seen in the region.The key question: will the momentum survive this downcycle? I chat with Dmitry Levit, Founding Partner of Cento Ventures, a venture capital firm specialized in under-invested emerging digital markets, primarily Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Intro02:07 - Russian born Israeli citizen, now the expert investing in Southeast Asia06:30 - Predictability of the Southeast Asia startup ecosystem through 201408:23 - Narratives driving Southeast Asia12:43 - Masoyoshi Son breaking the 'time machine' theory?14:31 - E-commerce: a case study16:25 - The evolution of capital players holding up the markets21:28 - Market corrections and institutional capital24:54 - Market slowdown, deals vs deployments26:37 - Weakening capital markets and expensive bets--ABOUT DMITRY LEVIT:Dmitry is the Founder of Cento Ventures. He is responsible for overseeing all investment and fund activities in Southeast Asia.Dmitry formerly served as an advisor to several investment groups and corporations pursuing technology and media opportunities across developing Asia, with Media Development Authority of Singapore, Singtel, ru-Net, IDG Ventures Vietnam, SUP Media, Livejournal.com, Chinese Founders Fund, VIVA Media and Nusantara Ventures among his clients.In 2008-2009, Dmitry was part of the investment team at IDG Ventures, where he provided extensive operational support to portfolio companies in Vietnam and was in charge of sourcing and assessment of investment opportunities in Indonesia and Singapore.Prior to that, Dmitry spent several years in business development roles with Yahoo! Southeast Asia, negotiating a series of content, distribution, monetisation and technology deals for Yahoo! in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Dmitry also acted as a business strategist for the regional Managing Director, working on vertical strategies for e-commerce, gaming, travel, finance, telecom and other sectors.EPISODE LINKS:Cento Ventures Twitter: https://twitter.com/cento_venturesDmitry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levit/Dmitry's report references: https://www.cento.vc/news-insights/--FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobalBillion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia founders, funders and execs. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves#billiondollarmoves #venturecapital #southeastasia #digital #investing #startupstories

While scaling globally seems often to be part of the 'Billion Dollar Plan', it is hardly as simple as it is thought to be. Nicole Sahin who founded and scaled G-P, a global PEO leader from an idea to over $4Bn in value chats with me in Davos on her thoughts on the future of work, the challenges of globalization and some of her own hard lessons in scaling.Watch this live interview filmed in Davos on Youtube.--Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia founders, funders and execs. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro01:28 - Crucible moments08:53 - Is Globalization really for you?12:53 - Hiring top talent, and knowing when to let go20:43 - What you have to do, you already know21:58 - The unexpected trends on the future of work--FOLLOW NICOLE:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolesahin/About G-P: https://www.globalization-partners.com/FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: twitter.com/sarahchenglobalPODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves

Private Equity has a tremendous role to play in the real economy: with about $10Trillion assets under management, robust returns relative to public market measures, a reach that touches the lives of many (some say 1/3, 2/3 of global GDP by 2030) and with maximizing impact across the risk/return continuum becoming a fast-growing trend within the investing industry.I chat with veterans of the industry:Suyi Kim, Global Head of Private Equity CPP InvestmentsAmir Hamzah Azizan, CEO, EPF Malaysia,Vindi Banga, Partner, Clayton Dubilier & Rice,Rob Lucas, Partner, CVC Capital Partnerswith combined almost $1Tn in AUM on what it means to:(1) drive returns through diversity(2) how enterprises built through generations have the opportunity to uplift the standards of governance & sustainability of the communities they touch(3) and how values alignment driven by stakeholders is core: beyond a reactionary approach is also an opportunity to create changePODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmovesFOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

Quiet quitting, a recession looming, a polycrisis declared at Davos 2023 — how can leaders navigate this uncertainty?Silvia Wiesner, former Managing Director at Unilever who was with me in Davos joins me to weigh in on the 53rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.--Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia founders, funders and execs. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmovesFOLLOW SILVIA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/silvia-wiesner/IMAGINE Oxford Experience Silvia is Building: https://imagine.one/oxford-experience/FOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

The 'non-political' company leader.In 2020/2021, we saw feathers ruffled when leaders like those from Google, Coinbase declared certain "political activism" was a distraction.Employees walked out since of course, in many ways, we're in a generation that have been told to bring "our full selves to work", including our belief systems.But how do we as leaders, manage what feels like a double bind?I ask global leaders,Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group,Stanley Bergman, Chair of Henry Schein,Joseph Ucuzoglu, Global CEO Deloitte to weigh in at #Davos2023 World Economic Forum.Here's what they said, do you agree?--Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia founders, funders and execs. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmovesFOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: twitter.com/sarahchenglobal

Social media platforms and creator-focused startups haven’t looked too hot coming into 2023, with companies like Meta, Snapchat waging of layoffs along with the rest of the tech industry. BUT the creator and influencer economy are more than just buzzwords losing interest among venture capitalists. Despite challenges on a platform level, blogger turned entrepreneur Vivy Yusof is a case study of just how retained attention is a currency that will continue to be important in 2023 and beyond.FashionValet.com, an online marketplace that once stocked over 400 brands across Southeast Asia, became a major regional player in the fashion industry but, by 2022, she had wound the venture down, shifting her focus to her own in-house modest fashion brands, dUCK and Lilit. The silver lining? By 2022, Yusof had built a network of 14 physical stores across Malaysia and Singapore and sold more than 3 million scarves from just one of her brands. Today, we unpack Vivy’s journey, the cost of building a brand around herself, her regret on not acting on her gut and her BILLION DOLLAR AMBITIONS for her next decade in the modest fashion industry.Watch this on Youtube: https://bit.ly/3mPihUI--Find out more about VivyAnd get her book now on Amazon--Billion Dollar Moves is THE show for the audacious next generation leader; featuring the top US-Asia founders, funders and execs. From the growing pains of a unicorn journey to IPO, scaling a venture capital firm, we cover it all in the world of venture & business. Learn from the crème de la crème so YOU too, can make #billiondollarmoves — in venture, in business, in life.--PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://sarah-chen.com/billion-dollar-episodesWatch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobalJoin the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmovesFOLLOW SARAH:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobalInstagram: instagram.com/sarahchenglobalTwitter: twitter.com/sarahchenglobal