Asia Tech Podcast

The Asia Tech Podcast hosted William Li, the CEO of Akulaku, which recently announced a $100MM investment from Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank.  Akulaku is a digital finance platform that includes credit and e-commerce, wealth management, and digital banking (via Bank Neo Commerce). Some of the topics that William covered: The founding of Akulaku as an outgrowth of a remittance business in Hong Kong Built the remittance business for the overseas workers of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh Training as a lawyer Getting a Master's Degree at Washington and Lee Getting exposure to many businesses as part of the investment team at Ping An Entrepreneurship was not a natural path The vision of Akulaku and how it evolved The realization that affordable and accessible financial services can help a lot of people Pivoting from a remittance business to a lending business when they had very little cash left Acquiring a bank in Indonesia and completely restructuring it Lebron James or Steph Curry as a model for business Other titles we considered for this episode: It's Really a Giant Leap Go Deep Also Means Go Big People Who Believe In Data and Machine Learning Finally Win

The Asia Tech Podcast really appreciated the conversation we had with Jakob Angele, the CEO APAC at foodpanda.  Jakob has been with foodpanda since its earliest days and his insights reflect a deeply embedded knowledge of the company.  You can tell in his voice that he really cares about this company and its mission. Some of the topics Jakob discussed: Studying physics at university Working at McKinsey & Company and what it taught him about management Decision Making, Stakeholder Management, Conceptual Frameworks, Perfectionism, and Clean Communication The pros and cons of moving to a startup from a consulting company Joining foodpanda during its earliest days (when no investor wanted to invest) How the foodpanda business model is very technology-intensive Business growth was slow at the beginning as consumers and restaurants did not see the value Getting purchased by Delivery Hero in 2016 Managing through hyper-growth Southeast Asia's regional diversity and market inconsistencies Hyper-localization in Asia and hyper-decentralized management Other titles we considered for this episode: It's Like a Very Fragile System The First Thing You Always Do Is Prioritize You Have a Fire In the Opposite Corner of the Room We Can Still Run Lightning Fast The Willingness To Make Decisions Fast How Can We Help Develop the Ecosystem? Everybody Consumes Food 120 Times Per Month

Denise Kee seems to look at life through a very positive lens.  The conversation Asia Tech Podcast had with her was no different.  We smiled a lot during our chat...and I got the sense that her positive attitude also spills over into the culture that has been built at Xtremax, where Denise is the CEO. Some of the topics that Denise discussed: Worked as a journalist for Reuters and Bloomberg Earned a Master's Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University Xtremax was founded by her now-husband, James Leong, in 2003 Innovative ways to solve tech-talent hiring in Singapore Finally joining James at Xtremax as Creative Director Initially focused on usability and user experience Her sales philosophy The team's first experience with AWS - a playground to build things in the cloud Solving a large and complicated problem for the Government of Singapore Throwing away their own servers and moving everything to the cloud Other titles we considered for this episode: We Like to Fact-check Life Is Really About Experience What Is the Core Problem They Are Trying to Solve? I Know How to Ask Questions Everyone's Going to the Cloud Feeling the Vibrations Before Everyone Else The Whole Cloud Is API-Driven When It’s API-Driven, Magic Can Happen Rainy Days Are My Favorite

Wouter Delbaere, a co-Founder and the CEO at Mangtas, was such a great guest.  With a world of experience and a very unique background, it was a pleasure to have him as a guest on the Asia Tech Podcast.  As a business services platform, Mangtas aims to make business outsourcing available for all. Some of the topics that Wouter and I discussed: Being born in Congo and growing up in 10 different countries Witnessing genocide in Rwanda How playing team sports can help one integrate into almost any geography His most formative years were on Negros Island in the Philippines Being fluent in Cebuano Starting Mangtas in the middle of the pandemic Making Mangtas an equal-opportunity platform and why this is important The necessity of having reviews linked to specific project deliverables Outsourcing via strategic partnerships for the long-term Gathering data to help service providers and clients make better decisions Some things I got wrong or could not remember during this episode: Shenzen's population growth statistics The league in which the New York Cosmos played Some other titles we considered: It's a Universal Language There Are Several Layers To This A Lot of Projects Fail Because the Clients Are Not Ready We Set Ourselves Up as an Ecosystem We Love Nothing More Than Third-Party Integration

The Asia Tech Podcast really appreciated having Geir Windsvoll sit with us in the studio at True Digital Park.  Geir is a Founding Partner of Santora Nakama and a co-Founder and the CEO of Panya Studios.  Panya Studios is a Web 3.0 studio building P2P Games, Live Shopping for the metaverse, and other projects leveraging unique assets.  Geir is also one of the most thoughtful entrepreneurs that I have met. Some of the topics that we covered: Raising funds while in an apartment and then from the beach during the early part of the pandemic Actually going back to the same island where he originally lived in Thailand 14 years ago Finally moving back to Koh Pha Ngan The island has become very international with a big blockchain emphasis Why he believes there is a huge opportunity for Thailand to build remote ecosystems ICOs, CryptoKitties and the birth of NFTs The rise and fall of Panya's original trivia show Using gamification to pivot to live shopping Diving deeper into Non-Fungible Tokens and how they change the game for Web 3.0 Cultural literacy and cultural inclusion Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) Other titles we considered for this episode: Fast and Painful Years You Don’t Need to Have That On Your Bucket List I Feel Like I Am Home Again We Thought It Would Be Easy Am I Really That Bad At Explaining Things? Content Is Still King Can We Just Change the Strategy?

The Asia Tech Podcast was joined by Christina Sok, the Founder, and CEO of ClassBubs.  ClassBubs helps parents to discover, book and review kids' extracurricular classes. Some of the topics that Christina discussed: Born in South Korea but growing up all over the world Finished her secondary schooling at UWC in Singapore Knowing as a teenager that she was not built to work for anybody else What she learned from her art gallery internship Always wanted to challenge the status quo How her parents were non-traditional in their approach to her education Learning as something enjoyable and fun The discipline she developed while being self-employed helped in the startup world Was searching for activities for her daughter and realized just how fragmented that market was The opportunity to talk about the holistic development of kids The development of ClassBubs and the potential for creating in-house content and programs The kind of role model she wants to be for her daughter Other titles we considered for this episode: Tuesday to Thursday Was Just a Blur It’s About Building a Life You Don’t Just Land at the Top Dots Do Connect Looking Back North or South Korea? How Do You Get the “Me Time” Without the “Mom Guilt”?

The Asia Tech Podcast had so much fun talking to Upasna Dash, the Founder, and CEO of Jajabor Brand Consultancy and the VP of Startup India Advisory Services. Some of the topics that Upasna covered: Bringing out stories and having an impact Employing stories and storytelling to help founders meet their business needs Great ideas and innovations are not epiphanies The name of her company was inspired by her grandfather's favorite song Born into a non-English speaking city, struggled to keep up at school Her grandfather inspired her to learn English by reading her Shakespeare Remembers specifically the day she fell in love with startups Following the audience and story wherever it takes you Why authenticity matters From idea to execution, so much can change The similarities between great founders and great athletes Understanding the value of great teams The intensely competitive nature of the Indian startup space Other titles we considered for this episode: I Am a Storyteller at Heart I Sang About It and Transported You There I Grew Up with the Startup Ecosystem in India You Can’t Put India In a Box The Journey Is as Enjoyable as the Destination Small Micro-habits Actually Make a Huge Difference We Should Meet In Immigration Lines More Often

The Asia Tech Podcast was visited by Jostein Aksnes, the CEO of Seven Peaks Software and the CEO of Property Flow. Like a lot of my expatriate friends, Jostein agreed to a one-year assignment and shows no signs of leaving Thailand. Some of the topics Jostein covered: Studied computer engineering Got his first job as a software developer at a broadcast technology company Managed and built real-time graphics and production systems Getting promoted and expatriated to Thailand Has now lived in Thailand since 2010 Building and managing remote or extension teams Some of the challenges and solutions when the head office is on another continent Building FindYourSpace which morphed into Property Flow Diving deep into Seven Peaks The evolution of software development Microservices and the Cloud The validated learning loop  Building great user experiences Selling solutions to problems Other titles we considered for this episode: I Want to Build a Website Trying to Build What They Need, Not What They Want The Commercial Model Is Not Agile Don’t Spend Two Years Building a Product Nobody Buys a Product

The Asia Tech Podcast had a blast talking to Adam Simon, the US Head of Innovation at UM Worldwide.  UM Worldwide is a strategic media planning agency that operates in more than 100 countries.  Adam is focused on the intersection of emerging technology and changing consumer behavior. Some of the topics that Adam discussed: Originally working in the theatre Yet was always interested in technology Attended an innovative graduate program at NYU focused on creative technology How technology and media are disrupting existing businesses The speed at which platform technology changes and helping clients adapt The expansion of content creation beyond those who think of themselves as creators Global culture and global distribution Content localization The impact of streaming services on content creators Media and the evolving metaverse Turning anything into shoppable media Other titles we considered for this episode: Sometimes You Just End Up In It Constant, Accelerating Change They Don't Have to Be Mutually Exclusive I Think About It as Presence There Are Probably 7 Year Olds On Roblox Making More Money Than Me

In the context of PayPal launching the results of a 2021 survey of 210 online small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Singapore, to learn about their experience and how they survived and thrived through the pandemic, Asia Tech Podcast had a super conversation with Kasia Leyden, the VP of Marketing for PayPal International.  Kasia covered a lot of ground and gave her insights on the results of this survey. We also discussed: Kasia being a true global citizen and how it has made her more resilient and empathetic Growing up all over the world was great 'training' for her current role The trend of digital transformation reaching SMBs in Singapore and around the region Not just in the B2C space but in the B2B space as well Social media and social selling as the focus and entry point for going online for SMBs The importance of 'brand' as a connection to customers Market expansion and cross-border trade How increased payment options build trust and enhance conversions Other titles we considered for this episode: A Very Specific Market-level Nuance The World Has Gone Online Meet the Customer Where They Are Is That Your Primary Channel? It’s Not Just about a Storefront Dynamic, Intimate and Connected A Beacon of Trust I Have an Instant Global Business Feeling Really Optimistic and Excited