The Asia Tech Podcast hosted Rosalind Quek, the GM of Modern Work, Asia at Microsoft.  Rosalind and I had an insightful and wide-ranging conversation.  We took a detailed look at Microsoft’s ‘Work Trend Index’ and a report entitled, “The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready?“ Some of the topics we covered included: 2020 was a year like no other and had a profound impact on the way people work Hybrid Work – What it is, what it means, and why it is not going away How Hybrid Work has fundamentally changed the talent landscape and the idea of what an office should look like and provide What are some of the emotional and mental challenges faced by employees as a result of remote work? How employee expectations have evolved due to flexible work How, in many cases, employees feel much more productive in hybrid work environments Have different generations reacted and adapted differently to this new and developing environment? How remote work has changed the way employees interact?  What drives new, serendipitous meetings? Has remote work shrunk employees’ networks and what is the impact on collaboration? Has a new authenticity emerged between colleagues and is this important? What is the ‘Democratization of Opportunity”? What are the recommendations that can be given to business leaders as this new work environment continues to evolve? Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast had a chat with Atul Monga, a Founder of Basic Home Loan.  Founded in 2020, BASIC Home Loan is a fintech company, developing an automated platform for home lending in India. It aims to provide consumers with end-to-end fulfillment, through technology for faster loan disbursements. The company’s vision is to change the way Bharat (India) finances its affordable homes. Some of the topics that Atul and I discussed: The drastic change in India's socio-demographic structure Extended families are becoming more nuclear The impact these socio-demographic changes have on the housing sector, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities How 'Phygital' (blending an offline, physical approach with an online one) is becoming the backbone of home lending in non-urban India How the pandemic has and continues to rewrite the housing preferences of low and middle-income India The standardization of housing properties and how this is rewriting the lending rules in India Paperless documentation and faster disbursals are becoming the norm Is there an insurance play as well Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast was joined by Oi Yee Choo, the Chief Commercial Officer at iSTOX, which leverages blockchain technology to bring previously out-of-reach opportunities to more investors.  Oi Yee Choo has more than two decades of experience in financial services at some of the world’s most well-known banks and investment banks. Some of the topics that Oi Yee and I discussed: iSTOX’ recently closed $50MM Series A Small investors’ lack of access to private market investments Existing processes for issuance, custody, and post-sale management of securities are very inefficient The current environment favors Institutions and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals Blockchain and smart contract technology allows iSTOX to digitize or tokenize securities New technologies allow iSTOX to serve a large number of small investors How this enables small investors to earn higher returns Expands the universe of financial products that can be offered to smaller investors This also helps issuers, giving them larger pools of potential investors This process of digitizing the securities markets will not happen overnight, but it will happen Which countries and regions are moving faster than others. Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast had a great conversation with Krishnan Subramanian and Sangeetha Phalgunan.  Kris is a co-founder and President and Sangeetha is the VP of Sales & Alliances in APAC at Jiffy.ai.  “JIFFY.ai’s revolutionary app-based intelligent automation platform turbo-charges productivity, transforms complex processes, and helps your teams unleash their creativity and innovation.” Sangeetha is an exceptionally experienced and accomplished sales leader building her craft over a two-decade career in enterprise sales.  Kris is also an extremely accomplished startup founder who believes that automation has to be an enabler to true digitalization. Some of the topics we covered during our conversation included: Making coding easier through no-code/low code implementations Simplifying Business Process Automation (BPA) Employing artificial intelligence, natural language processing (NLP), machine learning and advanced analytics Why the cloud matters and how it helps enterprises automate even the most complex business processes What is a HyperApp and how is one developed How does Jiffy.ai’s ‘Innovate’ product changes the way software is developed and who is its target audience Some pretty interesting use cases Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast had an in-depth and very insightful conversation with Vaibhav Dabhade, the Founder and CEO of Anchanto.  Anchanto’s cutting-edge technology simplifies backend operations and helps e-Commerce providers achieve unprecedented productivity through automated selling management.  Anchanto’s platform enables businesses to manage their ‘end-to-end’ e-Commerce operations across multiple channels, helping them bypass complexities & fragmentation. Some of the topics that Vaibhav and I discussed: The emerging trends in e-Commerce His family’s background in logistics and how that prepared him for building Anchanto His wife’s encouragement to venture out and start his own business Social commerce and its growing impact in Southeast Asia What actually enhances product discovery in crowded marketplaces How AR and VR could impact online shopping experiences The future of e-Commerce and the growing role of complex logistics solutions Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast was pleased to welcome Jingjin Liu, the CEO, and co-Founder of Zazazu. ZaZaZu has been founded to be the game changer to normalize sexual wellness and to empower women to own their sexual pleasure and intimacy moments with confidence. This is our story – based on personal experiences and through interaction with other women. Some of the topics that Jingjin and I discussed: Born in China but moved to Germany as a teenager Grew up with low self-confidence and society perceived her as ugly Went to Germany as she felt more comfortable in the Western world Studied  Industrial Engineering Believed she could have a good career as she checked come good diversity boxes - Female, Asian, speaks German, English, and Mandarin, and was an engineer How sexual education is terrible globally, but particularly bad in Asia How sexual pleasure is closely linked to confidence The important role that Facebook and Instagram play in allowing or disallowing advertising for sexual pleasure products The thin line between courage and madness in establishing a startup in a controversial space Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook - Michael Waitze Facebook - Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn - Michael Waitze Twitter - Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast was joined by Marc Ruffet, an Entrepreneur In Residence at AI and Robotics Ventures (ARV).  ARV is the venture building arm of PTTEP, set up to innovate and develop new technologies to scale up new S-Curve businesses. Some of the topics Marc and I discussed: His introduction to Asia as a teenager and his parents’ influence His first trip to Myanmar when he was 17 and how that changed his life The importance of learning the local culture and understanding that foreigners have as much or more to learn from locals than vice versa The pure potential of the Thai startup ecosystem and Thai people in general The beginning of Marc’s entrepreneurial life with iZZi guide The challenges of starting a TravelTech company in the midst of COVID The excitement and challenge of working at AI and Robotics Ventures Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast had a wide-ranging conversation with Dave Malhotra, the CEO & Lead Hustler at SoldOutt, Founder at ShakeSphere.  SoldOutt is a sales-focused, white-labeled ticketing platform startup that helps event businesses like TechSauce, StartmeupHK, and Startup Launchpad hack ticket and booth sales.  ShakeSphere is a digital business consulting agency that builds tech and startups for clients like Central Group. Some of the topics that Dave and I discussed were: His family has run the Pattaya Mail Media Group for almost 30 years Worked in the digital space at/with ThaiTicketMajor, Major Cineplex, Minor Food Group How he founded an e-commerce startup and ran for 3 years but shut it down after Alibaba invested in Lazada The idea behind SoldOutt and how the white-label ticketing platform can drive 90% conversion rates Some real-life examples of SoldOutts prowess including TechSauce Global Summit, TechFest 2020 Malaysia, and others How ShakeSphere is different than other venture builders Building a complete food delivery platform for the Central Group in 2019 in just 3.5 weeks How COVID has impacted venture building Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast had the pleasure of speaking with Tareef Jafferi, the Founder of Happily.ai.  Happily’s mission is to create a happier workplace using behavioral science, technology, and fun. Happily.ai helps companies engage employees, drive a culture of feedback & recognition, create positive habits, manage talent, and more. With people analytics and artificial intelligence, Happily.ai helps managers, people ops, and leaders make better people decisions using real-time personalized insights and nudges. Some of the topics Tareef and I discussed: Startup failure and the power of resilience and persistence How continuous innovation and learnings make success more likely Happily.ai’s mission to make workplaces happier The impact of COVID on Happily’s mission Approaching problems with optimism and believing that anything can be solved People systems are outdated and why he does not mean the software Modern organizational management is fundamentally flawed The fact that workplaces are impacting mental health is unacceptable Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

The Asia Tech Podcast had an enlightening conversation with Amit Kumar. Amit Kumar is an entrepreneur, a business leader, and a speaker. He is currently the CEO of OLX Autos in India. Amit has built multiple internet e-commerce ventures in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He is a regular contributor on topics related to leadership, entrepreneurship, and economics. He is a graduate of IIT Bombay and ISB Hyderabad. He is passionate about human evolution and is a psychology geek. Some of the topics we covered: How being a person of integrity and having a passion for helping others is most important to him The importance of educating others about the power of entrepreneurship Being inspired by J. R. D. Tata, who contributed to building some of India’s most important institutions Amit’s own journey to entrepreneurship started with a job at an FMCG company selling affordable biscuits His excitement about the multiplier effect of technology and his experiences at Rocket Internet Many more amazing things he learned along his fascinating career arc Follow Michael Waitze and the Asia Tech Podcast here: Facebook – Michael Waitze Facebook – Asia Tech Podcast LinkedIn – Michael Waitze Twitter – Michael Waitze Asia Tech Podcast is powered by Podcast Network Asia. For more information on the shows and the network, visit Podcast Network Asia at their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the podcast creators, hosts, and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of Podcast Network Asia. Any content provided by the people on the podcast are of their own opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.