Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong

Shai Oster, the Asia Bureau Chief from The Information reviews the year of 2019 on how the technology giants in China and SoftBank have fared and offers his annual predictions to what will be happening in 2020. Shai reviewed his 2018 predictions and ranked how each of them have gone for 2019. In addition, he offered his perspectives on how Huawei and ByteDance will face constant challenges in their overseas expansion and whether SoftBank will raise their 2nd fund and the downstream impact from their debacle with Wework trickling down to Oyo, Didi and Grab in 2020. Last but not least, Shai throws forward what he thinks will happen in 2020. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Shai Oster (@beijingscribe, LinkedIn, TheInformation Profile), Asia Bureau Chief in The Information  So since your last appearance on the show, what have you been up to? 2018 predictions  Didi to IPO in end 2019. ByteDance will continue to grow and fight Facebook in Southeast Asia, but will not IPO.   Ant Financial’s path to IPO is not clear. What will happen to Xiaomi with their overseas expansion? First-quarter of scary growth in China and followed by the wave of government stimulus in China. State of China and SoftBank for 2019 What are the few events which you feel that 2019 has shifted the trajectory for SoftBank and Chinese tech giants? Event 1: The US and China Relationship: There is obviously a lot of tension between the two countries, and a display of that tension can be seen in what has happened to Huawei in the last year. There was the trade ban that is forcing US companies like Google & Qualcomm to stop providing to Huawei & also the FCC ban that stops the use of government fund to purchase equipment from Huawei. It seems like Huawei is always in the news these days, from their product launches, to their lawsuits, and also the recent employee detainment allegations. How has Huawei been doing and coping with all the challenges they’re facing in the U.S.?  Do you think that the Huawei CEO has been responding well to the critics? What is the future of 5G for Huawei across the world?  Event 2: The SoftBank debacle with Wework and Vision Fund 2 We all know that WeWork is not what used to be, so has Vision Fund 1 reached the peak with Wework’s collapse? How has that changed the way how the public markets have perceived the startup unicorns given that Uber have not performed well for their IPO and Wework failed to even go public?  Will Oyo in India be the next on a similar trajectory with Wework?  Will SoftBank be able to raise the 2nd Vision Fund in 2020? Are the other unicorns backed by SoftBank in danger, for example, Bytedance and Grab?  Event 3: The public markets for Chinese Tech Startups Alibaba has just popped in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, after Xiaomi and Meituan-Dianping, do you think that HKSE will be the Chinese tech startups’ port of call for IPO? With the chaos in Hong Kong and investors moving their assets from Hong Kong to Singapore, do you foresee that the HKSE will lose its pole position as a financial hub and what it means for chinese tech giants planning to go IPO? Other long term implications & effects to businesses & tech companies?  Event 4: Bytedance Will Bytedance end up in the same predicament similar to Huawei? Bytedance is also getting pushback in India, does that mean that the overseas growth potential for this company will end?  Event 5: Overseas expansion for Chinese Tech Titans Will the Chinese Tech Titans focus on Southeast Asia, India and the rest of the world instead of continuing its trajectory to put a foothold in the US? Can they compete with Google, Amazon and Facebook in these nascent markets?  What will be your predictions for 2020 and what are the key things you will be watching out for? China & US relationship in 2020  China economy Tiktok will retreat from US, scale back & renew their focus on China, India, Southeast Asia & Africa Huawei  Shift of Money out of China and US into Southeast Asia and India from VCs and PE funds. Closing How do my audience find you? Check out the Information's new app: "Tech Top 10"  Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

Simon Kemp, founder and CEO of Kepios joined us to discuss the recent Digital 2019 Q4 Global StatShot Report and share the major observations in how Asia Pacific has shifted social media from the west to the east. Starting from the report, Simon shares the key major observations including Asia's rising, Tik Tok vs Facebook and how 5G will shape mobile and social media in 2020. Last but not least, Simon offers his predictions on the digital world as he looks forward to 2020. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Simon Kemp (@eskimon, LinkedIn), Founder & CEO of Kepios We met during the live show in Singapore and many thanks for coming on as one of our three mysterious guests on the show. Since our last conversation, what have you been up to?  Shift to the East: We Are Social Q4 Report and Q4 2019 StatShot Report. Reference: The DataReportal library of free reports What are the key major trends that you have observed globally and then specifically to the Asia Pacific? In this Q4 report, you talk about Asia’s rising, can you break down what the key observations are? How has been the growth in social media like in Asia Pacific: is it growing, stagnating or declining? Based on the recent backlashes on Facebook, does the data show that the social media site has been on a decline? And are other platforms owned by Facebook such as Whatsup & Instagram been affected? What about Tik Tok? How has their growth in Asia Pacific like? Do you think that Tik Tok will face significant headwinds in the US similar to Huawei? Specifically, the top apps in the Asia Pacific are no longer just confined to China but also in Japan and Korea as well, is it a foreshadowing of a longer trend? What are some new social media sites/apps/networks that you are monitoring that no one else is looking at in the region? How is 5G transforming China & Asia Pacific in this quarter? What should we be looking forward to in 2020?  Closing Do you have recent recommendations of books or anything else to share? Simon's recommendations: Danny Denhard’s newsletter, How can my audience find you? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

Rebecca Fannin, author of "Tech Titans of China" and founder of Silicon Dragon Ventures joined us for a conversation to discuss her new book and offered her perspectives on how China will reshape the world with their breed of tech giants: Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and many more. Rebecca began with the story of her career and how she came to cover Chinese technology companies from its earliest days. She discussed the major themes of her new book, and how the current trade tensions will shape China's path in the technology space and why we need to start thinking of China as originators of technology rather than the misconceptions that they are copycats. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Rebecca Fannin (@rfannin, LinkedIn), Author of “Tech Titans of China” and Founder of Silicon Dragon Ventures [0:16] As a young person who also works for a media company, I must ask, how did you start your career? [0:32] What advice would you give to young people looking to be a tech reporter or a media entrepreneur? [3:55] You have started covering China tech much earlier than most people with your first book “Silicon Dragon”, what are the major key misconceptions you have observed in how other parts of the world cover China? [5:30] As you have interacted with many key entrepreneurs such as Robin Li and Jack Ma, who is the most interesting entrepreneur in China who you have interviewed so far? [7:13] Tech Titans of China: “How China’s Tech Sector Is Challenging the World by Innovating Faster, Working Harder, & Going Global” [10:30] What are the main themes of the book and who are the intended audience? [10:40] We have known the Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent or BAT in short that are core key companies in China similar to Amazon, Google and Facebook in the US. How are they different? [13:20] From copiers to now originators, what are the key turning points for China to become a technology power in the world? [15:45] Is the government and their regulations the key reason why the tech giants in the US do not manage to penetrate into China? What are the other key reasons as to why the US tech companies have so many problems entering China? [17:50] If China has not banned Google, Facebook or Twitter, would these companies have succeeded? [20:10] We are increasingly seeing the decoupling of China and the US technology sector given the current US-China trade war. Do you think that the global supply chain which powers tech companies from both countries will break apart with what happened to ZTE and Huawei? [22:17]  How does China have evolved in these three key areas [22:19]: Ecommerce [22:22] AI [25:18] Drones and robots given that they have the most established and well developed manufacturing ecosystem in Shenzhen while US manufacturing has declined over the past three decades [27:58] Where do you see the future of Chinese tech for China and will it start spilling to the rest of the world given its nascent influence in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa? [29:17] Which tech giants in China are currently interesting from your perspective? [31:20] Closing [33:42] How can my audience find you? [33:52] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

James Hull from Hullx and co-host of China Tech Investor podcast joined us in a discussion on whether we should replace Baidu with Bytedance in the BAT China. Starting with the question, James dived deep into the business structures of Baidu and Bytedance and examined whether Baidu has lost their edge as one of the three tech giants of China. In the same conversation, James offered his perspectives on how Bytedance will replace Baidu in the future. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): James Hull (@jameshullx, LinkedIn), Co-host of China Tech Investor podcast and Founder of Hullx [0:21] Since you have last appeared on the podcast, what have you been up to? [0:50] Should we replace Baidu with Bytedance in the BAT? [0:56] BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) & TMD (Toutiao, Meituan-dianping, Didi)  Let’s start with Baidu. How has Baidu performed as a public company for the past decade? [2:08] What are the key businesses of Baidu? (iQiyi is spun off as a separate company)? [3:27] Baidu's advances in AI [4:56] and in the intelligent audio input interface and speaker sector. [5:42] Is Baidu dependent on the advertising business similar to Google in the US? [6:51] Comparison between Baidu and Bytedance in terms of user information feeds [9:30] Bytedance's advantage with user feeds and recommendations through Douyin and Toutiao [11:51] Bytedance has been growing exponentially with a 75B valuation from their recent round with SoftBank, now the most valuable startup in the world followed by Didi. How are they performing as a business? [15:09] What are the key revenue drivers for Bytedance? How are they compared to Alibaba and Tencent? [18:08] What are Baidu’s competitive advantages that you think may allow them to stay competitive within the BAT? [24:30] How Baidu's search engine competes against Google and the rest of Chinese search engines. [28:24] Should we just replace Baidu with Bytedance in the BAT? [31:09] Interesting Chinese answer on the question for this podcast (in Chinese) in Zhihu (similar to Reddit and Quora in the US) which Carol has referenced and mentioned in the discussion.  Closing [37:24] Recommendation for a book, movie, podcast, or any consumable content?[37:24] James' recommendation: "I love capitalism" by Ken Langone , "The Great Rebalancing" by Michael Pettis Carol's recommendation: Louis Cha's or Jin Yong's martial arts novels How does our audience find you? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

Joyce Yang, founder of Global Coin Research, joined us in a conversation about the Asian cryptocurrency market in Asia with our new host, Carol Yin. Joyce and Carol discussed the recent publication by Global Coin Research (GCR) "The Small Handbook to Asia Cryptocurrency: On local ecosystems, trends & regulations" and identified the key important trends and currents in the Asian market, specifically China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Singapore.  Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Joyce Yang (@JoyceInNYC , LinkedIn), Founder of Global Coin Research [0:40] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [1:03] The Small Handbook to Asia Cryptocurrency: On local ecosystems, trends & regulations published by Global Coin Research (GCR) [4:56] Joyce discuss the GCR's new advisory & venture fund.  How did you and your team in GCR put the handbook together? [5:08] Who are the intended audience? [8:14] What are the main themes of the handbook? [10:26] Are there any common threads on cryptocurrency within Asia? For example, it seems that a lot of Asian countries have banned ICOs. Prolonged bear market, IEO. [11:22] China [13:25] China is probably the most important market for cryptocurrency whether it’s bitcoin and blockchain and have banned ICOs since 2017 and at the same time, reducing bitcoin mining towards zero, what are the key trends in 2019 which you believe that are most important? [13:46] One interesting part on China is that you have broken down the major financial institutions in the Chinese government that everyone dabbling in bitcoin and blockchain must know, which are they and why they are important to the whole ecosystem? [16:01] Are there any major differences between Hong Kong and China when it comes to cryptocurrency? [17:41] Is Hong Kong following China with respect to regulation in blockchain and bitcoin given that it has also banned ICOs now? [19:41]  Japan and Korea [20:34] How has the Japanese cryptocurrency market changed after the major theft of bitcoins from Mount Gox in 2014? [20:49] Can you briefly talk about the Japanese blockchain startup ecosystem and also the Japanese enterprises in blockchain? [22:55] Who are the key players from the startup spaces and major enterprises involved in cryptocurrency within Korea? [24:44] Korea is known for the kimchi premium: can you explain what that means in the context of cryptocurrency? [26:32] Singapore and Indonesia [28:27] Indonesia is the largest market in Southeast Asia, can you talk about how the government is viewing cryptocurrency (bitcoin + blockchain)? [28:29] Who are the key players from the startup spaces and major enterprises involved in cryptocurrency within Indonesia? [29:58] How is Singapore looking at regulation in the cryptocurrency market? [31:05] We notice a lot of major cryptocurrency players (Binance) are based in Singapore, what are its competitive strengths and weaknesses? [32:54] Other interesting Asian markets: Thailand and Vietnam. [35:02] Closing [36:14] How do my audience find you? [36:28] The Global Coin Podcast  Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

Fresh out of the studio, Chua Kee Lock, CEO of Vertex Holdings and managing partner of Vertex Ventures, Southeast Asia & India joined us in a conversation together with guest host Charles Reed Anderson of TechBurst Asia podcast about the venture capital firm and its footprint across Southeast Asia globally. We start with Kee Lock's story and how he eventually become a venture capitalist. Following on, Kee Lock discuss Vertex Holdings and Vertex Ventures and how the fund assembles and helps their portfolio of high growth startups such as Grab in the region. Last but not least, Kee Lock discuss the evolution of venture capital in Southeast Asia and India and where it is leading. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Chua Kee Lock,  CEO of Vertex Holdings & Managing Partner of Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India ( LinkedIn) [0:25] How did you start your career? [0:36] In your career journey, what are the words of wisdom you can share with my audience based on your time in Silicon Valley? [2:18] Kee Lock's thoughts on why people are central to building successful technology companies. [3:30] Vertex Holdings and Vertex Ventures [5:00] Can you give a brief introduction to Vertex Holdings and its relationship with Temasek Holdings? [5:10]   What’s a typical day for you like as a VC? [11:07] Can you describe the different funds under Vertex Holdings and their current purposes? Does the different funds reflect the different stages of investment? [12:45] What are the traits of founders and startups which the investment team in Vertex seek? [14:00] What are the interesting companies within the Vertex portfolio? [16:40] Grab Licious Validus Instarem How does the Vertex network help the portfolio companies or companies who might be interested to seek funding? [21:30] Vertex has made very interesting investments globally, for example, Grab, Spacemob (acquired by Wework), Mobike (acquired by Meituan Dianping) and many others, how do you work with the founders and what help do most high growth companies need most in the early stage?  Trends in venture capital across India and Southeast Asia [24:40] What are your thoughts on the investment opportunity in India and Southeast Asia? [25:00] Southeast Asia is not a homogeneous market with different countries at different stages of economic development, how does Vertex see their investments when they do their regional expansion? Do you see India with the same challenge? [26:25] Kee Lock's comments on shortage of tech talent and skills in Asia and how entrepreneurs are solving them. [28:30] Kee Lock's thoughts on returning technology talent to Asia from Silicon Valley and its impact to startup ecosystems in Asia Pacific for the next few years. [30:50] Does the lack of exits in India and Southeast Asia deter the market opportunity for venture capital to thrive? [31:35] With more global funds entering the region, do you see the potential of an overheated market with valuations going up? [33:00] Where do you see the evolution of venture capital in the next few years? [35:30] Closing [37:40] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [37:45] Kee Lock's recommendations: Ray Dalio's "Principles" and Simon Sinek's "Start from Why" How do my audience find you? [39:00] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by guest host Charles Reed Anderson (@CRASingapore, LinkedIn) from Techburst Asia Podcast and produced by Carol Yin and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is fully produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin). Editor's note: We thank Charles for helping us to guest host this episode before Carol starts her new role as the producer and host of Analyse Asia after the live show.

Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru and partner from Wavemaker VC, shares the lessons of his journey from an entrepreneur with PropertyGuru to now a partner in a venture capital firm. Steve started with the backstory behind on how he founded PropertyGuru and shared the lessons in scaling up the company across Southeast Asia and explained the thinking process and execution behind his transition out of the CEO role in the company. Subsequently, Steve discuss his current gig with Wavemaker VC, and the key traits in companies and founders which he invests on and his current thoughts on the proptech space. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru and partner in Wavemaker VC (LinkedIn) [0:12] How did you start your career? [0:30] In your career journey, what are the most interesting lessons that you can share with my audience? [5:07] PropertyGuru [10:17] Can you talk about the backstory when you founded PropertyGuru? [10:42] From the creation of the company till you moving over to be a venture capitalist, what are the most interesting milestones that PropertyGuru? [14:07] What is the rationale for you to step down as CEO and what's the thinking and execution phase to bring in a professional CEO and make that transition happen? [22:52] How are you involved with PropertyGuru now? [29:00] Wavemaker VC [30:00] Can you introduce Wavemaker, the venture capital firm in Southeast Asia to my audience? [30:05] What’s your current role and coverage as a venture partner in Wavemaker VC? [32:31] What is a typical day for you as a venture capitalist? [35:05] What are the attributes in founders from startups that you look for before investing in them? [36:05] Which are the interesting verticals that you are now looking into startups for investment? [39:15] Can you talk about your perspectives on the current wave of startups in proptech, and what are the key opportunities there for startups to solve? [41:10] How would you advise a startup to expand into Southeast Asia? [44:49] Closing [46:30] Can you recommend a book, movie, podcast or anything else that has recently impact your personal or work life? [46:39] Steve's recommendation: "Blue Planet 2" documentary by David Attenborough and the movie "Vice", books such as "Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh, "Start from Why" by Simon Sinek, "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, "Mastering the Rockefeller Habits" by Verne Harnish. Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

Grace Park, co-founder & president of DocDoc joined us in a conversation about leadership and regional expansion of DocDoc in Asia. Grace started the conversation, narrating her background as a military officer with the US army and how she moved subsequently from a military career into a business executive in notable healthcare companies. Grace shared the backstory behind the founding of DocDoc as a leading patient intelligence company from her perspective and offered her perspectives in how she utilized her experience to expand DocDoc regionally across Asia. Last but not least, Grace offered her thoughts on leadership and the importance of how to lead teams to success in different settings. Editor's note: This interview was conducted in June 2019, and recently DocDoc has raised their series B funding of US$13M. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Grace Park (Facebook, LinkedIn), co-founder & President of DocDoc [0:19] How did you start your career? [1:12] Before Docdoc, you have been taken senior executive roles in medical and healthcare sector with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medtronic, can you talk about what you have done in these companies and how that experience shapes the way in how you operate in Asia Pacific markets? [4:15]  In your career journey, what are the interesting life lessons you can share with my audience? [6:34] DocDoc & Perspectives on Regional Expansion of Digital Healthcare in Asia Pacific [8:08] I am curious to know the backstory of Docdoc from your perspective given Cole has offered the same story in an earlier episode. Can you articulate the founding story from your perspective and how did that translate to founding of Docdoc? [8:24] Let's help our audience to refresh their understanding of the company DocDoc, can you describe the company and its vision and mission? [12:44] What is your current role and coverage as the President of DocDoc? [15:34] What keeps you awake at night or gets you excited every morning about DocDoc’s mission? [16:35] Given DocDoc focus on to be the leader in patient intelligence, how do you build the trust and bringing the doctors in DocDoc’s network? From your engagement with the doctors, what are the doctors’ major pain points as providers of medical care in the entire healthcare supply chain?[17:56] You have led in expanding DocDoc’s business across Asia Pacific, can you talk about how you think strategically on the go to market and build the right teams to expand into countries such as Korea and Hong Kong? [21:56] What are the most interesting lessons you have learned in working in a startup environment with DocDoc? What will you have done differently? [23:15] Leadership [25:37] I understand that you are a great student on leadership. What are the books in leadership which have inspired you and further your thinking on the subject? [26:09] Viktor Frankl's "Man Search for Meaning" Warren G Bennis "On Becoming a Leader" Ron Heifetz "Leadership without Easy Answers" You have an interesting career before Harvard Business School in the US military, and you were based in Korea as an officer, how did the experience shape you as a leader in the military and subsequently in the corporate world? [28:50] In your opinion, what are the most important traits for a leader? [32:40] Do you think that a team learn more by going thru a crisis than going thru the regular motion of the day? [33:40] Do you see a difference between a manager and a leader? [35:13] Can you talk about your style of leadership and how did it come about? [36:18] Closing [38:22] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [38:35] Grace's recommendations: Eric Topol, "Deep Medicine" and two articles: (a) Tampa Bay Times, "Heartbroken" and NY Times "Listen to What Doctors in 'times of crisis' said behind doors" How can my audience find you? [41:13] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

In episode 310, Justin Hall, partner from Golden Gate Ventures joined us in a conversation to discuss the state of venture capital in Southeast Asia. Justin shared his career journey in how he progressed from an associate to a partner within one of the well-known venture capital firms in Southeast Asia and explained what he has learned over the years from working with startup founders and companies. From there, Justin extended the conversation to offer his perspectives to how the infrastructure has evolved and the importance of exits for startups in Southeast Asia. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Justin Hall, partner in Golden Gate Ventures (@JVinnyHall, LinkedIn) [0:15] How did you start your career? [0:46] Does the Kauffman program help you in advancing your venture capital career? [2:30] Prominent alumni in Kauffman Fellowship within Southeast Asia [3:15] In your career journey, what are the interesting life lessons you can share with my audience? [4:02]  Golden Gate Ventures and Venture Capital in Southeast Asia (or ASEAN) [6:12] Can you introduce Golden Gate Ventures to the audience (and yes, just a refresher as I have interviewed Jeff and Vinnie) years back? [6:34] How has the fund evolved since you have started as an associate and eventually now as a partner? Can you talk about some of the successful startups within Golden Gate Ventures portfolio? [8:01] What is your current role in Golden Gate Ventures? [11:09] How do you think about making decisions on whether to invest in startups within the investment committee? [12:35] What is a typical day for you as a venture capitalist? [14:23] What are the industry verticals which you are most excited about in the venture capital space lately? [16:10] Where are the opportunities that you have identified in the logistics space given that last mile delivery is commoditized? [19:09] How about any other interesting verticals other than logistics? [21:27] What do you look for in a startup team when you invest in them? [23:17]  We are now at the tail end of the first institutional funding cycle for Southeast Asia but most VC funds in the region have raised at least 2nd and 3rd rounds of funding, how has the VC scene changed since you first started? [26:15] How do you see the signaling risk for startups within the venture capital circle in Southeast Asia? [29:09] How does the infrastructure within the Southeast Asia market has changed from your opinion? Does it enable more or less startup activity? Let's exclude Singapore given that it is well developed as a city state. [30:20] Recently, in the past two years, there has been a strong interest from tech giants in China and US on Southeast Asia, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the ecosystem from the perspective of startups and venture capital? [33:40] How does a startup founder look at Southeast Asia market? If you are asked to advise a founder in Singapore or in Jakarta to expand into another market, what will be the first advice you give them? [36:18] One major criticism, pointed out by many is the lack of startup exits in the startup ecosystem. How do you define startup exits and what does success in startup exits would mean for Southeast Asia, and if you have any examples, please share them? [39:38] Closing [43:04] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [43:25] Justin's recommendation: "Trillion Dollar Coach" by Eric Schmidt et al.  How can my audience find you? [44:54] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.

In episode 309, Wilma Gerber, the chief operating officer for project and development services in JLL Asia Pacific, joined us for a conversation on digital transformation in the real estate industry. Starting from her work in building technology before the iPhone turned the smartphone mainstream to building the 4G network in India which becomes Reliance Jio, she offered the important lessons that explained the intersection of business and technology. Moving forward, she offered her perspectives on the why and how for a successful digital transformation and how it can be applied into a traditional industry for real estate. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Wilma Gerber (LinkedIn), Chief Operating Officer, Project & Development Services Asia Pacific at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) [0:18] How did you start your career? [0:40] Given that you have worked on technology ideas before these ideas become fashionable, for example, the instant mobile messaging app leads to whatsapp, the mobile music player becomes the iPod and the mobile app store before Apple App Store and Google Play, what are the major lessons that you have drawn from these experiences? [3:04] So you spent your early a career in South Africa and Europe. What brought you to Asia? [4:35] What is like working with Reliance to build out the 4G network for India that jumpstarted the smartphone market for the next 100-200M users? [6:01] After you have worked in technology companies for more than 20 years, for example, building the network in India that is now the 4G network for Reliance Jio, why have you transitioned into real estate? [7:41] Given that new upstarts such as Wework has entered into the real estate and the complexity of the real estate supply chain, why would it be different this round for you in executing a digital transformation in a traditional industry such as real estate? [9:34] Digital Transformation in Real Estate [10:20] Can you briefly introduce JLL to my audience and describe your current role and coverage with JLL? [10:43]   How do you define digital transformation and what exactly it entails? [11:21] How has your perception of DX changed since you moved from the vendor to client side? [12:12] How do you define the typical objectives/goals for digital transformation? [13:32] Who should be involved in the digital transformation within the company? [15:00] Do you think that digital transformation is a program or a new way of thinking for a company or business? [16:02] In a digital transformation given that it involves people and culture, what is more important, the transition or education for the organization? When you start off on a digital transformation initiative, what are the initial steps? [17:46] You have been working on digital transformation initiatives for over 15 years - can you provide an example of a successful digital transformation initiative from the wider market that you find compelling? Wilma discuss the case of DBS bank as a successful example of digital transformation. [18:50] What sets this example apart from the typical digital transformation initiatives? [21:07] What are the major challenges for digital transformation? [22:00] Organisational  Cultural Financial Strategic Technological In your perspective, how do you think about aligning the different stakeholders in digital transformation? [23:46] What do you mean by leader-led change? [24:38] The importance of culture in digital transformation. [25:35] So now that you’ve been in Real Estate for about 3 years, what are you seeing as some of the industry specific challenges holding back digital transformation? [26:31] If you had to give one piece of advice for someone who is about to undertake a digital transformation initiative from the leadership position, what would it be? [29:00] References: McKinsey article - Why Digital Strategies fail? Closing [29:29] Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? [29:35] Wilma's recommendation: Adam Grant's podcast "Work Life", the Freaknomics podcast and Malcolm Gladwell's "Revisionist History" podcast. How do my audience find you? [30:16] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong & weibo) until 30 June 2019 and are sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) with their new Altizen Desk (Twitter, Facebook, Medium). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack and this episode is edited by Carol Yin, and co-produced by Carol Yin and Bernard Leong. This episode is recorded and produced in June 2019.