Kristie Neo’s Post

Is This The Right Time to Build a MENA<>SEA Venture Corridor? In 2013, I was in Singapore with INSEAD, and 10 years later I am proud to return as we expand MAGNiTT to Singapore to bridge the "Arab World" with South East Asia! After 24 meetings with awesome people, I can categorically say there has never been a better time! As promised, some of the key takeaways from my trip: Market Similarities: Unit economics is key, but scalability is achievable. Successful operators who have set up in Singapore to scale into Indonesia/ Malaysia/ Taiwan can apply the same model using the UAE to scale into KSA/ Egypt/ Turkey, and vice versa. If you cherry-pick your markets you can scale firms across regions in similar ways. Establish your HQ in Singapore to expand into Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan (similar to the UAE and expand into KSA, Egypt, and Turkey). Check out our latest piece which explores such market similarities. M&A: In both markets, now is a perfect time for inorganic growth. Market Consolidation in the regions you want to expand to offers a quicker market entry to the new region, at least that is what many founders and VCs found worth noting. It's already happening: Last year we highlighted 42 VCs who invested in MEAPT. In fact, many of the VCs I spoke to in Singapore had at least 1/2 portfolio companies who have made moves into MENA already. @WEGO is a perfect example while we have already identified more than 12 who have HQ in both Singapore & MENA! Perception gap: A preconceived nervousness to explore different regions! My sense is there is a knowledge gap in the opportunities, the landing programs, and the success stories to market entry. Time to ditch the Zoom calls and jump on a plane to learn more! Experienced VC space: Based on my conversations, the VC space in SEA, by my estimate, is 12-14 years mature while. that in MENA it is roughly, it’s only 8-10 years old. In fact, many of the established VCs have multiple funds including geographical and sectoral focus! already have more than 3 funds each. Lot's to learn from what works (and what doesn't) LPs in MENA: Many SG GPs are raising are keen to connect with sovereign entities to inform sovereigns in KSA/ and the UAE. My recommendation: It's very important though to do your homework about the MENA VC space if you do and my 2 cents, and if you are coming to ask for money, come with an open mindset open-minded to invest in their region. With travel once again on the rise and multiple events taking place in both markets now is the time to engage and visit. A big thank you to the individuals and companies I met with in Singapore who helped bridge the knowledge gap between the two regions. P.S. If you are keen to learn about VC in SEA check out the Unreasonable Podcast for insights on SEA here! https://lnkd.in/dXR8W4zP By Philip Bahoshy, CEO of MAGNiTT

📢 Check this out! 🇸🇬 Darren Eng and our friends at Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) are headed to Singapore! 🌋 LAVA is a nonprofit organization that supports the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the LA area. They facilitates networking, provides educational resources, and hosts events to connect entrepreneurs, investors, and service providers. LAVA fosters innovation and business growth by creating opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange among its members, which include startups, VCs, and professionals from various industries. 🗓️ If you're one of our Singaporean startup, VC, LP, or CVC friends, and if you're in Singapore on July 22nd, please follow the link below. BUILD🛠️>GROW📈>FUND💰>EXIT🦄 venture@portolavalleypartners.com #technology #startups #innovation #venturecapital #future

We are making headlines!✨ In an insightful interview with journalist Siiri Liiva of Ärileht, our managing partner, Merlin Seeman, discusses the evolving landscape of the startup sector. The article delves into the changing dynamics of startup funding and investment. (It’s in Estonian!) 💡 According to Merlin, the last five years have been characterised by irrational euphoria, where raising funds for various business ideas seemed effortless. However, the current environment calls for a more balanced approach to funding. 💰 She discusses the challenges startups face in fundraising, highlighting the importance of diversifying funding sources. She also explores the evolving trends in startup investment and the complexities of financing transactions. 🤖 Additionally, she touches on the increasing focus on the deep technology sector as well as how universities have begun to think more about commercialising the intellectual property created in their research institutions. 🗞️ You can also grab a copy of Eesti Päevaleht from your nearest news vendor. 📸 Ilmar Saabas | Delfi Meedia Hedman Law Firm has been advising the technology sector for over a decade, and we remain dedicated to supporting startups, evolving companies, and mature businesses through these dynamic times. We’re grateful for our clients and partners’ trust in us.🙏 #HedmanLawFirm #Startups #StartupFunding #IT #LegalExpertise

🌎From Silicon Valley to Southeast Asia 🌎 In this video 📹, Founders Doc is excited to feature #startup veteran and co-founder of Iterative, Hsu Ken Ooi. 😎. In this episode, we cover the following: 🔔#Investment trends that we see in #Silicon Valley vs Southeast #Asia 🔔Hsu Ken Ooi's journey from founder to investor and What he looks out for 🔔Our thoughts on #venture #capital, and the eco-system in Southeast Asia 🔔How founders and startups should approach this #funding winter And why most of his meetings are conducted virtually! 💻 This is an episode that you won't want to miss! 🚨 https://lnkd.in/dJRsUZsx #fundraising #startups #venturecapital #founders

Day 2 of Jump into the future....today! Blue Ocean Revolution :) Yesterday we had great insights from Pierre Erwes of BioMar who shared about Impact funds, what investors look for from a pitch (acronym PTV), Christiaan Lensvelt of Aqua-Spark discussed with us the parameters/criteria when they choose a portfolio company to be part of their deals, Israel Pons from Pitch at the Beach® and ANGELS NEST "Network of Angel Investors" (Co-investing in Startups & Scaleups) talked about stories on how angel investing and co-investing works and of course we shared the Top 5 Trends in Impact Investments. Day 2 I will shared trends 6 - 10 :) Not too late to join us: https://lnkd.in/d7prfMy7 #blueocean #futuretrends #impactinvesting #goodmorning

In addition to having seven startups pitch at the Tenity Nordics Demo Day last week, we also hosted a panel discussion on attracting European VCs to incorporate in Estonia. Foreign startups are already doing that, so what's holding back foreign investors? Luxembourg provides an established jurisdiction that is trusted by GPs and LPs alike, but it's also expensive and paper-heavy. Estonia is increasingly entertained as an option due to its reputation as a startup nation, digital infrastructure and fund management regulations copied from Luxembourg. That's all fine and well - until investors get to applying for a fund management license. It turns out that in addition to hiring an army of lawyers, they should consider hiring an army of astrologers to improve the odds of a positive outcome. Other, more practical ideas on turning Estonia into Luxembourg 2.0 were gracefully discussed in the panel by Karola Sisask (MITI), Liina Vahtras (e-Residency), Kart Siilats (Mojo.Capital + Superangel) and Andreas Iten (Tenity (formerly F10). You can find the summary on Geenius Meedia. Many thanks to Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EstVCA) and Estonian Investment Agency for making this happen!

A good overview about Singapore.... For the rich who wanted to do money laundering, you can do it legally by investing in Singapore. There are many Startups incubators that need funding to develop and grow. https://lnkd.in/gbjZY36Q?

I had a great conversation recently with Osman Ahmed and Razy Shah AKA The Clueless Capitalists about how psychometric analysis can be a great addition to your toolbox of startup founder evaluation. Specifically, I speak about the OCEAN framework, also known as "The Big Five". In early stage startups there is less business to analyze and the vast majority of the business potential is with the founders as people. How can we scientifically evaluate founders to see if they're a good fit for scaling a startup? https://lnkd.in/gikGAEHd

When people go to events & conferences, they usually focus on quantity instead of quality. Trying to meet as many people as possible, pitch as many investors as they can, etc. Personally, I have found that quality actually trumps quantity. In fact, I think you only need 20 super-powerful connections to be successful, instead of 50 000 followers you don't know. Spoke about this and other topics in preparation for Latitude59 and Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) events on radio: https://lnkd.in/dgVNUbMA (My portion starts at minute 18:30, but do listen to Anu Oks too, before that)

By determination.. we can do it...