Asia Tech Podcast

[01:30] An introduction to RISE: The Thai Corporate Innovation Accelerator [32:00] Can corporates or government in Asia use accelerators to foster innovation and startup culture? [36:15] What's happening to locally grown Thai entrepreneurs? Are they coming through the ranks or is Thailand still dominated by expat entrepreneurs? [43:25] Why should we stop thinking about building Silicon Valley in Thailand (or any other country)? What is the 3 things that Thailand should focus on in growing its startup ecosystem?

[09:20] How will Alibaba's Jack Ma open up the floodgate for Chinese entrepreneurs to take the global stage? [23:15] Key themes in the Asia Matters Report (parts 1-4) - The move from West to East [37:15] How do Asian startup ecosystems compare in terms of capital, talent and access to markets?

[00:05] Introduction to UPS1 - The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss UpSchool Book Reviews [00:50] What did the 4 Hour Workweek change in the minds of a generation of would-be entrepreneurs? [01:45] What's actually inside the 4 Hour Workweek? [02:30] The D.E.A.L acronym [02:55] Reality is Negotiable: Define success on your own terms [04:40] E for Elimination [07:05] We are the sum of the 5 people we hang around with on a daily basis (Jim Rohn) [08:05] A for Automation [10:00] Why should you focus on building pipelines rather than carrying buckets? [13:20] L for Liberation [14:05] The power of the "What if?" question

[00:05] Introduction to ETC1 - How do you deal with Fear? Escape the Cubicle with Graham D Brown [03:20] The story of the Asian elephant - how your entrepreneurial brain gets contained by fear [05:40] Should entrepreneurs be fearful? How do you deal with it? [06:45] How subtle everyday stories are the most powerful ways of reinforcing fear [07:10] How do cultural narratives both encourage and dissuade female entrepreneurship? [09:35] The breaking of the 4-minute mile and the power of narratives [11:55] Fear comes down to who or what you listen to. If you want to overcome fear, change who or what you hang around with [12:55] How do you start a business even when your friends and family say no? [13:20] How can you change the people you hang around with you and the stories you are regularly exposed to?

[08:45] Why does Thailand top the world in social media and online usage? [33:30] WeChat trends: how has it evolved? How is WeChat changing behavior? Will WeChat be a hit outside China? [45:00] Games, photos, dating - apart from social media and messenger, what else are people spending their time on the internet?

[04:20] How the Asian tech ecosystem has evolved - my story coming to Japan in 1995 and where Japan is today in mobile use [17:50] Did you know that within a 5 hour flight you can get to markets of 3.5 billion from Singapore? (the equivalent is 460 million from San Francisco) [29:45] Do cities like San Francisco still have an advantage over Asia? What's changing? What's happening to the geographical arbitrage between startup ecosystems?

We spoke to Jen Loong, the Founder of WanderSnap, which she humbly describes as an Airbnb of travel photography connecting travelers with local snappers to create selfie-free memories and purposeful jobs. For every booking, 5$ will be contributed towards photography training of underprivileged groups, as a way to inspire the next generation of visual storytellers. Jen is and has been innovator…whether for brands entering Asia / China or through her social impact activities. Jen is constantly looking for new ways to do things and new things to accomplish. Her energy is contagious and boundless. Podcast Highlights: [00:08] Welcome Jen Loong from Wandersnap [00:51] Jen shares her background & why she started Wandersnap [04:50] Defining "Wandersnap" and where it has reached today. [08:45] How Wandersnap acts as a platform for content creators and customers [11:21] Why visual contents are important for businesses & travelers and what role Wandersnap plays here. [17:35] Rationale behind scaling up the business fast & covering major metropolitan areas [19:23] Challenges faced & measures required to standardize customer experience across all the regions [22:49] How can the creator of Wandersnap improve quality of work and what points they look after? [26:00] Jen tells about an amazing experience of how wandersnap creators helped a client with his mother's reunion at Kinmen Island [30:10] Why Wandersnap created a live photo android app to provide instant delivery of professional photographs [35:28] The important role post-production plays in photography [41:25] What are the future possibilities of photography market? [46:03] How Wandersnap can actually use their reach to provide live photos [53:00] How Wandersnap can make big difference by teaching photography and create more job opportunities.

- Why and how Graham got his Linkedin account suspended not once, but twice this week - How we got over 400 comments and 100,000 views on 1 Linkedin status update about the Asia Matters Report - What’s inside part 2 of the Asia Matters report? - The Startup City Matrix and the 4 stages of market development in Asia - What’s happening to Startup Capital in Asia? - Why is Risk Capital leaving China and heading into Southeast Asia?

[00:05] Welcome Samir Cherro, Co-Founder and CEO of GoWabi to Asia Tech Podcast [00:45] A little background history of Samir [02:10] Life begins at the end of your comfort zone - an entrepreneur's journey from Sweden to Japan [05:35] Moving from your homeland to another country is like moving to a new planet [10:10] How Samir ended up in Deal.com.sg in Singapore [11:55] A look at the cultural and business differences between the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand [13:00] Three months in LAZADA is like 6-12 months in a normal corporate life [18:30] The main idea behind GoWabi was an online platform, so, you can book appointments etc online instead of applying [24:00] Why convenience isn't the biggest selling point in Asia [31:30] The main problem now was customer retention [37:15] Do you have plans to expand to other countries or do you feel like there’ll be so much business here in Thailand so you don’t have to worry about expanding to other countries? [44:40] How did you find the optimal way to get more clients with spending the least amount of money? [50:10] What are your growth statistics? How much money would you want to raise in your next funding round? [52:35] What have you learned from your start-ups?

- This week we’re taking an early snapshot of The Asia Matters Report Part 2 which you can download for free from our website. - Part 2 focuses on the Asian Tech Ecosystem and which Startup Cities are getting it right. We examine the results from the standout favorites like Singapore to powerhouses like Shanghai. - Key insights include a look at which cities ranked highest in our aggregation of 14 metrics, plus a heads up on our market maturation index. We also discuss the 6 elements each Asian City needs to become a successful startup hub in 2018.

We had a great conversation with Zennon Kapron, the Director of Kapronasia, one of Asia's leading financial technology research and consulting firms. Prior to founding Kapronasia, Zennon was the Asia Pacific Financial Industry Manager and Global Banking Industry Manager for Intel. At Intel, he helped position and sell Intel-based architecture to financial services firms globally. Before Intel, Zennon worked at Citi at a number of different technology management roles culminating in his role at CIO for Citigroup Portugal. Zennon is a recognised thought leader on fintech in Asia and a regular speaker at financial conferences globally. He has testified in front of the U.S. Congress on matters of China Fintech and is regularly quoted in the press and television appearances including CNBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Financial Times. Zennon is also the author of 'Chomping at the Bitcoin: The Past, Present and Future of Bitcoin in China' published by Penguin as well as countless reports and commentaries on the state of financial technology in Asia.

- If you want to understand the rise of Asia’s Tech Ecosystem look to the Megacities covered in the new Asia Matters Report as the engines of growth, not the countries. - Asia is big, but we didn’t realise how “big” it really was until we got out there, boots on the ground and did out research for this report. No longer is Asia all about “markets of billions”. The Asia of 2018 is a market of multiple wealth centers (the Megacities), a rapidly emerging middle class and a vision to connect all these dots together with huge infrastructure investment. Why build walls when you can build bridges? - China could create 15-20 Silicon Valleys of its own in the near future. - Asia is rapidly emerging from the shadows of “The West” to become the new world leader in everything from startup ecosystems to retail malls. - 66% of the world’s middle class will be in Asia within 10 years. Our “Asia Matters” presentation is the story of Asia’s rise from being a world of cheap “knockoffs” dependent on The West to becoming its own self-sufficient engine of economic growth.

Welcome back to 2018, where we're talking about the Asia Matters Report. We talk about all the key stats you need to know about Asia in 2018, and why Asia will be the most important startup ecosystem in coming years. Highlights include: the $1.3 trillion Greater Bay, Vietnam’s 6.3% growth rate, how China leads the US in innovation patents, when Indonesia will surpass the GDP of the UK, what it means for Asia and its tech startups to be home to 750 million (or 60%) of the world’s youth population. Listen to get insights into the latest trends and what it means for the Asian startup ecosystem in 2018.

Ginny Eckblad was born in Singapore and has lived all over the world. Living outside her country of birth for almost 25 years has taught her many things including the power of language and history, perspective and adaptability. She understands how to make others feel like they belong and the power of building positive communities. Ginny and her business partner have deep corporate experience and this also informs their ability to build from scratch and serve their clients across the board. GorillaSpace has built a differentiated strategy by working with all co-working and flexible work spaces, which means that some of the biggest players in the market rely on the GorillaSpace platform for their connectivity, The leverage is in the platform and the story of its genesis was quite interesting. Podcast Highlights: [00:05] ATP Stories today with Ginny Eckblad [00:35] On Eckblad’s Singaporean origin and return to Singapore to launch GorillaSpace.co in May 2017 [01:17] Why did Eckblad leave Singapore for Carolina 25 years ago? [06:18] Eckblad’s opinion on how Singapore has changed in the past 25 years [07:48] Eckblad’s experience living in France and Hong Kong for 10 years [11:10] What is Eckblad’s view of language and cultural adaptability? [14:53] How has Eckblad’s view of living in Singapore as a foreigner changed after living abroad for 25 years? [17:26] On Eckblad’s challenge adapting to different cultures and languages abroad – and reverse culture shock back home [21:21] What is GorillaSpace.co? How did it start? What challenges did Eckblad face when building and realizing the idea from scratch? [25:09] What is the main idea or theme behind GorillaSpace.co? [28:52] Who were the first clients when GorillaSpace.co started? [29:55] Does GorillaSpace.co own office or work space? [36:22] Does GorillaSpace.co contemplate having a real estate division? [42:30] What is the approach of GorillaSpace.co to pitching? [47:57] How does GorillaSpace.co find clients? How does the platform market the business – at least from a supplier’s point of view? [50:01] Where does the platform source their clients? [51:45] What is the competitive advantage of GorillaSpace.co? [52:07] Does the platform consider diversifying its business – like renting spaces in the real estate market [54:13] How to contact the platform – how to get in touch with GorillaSpace.co

[00:06] Welcome Bianca Ho hosted by Graham D Brown [01:00] Bianca’s introduction to the world of AI [04:18] What is the core offering at Clare.ai? [05:58] Why are chatbots becoming popular? What problem are they solving? [09:00] Is automation better than outsourcing? [12:57] Can an AI powered chat bot do presale heavy lifting for a human operator? [15:52] What is the future prospect of growth for a company building chatbots? Can you build on the relationship witha bank or insurance provider for example and introduce new AI-powered services [20:37] How do Bianca’s previous career choices complement clare.ai? [23:47] What skills are there in Bianca’s recipe to be a successful entrepreneur? [26:25] How did clare.ai come into Bianca’s trajectory? [29:59] How did Bianca pitch her requirements to commence a new startup? [32:46] How does Bianca see herself as the front-facing aspect of the startup? [35:30] What one choice would Bianca make to sell a product or service? [38:41] What does it take to step into the client’s shoes and build relationships? [40:57] Going out of comfort zone to find new insights [46:09] How does Bianca scale herself to live up to the challenges of the business? Bianca Ho is helping redefine the banking and insurance sector by building chatbot platforms. Clare.AI’s artificial intelligence powered chatbot does the heavy lifting for clients when it comes to interacting with large numbers of customers. Chatbots can not only warm up and prequalify prospective leads but also implement best practises that deliver a better customer experience.