Category: SEA

Context

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

This was posted today :: https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/future-early-stage-funding-asean-exciting-seedplus-77307/

Which is great – I appreciate good press.

However I want to clarify the first paragraph:

Michael Smith of early-stage venture fund SeedPlus, an affiliate of Jungle Ventures, is uncertain about the trajectory of early-stage funding in Singapore and the wider region but believes that deep technology as a segment will emerge a winner in the long run.

This was the question that this answer was lifted from:

From your current perspective in the ecosystem, what’s the general trajectory for early-stage funding (i.e. pre-seed to Series A) and its evolution since 2015? What is the future?

My answer:

The future is something we can’t predict but we feel that deep tech will emerge as a winner in the Singapore ecosystem and that across the region there will be startups raising substantial money at the pre-A level for regional or APAC wide business ideas that need institutional money on their way to their Series A. The future looks pretty exciting in our opinion.

I don’t think what I said was I am uncertain. What I said is I can’t predict the future. I don’t have a crystal ball, startup opportunity, and I don’t think it ever makes sense to try and predict the future.

I am just honest in saying no one knows what will happen but I am confident the ecosystem has a very promising future.

Envious of the USA conference scene

~ michael_msft ~ 3 Comments

Gonna throw a few links at you today. One of the things I have missed about not being in the states is the conference scene. I am not saying Asia doesn’t have any that are good but they just don’t yet compare to the quality and level of speakers. Maybe it is just me so if so – tell me to shut up.

I hope someday to get to Recode’s Code Media Conference :: https://events.recode.net/events/code-media/

It is on my list for 2018.

For VC conferences I think the Upfront Summit looks awesome :: http://summit.upfront.com. I am going to figure out how to get into it for 2018 as well. I assume they will post some videos soon but if you follow Mark on his podcast link – they have dropped some good audio interviews.

Love this one with Cuban :: https://overcast.fm/+BxlT794oA

He has a really good quote in there. He is asked about startup ecosystems outside of Silicon Valley and what is the difference. He goes on to state that the only difference is the exits. I tend to agree with this. You can build a startup, get funded and make money in any location but you might have a hard time exiting. Sure – not everything needs to exit but generally, almost always, a venture backed business needs an exit through acquistion or going public at some point. That’s how the capital system functions. Like it or not.

Lots to ponder.

Prediction Discussions

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Read this post recently :: http://www.businessinsider.sg/patrick-grove-7-predictions-southeast-asias-tech-scene-2017/

I like Patrick and we chat occasionaly so this is not a bashing post but just thinking about his predictions and my opinions on them.

1. Southeast Asia becomes a bigger internet market than America

I think if we are talking raw numbers then I guess so but when it comes to money spent and ease of payments I still think America is a bigger prize for an internet company but depends on the product. But yes, SEA is big and getting bigger. Fund place to be.

2. Funding will be harder to get (so conserve what you have)

I do not think I agree. I think funding is always hard but there is plenty of capital right now. What has changed to me is that the easy money may be coming to end and people who fund things wants to see real products, traction and ideas that can turn into real businesses. So the powerpoint insta startup days that get money before customers is probably over.

3. At least three companies will raise 9 figure rounds (USD100 million+)

I am guessing Patrick is speaking from first hand knowledge here and I think he may be right. Regardless the region will see more B,C, and D rounds which means bigger and bigger checks.

4. There will be another exit in excess of USD500 million

Agree. I think M&A activity will grow and possible an IPO here or there. That will be something to watch – Garena may be the first. Let’s all hope whoever gets out of the IPO gate does well since that will set the tone for everyone else.

5. The Year of China

Probably true but I think it not the same ways some imagine. I think China will continue to fund things, buy things, and be at the forefront of startup activity but I am not a beleiver that Chinese products will be able to get big outside of China. To be clear there are some Chinese companies such as MeiPai that have quietly built the world’s selfie and camera apps. Most users do not know it is Chinese and don’t care. In fact I think that strategy is devised by them but on the flipside if somone asks me will Alibaba win ecommerce in SEA or Amazon and I will tell you it is Amazon. Why? They just have a better stack and will appeal to more of the region’s sensibilities than Alibaba will. I will also add that I will vote for Amazon on the idea that until China opens up its markets to everyone for competition that I will choose the non-Chinese product. Going to be an epic battle for sure and good for the consumer.

6. There will be a widespread embrace of Fintech

In theory this should be true but I think the space is harder than people want to admit to. Banks are not wanting to be disrupted and they hold tremendous power. Regulations are not easy and many companies need to get regulatory approval prior to getting customers. On top of this any sort of regionality for most fintech products is quite difficult. In general I am bullish that there are lots of finance problems to solve but executing is harder than most people think.

7. Every week, a different startup will run out of money

Probably true. Why? Go back to number 2. Most startups should not have gotten the money in the first place and will have a hard time raising the money to keep going. Also many startups are realizing they don’t have a business or real revenue. These will fail. It’s okay. This happens.  It will be a nice cycle of housecleaning and will mean real startups can pick up the pieces, distressed assets and grab employees. All good.

Thinking about AI

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Back at work and loving it. When I am off work and usually hanging at my wife’s parents house, I am constantly reminded how untechy the emerging markets are. Not talking like Bangkok which I am guessing some folks think is an emerging market – but it’s not. It is super hip and techy in a typical SEA way. You have to get further off the beaten path where life is still basic and tech is not infiltrated the world yet.

This is an area where getting a DSL line is possible but not worth it. Fiber is not possible so the best option was to pick up a wifi router that works with a SIM card. I used TRUE when I am in the sticks since it reliabily has 4G and pretty good packages. I loaded up the SIM with 16GB and it got me through a few weeks with everyone in the house using it.

But apart from basic connectivity and folks making calls, using facebook and whatsapp/line – tech is barely used. Twitter is nowhere to be seen and many of the power toys or apps are not even touched in this part of the world. I tend to think what everyone thinks is simple is actually still too hard for rural folk to wrap their head around.

Making things simple is super hard.

Brings me back to this post :: https://seedvc.blog/2016/12/25/magic/ – people sometimes forget how to make something super simple but incredibly useful. Like the AirPods. I know the haters will hate but you have to try them out to see how simple they are to connect, use and charge to get a sense for how amazing they are. Even my wife figured them out fast and wants a pair where normally she gets so frustrated by bluetooth stuff she stops even trying. Now she is trying to take my AirPods from me. 😉

This brings me back to thinking about AI and the beginner’s mind. Lately been using Google Photos after giving up on Flickr – why? Super simple to use, I know my stuff is backed up and it uses AI to do nice tricks like fixing photos, albums and keeping all my stuff in sync. It is making life easy for me when it comes to photos. Flickr used to but we all know what happened there.

There is some amazing stuff happening with AI and I can only imagine more to come. It will be interesting to see where it all goes but I am wondering who will tackle the killer stuff what will make life easier but is not the sexy stuff to work on? For example. My daughter needs to start a new school and the school sent me a 6 page PDF that needs filling out. Most of the form is mundane stuff – ID’s, phone numbers, addresses and so on. Lets say 50% or more is all boiler plate stuff. Wouldn’t it be cool if the email client or the OS or a cool app picked up the PDF, magically filled most of it out and then pinged me to print it and fill the rest up on my own? I would pay for that. Most of the info needed is on my phone anyway.

I know lots of folks are afraid of AI. I get why. I can see it in the rice fields of Thailand where now a machine takes over the work of harvesting that used to be done by people. Sure you can say these people have time for other things now but what? They worked for money and they don’t have skills to offer for that same amount of time that will pay. They are just sidelined and time saving tools won’t help them. I know the world has always gone through this but AI makes me think it might happen at a much bigger scale than we can imagine.

For sure I want code to help me and same me some time. I can think of many ways that will happen and wonder who will build these things but I also worry about the greater impact on humanity.