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🎙 EP1 Why We're Back and Why This Podcast Had to Happen · SEA of Startups

• 0:02
  Welcome to the Sea of Startups,
• 0:04
  where Southeast Asia's startup game gets real.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: There's no tech pro fluff here, no Silicon Valley cosplay.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: We're just trying to get bold takes,
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: sharp turns,
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  and the unfiltered stories from founders and funders building
• 0:17
  the future of this
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: region.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Kim,
• 0:21
  the producer and co-founder of this relaunch and alongside
• 0:24
  Kevin Brocklin of
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Indelible Ventures,
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: where we're pulling back the curtain on what it actually takes to raise,
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: build and win in the fastest growing markets in the world.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you're in a game of one end, this is where the real talk happens.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: So let's take it from the top.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Kevin, what made you hit record the first time round?
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: To be honest with you, I'm an avid consumer of podcasts.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: I listen to a lot of them,
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  and I just didn't feel like there were a lot of solid stories
• 0:56
  that were relevant
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: and localized across Southeast Asia.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: You have a few pockets here and there,
• 1:03
  but I wasn't really getting kind of the value-add material that
• 1:07
  I see out of some
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: of the ones that I follow so closely.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it was really that.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: And,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: I'm bouncing around the region,
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  SPEAKER_01: hearing founder stories,
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  SPEAKER_01: meeting some of the seasoned folks as well.
• 1:19
  And I just thought that there was a lot of opportunity in order
• 1:21
  to kind of bridge
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  the divide between the ones who have been there and done that
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  and the folks that
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  SPEAKER_01: are just coming up.
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  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, it worked pretty well.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so I was a little bit too narrow in the original launch.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll tell you why I think I was too narrow.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: The original idea was basically kind of proof of concept.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: I really focused upon a particular country market,
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: which was Malaysia,
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  SPEAKER_01: where I'm currently based up.
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  And I really wanted to get kind of the fresh stories from
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  founders about their origin journeys.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: What was it like to decide to do the startup?
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  SPEAKER_01: What was it like to get your first customers?
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  SPEAKER_01: What did the first MVP look like?
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  SPEAKER_01: All of those sort of like
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  SPEAKER_01: early iterating stories.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so because of that, I wanted it relevant and recent.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I really tried to find guests for it that were,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: either were raising their A round,
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  SPEAKER_01: had just raised their A round,
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  SPEAKER_01: were kind of around that sort of stage.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I just kind of ran out of a population set in Malaysia of,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: there's only a finite number of them.
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  And then there's a smaller number that are willing to come on
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  and talk about it with me.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I kind of ran out of content.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so since then and now,
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  SPEAKER_01: a lot of the conversations that you and I have had had centered around,
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  SPEAKER_01: well,
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  SPEAKER_01: what can we do differently this time?
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  SPEAKER_01: What is, what does the market actually need?
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  that's that's that's a good way to take another spin at it but
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  then again you know
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  apart from that i just have to ask this like was there like a
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  typical specific
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  moment or a convo that made you think yeah like the pivotal
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  moment that makes you
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  think this is it this is what we're gonna do like this needs to
• 3:11
  be recorded is
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  SPEAKER_00: there any moment like that that source of that point of epiphany you
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I could necessarily point to a particular one.
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  I think that it was just the aggregation of a lot of stories
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  where as I'm talking
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  SPEAKER_01: to first-time founders across the region,
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  SPEAKER_01: there's a bit of perfectionism in the intent.
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  While when I talk to the seasoned founders,
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  they're a little bit more of the iterative mindset.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it was more of like,
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  bridging that chasm and making it realize that like all the
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  first time founders
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  SPEAKER_01: have heard the idea of like lean startup,
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  SPEAKER_01: MVP,
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  SPEAKER_01: but when it comes down to it,
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  SPEAKER_01: you have this perfectionism of like,
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  SPEAKER_01: let's release it,
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  SPEAKER_01: let's over design it and make it perfect before we go to market.
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  And that's the complete opposite of what the success stories
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  out there really did.
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  SPEAKER_01: So it was more of that,
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  SPEAKER_01: And the intent of,
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  SPEAKER_01: like,
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  SPEAKER_01: let's record this so that your local hero,
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  SPEAKER_01: the person that lives just the neighborhood over,
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  SPEAKER_01: those sort of stories.
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  SPEAKER_01: Because the ones that we hear are out in Silicon Valley,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: like,
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  SPEAKER_01: they don't have as much.
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  SPEAKER_01: They're really cool to hear.
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  SPEAKER_01: You can learn a lot from them.
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  SPEAKER_01: But they're so far away that they feel detached.
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  I don't necessarily feel that folks here necessarily get the
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  same sort of...
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  energy from listening to those same stories so i guess what
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  we're trying to say is
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  similar to any startup it's going to be even building this
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  thing it's going to be
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  something very iterative as well something relatable to the
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  real i mean something
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  imitating or emulating the startup life is what we are going at
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  with this podcast
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  SPEAKER_00: is that's where the direction is right
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
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  SPEAKER_01: I mean, with this one, we're doing a pivot right now.
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  SPEAKER_01: We're doing a reset,
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  trying to move forward and put a new product out in the market
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  that hopefully will
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  SPEAKER_01: end up landing with the audience.
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  SPEAKER_00: And sounds good.
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  And you and I started chatting about this relaunch maybe late
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  last year or early this year.
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  SPEAKER_00: When we brought it up seriously, I think let's go back to that point.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because relaunching and all that, what was your first gut response then?
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  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's always been something that I've wanted to do.
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  SPEAKER_01: The challenge is that it became a time constraint,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  because like there's an aspect of just do it versus do it well
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  versus do it
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  SPEAKER_01: sufficient.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't have to be perfect.
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  Coming back to what I said before,
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  but it has to be done with a good enough intent.
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  SPEAKER_01: that it actually has viability.
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  You can't just put minimum product,
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  you have to put minimum viable product.
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  SPEAKER_01: And the definition of viable is the key factor here.
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  And my time is getting constrained between what I would
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  consider true day job,
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  SPEAKER_01: which is the investing activity side of things.
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  I'm on airplanes here,
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  there,
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  everywhere,
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  community events,
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  speaking in roles and mentoring.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so it needed some additional firepower in order to make this happen.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: I guess in some ways we met.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the reason why we have all these stories and we met.
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  SPEAKER_00: And here we are.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Let me flip the table with you on that question,
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: because we were having that conversation.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: What was your draw to come in on a content business looking at startups?
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  SPEAKER_00: I think.
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  The way I see it is that I come from a pretty layered
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  background,
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  finding strategy and whatnot.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when I was in banking and I just felt,
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: there's something more to life than just looking at P&Ls and numbers.
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  SPEAKER_00: There needs to be some zest in it.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was in VC for a bit.
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  And I think that's where I felt that I felt most alive for lack
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  of better word.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's a lot about the VC scene and relates with life.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I thought,
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: okay, this is very interesting.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then we met and then it's like, okay, you're looking at podcasting.
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  And when I was a kid,
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  going back to the core of myself,
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  it's more of,
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  I always liked media.
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  SPEAKER_00: I was apparently a walking dictionary of movies and whatnot.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I always liked putting things out there.
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  SPEAKER_00: And there was not much of an opportunity to do until now.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, wow, this resonates with me.
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  SPEAKER_00: It hits the core, the deepest level.
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  SPEAKER_00: I thought, okay,
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  Let us try to put things out there with the intention of
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  helping and hopefully
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  SPEAKER_00: having some impact within this space.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, yeah, let's just jump on it.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's a leap of faith.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be fun and much more for the fun of it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the intent that comes with it is more of what I'm looking at.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think it's more about what we can create.
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  SPEAKER_00: I think it's about putting content, creating, it's what fills me.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I think this is a great spot to be in.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
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  SPEAKER_01: hopefully as we start coming along with this,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: we'll probably end up doing some iterations,
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  ideally drive a little bit of community and get some feedback
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  along the way.
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  I think that's going to be one of the big things in order to
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  kind of drive this
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  SPEAKER_01: from intention to ambition.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I think just to add on from that point as well,
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  I think within the startup scene is that what really pulled me
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  in was seeing the
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  SPEAKER_00: emotional volatility of building,
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  SPEAKER_00: the bravado,
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  SPEAKER_00: the breakdowns,
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  SPEAKER_00: the pivots no one hear about.
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  SPEAKER_00: So that messy middle, that's the part that gets me.
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  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think that's something that keeps me going.
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  SPEAKER_00: And you're also helping to shape this whole thing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And
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  SPEAKER_00: What kind of stories do you want to spotlight that aren't being told?
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  SPEAKER_01: So generally in the startup ecosystem,
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: and this applies to almost every geography,
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  SPEAKER_01: it's not specific to Southeast Asia,
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  SPEAKER_01: but we have a tendency in the community to
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  SPEAKER_01: really focus upon two stories.
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  We focus upon the people that are fundraising and the
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  successful fundraisers out
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  SPEAKER_01: there,
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  SPEAKER_01: and we celebrate those.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then we have the scandals on the opposite end of the spectrum,
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  SPEAKER_01: which we can't help but click in,
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  SPEAKER_01: read,
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  SPEAKER_01: see how we crashed and those other sorts of downsides of it.
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  And while that's all well and good,
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  I mean,
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  I get into it as well,
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  but I think the...
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  SPEAKER_01: The thing that I find most interesting is more on a couple fold.
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  When you're talking about the startups,
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  I get really into the how we did it.
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  sort of aspect of it getting into beyond just kind of like that
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  surface level where
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  you can talk about we increase we increase revenue i want to
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  know but how how did
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  you do it how did you know that it was time to expand it into a
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  new country market
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  how did you know that you needed to add a new product line how
• 10:34
  did you know that
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  you needed to change your revenue model how did you know that
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  you need to pivot all
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  SPEAKER_01: of like the stories that
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: are kind of below the surface that you don't really hear.
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  Fortunately,
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  you know,
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  in the last iteration,
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  we were able to get a lot of those.
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  SPEAKER_01: I think this time around,
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  we'll just try not to narrow it so much and still try and get
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  some of those
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  SPEAKER_01: stories.
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  SPEAKER_01: But on the other side of the equation,
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  I think one of the other things that I'm quite keen to get into
• 11:00
  as well is rounding
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: out the perspective by also getting funder and ecosystem
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  uh players points of view and then maybe get a couple of cvcs
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  to come and talk
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  about it maybe try and get a couple of you know um corporate
• 11:17
  buyers of technology
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  there's there's a lot of avenues of areas where i think that if
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  i look look at it
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  from the standpoint of where is there an information deficit i
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  think there's a lot
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  SPEAKER_01: of avenues that we could go down
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  SPEAKER_00: Sounds great.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think the way how we are looking at it is more comprehensive.
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  It touches on a lot of things,
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  not just within the founder expect or operator expect.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's very wholesome, I would say.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds exciting.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I really hope that, you know, we are able to pull this in.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: The more episodes, the better and getting more content out.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: OK,
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: but I have to ask,
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: though,
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  SPEAKER_00: let's be honest,
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: see content either parrots a bit of Silicon Valley or feels a bit polite.
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  um apart from the corporate side what else do you think that's
• 12:04
  essential or rather
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  it's missing from the whole storytelling apart from the how
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  because there's many
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  expects to it too right i'm just squeezing it a bit further
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  just to get just to
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  pick your brain a bit more no it's a fair point because as as
• 12:18
  you mentioned you
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  either get like too much of the tech bro sort of like growth at
• 12:22
  all costs hoorah
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  um it's the grind and hustle all of that so that sort of stuff
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  or like when there's
• 12:30
  real problems that we should be talking about you get kind of
• 12:34
  dancing around the
• 12:35
  issue and not just kind of like saying what needs to be said um
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  now you know i
• 12:43
  maybe maybe i'm a little bit blunt maybe it's maybe it's a
• 12:46
  cultural thing i don't
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  SPEAKER_01: know but i i don't find
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  I don't generally have the patience for beating around the bush
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  and I don't
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  actually think that it's the polite thing to just ignore the
• 12:58
  hole in the ground.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: if there's a hole in the boat and you're sinking,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: you might as well say,
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: hey,
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: there's a hole in it,
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: let's patch it up.
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  And I think that's one of the things that we need to have real
• 13:09
  honest conversations
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  SPEAKER_01: on is to say what's working and what's not.
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  SPEAKER_01: And
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  SPEAKER_01: It's not a matter of like shame and blame.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think the key aspect is we should be talking about what's wrong,
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  SPEAKER_01: but we should be talking about solutions,
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: not problems.
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  And that's hopefully an angle that we can take and get some
• 13:28
  diverse views because I
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: don't have all the answers.
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  SPEAKER_01: I've lived in this part of the world for eight years.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't been around long enough to understand every single nuance.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not without my opinions,
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: some controversial,
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: some get me in a little bit of trouble with some folks,
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: but that's okay.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that's the angle that I would ideally want to go with it.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then let's flip it in a way.
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  SPEAKER_00: What kind of conversation do you not want to have?
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: What are we leaving behind in terms of format or energy?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to do promotional content.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mind running an advertisement,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: because like ultimately,
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: this could end up having a sponsor or something like that.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't want fluff.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like the fluffy sort of like...
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Let's make everyone feel good.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Everything's all right.
• 14:16
  I'm just going to invite somebody on so that I can tell them
• 14:19
  how great they are.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: I don't find that interesting when I listen to them,
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: and I can't imagine trying to create that same sort of content.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: So no founder highlight reels,
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: no humble brag marathons,
• 14:35
  and we are skipping the here's my perfect journey and digging
• 14:38
  into really what
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: happens in between the pitch decks.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: That would be nice.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: That would be nice.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Although I may drop in my own subtle humble brags as well,
• 14:48
  because I have been known to kind of like flip-flop between
• 14:51
  self-deprecating humor
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: and the occasional humble brag,
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes in the same sentence.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll see how that goes.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's all fine.
• 14:59
  As long as this is subtle,
• 15:01
  I mean,
• 15:01
  there's always a civil lining in between it,
• 15:03
  isn't it?
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: We just got to go with it.
• 15:04
  As long as it's not an image of perfection where no one will be
• 15:09
  able to relate to
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: is where I'm getting at.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:12
  Yeah,
• 15:13
  so I guess we're calling this a soft launch and we're serious
• 15:16
  about where this is going.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: What can the listeners expect from this next few episodes?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we're trying to hammer out the full schedule.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got a lot of content like thought of.
• 15:31
  The release dates are not necessarily there,
• 15:34
  but I think part of it is like,
• 15:36
  we we've in the in the relaunch i kind of feel like we got to
• 15:39
  do like a lay of the
• 15:40
  land a little bit just to kind of recap what's going on across
• 15:43
  the region so that
• 15:45
  as we delve deeper into topics we've already kind of refreshed
• 15:49
  that base and part
• 15:50
  of that is looking at like what's the state of the ecosystem
• 15:53
  what's the state of
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: this country what's the state of that country what's the state of the new
• 15:57
  technology that's driving all the buzz and within that you know
• 16:02
  there's there's a
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: number of stories so um
• 16:05
  Release calendar,
• 16:07
  at least over the time that we're talking right now,
• 16:10
  is still TBD.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: But we've got some interesting stuff that's been thought up.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: if you're to give our audiences a taste of it,
• 16:23
  what do you think stands out more to you at the top of your
• 16:25
  head right now?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: What's coming up?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean,
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: we're going to be talking early stage founders,
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: we're going to be talking startup ecosystem,
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: we're going to be talking founders and funders,
• 16:38
  but we're going to try and push deeper on some of those founder
• 16:43
  journeys so that we
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: can get a little bit more punchy,
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: get some get some contradictions,
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: get some diverse viewpoints,
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: get some kind of
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, whether we call them hot takes or not.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, maybe some vulnerability.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe it'll get a little bit spicy.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we'll spill the tea here and there.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to stay accountable, right?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like this isn't just about dropping hot content.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's about building something that sticks.
• 17:10
  Let's say,
• 17:11
  I mean,
• 17:11
  big picture thinking,
• 17:12
  real talk,
• 17:13
  you know,
• 17:13
  Kevin,
• 17:14
  fast forward a year.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: What does success look like for a sea of startups?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: What do you envision for it?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Just to get a sense of where we want to go.
• 17:24
  yeah so i mean i would love for it to become the must listen
• 17:28
  for southeast asia and
• 17:30
  for folks that are outside of the region it's kind of the go-to
• 17:33
  in order to
• 17:33
  understand what's going on uh over here uh i think that's
• 17:38
  that's that's an
• 17:39
  ambitious sort of longer term sort of where where we want to
• 17:42
  steer the ship to i
• 17:43
  want you know other things like i want people to actually get
• 17:46
  real value out of it
• 17:48
  so if a founder comes and says hey that episode made me rethink
• 17:52
  my strategy
• 17:54
  My business got 2x better just because of what I heard from one
• 17:58
  of those stories
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: that you were talking about.
• 18:00
  Or I avoided a bad term sheet because you were spilling the
• 18:05
  juice on what we should
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: look at and what we shouldn't.
• 18:08
  We've encouraged more players from outside to better understand
• 18:11
  and are comfortable
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: with bringing capital in.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: For me, the...
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: There's not necessarily a single metric,
• 18:20
  but if we can have a small part in helping drive the ecosystem
• 18:24
  forward and hear
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: that sort of feedback from the different ecosystem players,
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's success in my book.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds good.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Ben, we've got to strive for that.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully it all...
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: It will work out in time to come.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, everything happens at the right time and the right reason.
• 18:43
  And once we have our strong content and once we're doing it
• 18:46
  from an authentic
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: place,
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I guess things will definitely fall into place.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll see.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's choppy waters in the sea of startups.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: And as the acronym of the show is,
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: there's a little bit of an SOS out there as well,
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: which hopefully we'll have some fun playing around with the name.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: as we go along with the show and the taglines and whatnot.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it emulates the startup role, essentially.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Choppy waters, there'll be monsoons here and there.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's real, it's true.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: It hits the core.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's what a startup life is anyway.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's it for our kickoff.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Raw, honest, and hopefully just to start.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you're building,
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: funding,
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: or just trying to keep up with Southeast Asia's wild,
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: weird,
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: and wonderful startup scene,
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: You're in the right place.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Follow the CEO of startups whenever you get your podcasts.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening, tag us, share.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us what's stuck with you.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this is your backstage.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Pass to what's really going on and see.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's Kim again.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Just adding one more layer.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Little tiny little itty bit.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Before we officially sign off this pilot episode.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: A bit of my take, really.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this podcast relaunch means a lot to me.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: A whole lot, actually.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not just because I'm co-hosting it, but because I'm producing it with...
• 20:19
  A lot of real intent,
• 20:21
  a lot of soul,
• 20:22
  a lot of heart,
• 20:24
  you know,
• 20:25
  real talk.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: I've always wanted to create stuff.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, especially in the media.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, as you've heard, right?
• 20:31
  I always want to put something out there and hopefully
• 20:34
  resonates with you or help
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: someone in any way I can.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, my little way of doing it, trying to help.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And at the very least, as we journey through this, I hope you enjoy it.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: My past banking was stability, VC was electricity.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm pretty proud I say that.
• 20:55
  But you know,
• 20:55
  somewhere in between,
• 20:56
  I just didn't want to analyse stories anymore.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking to amplify stories that hopefully resonated with you.
• 21:09
  And now what I'm really excited about is the putting out
• 21:15
  perspective-shifting
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: content,
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: things that move you,
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: your heart,
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: or the industry,
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: or things that make people think.
• 21:27
  Stories that challenge how we see founders,
• 21:33
  funders,
• 21:34
  and the region we call home.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've sat in rooms where founders whispered their doubts off mic,
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: only to go on stage and deliver polished highlight reels.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Any takers for Shakespeare's life's brief candle?
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Pretty much the same,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 21:58
  about actors being on stage and then what happens behind the
• 22:03
  scenes is a totally
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: different thing.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that disconnect?
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's not vanity.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's survival.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I want this space to be the in-between.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: I also think we need to give more airtime to ambition.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: In Southeast Asia, ambition can be quiet.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: almost apologetic.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it can be quite painful.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I get that because I lived through it.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, New Slash, I'm born and raised in Southeast Asia.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: At this point, I think it runs in my blood.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I also want us to stop underplaying what we are capable of here.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: And this is to everyone.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say, especially to women.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: You and I both know it's a constant struggle.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, let's put it aside.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Slight tangent, sorry.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: So back to it.
• 23:25
  Sea of Startups is a place where ambition doesn't have to be
• 23:32
  noisy to be real.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's your own.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone has their own journey, their own ambition.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: on how they want to do it.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, different strokes for different folks.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Pure and simple as that.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: And where, you know, messiness isn't a weakness.
• 23:51
  Where we can be both gritty and thoughtful,
• 23:58
  sensitive even,
• 24:00
  and still make great content.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is a soft launch.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: No polish.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: No script.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just us figuring out in real time.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Just like life.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's still figuring out their journey.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm grateful for your presence.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being here from day one.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: Listening in.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to having you on board.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: Drop us comments.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: Let us know what you think.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Even if it's controversial.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Your voice matters.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to hear more from you guys.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: And till then, I'll see you guys on the next episode drop.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And in the meantime, peace out and take care everyone.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: See ya!
• 24:59
  And hey,
• 24:59
  if you're still here,
• 25:01
  we've got a little something extra for you.
• 25:03
  So yeah,
• 25:03
  we figured why not give a little bit of a sneak peek into
• 25:07
  what's coming next.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, we are diving into seatstrapping.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: And no, it's not just, you know, another startup buzzword.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, seatstrap is sitting somewhere in between bootstrapping.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that full throttle VC acceleration,
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: it's lean,
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: it's focused,
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: it's increasingly relevant in Southeast Asia.
• 25:30
  Capital is not always abundant and not all capital is
• 25:33
  desirable,
• 25:33
  to be perfectly honest.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you're talking to founders who have chosen this path intentionally,
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: using just enough to prove traction,
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: deserve optionality and stay in control.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: they're not chasing unicorn headlines.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they are building real businesses.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: with discipline baked in from day one.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: so we're going to go deep into what it takes to seedstrap in this region,
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: what founders have to trade off,
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: and why this might be the smarter path.
• 26:06
  Maybe not the only path,
• 26:07
  but for some operators out there,
• 26:09
  it may be a smarter path for them.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're a founder navigating early stage uncertainty or,
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: an investor rethinking your theses,
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: this is a conversation worth having.
• 26:21
  Yeah,
• 26:22
  anticipate that it will be raw,
• 26:24
  maybe a little gritty,
• 26:26
  but ideally full of takeaways.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: So in episode one, we talked about why we relaunched a sea of startups.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And in this episode,
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: the second one,
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: we zoom in on one of the core ideas shaping the way we built here,
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: seed strapping.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I'll be back, but not as co-host this time.
• 26:43
  I'll be the first official guest talking about this deep dive
• 26:47
  on the mindset,
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: capital strategy,
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: and what the future of early stage in Southeast Asia may look like.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: And right after that,
• 26:55
  Mike just here from a founder who seed strapped his way from
• 26:59
  zero to cashflow
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: positive.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: before any investor ever said yes.
• 27:04
  It's one of the grittiest,
• 27:05
  most practical build stories we've come across.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 27:08
  so if you ever thought about how can I build this thing without
• 27:11
  having to give up
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: control,
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: this is going to be a story to hear.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: So follow CEO Startups better.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: You get your podcasts, fun rules, and all the messy magic in between.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is your Backstate Pass.