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  • How Kelvin Teo Built Southeast Asia’s Largest SME FinTech Empire - E678

    How Kelvin Teo Built Southeast Asia’s Largest SME FinTech Empire - E678
    2026/03/15
    How do you scale a FinTech company across 5 countries while navigating global pandemics and regulatory shifts? In this episode of the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast, Jeremy Au sits down with Kelvin Teo, Co-founder of Funding Societies | Modalku. Kelvin shares his incredible journey from being a "naive" Harvard MBA student to managing a platform that has disbursed over $5 Billion USD in SME financing. In this episode: The "First Principles" of Credit: Why traditional banking models fail SMEs and how Funding Societies rewrote the rules for Southeast Asia. The McKinsey & Harvard DNA: How elite professional training helped (and hindered) the founding of a startup. Mastering Regional Scale: The strategic logic behind expanding into Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Crisis Leadership: Facing social media backlash during layoffs and the "brave" decisions required to survive the FinTech winter. M&A Strategy: Why Funding Societies acquired CardUp and the secret to integrating mindset over org structure. Whether you are a founder, a VC, or an aspiring entrepreneur in the SEA ecosystem, Kelvin’s insights on concentration risk, counterparty trust, and regional diversification are essential listening. 00:00 - Facing Joblessness at Harvard 02:02 - Introduction to Funding Societies 05:15 - Why Choose HBS Over Private Equity? 10:52 - Finding the Right Co-founder (Reynold Wijaya) 21:50 - The Regional Strategy: Singapore vs. Indonesia 31:10 - Learning from Defaults and Concentration Risk 40:35 - Acquiring CardUp & The Future of Payments 41:28 - Being Brave: Regulatory Hurdles & Layoffs Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/kelvin-teo-built-sme-fintech-empire-funding-societies Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at https://www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #Singapore #Indonesia #Startup #Podcast #southeastasia #techpodcast
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    47 分
  • BRAVE: IPO Battles VS. Regulatory Giants, Boardroom Conflict & The Tech Lobby Game - E677

    BRAVE: IPO Battles VS. Regulatory Giants, Boardroom Conflict & The Tech Lobby Game - E677
    2026/03/11
    Jeremy Au explains the intense friction between startup growth and legal boundaries. He describes how founders and VCs negotiate high-stakes IPO prices while navigating the "Goliath" power of industry incumbents. The talk explores how startups use customer bases as political shields and why late-stage investors rely on liquidity preferences to survive messy market exits. 01:00 The IPO Pricing Tug-of-War: Jeremy details the messy negotiations between founders, boards, and banks when setting public share prices. 06:44 The Liquidity Waterfall: Understanding why late-stage investors often take all the money during an "underwater" IPO. 08:58 Regulatory Capture and Lobbying: How incumbents like Verizon or Comcast use the law to crush startup competition. 11:10 Permission vs. Forgiveness: Comparing Uber’s aggressive expansion against regulators with Didi’s experience in China. 18:38 The Hidden Hand of Think Tanks: Jeremy reveals how tech companies fund the research that shapes future AI and privacy laws. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/ipo-regulatory-giants Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #IPO #VentureCapital #Startups #TechRegulation #Monopoly #Lobbying #Fintech #FounderAdvice #Economics #BRAVEpodcast
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    24 分
  • Anthony Chow: From Airbnb Hustle to Global Smart Locks, COVID Pivot & the Rise of the Rental Economy – E676

    Anthony Chow: From Airbnb Hustle to Global Smart Locks, COVID Pivot & the Rise of the Rental Economy – E676
    2026/03/08
    Anthony Chow, Co-founder and CEO of Igloo, joins Jeremy Au to discuss how a side hustle managing Airbnb properties turned into a global proptech company. Anthony explains how operational pain points like guest check-ins led him to build smart lock technology designed for short-term rentals. They explore how early hardware failures forced product redesign, why focusing on a narrow customer segment helped the company stand out, and how a partnership with Airbnb accelerated global growth. Anthony also shares how Igloo expanded from vacation rentals into the broader rental and asset sharing economy, how COVID nearly collapsed the company, and how relocating to the United States helped reboot the business. Finally, he reflects on the leadership shifts required to scale a company across cultures, teams, and global markets. 02:15 Airbnb hosting exposed the real problem: Managing multiple Airbnb units while working full-time made guest check-ins and key handovers painful, which pushed Anthony to build a remote smart lock solution. 03:54 Singapore’s Airbnb ban forced a startup pivot: When short-term rentals became illegal in Singapore, the Airbnb business shut down and the founders turned their internal tool into a product for global hosts. 11:40 Offline smart lock technology unlocked product market fit: Igloo redesigned the product to generate time-based access codes that worked without WiFi, solving reliability problems for remote properties. 12:31 Airbnb partnership accelerated global adoption: Airbnb promoted Igloo to hosts worldwide, helping the company gain distribution partners and manufacturing scale. 18:45 COVID destroyed the core market but revealed a new one: Global lockdowns collapsed vacation rentals while demand from US long-term rental operators started rising. 19:26 The founding team moved to Texas to save the company: Anthony and his partners bought one-way tickets to the United States during COVID to rebuild the business around rental housing. 28:21 Leadership evolved as the company scaled globally: Anthony shifted from working with friends to building a structured organization and managing teams across Asia and the United States. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/anthony-chow-rental-tech-shift Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #Igloo #PropTech #Entrepreneurship #SmartHome #Airbnb #StartupJourney #Innovation #HardwareStartups #RentalEconomy #BRAVEpodcast
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    37 分
  • BRAVE: Regulation VS. Startups, Monopoly Power, Regulatory Capture & Startup Strategy - E675

    BRAVE: Regulation VS. Startups, Monopoly Power, Regulatory Capture & Startup Strategy - E675
    2026/03/04
    Jeremy Au explains how startups interact with regulation as they grow. He discusses how strong startups escape competition and gain monopoly-like advantages, which later trigger regulatory scrutiny. The conversation shows how incumbents shape regulation, how startups choose favorable jurisdictions, and why founders must decide whether to ask permission or ask for forgiveness. Examples from Uber, Airbnb, TikTok Shop, and DraftKings illustrate how regulation, politics, and customer mobilization shape startup outcomes. 02:07 Regulatory Capture: Jeremy explains how regulation often benefits incumbents, as large industries lobby governments to create rules that protect their position. 06:34 Regulatory Inaction as Opportunity: Many technologies expand faster than governments can regulate them, creating temporary windows for startups to grow. 07:32 Policy Testbeds: Startups often push for favorable regulation in startup-friendly jurisdictions first, then use those precedents to expand into other markets. 10:13 Uber’s Regulatory Playbook: Uber challenged taxi regulations by continuing operations, using the press, and mobilizing public opinion. 14:20 When Customers Cannot Vote: Platforms like Airbnb face political limits because their main users, tourists, cannot vote in local elections. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/regulation-capture Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #Startups #VentureCapital #TechPolicy #Regulation #StartupStrategy #MonopolyPower #RegulatoryCapture #InnovationEconomy #TechIndustry #BRAVEpodcast
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    15 分
  • JX Lye: Execution Is the Moat, Fintech’s Reset & Why Speed Beats Strategy – E674

    JX Lye: Execution Is the Moat, Fintech’s Reset & Why Speed Beats Strategy – E674
    2026/03/01
    JX Lye, Founder and CEO of Acme, joins Jeremy Au to unpack how execution compounds advantage in Southeast Asia fintech. They explore Acme’s journey from solving delayed bank reconciliation to becoming a core bank connectivity layer serving fintech platforms, direct debit infrastructure, and ERP systems across Singapore and the region. The conversation covers the hard realities of going from zero to one customer, the discipline required from one to five, and how scaling to 80 customers shifts growth toward retention and upsell. Joshua reflects on fintech’s COVID boom and 2023 reset, the Brex versus Ramp execution debate, and why Singapore rewards niche depth in financial services. He also shares how AI is shifting from model hype to vertical application, and why founder endurance, health, and signal reading matter more than chasing a visible summit. 03:12 Instant payments exposed a broken backend: FAST and PayNow moved money instantly, but apps waited days because reconciliation relied on end-of-day bank statements. 09:18 From one to five customers demands discipline: Founders must resist custom builds, stay product focused, and lead sales personally to avoid fragmentation. 13:08 Scaling to 80 customers shifts growth drivers: Upsells and retention begin compounding faster than new logo acquisition in Southeast Asia’s shallow markets. 17:24 Fintech’s COVID boom distorted reality: Easy capital and soaring markets fueled inflated valuations that later reset in 2023. 22:38 Execution beats first mover advantage: Ramp outcompounded Brex through speed, alignment, and focus rather than positioning alone. 25:42 Focus and alignment define execution quality: If teams describe different priorities, compounding slows and distraction spreads. 38:32 Founder stress never disappears, it evolves: Milestones do not remove pressure; resilience, health, and signal reading sustain long-term ambition. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/jx-lye-compounding-execution Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #Fintech #SoutheastAsiaTech #StartupExecution #FounderJourney #BankingInfrastructure #B2BGrowth #AIinBusiness #SingaporeStartups #VentureBuilding #BRAVEpodcast
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    45 分
  • AI Workforce Compression, SGX Liquidity Gaps & Singapore’s Startup Reckoning with Adriel Yong – E673

    AI Workforce Compression, SGX Liquidity Gaps & Singapore’s Startup Reckoning with Adriel Yong – E673
    2026/02/25
    Adriel Yong joins Jeremy Au to examine how AI is compressing organizations, thinning entry-level roles, and reshaping Singapore’s startup and capital ecosystem. They discuss the shift from pyramid to lean diamond teams, why CEOs increasingly use AI to bypass middle layers, and why Gen Z faces the sharpest labor reset. The conversation expands to SGX liquidity gaps, slowing seed funding, and structural flaws in angel investing incentives that threaten the startup pipeline. They also argue that AI literacy must become national infrastructure, not a short-term subsidy, if Singapore wants to keep pace with rapid technological change. 03:58 AI progress now feels pre crisis fast: New models self improve, agents coordinate, and experimentation mirrors the early pandemic moment when only a few sensed acceleration. 13:05 Companies are shifting from pyramid to diamond structures: Junior execution shrinks while experienced operators with taste and judgment gain leverage. 15:32 CEOs can bypass middle layers with AI: Strategic research, compliance planning, and structured analysis move directly to AI tools instead of finance managers or analysts. 20:42 Gen Z faces structural career compression: Entry roles thin out as AI replaces transcription, analysis, and support work that once trained fresh graduates. 33:15 Early stage capital is the real bottleneck: Growth financing rebounds, but seed funding weakens as angels feel burned and the startup funnel narrows. 41:05 Angel tax policy distorts participation: Large individual checks qualify for incentives while syndicates and smaller diversified investors receive weaker support. 47:12 AI literacy must become national infrastructure: Short term tool subsidies help, but broad ongoing access across NTUC, unions, and grassroots may matter more for long term workforce resilience. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/adriel-yong-automation-first-era Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #AIWorkforce #FutureOfWork #StartupEcosystem #SGXLiquidity #VentureCapital #AngelInvesting #SeedFunding #SingaporeTech #OrgDesign #BRAVEpodcast
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    56 分
  • James Chai: Malaysia’s Chip Strategy, Rare Earth Leverage & The US–China AI Race – E672

    James Chai: Malaysia’s Chip Strategy, Rare Earth Leverage & The US–China AI Race – E672
    2026/02/22
    James Chai, Visiting Fellow at ISEAS and former policy advisor to Malaysia’s Ministry of Economy, joins Jeremy Au to unpack how Malaysia is repositioning itself in an era defined by AI, semiconductors, and geopolitical rivalry. They explore the country’s shift from oil, gas, and plantations toward advanced manufacturing, examine how decades of semiconductor clustering built a quiet but durable export engine, and discuss why Malaysia is now doubling down on data centers and rare earths. The conversation covers US China competition over chip supply chains, the strategic importance of fabrication and GPU ecosystems, and how rare earth processing may represent the most underappreciated leverage point in the global tech stack. James also explains why execution, not ambition, will determine whether Malaysia can capture long term value from these emerging industries. 02:30 Malaysia balances growth with redistribution: The strategy is to raise high value industries like semiconductors and rare earths while lifting the bottom 40 percent through social protection. 05:42 Semiconductor strength came from decades of compounding: Intel and other multinationals anchored early manufacturing, and local engineers accumulated expertise that later spun into globally competitive firms. 10:18 Clusters beat subsidies alone: Tight networks of engineers, spin offs, and long term continuity allowed Malaysia’s chip ecosystem to survive volatility and keep upgrading. 21:05 China uses constraint as strategy: By limiting access to high end Nvidia GPUs, Beijing forces domestic firms to innovate faster and close critical design gaps. 29:45 Chips are not oil: Frontier GPUs power model training, but most real world AI use relies on inference, meaning older chips retain value longer than markets assume. 37:22 Data centers create investment headlines but unclear spillovers: Billions flow into Malaysia, yet long term value depends on whether local firms capture supply chain and technology capabilities. 44:10 Rare earth processing is the real choke point: Deposits are global, but China controls the complex multi step processing chain, making chemistry and technology control more strategic than mining alone. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/james-chai-rare-earth-power Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #MalaysiaEconomy #Semiconductors #RareEarths #DataCenters #USChinaTech #Geopolitics #AIStrategy #SupplyChains #IndustrialPolicy #BRAVEpodcast
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    56 分
  • Ziv Ragowsky: Corporate Venture Myths, Why Innovation Fails & How Startups Survive Inside Conglomerates – E671

    Ziv Ragowsky: Corporate Venture Myths, Why Innovation Fails & How Startups Survive Inside Conglomerates – E671
    2026/02/18
    Ziv Ragowsky, Co-Founder of Wright Partners, joins Jeremy Au to unpack why corporate venture building remains one of Southeast Asia’s hardest but most misunderstood innovation strategies. They explore how large corporations chase growth under pressure, why many internal ventures fail before traction, and how misaligned incentives quietly destroy promising ideas. The conversation covers when companies should build instead of buy, how lean venture design keeps startups investable, and why founder equity must evolve as risk shifts over time. Ziv also shares how venture builders act as translators between corporate logic and startup execution, and why honest advice sometimes means telling a client not to build at all. 03:00 Early ventures look irrelevant inside giant corporates: Small pilot businesses struggle to survive because billion-dollar organizations cannot emotionally commit to tiny revenue bets. 03:55 Overpromising innovation creates failure incentives: Corporates exaggerate projections to justify programs, which pushes ventures into unhealthy growth behavior. 08:45 Build only when buying makes no strategic sense: Companies should create new ventures only when acquisition is overpriced or the problem is uniquely theirs to solve. 15:00 Lean venture budgets protect future funding: Startups that spend like corporates become uninvestable before reaching real traction. 18:10 Corporate-heavy cap tables scare investors: Excess ownership and control crush founder motivation and block external capital. 20:15 Founder-led governance attracts venture capital: Investors prefer startups structured for entrepreneurial control rather than corporate hierarchy. 22:10 Honest advice sometimes means refusing to build: Saying no to bad ventures preserves long-term outcomes even if it costs short-term business. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/ziv-ragowsky-corporate-innovation-trap Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakR55X6BIElUEvkN02e TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeremyau Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyauz Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremyau LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts #CorporateInnovation #VentureBuilding #StartupStrategy #SoutheastAsia #VentureCapital #FounderIncentives #CorporateGovernance #InnovationStrategy #VentureStudios #BRAVEpodcast
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    26 分