Southeast Asia Startup Evolution, eFishery’s $100M Capital Burn Lessons & Private Equity Style VC Insights with Mohan Belani - E540

episode

BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English) not yet transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet Upvotes decide what gets transcribed next — 0 so far. Sign in to upvote

More from BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)

What 500 Harvard Case Studies Actually Do To Your Brain - E729 55 min · 09 Sep 2026

The Truth About China's Competitive Advantage - E728 30 min · 06 Sep 2026

Itamar Novick: Where AI Replaces People, and Where It Does Not - E727 46 min · 02 Sep 2026

$70,000 Per Child: What Singapore's New Family Package Actually Changes - E726 43 min · 31 Aug 2026

The Next 3 Years Will Deliver 30 Years of Innovation | John Lin - E725 39 min · 26 Aug 2026

The Innovation Playbook of 3 Southeast Asian Founders - E724 27 min · 23 Aug 2026

All episodes from BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English) →

Report any issue

Source

Recorded23 Feb 2025

Publisherfeed.pod.co ↗

Handlerec:7817901

Show notes

Mohan Belani, CEO and Cofounder of e27, and Jeremy Au talked about how the Southeast Asia startup scene has transformed over the past decade, including the shift from early-stage exuberance to a more cautious, capital-efficient mindset, and citing specific cases like eFishery and Carousell. They touched on regional challenges, with markets as different as Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, while urging investors to adopt a more hands-on, private-equity approach. They highlighted the importance of personal growth, and they advocate for curiosity and balance in leadership. 1. Southeast Asia Startup Ecosystem Evolution: The early days (2010–2015) were marked by wild “what if” dreams and a Silicon Valley mindset. By 2014–15, that excitement had given way to healthy skepticism. 2. Investor Caution: Cases like eFishery, which raised over $100M, show that excessive capital without sustainable growth can backfire. 3. Founder Maturity: Founders now, often serial entrepreneurs, are more experienced, with clear goals, as seen in companies like Carousell. 4. Regional Challenges: Scaling is tough when starting in a strong market like Singapore and expanding into countries where purchasing power drops (e.g., to Indonesia where GDP per capita is 10× lower, or Malaysia where GDP per capita is 5× lower). 5. Shift to a PE-Style Model: There’s a growing call for VCs to be more hands-on and adopt a private-equity approach to drive liquidity and realistic exit strategies. 6. Exit Realities: While VC valuations can be 10–20× revenue, public listings in Southeast Asia often fetch around 1× revenue, highlighting a significant exit gap. 7. Personal Growth & Leadership: There’s a need for curiosity and balance—staying childlike in innovation while being pragmatic—to solve problems and build great companies. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/southeast-asia-startup-evolution 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 Spotify English: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TnqkaWpTT181lMA8xNu0T Bahasa Indonesia: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Vs8t6qPo0eFb4o6zOmiVZ Chinese: https://open.spotify.com/show/20AGbzHhzFDWyRTbHTVDJR Vietnamese: https://open.spotify.com/show/0yqd3Jj0I19NhN0h8lWrK1 YouTube English: https://www.youtube.com/@JeremyAu?sub_confirmation=1 Apple Podcast English: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/brave-southeast-asia-tech-singapore-indonesia-vietnam/id1506890464

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.