Quest Ventures provided its opinion to Deal Street Asia on the measures taken by the government to address the COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak.
“Quest Ventures, through a spokesperson, said the virus measures will soothe the right pain points.
No other country we know of in the world besides China are actively ensuring the long-term viability of businesses and the broader economy from both operating expenditure and staffing angles,” the spokesperson said.”
Quest Ventures provided its opinion to The Business Times on the Startup SG Equity and the Angel Investors Tax Deduction scheme in the Singapore Budget 2020.
On the S$300 million that will be added to the Startup SG Equity scheme: “Late-stage funding is hard to come by for deep tech players, said a spokeman for venture firm Quest Ventures. “The Series B gap is real and we expect this to grow… as the commercialisation value of these deep tech startups is difficult to ascertain,” he said.
On the lapse of the Angel Investors Tax Deduction scheme, “The Quest Ventures spokesman similarly said that he has rarely seen the AITD scheme tapped on by angel investors. For instance, Quest’s managing partner James Tan, who was an angel investor of startups Carousell and ShopBack, also did not tap the scheme, the spokesman said.”
Quest Ventures provided its opinion to Deal Street Asia on the deep tech ecosystem of Singapore and its current state of investment.
“The deep tech top-up comes at an important time when the current batch of deep tech startups are mostly struggling to raise funding,” said Quest Ventures through a spokesperson. Quest focuses on early-stage digital commerce investments in China and Southeast Asia, and its mandate covers deep tech.
The Quest spokesperson said that while access to capital was important for deep tech startups in Singapore, the bigger challenge lies in growing the ecosystem as a whole.
“Despite the resources spent, Singapore as an ecosystem is not as well-known as other cities such as Silicon Valley, Israel or Japan as deep tech hubs,” Quest said. “It is time to relook at the deep tech sector and work with different parties to push this forward.””
Quest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan was interviewed as an alumni of the Tsinghua-MIT Global MBA Program.
“James Tan founded Quest Ventures, a multimillion dollar venture capital firm focused on tech startups in Asia. He says his MBA helped him break into the Chinese market.
James credits enrolling on the Tsinghua-MIT Global MBA Program, a collaboration between Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM) in Beijing and MIT Sloan, for helping him to grow a successful business and expanding into the lucrative Chinese market.
James recognized how many Chinese startup originally mimicked business ideas from the US. More recently, companies like Weibo (China’s Twitter) and DiDi (China’s Uber) use US models as a starting point, but are bespoke to China.
Similarly, James looked to US venture capital firm Sequoia—which has invested in Apple, Stripe, and Airbnb—as an example of the long-term success that he wanted Quest to emulate. But crucially, it needed to have an Asia focus.
“I wanted to build a very strong VC firm by this region, for this region,” says James.”
Quest Ventures’ James Tan unveiled book on Bangladesh startups co-authored by Quest Ventures’ mentor Shameem Ahsan.
“পেগাসাস টেক ভেঞ্চারস এর জেনারেল পার্টনার ও প্রধান নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা ড. আনিস উজ্জামান এবং ভেঞ্চার ক্যাপিটাল অ্যান্ড প্রাইভেট ইক্যুইটি অ্যাসোসিয়েশন অব বাংলাদেশ (ভিসিপিয়াব) ও ইজেনারেশনের চেয়ারম্যান শামীম আহসান লিখিত স্টার্টআপ বিষয়ক বই ‘স্টার্টআপ কিংডম’ এর উন্মোচন করা হয়েছে।
শনিবার (৮ ফেব্রুয়ারি ২০২০) রাজধানীর রেডিসন ব্লু ওয়াটার গার্ডেনে আয়োজিত এক অনুষ্ঠানে বইটির মোড়ক উন্মোচন করা হয়। গাইড লাইনমূলক বইটিতে ছয়টি অধ্যায়ে প্রচুর রিসোর্স রয়েছে, যা স্টার্টআপ প্রতিষ্ঠাতাদের সম্ভাব্য বাজারগুলোতে তার ব্যবসাকে প্রতিষ্ঠিত করতে সুযোগ করে দেবে।
বইটির উন্মোচন করেন পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রী ড. এ কে আবদুল মোমেন ও আইসিটি প্রতিমন্ত্রী জুনাইদ আহমেদ পলক। এসময় উপস্থিত ছিলেন কুয়েস্ট ভেঞ্চারস এর ব্যবস্থাপনা অংশীদার জেমস টান, ডেফটা পার্টনারস এর প্রিন্সিপাল মাসা ইসোনো, উইমেন ইন টেক এশিয়ার প্রতিষ্ঠাতা জেনি রিসকু, ওপেনস্পেস ভেঞ্চারস এর পরিচালক ইয়ান সিকোরা, আইআইএম এর গভর্নেন্স বোর্ড সদস্য ড. সৌগত রায়, আইএফসির কান্ট্রি ম্যানেজার ওয়েন্ডি ওয়ার্নার প্রমুখ।”
Quest Ventures’ James Tan unveiled book on Bangladesh startups co-authored by Quest Ventures’ mentor Shameem Ahsan.
“পেগাসাস টেক ভেঞ্চারস এর জেনারেল পার্টনার ও প্রধান নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা ড. আনিস উজ্জামান এবং ভেঞ্চার ক্যাপিটাল অ্যান্ড প্রাইভেট ইক্যুইটি অ্যাসোসিয়েশন অব বাংলাদেশ (ভিসিপিয়াব) ও ই-জেনারেশনের চেয়ারম্যান শামীম আহসান লিখিত স্টার্টআপ বিষয়ক বই ‘স্টার্টআপ কিংডম’ এর উন্মোচন করা হয়েছে।
শনিবার রাজধানীর রেডিসন ব্লু ওয়াটার গার্ডেনে আয়োজিত এক অনুষ্ঠানে বইটি উন্মোচন করা হয়। গাইডলাইনমূলক বইটিতে ছয়টি অধ্যায়ে প্রচুর রিসোর্স রয়েছে, যা স্টার্টআপ প্রতিষ্ঠাতাদের সম্ভাব্য বাজারগুলোতে তার ব্যবসাকে প্রতিষ্ঠিত করতে সুযোগ করে দেবে।
বইটির উন্মোচন করেন পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রী ড. এ কে আবদুল মোমেন ও আইসিটি প্রতিমন্ত্রী জুনাইদ আহমেদ পলক। এসময় উপস্থিত ছিলেন কুয়েস্ট ভেঞ্চারস এর ব্যবস্থাপনা অংশীদার জেমস টান, ডেফটা পার্টনারস এর প্রিন্সিপাল মাসা ইসোনো, উইমেন ইন টেক এশিয়ার প্রতিষ্ঠাতা জেনি রিসকু, ওপেনস্পেস ভেঞ্চারস এর পরিচালক ইয়ান সিকোরা, আইআইএম এর গভর্নেন্স বোর্ড সদস্য ড. সৌগত রায়, আইএফসির কান্ট্রি ম্যানেজার ওয়েন্ডি ওয়ার্নার প্রমুখ।”
Quest Ventures’ James Tan unveiled book on Bangladesh startups co-authored by Quest Ventures’ mentor Shameem Ahsan.
“‘Startup Kingdom’, authored by Dr. Anis Uzzaman, General Partner and CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures, and Shameem Ahsan, Chairman, Venture Capital and Private Equity Association of Bangladesh and eGeneration, was unveiled at an event held in Radisson Blue Water Garden, Dhaka recently.
The book is a comprehensive handbook for startup founders in South Asia and Global startup ecosystem, said a statement. It features six chapters and comes with a range of resources that can help startup founders seize the opportunities in their areas of businesses.
The book was unveiled by Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen MP, ICT Sate Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures; Masa Isono, Principal, DEFTA Partners; Jenni Risku, Founder, Women in Tech Asia; Ian Sikora, Director, Openspace Ventures; Prof. Dr. Sougata Ray, Member of Board of Governance IIM, Calcutta and Wendy Werner, Country Manager, IFC; Mahrukh Mohiuddin, Director, University Press Limited were present among others during the launching ceremony of the book.”
Salman F Rahman, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Private Industry and Investment, met with international investors who were in Bangladesh to judge the finals of the Startup World Cup.
“Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman on Saturday said there is no option but to create skilled manpower in Bangladesh to face the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).
He made the remark while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Startup World Cup 2020, a global startup pitch competition with 30+ regional events across the six continents, at a city hotel, reports UNB.
The finalists pitched their business in front of live audience and jury at the gala finale held in the capital.
The winner was selected by a panel of investor judges, including James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures.”
Quest Ventures’ mentor Shameem Ahsan launches Vision 2025 for Bangladesh startup ecosystem witnessed by Quest Ventures’ James Tan and others.
“Vision 2025 to create a startup and VC-friendly ecosystem has been launched at the Bangladesh regional event of the biggest startup competition in the world Startup World Cup.
It has been targeted that within 2025, Bangladesh startup ecosystem will develop seven times accomplishing 4 objectives of the vision. In the present time there is one and only USD 1.0 billion dollar company (Unicorn) and the goal is to have five companies with billion-dollar valuation or Unicorn in Bangladesh by 2025. The current Startup ecosystem of the country is valued at 1.45 billion with a potential to reach 10-billion-dollar valuation. These startups have created one hundred and fifty thousand jobs and seven hundred indirect jobs currently. The vision envisions taking direct employment to 1.0 million and indirect employment to 5.0 million by 2025.
Mr. Shameem Ahsan, Chairman, Venture Capital and Private Equity Association of Bangladesh (VCPEAB) and eGeneration and General Partner, Pegasus Tech Ventures presented the mission at the session titled “Venture Capital for Double Digit Growth” during the inauguration ceremony of Startup World Cup, 2020 grand finale event day held at the Radisson Blu Water Garden, Dhaka, in front of private sector adviser to prime minister. Along with the vision he has placed 11 points recommendation to achieve the targets.”
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, Mr James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures, joins Mr A H M Mustafa Kamal, Minister of Finance of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and other distinguished guests on a panel discussion on venture capital and startups for double digit growth.
James Tan said, “Singapore can provide a useful blueprint for Bangladesh to adapt to its local environment. With angel networks such as The Angel Network and Bangladesh Angels; accelerators such as the Grameenphone Accelerator; IT talent from institutions of higher learning such as BUET; and industry-wide trade associations such as the Venture Capital and Private Equity Association of Bangladesh, Bangladesh entrepreneurs are supported at many levels by the private and public sectors.”
Quest Ventures’ James Tan witnessed launch of Vision 2025 for the Bangladesh ICT sector.
“Vision 2025 to create a startup and Venture Capital friendly ecosystem has been launched at the Bangladesh regional event of Startup World Cup, the biggest startup competition in the world, on Saturday, targeting Bangladesh startup ecosystem that will develop seven times by accomplishing the objectives of the vision, said a press release.
At present, there is one and only $1 billion Dollar company (Unicorn) and the goal is to have five companies with billion-dollar valuation or Unicorn in Bangladesh by 2025.
The current startup ecosystem of the country is valued at $1.45 billion with the potential to reach a 10-billion-dollar valuation. These startups have created 150000 jobs and 700 indirect jobs recently.
The vision foresees taking direct employment to 1 million and indirect employment to 5 million by 2025.”
Russ Neu, venture partner for impact, was on the opening panel at BASE Conference 2020.
“The local startups now boast a combined valuation of RM467million (USD115 million), with more than 400 jobs being created over the past 4 years, contributing an average of RM160 million per year to the local state GDP. There are also a staggering number of 46 coworking spaces, now, in Iskandar, Malaysia, combining for a total area of 300,000 square footage. These figures were all taken from the Johor Startup Ecosystem Report which was officially published on 15 Jan 2019, in conjunction with IskandarSpace’s first year anniversary.
Russ Neu, Venture Partner, Impact, Quest Ventures believes that “A lot of new technology and innovation in the coming decade will be addressing the UN’s SDGs”.”
“The signing of the package of documents, we believe, will certainly lead to positive results. In particular, investments of a leading venture company in Kazakh projects will increase the attractiveness of our country’s venture market and attract other key players. In addition, Kazakh projects will have the opportunity of international acceleration and access to advanced competencies and experience,” said Arifkhanov, reported the press service.
Later QazTech Ventures also signed a memorandum with Quest Ventures, a leading venture capital fund in Singapore, as well as a tripartite memorandum with the National Agency for Innovation of Thailand and Baiterek Holding.
“The countries of Southeast Asia were able to make a significant breakthrough in the development of their economies thanks to the recently adopted and successfully implemented strategy for the development of innovations and venture financing. Over the past five years, Asia’s VC (venture capital) indicators have increased by almost 14 times,” the Baiterek press service said.
Jeffrey Seah, a partner at Quest Ventures, similarly thinks that 2020 may bring more mindfulness and perhaps even more rational valuations.
“There is a more mature and mainstream lens in evaluating venture ideas as going concerns, versus the past cavalier “spray and pray” approaches to drive coverage and seize market share.”
The South China Morning Post interviewed Quest Ventures’ James Tan for his perspective on how Singaporean firms have, over the decades, moved from a ‘first wing’ – the domestic economy – to a second, namely regional expansion and how a new group of entrepreneurs is assimilating into other economies and building localised businesses rather than brandishing the city state’s brand.
“Drawn to China by the simple desire to fish in “a bigger pond”, he founded online daily-deals site 55tuan.com with four other schoolmates in late 2009, after graduating from Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University.
The firm would go on to become the first Chinese e-commerce firm listed on the Nasdaq index in the United States, with a presence in more than 200 cities in China today.
“It may be hard to believe now in an age of Grab, Airbnb and Meetup, but gathering a group of people who do not know one another and who want to do something similar together in 2009 was difficult,” Tan said, noting that 55tuan.com took off only after group discounts at restaurants were built into the service.
Being at the heart of the massive Chinese market meant Tan and his team had to deal with swarms of competitors, including many scam companies.
“China back then was not a nice place to kick new business ideas off the ground. People would take your idea and run with it. Even up till five years ago, there was this term called C2C, or Copy to China. Everything you can find in Silicon Valley, you’d be able to find a copycat version in China.”
But a lot had changed since, he said – including China’s building up of its own technological muscle.
“The Chinese are no longer just copycats. They’ve taken ideas and made them even better,” Tan said. “It’s not just Alibaba or WeChat. Just look at ride-sharing apps like Didi Chuxing and drone manufacturers like DJI. There’re also social media apps like TikTok – who knew it would become this big? The US is no longer the world’s only source of inspiration.”
Tan founded venture capital firm Quest Ventures in 2011 to focus on the untapped potential of Southeast Asian start-ups, instead of those trying to break into the Chinese market.
“Five years ago, it would have made sense to focus on start-ups entering China, but not any more,” he said. “Now you also have many haigui [people who return to China after studying abroad]. Like everyone else, they can see that opportunities no longer just exist in the US, but right there in their home country, in China.””
Quest Ventures’ James Tan provided commentary to Tech in Asia’s end of the 2010s decade summary of Southeast Asia tech.
“Many startups will have enough fat to last through winter, but they might shift gears to stretch the dollar.
There’s no doubt the money will still be there for the best startups. James Tan of growth-stage fund Quest Ventures thinks that “valuations will suffer for a while but funding will still continue.”
“Investors have short-lived memories. Plus there are always new ones who don’t know the history or choose to conveniently ignore it,” he adds.
As always, startups will face a tension between assuming less funding risk, and raising a lot of money at high valuations to outgrow their competitors.”
Jeffrey Seah of Quest Ventures commented on the opportunities in Vietnam in the Nikkei Asian Review.
“Vietnam has a population of nearly 100 million people, roughly 70% of whom are under 35, and boasts an annual GDP growth rate of nearly 7%. Arguably the hottest market in Southeast Asia in 2019, Vietnam has enjoyed a surge in investors keen to ride the growth.
Vietnam’s mobile payments market is meanwhile projected to reach $70.9 billion by 2025 — a huge increase from $16 billion in 2016, according to UOB. The largely unbanked population and high mobile penetration are significant investor lures.
“Fintech is increasing productivity, while the traditional banking system is not efficient,” said Jeffrey Seah, a Quest Ventures partner. “Big corporates have not been able to develop fintech fast enough.””
求索创投（Quest Ventures）合伙人佘庭瀚受访时说，新兴市场如越南的风险创投融资继续增长，但在泰国和马来西亚，政治和经济不稳定因素冲淡了市场情绪。
余庭瀚观察到，公开售股市场的情绪转向谨慎，导致一些创投基金关闭或不再活跃。不过，市场人士对本地以及整个东南亚的风险创投仍保持乐观。
余庭瀚指出，目前热门的投资趋势包括食品科技和海洋科技，求索创投于两年前开始进行投资，如今求索创投开始关注东南亚的社会效应投资（impact investing）。
The Singapore International Foundation presented Quest Ventures’ Russ Neu with the Citizen Ambassador Award. The Citizen Ambassador Award is for programme partners and alumni who have given their time, talent or other notable contributions to support the work of the SIF.
In the citation, SIF said, “For more than a decade, Russ Neu has been giving his time and talents to the SIF through multiple programmes. He has served as an in-field volunteer in Vientiane, Laos and in Pariaman, Indonesia, respectively teaching English to senior officers of the Lao Foreign Service and sharing skills on student-centred learning with local educators. More recently, he spoke at SIF’s inaugural Young Social Entrepreneurs Overseas Workshop in Shanghai, sharing his insights and experiences as a venture capitalist to programme participants hoping to start or scale up their social businesses. With the support of the SIF, he published a book “A Whole Neu World” detailing his experiences in Laos that has inspired many other volunteers.”
“James Tan, Managing Partner at Quest Ventures, shares the view that coworking is not just a fad or trend that will fizzle out despite WeWork’s current struggles.
In fact, he says the idea of “placing people from different companies to work together in the same environment is not new”.
Before WeWork, there were already companies like Regus (now IWG), founded in 1989 in Belgium, and Australian Servcorp, operating since 1978, which have both provided shared office spaces.
“What changed with new entrants such as WeWork was their self-positioning as technology startups thereby commanding tech-level type of growth and valuations,” James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures””.
“It will target investments in post-seed to pre-Series B rounds with ticket sizes varying between $500,000 and $1 million.
“We have been tracking Vietnam’s digital economy evolution and the increasing number of players. The market has grown fast with dedicated support from the Vietnamese government and angel networks, as well as overseas funds who have missed out on Indonesia,” Jeffrey Seah, partner at Quest Ventures told DealStreetAsia on the sidelines of Vietnam’s Techfest2019 in Ha Long Bay.”
求索创投合伙人及新加坡国立大学校友吴谊平获国立大学2019年度“杰出年轻校友奖”。
“今年共有21名校友获颁国立大学校友奖项，除了“杰出校友奖”，有六人得到“卓越校友服务奖”，另外10人获颁“杰出年轻校友奖”，还有三人作为一个团体，获得“团队奖”。”
Quest Ventures’ Goh Yiping was recognised with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for her “achievements and outstanding contributions in their chosen fields”.
“The National University of Singapore (NUS) honoured the achievements of 21 outstanding members of its alumni community at the prestigious NUS Alumni Awards 2019. The Eminent Alumni Award was conferred on two esteemed recipients – Former Chief Justice Dr Chan Sek Keong, who is also Pro-Chancellor of NUS, and former top civil servant and former Pro-Chancellor of NUS Mr Ngiam Tong Dow.
Ten young alumni and a three-member team also received accolades at the awards ceremony this year. They were recognised with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for their achievements and outstanding contributions to their chosen fields.”
“Carousell announced that it has agreed to merge with 701Search, a unit of Norwegian telco Telenor, in a deal that values the combined entity at over US$850 million. Telenor received Carousell shares in exchange for the 701Search assets, and further bought Carousell shares for US$20 million in cash…
The startup’s first backer, Quest Ventures, told BT in a statement: “We congratulate Carousell on reaching unicorn status in Singapore dollar terms. Quest remains invested in Carousell and its mission, which the founders believe is less than one per cent done. We are very proud to have provided the angel capital when Siu Rui, Marcus Tan and Lucas Ngoo started Carousell eight years ago.””
AzerNews, Azerbaijan’s first English language newspaper, covered the investment from QazTech Ventures into Quest Ventures.
“Kazakhstan’s QazTech Ventures JSC (QTV) is to have participation worth $10 million in Quest Ventures Asia Fund II venture fund, a representative of QazTech Ventures JSC told Trend. On October 25, 2019 QazTech Ventures JSC and Quest Ventures (Singapore’s leading venture fund) signed a memorandum for cooperation and understanding.”
CNA938’s Eugene Loh, as part of the Singapore Stories series, interviewed Quest Ventures’ Russ Neu on his motivation for running the impact fund and the rationale for setting up Social Collider.
“When I was in China touring the villages struck with AIDS, one particular incident struck me hard… this 18 year-old boy did not know what was “email”. It was 2014, not 2004.”
Azerbaijan’s news agency reports that Asia’s leading venture fund Quest Ventures is cooperating with Kazakhstan.
James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, said, “The cooperation looks to bring about closer economic and people-to-people relations between the two growing regions of Central Asia and Southeast Asia. More importantly, we recognise the importance of capital and technology in tackling the world’s problems and are putting in place mechanisms to support startups that are looking to do so.”
In a wide-ranging interview, the Bangkok Post talks to Quest Ventures’ James Tan on “steering startups”.
On Singapore: “Singapore is small but we have been blessed with many opportunities and an ecosystem that has the ability to put its money where its mouth is to drive certain areas where we can see trends developing,” says Mr Tan.
On ASEAN: “On the challenge side, we know we are small so we have to look outward and the best place is our own backyard which is Asean. So we should be tapping into those [markets] and ACE wants to lay a foundation for this region to be a perfect ecosystem as a whole. We are doing that with the GIA.”
On public sector influence: Mr Tan’s preference is for the public sector not to interfere too much. Startups should be allowed to bloom and compete within the private sector, and government only needs to step in if it foresees some kind of systemic or social harm.
Baiterek National Management Holding, the sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan, signs agreement with Singapore’s Quest Ventures to grow its digital economy.
“Қазақстандық стартаптар шетелдік венчурлық инвесторлардың қолдауына мұқтаж. Бұл туралы «QTV Sessions» форумында «Бәйтерек» ұлттық басқару холдингінің директоры Әділ Нұрғожин мәлімдеді. Ол отандық стартаптар шетелдік нарыққа шығуға қауқарсыз,-деді. Сондықтан өнертапқыштарды қолдау мақсатында әлемдік қорлармен ынтымақтастықты арттыру керектігін айтты. «Бәйтерек» ұлттық басқару холдингі “Quest Ventures” сингапурлық венчурлық қоры және Тайландтың ұлттық инновациялық агенттігімен келісім-шартқа қол қойды. Енді отандық стартаптарға Сингапур және Таиланд компаниялары қолдау көрсететін болды. Осылайша Қазақстанда сандық қызметті экспорттауға мүмкіндік туды.” More
Quest Ventures Russ Neu was on the panel on Singapore’s hottest startups 2019.
“Businesses that were able to crack the code and achieve billion-dollar valuations were the topic for another insightful panel session which was graced by Shavit Clein, Head of Strategy, Trax, Devina Halim, Associate, East Ventures and Russ Neu, Venture Partner, Impact, Quest Ventures.
Neu… warns against putting too much premium on lofty valuations that more often than not crumble under the scrutiny of public markets. “Increasingly, people confuse confidence with capability,” he said. “I like to see traction based on real growth you achieved and not just based on scans or data which may or may not be helpful in evaluating a company… Unfortunately, we are now driven by perception.””
Baiterek National Management Holding, the sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan, on the importance of growing Kazakhstan and Central Asia startups.
“В рамках «QTV SESSIONS» состоялась торжественная церемония подписания меморандума о сотрудничестве между АО «QazTech Ventures» и ведущим сингапурским венчурным фондом «Quest Ventures».
В свою очередь партнер Quest Ventures Джефри Сеа поддержал своего коллегу, отметив, что создание экосистемы – обязательное условие для развития стартапов.
– Это здорово, что государство поддерживает стартапы и создает для них открытый рынок. Это важный вектор для роста экономики не только Казахстана, но и региона в целом. Создание экосистемы обязательное составляющее для движения. В целом, казахстанские стартапы могут ориентироваться не только на Азию, но и на весь мир, – подчеркнул Джефри Сеа.”
Baiterek National Management Holding, the sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan, on the importance of working with investors who are familiar with large markets.
“Цель подписания сегодняшних меморандумов на самом деле очень простая – поставить казахстанскую экосистему стартапов на карту мира, поскольку она у нас ещё достаточно новая, – отметил Адиль Нургожин. – Мы много работаем, и часть этой работы в том, чтобы установить эти прочные связи с более развитыми экосистемами. Почему это важно? Во-первых, в этих странах есть деньги, есть профессиональные венчурные инвесторы – только в одном Сингапуре ежегодно стартапы со всего мира финансируются на 10 миллиардов долларов. И нам тоже надо иметь возможности презентовать там свои проекты. И второе – это экспорт цифровых услуг. Наши ребята могут делать вполне успешные проекты, но рынок нашей страны слишком мал. Потому есть смысл выходить на большие рынки и зарабатывать там. Чем больше потенциальные инвесторы будут знать о нас, тем легче будет продвигать наши проекты и создавать совместные фонды.” More
“According to one source close to the development, Quest Ventures is targeting a $25-million first close. It is understood to have garnered interest from limited partners (LP) including two sovereign wealth funds, one of them based in Singapore.
Quest Ventures first announced the launch of its $50-million early-stage Southeast Asian fund in March this year. The vehicle marks the first time the VC firm is raising capital from external LPs, having previously invested out of the personal capital of its managing partner, James Tan.
Tan is the co-founder of Nasdaq-listed Chinese e-commerce company 55tuan. After close to a decade in mainland China, Tan – a Singaporean – cashed out his stake to begin Quest Ventures in Singapore. Since 2010, Quest has added over 40 companies to its portfolio, including Carro, Carousell, 99.co, ShopBack, and Glife.”
Quest Ventures is a launch partner of the Education 4.0 Alliance in Vietnam. Russ Neu, Venture Partner for Impact, signed the memorandum of understanding at the ceremony during the Ho Chi Minh City Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Week.
“Trong khuôn khổ Tuần lễ Đổi mới sáng tạo và Khởi nghiệp TP.HCM (WHISE) lần 3 năm 2019 tổ chức mới đây đã diễn ra Hội thảo “Kỹ năng sẵn sàng cho tương lai và Liên minh Giáo dục 4.0”. Tại hội thảo cũng diễn ra lễ ký kết hợp tác giữa các thành viên trong Liên minh Giáo dục 4.0 và giữa liên minh với các tổ chức tham gia thí điểm.
Tháng 12-2019, liên minh sẽ tổ chức các chương trình đối thoại về những mục tiêu phát triển bền vững ứng dụng bằng công nghệ với sự tham gia của Quest Ventures (Quỹ đầu tư của Singapore).”
Quest Ventures joins Vertex Ventures, Gobi Southeast Asia and Golden Gate Ventures to provide commentary to SCMP’s look at how Chinese money is driving Southeast Asia’s tech startup scene.
“Other investors saw branching into Southeast Asian start-ups as a form of “risk mitigation”, said James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures.”
Quest Ventures Goh Yiping shares her journey with AlumNUS.
“NUS alumni entrepreneurs share their personal motivations, tribulations and insights on navigating the start-up ecosystem.
Yiping: It’s really not as binary as whether it is nature or nurture. It is both. I am probably born to want to be an entrepreneur — having helped out at my parents’ hawker stall since I was eight, and growing on a farm set up by my grandmother, whom I look up to. I have that raw drive to succeed but I kind of never knew what to do, or where to even start. Through the NOC programme, we saw a different degree of polish when it comes to entrepreneurship. It also offered us great courses for training with the greatest minds. Being forced to come up with ideas within a short time frame also sharpened us and showed what we are made of.”
Quest Ventures James Tan, in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE Singapore), officially opened the True Digital Park – ACE Singapore Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, with Thanasorn Jaidee, President of TDPK.
ทรู ดิจิทัล พาร์ค โชว์ศักยภาพศูนย์กลางนวัตกรรมดิจิทัล จัดงานสัมมนาเทคโนโลยีแห่งปี T.O.P.2019 – Togetherness of Possibilities รวมพลคนในวงการเทคโนโลยีทั้งไทยและเทศ ตอกย้ำระบบนิเวศสมบูรณ์แบบครบวงจรสำหรับสตาร์ทอัพ
ดร.สมคิด จาตุศรีพิทักษ์ รองนายกรัฐมนตรี และ นายพุทธิพงษ์ ปุณณกันต์ รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงดิจิทัลเพื่อเศรษฐกิจและสังคม ร่วมงานสัมมนาเทคโนโลยีครั้งใหญ่แห่งปี T.O.P.2019 – Togetherness of Possibilities โดยมีนายศุภชัย เจียรวนนท์ ประธานคณะผู้บริหารเครือเจริญโภคภัณฑ์ และประธานกรรมการ บมจ.ทรู คอร์ปอเรชั่น ให้การต้อนรับ โดยทรู ดิจิทัล พาร์ค ศูนย์กลางนวัตกรรมดิจิทัลแห่งแรกในไทยที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในภูมิภาคเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้
T.O.P.2019 – Togetherness of Possibilities โอกาสสำคัญที่จะได้พบกับกูรูและผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านเทคโนโลยีจากบริษัทชั้นนำและวงการสตาร์ทอัพจากทั้งในและต่างประเทศ อาทิ”
Venture capitalists are looking to inject more funding into deeptech as the government strengthens its support system amidst a global tech shift.
Russ Neu, venture partner for impact at Quest Ventures, said that their firm has been tracking and investing in childtech startups, even when the vertical is below the radar of investors. In comments related to Fintech, he added, “Different VCs have different mandates so whilst there are VCs that specialise in fintech, there are certainly VCs who avoid this sector,” Neu said.
Self-improvement goes hand-in-hand with feedback; that’s when working with a coach can be helpful. Coaches help to move you towards action and create a structure tailored to you. They are meant to provide honest feedback and should act as a sounding board.
Coaching in a startup is a multi-layered, cascading process that starts with the top. Founders typically seek coaching to be better leaders. Coaching is almost necessary for the survival of the startup. “Founders have a huge task of shouldering the vision of the company, every single day, regardless of the ups and downs, and more so when times are down. They often find themselves lonely in this journey but still need to muster the energy and resilience to be persistently creative and effective.” points out Goh Yiping, startup coach and partner, Quest Ventures.
Quest Ventures James Tan, in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE Singapore), celebrated its 5th anniversary in a celebratory video.
“ACE has supported more than 2,000 startups through various programmes, engagements, grants and deals. By working with our key startup ecosystem stakeholders, we have together built a strong and vibrant ecosystem that help startups to flourish,” said Edmas Neo, CEO of ACE.
“Through ACEIC (ACE Internationalisation Centre), numerous local and international startups have participated in our ACE Market Access Programme. We have also gone on to the international stage through participating in overseas conferences and pavilions, and built a connected ecosystem with access to 16 cities and 25,000 startups,” said James Tan.
“Chiến lược tiếp cận startup khôn ngoan của Singapore là mở rộng Liên minh kết nối 10 trung tâm đổi mới sáng tạo trên toàn cầu, tìm chất xúc tác mới ở Việt Nam.
Giữa tháng 7, Enterprise Singapore ra mắt mạng lưới Liên Minh Đổi Mới Sáng Tạo Toàn Cầu Singapore tại TP.HCM. Thông qua một loạt các ký kết quan trọng giữa các đại diện tài chính (Quỹ Quest Ventures), trung tâm hỗ trợ khởi nghiệp (Sihub) của hai bên, người Singapore thể hiện mối quan tâm rất lớn đến thị trường khởi nghiệp Việt Nam.”
“Meet BAZAAR’s league of extraordinary women. Singapore visionaries under 40, they are paving the way in the tech and digital spheres and proving that the future is not only female, the future is now.
Redefining venture capitalism with her determination, Goh shakes up the male-dominated ivory towers of private equity to transform struggling digital start-ups into viable business opportunities through sheer persistence and hard work. Humorous and self-aware, Goh describes how she’s evolved from a trend-spotter into someone more interested in crafting a legacy of impact.”
“Enterprise Singapore cùng với Trung tâm Sáng kiến Hỗ trợ Đổi mới Sáng tạo và Khởi nghiệp (Saigon Innovation Hub2 – SIHUB) trực thuộc Sở KH-CN TPHCN và Quỹ Quest Ventures 3 đã ký kết một Biên bản Ghi nhớ hợp tác nhằm thúc đẩy hợp tác giữa các start-ups và các doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ (SME) giữa Singapore và Việt Nam. Với Biên bản Ghi nhớ hợp tác này, ba cơ quan, tổ chức sẽ phối hợp tổ chức các chương trình nhằm giới thiệu các start-ups Singapore tới hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp tại TPHCM và kết nối các start-ups này tới các đối tác, nhà đầu tư và khách hàng tại Việt Nam.”
“Ho Chi Minh City is the third ASEAN city to join the GIA network after Jakarta and Bangkok. The eight other cities in the network are Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou (China), Berlin and Munich (Germany), San Francisco (United States), Tokyo (Japan) and Paris (France).
As part of the MoU signed between Enterprise Singapore, Singaporean venture fund Quest Ventures and the Vietnam government-linked Saigon Innovation Hub, the three partners will organise curated programmes to introduce Singapore start-ups to the innovation ecosystem in Ho Chi Minh City and connect them to partners, investors and customers in Vietnam. This will help Singapore start-ups set up, test and commercialise their solutions; form business partnerships in HCMC and Vietnam; and support Vietnamese start-ups to set up in Singapore.”
“Lễ ký kết ghi nhớ hợp tác giữa Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) và Enterprise Singapore – Cơ quan bảo vệ phát triển doanh nghiệp trực thuộc Bộ Thương mại và Công nghiệp Singapore diễn ra hôm qua (18/7).
Đại diện từ Singapore công bố mở rộng mạng lưới Liên minh Đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu (GIA) sang TP HCM. Thông qua quỹ đầu tư mạo hiểm Quest Ventures có trụ sở tại Singapore, Enterprise Singapore và SIHUB sẽ tăng cường hợp tác giữa startup của Singapore và Việt Nam.”
“Liên minh Đổi mới Sáng tạo Toàn cầu mở ra nhiều cơ hội cho startup và doanh nghiệp Việt Nam
Enterprise Singapore (cơ quan chính phủ trực thuộc Bộ Thương Mại và Công Nghiệp Singapore có vai trò hỗ trợ sự phát triển của các doanh nghiệp Singapore) cùng với Trung Tâm Sáng Kiến Hỗ Trợ Đổi Mới Sáng Tạo và Khởi Nghiệp (Saigon Innovation Hub – SIHUB) trực thuộc Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ TP. Hồ Chí Minh và Quỹ Quest Ventures đã ký kết một Biên Bản Ghi Nhớ Hợp Tác nhằm thúc đẩy hợp tác giữa các startup và các doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ (SME) giữa Singapore và Việt Nam.
Phát biểu tại buổi lễ ra mắt, ông Huỳnh Kim Tước, Giám Đốc Điều Hành SIHUB nhấn mạnh “Sự hợp tác giữa Enterprise Singapore, SIHUB và Quest Ventures là con đường tối ưu hoá nguồn lực giữa hai quốc gia nhằm tạo ra sản phẩm, dịch vụ tham gia thị trường toàn cầu”.” More
“Enterprise Singapore announced the expansion of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) yesterday, helping Singapore technology startups move into the emerging innovation scene in Vietnam, boosting startup collaborations between Singapore and Vietnam, and creating more internship opportunities for Singapore students in startups and innovative companies in Vietnam.
Enterprise Singapore, Quest Ventures and Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost collaborations between Singapore startups and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and their counterparts in Vietnam. Under the MOU, the three partners will organise curated programmes to introduce Singapore startups to the innovation ecosystem in HCMC, and connect them to partners, investors and customers in Vietnam.
This will help Singapore startups set up, test-bed and commercialise their solutions, as well as form business partnerships in HCMC and Vietnam. It will also support Vietnamese startups to set up in Singapore.”
“STARTUPS in Singapore hoping to tap into Vietnam’s emerging innovation scene can now get a leg-up with the expansion of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) to Ho Chi Minh City. The GIA is a network of local and overseas partners in major innovation hubs.
Besides boosting startup collaborations between Singapore and Vietnam, the addition of Ho Chi Minh City to the existing network of 11 cities will create more internship opportunities for Singapore students in startups and innovative companies in Vietnam, said Enterprise Singapore on Thursday.
Enterprise Singapore, Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures and Vietnam government-backed agency, Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), will organise curated programmes to connect Singapore startups to partners, investors and customers in Vietnam.”
新加坡企业发展局（ESG）把全球创新联盟（Global Innovation Alliance）网络拓展至越南，多达10家本地企业接下来能更容易与快速地进军越南市场。
企发局于星期四（18日）在胡志明市举办推介仪式，并指出这将加强两地起步公司之间的合作，同时为学生当来更多海外实习机会。
企发局会与求索创投（Quest Ventures）和胡志明市创新中心（SIHUB）签署备忘录，让两地企业能进军彼此的市场。
这三家机构将制定计划，并通过三个阶段让起步公司走进越南。它们首先会为起步公司进行配对，寻找越南导师。”
TP.HCM gia nhập Liên minh đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu
Enterprise Singapore – cơ quan chính phủ trực thuộc Bộ Thương mại và Công nghiệp Singapore vừa chính thức mở rộng Liên minh đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu (Global Innovation Alliance- GIA) tại TP.HCM. Liên minh này nhằm kết nối các start-up công nghệ của Singapore đến Việt Nam, cũng như tạo ra nhiều sự trao đổi ở cấp độ sinh viên, gồm các cơ hội thực tập cho các sinh viên từ Singapore tại các start-up, công ty tại Việt Nam.
Cụ thể, Enterprise Singapore cùng với Trung tâm sáng kiến Hỗ trợ đổi mới sáng tạo và khởi nghiệp (Saigon Innovation Hub – SIHUB) thuộc Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ TP.HCM và Quỹ Quest Ventures vừa ký kết một Biên bản ghi nhớ hợp tác nhằm thúc đẩy hợp tác giữa các start-up cùng doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ (SMEs) giữa Singapore và Việt Nam.”
Haulio wins RISE 2019 startup competition.
“Haulio は、この海運会社と牽引業者をマッチングするプラットフォームで、コンテナの牽引需要に対して、そのスケジュールでで手の空いている牽引業者をアサインすることができる。CEO の実家が30年間にわたり物流事業を営んできたこともあり、この業界のニッチな需要に精通していることがチームの強み。Haulio のサービスを開始した2017年からの2年間で、シンガポールのコンテナ牽引市場の80％を獲得した。
これまでに15万TEU（TEU はコンテナ扱量を扱う単位で、1TEUが20フィートコンテナ換算を表す）を取り扱っている。シードラウンドで、シンガポールの港湾会社 PSA International の CVC である PSA Unboxed、500 Startups、Quest Ventures、運送会社 ComfortDelGro などから80万3,000米ドルを資金調達済。世界展開に向け提携できる企業を求めている。”
“Xfers, a Singapore-based payment processing gateway offering credit card processing and Internet banking transfers, will leverage Zilliqa’s smart contract functionalities to bring “new innovations” to its Xfers’ suite of enterprise solutions, which include support for payments, disbursements, regulatory compliance and a built-in digital wallet.
Xfers is a graduate of Y Combinator’s summer 2015 class and counts amongst its backers Challenger, Quest Ventures, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, as well as angel investors Eduardo Saverin.”
“ArabNet Beirut X wrapped up in success on June 13. The 10th edition brought together 4000+ attendees and 250+ speakers from across Lebanon and the world.
Quest Ventures participated in “a panel titled “International Perspective: Global Trends Shaping the Tech Sector” in which international investors gathered on stage to share their insights on what’s hype and what’s here to stay, the hottest startups they’re investing in today, and the trends they expect to see in the near future.
The speakers included James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures; Richard Harris, Partner and Head of EMEA, G Squared; Tugce Ergul, Partner, Angel Labs; Ihor Ovcharenko, Founder & CEO, Scal8R; and Kartik Varma, Managing Director, Techstars.”
“The program ‘Runway to the World’ is designed to connect local and international startups expand their market globally and introduce Vietnamese startups to foreign countries. Right after the launch of the program, it has produced beneficial effect with more and more arrival of international startups to the S-shaped country to seek opportunities.
In the first year of the program, in November, 2018, it welcomed Korean Shinhan Future’s Lab, Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Center (MaGIC) and Singaporean Quest Ventures. SIHUB also received proposals from startups in Thailand, Finland, Australia, the US and Switzerland.”
“Ông Huỳnh Kim Tước – giám đốc điều hành SIhub, đơn vị trực thuộc Sở Khoa học và công nghệ TP.HCM – cho rằng: “Runway To The World đóng vai trò như một điểm kích hoạt, giúp hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp bộc lộ những ưu, nhược điểm, từ đó rút ra bài học kinh nghiệm và điều chỉnh phù hợp cho cả hệ sinh thái”.
Tính đến nay, chương trình của Sihub đã có các đối tác lớn như Shinhan Future’s Lab (Hàn Quốc) – trực thuộc Ngân hàng Shinhan,Trung tâm phát triển khởi nghiệp và đổi mới sáng tạo toàn cầu Magic (Malaysia), công ty đầu tư mạo hiểm Quest Ventures (Singapore).”
Entrepreneurs, it’s time to step up. ArabNet Beirut 2019, one of the most prominent conferences focused on tech, business and innovation in the MENA region, is back to gather entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and government officials. Now on its 10th consecutive year, held under the Patronage of His Excellency President of the Republic of Lebanon General Michel Aoun, this year’s edition of ArabNet Beirut will take place on June 12-13, at the Seaside Arena, hosting 3,000+ attendees and more than 250 regional and international experts and speakers.
Its lineup of speakers is worth a look too: Richard Harris, Partner and Head of EMEA, G Squared; James Tan, Managing Partner, Quest Ventures; Scott Cohen, Chief Innovation Officer, Warner Music Group; Lars Silberbauer, Head of MTV Digital Studios, Senior Vice President at Viacom; Viola Llewellyn, Co-founder & President, Ovamba; and Urszula Bieganska, Head of Marketing – Middle East Africa, LEGO Group, among others.”
The Business Times is revving up its startup coverage with Garage, a portal that provides news and analysis about the region’s booming startup ecosystem.
Located at bt.sg/garage, the new vertical brings BT’s speciality – the investors’ perspective – to coverage of startup news and issues aimed at existing readers and new ones interested in the startup space.
The product has already caught the attention of big names in the startup ecosystem.
James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures, said: “Garage by The Business Times looks set to be the authoritative voice on the startups scene in Singapore. Whether venture or impact investments, large exits or angel cheques, its in-depth coverage of the stories that matter is why we look forward to the column every day.”
“For 2019, the SVCA said that regulatory changes, such as recent extensions for tax incentives and new investment flexibility for structuring of funds (for instance, the new Variable Capital Company (VCC) legal structure) may further encourage investment into Southeast Asia and for VC fund managers to operate out of Singapore.
However, Khor Qianyi, Senior Analyst and Head of ESG at Quest Ventures, warned that uncertainty around the new regulations, specifically the VCC, which was meant to increase VC activity in Singapore, poses a challenge for VC firms along with the lack of later-stage funding from Series B onwards.
“The industry, including technology media, needs to move away from associating large deals with large market implications,” according to Qianyi. “Whilst small deals do not sound exciting, it is important to track them when they are still starting up. As Jack Ma said, ‘Small guys become big guys.’”
置身男性居主导的创投领域，求索创投37岁女性合伙人吴谊平可说是这个行业的「少数民族」。
《福布斯》今年公布的全球最佳100创投人榜单里，女性仅12名，去年更只有区区九人。吴谊平认为，女性能为创投领域提供不同的视野和看法，希望更多女性加入这个行业；她指出，职场氛围显示，现在正是女性加入创投领域的大好时机。
她说：“创投领域应该有更多女性，她们可提供不同的视野和看法。” 她指出，女性对关乎女性的课题和领域有更深刻的理解，她们也往往能设身处地去思考并聆听。
求索创投所投资的公司中，37%拥有至少一名女性创办人，例如Style Theory、42Race、Telepod、 Watchoverme和Shopback等。
Quest Ventures Senior Analyst and Head of ESG Khor Qianyi was a member of the jury at the Demo Day.
“At the inaugural *SCAPE HubQuarters Fellowship Demo Day, young companies spent the evening pitching to a host of judges, mentors and audience members to further validate whether or not their idea can grow into the next sexy startup story.
A major reason why these companies were in their infancy has to do with the mis-sion of *SCAPE, which is a platform designed to empower people in Singapore’s un-der the age of 35. For a lot of participants, *SCAPE became the necessary support group to give them confidence to chase their startup dreams.
The *SCAPE event was the conclusion of a 6-month-long fellowship programme that hosted 21 qualifying teams across 22 sessions to help them get their business off the ground. 10 of them were pitching at the Demo Day.”
Glife received pre-seed funding from Quest Ventures, and rolled out a soft-launch of its platform’s farm-to-table operations in Singapore in May 2018. Since its inception, the portal has provided more than 150 restaurants with direct access to quality fresh produce from farmers within their ecosystem. “We actually have a better cost structure and are being more price competitive to get customers in,” Mr Chou said.
自2010年以来，风险投资公司求索创投 Quest Ventures 一直致力于投资东南亚地区的电子商务和互联网经济初创企业，其参投的知名企业包括“东南亚闲鱼”二手拍卖网站 Carousell、新加坡二手车交易平台 Carro 和东南亚电商返现平台 ShopBack。
过去很长一段时间里，Quest 都不需要对外募资。Quest 是幸运的，因为它有一个教父——James Tan。在中国呆了近十年后，James Tan 出售了他在电子商务公司窝窝团的股份，收拾行李，回到了祖国新加坡。
Tan 的得意之作便是 Quest Ventures，如今他在该公司担任管理合伙人。一直以来，出售窝窝团股份的收益让 Quest 得以轻松运营。但 Quest 还有更多野心，需要更多的资本。Quest 拟设立一只5000万至1亿美元的基金，用于投资东南亚初期阶段的数字经济初创企业。
“One of the sectors that we have invested in and are tracking closely is the broad Islamic digital economy, which encompasses everything that we have in the ‘general’ digital economy but with an adherence to Islamic principles.”
(Quest Ventures’ James) Tan is specifically interested in how these rules apply to lending.
According to a 2017 report from IMF, there is a funding gap of USD 80 billion for small and medium enterprises in Indonesia. While SMEs make up more than 95% of the number of businesses in Indonesia, less than 15% of them have access to bank financing. This lack of access is often the result of a lack of fixed asset as collateral, a lack of operating history, poor operational efficiency, or poor financial reporting.
With the entry of multiple international players in P2P financing and rampant unethical business practices, Tan says, “A deeper adherence to Islamic principles will be helpful in weeding out unsavoury players in the world’s largest moderate Islamic market.” More
… Financial difficulties in its home market may have prompted Mobike to rethink its global ambitions, said Yunming Wang, venture partner at Quest Ventures. An earlier report from TechCrunch revealed that Mobike reportedly laid off its entire Asia-Pacific operations team as part of its efforts to trim down its regional presence and focus on its Chinese operations.
“The Singapore bike-sharing scene is now dead. Where there was untidiness on the streets, there was however last-mile convenience. With the industry all but dead, the streets are now tidy but the convenience is gone,” said Wang, referring to the indiscriminate parking of shared bikes in Singapore which could be traced as the source of Ofo’s woes.
“For an industry that was widely hailed as one of modern China’s four great inventions – the others being high-speed rail, Alipay and e-commerce – this is a sad retreat and has important lessons for startups to learn,” he added.
According to James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, there are gaping holes in the food supply chain ripe for venture investments to solve and make more efficient.
Tan said: “After planting, where do they go? Do farmers plant at volume or not? We need to get the supply chain ready first…”
Quest Ventures made the short list of VCs that are investing into artificial intelligence.
“Based in Singapore and China, Quest Ventures is a leading venture fund for companies in the tech sector, especially those promising high scalability. It has been focussing on an overreaching digital commerce strategy across industries such as e-commerce, entertainment, logistics and more, using artificial intelligence. It has invested in startups such as Nurture.ai, which is a platform dedicated to making AI research more efficient, reproducible and accessible.”
Drawing on her entrepreneurial experience, the venture capitalist is helping to groom the next generation of start-up leaders.
Goh Yiping’s mind is constantly running. Her thoughts are mostly about new business opportunities or ways to help build start-ups. “I cannot sit still, even when I’m on holiday,” says the 37-year-old entrepreneur, who has founded several technology-driven companies.
While still running All Deals Asia and taking on the development of Lippo’s e-commerce business, Matahari Mall, the Generation T 2018 honouree decided to become a venture capitalist. “I enjoyed being a founder and being at the front line of running a business, but I started to wonder how I can make a greater impact and harness my connections and experience to help others build their businesses.”
Since 2010, Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures has been discreetly investing in e-commerce and internet economy startups in the region. Its portfolio today includes prominent names such as Carousell, Carro and ShopBack.
Through all this time, it has not needed to fundraise – until now.
Quest is lucky. It has a godfather – James Tan.
But Quest is nurturing big ambitions, requiring bigger capital.
The VC is now targeting an open fund of $50-100 million to invest in early-stage digital economy startups in Southeast Asia. It plans to invest in about 100 companies across the fund’s 10-year tenure, with ticket sizes between $500,000 and $1 million, and scope for potential follow-on investments.
In an op-ed for The Business Times to celebrate International Women’s Day, 42Race’s cofounder and CEO Zhou Mi gave praise to Quest Ventures.
“I am first and foremost in the role of a co-founder, the leader of my team. My responsibility is to provide a better future for those that follow me. There were many times where I doubted my capability and direction. Those doubts however, stemmed from my limited knowledge and understanding of business strategies and industry. I am blessed to have amazing mentors (a shout out to James Tan from Quest Ventures) and fellow co-founders from Oddle, Carousell and Xfers where I can share my problems with and whom I can learn from. I do not feel limited to reach out to them because of my gender.”
Goh Yiping doesn’t play by the rules.
Starting in 2004, the serial entrepreneur founded her first company, World Indigo, at the age of 22 while juggling academic responsibilities. In spite of her inexperience as a business neophyte, her inaugural enterprise raised a laudable $350,000 in seed funding, and won the National [email protected] Business Plan Competition.
Bitten by the start-up bug, she went on to establish AllDealsAsia at 28, which grew to become the top deal aggregator in the region. Displaying acute foresight and a forward-thinking spirit, she even introduced online customer service to the platform at a time when websites were still slow to adopt live chats. Fast forward four years, AllDealsAsia was acquired by Lippo Group, which kick-started her next venture, Matahari Mall – an e-commerce site that would rise to the top as a multi-million dollar business.
In 2016, the real estate graduate turned e-commerce doyenne switched gears and joined Quest Ventures as a venture partner.
The Business Times of Singapore took a deeper look at the latest funds from Quest Ventures.
“Venture capital firm Quest Ventures is raising two funds – an open fund of US$50 million to US$100 million, and an impact fund of up to US$20 million – The Business Times has learnt.
Quest, a seed stage and Series A investor, is known for cutting first cheques for Carousell, 99.co and Shopback. This is the first time that the firm is raising capital from limited partners (LPs).
Mr Tan believes the time is right to launch the two funds because the right people are in place. Quest recently appointed serial entrepreneur Goh Yiping and industry veteran Jeffrey Seah as partners. They were previously venture partners since 2016 and 2017, respectively.
The primary markets that Quest is targeting are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, while the secondary markets are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines.
Quest Ventures is launching a $50-million fund targeting early-stage, digital commerce startups in Southeast Asia. The Singapore-based venture capital has also named two new partners – Goh Yiping and Jeffrey Seah – who have been venture partners with the firm since 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Goh is the former CEO and co-founder of All Deals Asia. She was also the chief product officer and co-founder of MatahariMall.com, an Indonesian fashion e-commerce site backed by Lippo Group. The firm commented that Goh’s appointment is fresh air in the industry where “female representation at investment funds is still sorely lacking”.
Seah was Southeast Asia CEO at Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG), and former CEO of Mindshare where he oversaw the Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesian markets. “Quest Ventures has an impressive track record in identifying startups that have scaled extensively in Southeast Asia across numerous verticals. I look forward to bring my experience in accelerating ideas with corporations to Quest Ventures,” said Seah.
Money FM 89.3 interviews Quest Ventures to find out what our Environmental, Social and Governance focus means.
Senior analyst and Head of ESG Khor Qianyi touched on our approach which includes discovery, environment scanning, and implementation. With the broad range of focus areas defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Quest Ventures’ work focuses on the base of the pyramid and the emerging middle class in Southeast Asia, among others.
Haikini’s founder and CEO Beckie Liu was interviewed by The New Paper on her journey to create functional, stylish and affordable surf swimwear.
“However, being young meant that one big hurdle was funding.
While she was able to persuade her mother to fund some prototypes in the early days of the brand, she was also able to secure venture capital in November last year.
“Quest Ventures invests in early stage start-ups – I was approached by a friend who was working there. They encouraged me to pitch for funding.”
The process helped her overcome two hurdles. Funding and her lack of self-confidence. While Miss Liu was nervous about presenting the business to an investor, she found the strength to overcome it.”
Quest Ventures senior analyst Khor Qianyi said: “There can be a very nice blend of impact investing when it comes to these few things. It can solve not only the capital problem but fund companies and continuously do good work and ensure that they are financially sustainable.”
ESG scores are tools for sustainable investing and the approach looks at the environmental, social or governance risks that can potentially limit the investment returns when it comes to committing the initial outlay. With the ESG approach, Quest Ventures aims to support passionate founders in solving social issues, not only with capital but with their network and resources – such as mentorships and partnerships – which can help them scale their impact.
Rushdi Siddiqui, mentor at Quest Ventures, writes on the eco-friendly socio-economic Mosque at IslamiCity.org – The Global Muslim ECommunity.
“The Mosque is the epicenter of the community and an important learning place. To amplify the environmental stewardship responsibilities, there is no better place to teach than by way of an example of an eco-friendly Mosque.
Thus, the time is now to build, convert, and/or upgrade within the spirit of Quba Mosque. A solid foundation built on not just environmental impact statement, but, more importantly, on operating environmental considerations filled with learnings, activities, discipline, self-sufficiencies, and connected to youth by way of technology and resulting socio-economic activities.”
Eatsy, a food ordering and payment mobile app, on Tuesday announced that it has raised $550,000 in a seed funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm East Ventures.
The startup has raised more than $1 million in funding from investors including East Ventures, Quest Ventures, Wee Teng Wen (Lo&Behold) and the three co-founders of RedMart.
“With the access to new capital, we look forward to further development in technology, product expansion, and acquisition of new talents in 2019. Furthermore, Eatsy plans to cement its position as a leader in the mobile order-ahead and pick-up space in Singapore” said Eatsy co-founder and CEO Shaun Heng.
“Spiking, the world’s first blockchain asset validation and AI driven crypto trading infrastructure, has successfully completed its Initial Token Offering.
The Spiking Initial Token Offering is ranked amongst the world’s top 3.3 percent of ICOs. It is rated 4.4 on ICObench and 4.8 on ICOholder respectively, out of a maximum score of 5. Both are leading ICO rating websites. Spiking is also backed by Quest Ventures, CRC Capital, Mars Blockchain, Jove Capital, and Fundamental Labs.”
Find good partners, avoid analysis paralysis to build a viable ESG strategy. Quest Ventures’ opinion on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices get airtime in Singapore’s broadsheet The Business Times.
“Today, we support a range of social good initiatives by a dozen companies across Asia for education, and female and youth entrepreneurship, all guided by the goal of decent work and economic growth, said Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan.”
TranSwap stands out by standing up for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“The company… burnished its credentials as an SME specialist by joining as a value-added service provider on the Singapore government’s Networked Trade Platform (NTP) for import and export companies… (TranSwap obtained) its remittance licence in Hong Kong in 2016, and in Singapore in July last year… Individuals and companies can transfer funds in the local currency or US dollars to some 45 countries spanning Europe, Australia and Asia, as well as the United States. TranSwap has about US$1.2 million in initial funding, including… from venture capital firm Quest Ventures.”
Quest Ventures associate director Russ Neu led the Singapore delegation to attend the 2nd ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
“Topics discussed included the importance of harnessing technology and innovation for SMEs in ASEAN Member States and China, key challenges hindering technology adoption and innovation, potential and challenges brought by China’s rapid advances in technology and innovation on businesses in ASEAN Member States and possible joint ventures, and recommendations on how to promote greater role of innovation for SME development. Through the forum, ASEAN and China young entrepreneurs were also able to establish networking and business linkages, and explore possible collaborations.
The forum was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, and supported by the ASEAN-China Centre and the government of the People’s Republic of China through the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund.”
Carousell… has expanded to 19 cities across seven countries around the world, raising $174.14m (US$126.8m) YTD in funding from seven venture capital firms in the process including Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups and Quest Ventures.
“We still have a long way to go in realising our vision for Carousell,” Quek Siu Rui, Carousell’s co-founder and CEO, told Singapore Business Review in response to being branded as Singapore’s next possible unicorn. “Carousell’s purpose is to be more than just a transactional platform. Our end goal is to a grow a community of millions of people around the world who share our belief that changing the way we consume things can make life more meaningful.”
Quest Ventures Khor Qianyi gave a speech on the development of a national entrepreneurial ecosystem at the global stage. The establishment of the Vietnam Angel Network, of which Quest Ventures James Tan is a member of the founding board of advisors, was also mentioned.
“Ngoài ra, Chương trình cũng còn một số bài diễn thuyết quan trọng của các diễn giả khác như;… bà Khor Qianyi đến từ Qũy đầu tư mạo hiểm Quest Ventures, Singapo với bài diễn thuyết chia sẻ về kinh nghiệm quốc tế về những sáng kiến đặc thù cho địa phương để thúc đẩy phát triển hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp quốc gia.
Tại chương trình cũng đã ra mắt “Hiệp hội nhà đầu tư thiên thần Việt Nam – Vietnam Angel Network”; Lễ ký kết hợp tác giữa OIV và French Tech Viet – là một cộng đồng và một mạng lưới trực tuyến được hỗ trợ bởi Chính phủ Pháp; Lễ ký kết hợp tác giữa VAN và Hiệp hội Nhà đầu tư thiên thần Đông Nam Á – Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA).”
Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan, in his capacity as Chairman of the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) – Asia’s oldest angel network – was on the panel at the ASEAN Angel Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“Angel leaders from eight of the 10 ASEAN nations shared the state of angel investing in their countries. Bansea chairman James Tan sees that there is a lot of opportunity in Southeast Asia and angel investment is actually getting more sophisticated these days. Many are viewing Singapore as a viable launchpad into the region. He did, however, point out that entrepreneurs often fail as they don’t raise enough funds in time. “Some don’t understand finance and are unable to handle their own finances,” he pointed out.”
Quest Ventures’ investment into Haikini, a bikini brand for surfers, made the news.
“It might seem odd for a VC firm to back a business that isn’t clearly a technology company, but it’s nothing new. Sequoia Capital has invested in a cafe chain in India and a sports media company in Singapore. A coffee chain in Indonesia recently got VC funding.
“Beckie is deeply committed to helping the Bali community that’s producing the apparel, and for the market opportunity that she sees in this niche and passionate segment of customers. Imagine Quiksilver, but now Asia-based and female-managed,” says Tan.
Plus, “she’s a go-getter,” he added.”
Venture partner Wang Yunming provided our opinion on foodtech in Singapore, in particular the peculiar state of local investment firms preferring foreign to local players.
“Enterprise Singapore has also called for interested investors in foodtech to apply for co-matching funding to help plug gaps in sector knowledge and experience in the budding foodtech sector, noted Wang Yunming, venture partner at Quest Ventures.
“Singapore’s weakness is in the marketing of its abilities, and the seemingly inability of local investment firms to support local food companies. For example, there are already companies in Singapore that can do what Silicon Valley-based companies such as Impossible Foods do. From our vantage point in China, where local investment firms heavily support indigenous companies, this lack of local support in Singapore is odd and an unhappy and probably false indication that local companies cannot meet the expectations of local investors,” he explained.”
Quest Ventures has been named a Champion of Good alongside Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Singapore, Expedia, Shell, DBS, IBM Singapore, Microsoft Asia, Procter & Gamble, Visa, and other stalwarts of doing good.
The “Champions of Good is a national recognition framework under the Company of Good, designed to catalyse the corporate giving movement and build a City of Good. It recognises organisations that have not only been exemplary in their corporate giving efforts, but have also been an influencer and multiplier by engaging their partners and stakeholders on a collaborative giving journey.”
The award was presented by Minister of Finance Heng Swee Keat. The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, Singapore Business Federation Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and SG Cares conferred the honour.
The prestigious University of South Australia Alumni Awards is an annual milestone in the University’s calendar and showcases the most distinguished members of our global alumni community, our innovators and pioneers – people making a real difference in the world.
Former politician and Ambassador to Italy, now prominent media commentator, Amanda Vanstone, and Singapore business entrepreneur, James Tan will be among the University of South Australia alumni acknowledged at its Annual Alumni Awards. A key event in the UniSA calendar, the awards showcase and acknowledge the outstanding global contribution of UniSA’s alumni community now more than 215,000 strong.
Congratulating the 2018 winners, UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says he is always proud to see how UniSA graduates have used their education to transform their own lives and improve the world around them.
Rushdi Siddiqui, Quest Ventures’ mentor for the Islamic economy, was asked for his thoughts on the future of Islamic Finance.
“Islamic finance has taken great strides this century, with sharia-compliant financial assets forecast to total $3.8 trillion by 2022, according to a Thomson Reuters report. That’s up from $2.2 trillion in 2016, with around 1,400 Islamic financial institutions now operating across 80 countries.
Yet financial inclusion in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states lags global norms. Less than 30 percent of households in OIC countries have an account at a financial institution. That compares with more than 50 percent in non-OIC nations, a 2015 IMF report reveals.
“Banking is about data and its management. Artificial Intelligence and blockchain will re-engineer Islamic finance,” said Rushdi Siddiqui, Mentor, Islamic Economy, Quest Ventures (Singapore).
He predicts virtual assistants will replace call centres and many branches, with technology empowering customers to make better financial decisions, while fintech could provide a global fatwa database available in multiple languages.”
Meituan-Dianping, China’s biggest on-demand food delivery mammoth, had a triumphal debut on the Hong Kong bourse. Its shares ended its first trading day up 5%, with a market cap of over US$50 billion.
“James Tan, the Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, sees profitability concerns as a valid part of the whims when a private company transits to become a public entity. Having seen through the Nasdaq listing of the then 55tuan – a startup he founded – despite the market onslaught and delays, he believes that Meituan, which has a good track record of growth thus far, will be able to weather the current storm.
Furthermore, China’s food delivery market is huge. Just like the case in the global food delivery space, it is likely that the market is sufficient to accommodate at least two dominant players.”
The National Research Foundation of Singapore was on national radio FM 938NOW with Quest Ventures to promote the upcoming Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, commonly known as SWITCH.
Quest Ventures’ James Tan was on the show in his capacity as Chairman of the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia, the region’s oldest angel network, which is responsible for a series of events during SWITCH. In addition to panel discussions with top angels and angel networks from the region, participants can look forward to closed door engagements and a celebratory dinner. A lifetime achievement award will also be given away during the festivities.
Quest Ventures establishes social innovation platform with the City of Daegu in South Korea. The Memorandum of Understanding will accelerate social ventures in the Daegu area by utilizing Singapore as a bridgehead for Southeast Asia.
“박성원 기자= 대구창조경제혁신센터(센터장 연규황)는 해7일, 싱가포르 벤처캐피털(VC)인 퀘스트벤처스와 상호간 네트워크와 자원을 활용해 스타트업과 소셜벤처를 공동육성한다는 양해각서(MoU)를 체결했다고 10일 밝혔다.
금번 MoU를 통해 양 기관은 상호간의 네트워크를 활용해 대구와 싱가포르 소셜벤처와 스타트업을 공동 육성하고 해외 진출까지 지원하는 소셜 이노베이션 플랫폼을 구축하고 이를 통해 스타트업 육성 생태계를 확대하기로 합의했다.”
With the recent shut downs of oBike, Gbikes and ShareBikeSG, Quest Ventures senior analyst Jasmine Toh provided her opinion on alternatives for last-mile transportation, and commended the regulators for their enforcement actions.
“Despite the latest development, bike sharing still remains an attractive last-mile transport option for commuters looking to travel short distances especially with a gap in the market for end-to-end transport solutions, Quest Ventures senior analyst Jasmine Toh told Singapore Business Review.
Aside from bike-sharing, Toh mentioned e-scooters as an option for last mile transportation.
“Last mile transportation was traditionally settled with walking or buses,” she said. “We believe that as long as last mile issues in transportation continue to be unsolved, there will be new business models to tackle this.””
Quest Ventures referenced China’s WeChat and Indonesia’s Go-Jek to provide commentary on Grab’s latest effort to improve their app.
“Jasmine Toh, senior analyst at Quest Ventures sees Grab’s situation is almost like China’s WeChat. “Referencing WeChat, which now includes all manner of e-commerce and other options such as entertainment, we see that Grab’s direction mirrors it, i.e., leveraging an existing user base into other verticals,” she said.
“By building new verticals directly into an existing app, it significantly reduces friction from download, registration, and most importantly, payments,” Toh said. Go-Jek is another example which has taken the same route of building a ‘superapp’.””
Senior analyst Jasmine Toh provides her views to e27’s Kevin McSpadden on the messy exit of oBike, which was funded by some well-known investors in Singapore.
“The current negative sentiment comes from a multi-year build up of inconvenience and eyesore due to irresponsible parking, that has now culminated in irresponsible market exits with the hapless consumer continuing to be the one to bear the brunt of the impact with lost deposits,” said Jasmine Toh, a Senior Analyst at Quest Ventures, when asked about the closure.
Toh also said oBike needs to “exercise their responsibility to the public” and clean-up the exit process. The Consumers Association of Singapore has apparently told oBike that the messy exit is “unethical and unacceptable”.
Quest Ventures provided commentary on the decision by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) to fine Grab and Uber for their merger that it deemed anti-competitive.
“Quest Ventures senior analyst Jasmine Toh noted that the situation is that Uber has left the scene, and the remedies, if any, are only applicable to Grab. “Singapore’s taxi landscape, lethargic for too long, was shaken up when there was competition,” she said.
“Our hope is that even with reduced competition, these taxi companies will not stop their efforts to innovate to meet today’s customers’ needs. If they do slow down or stop delivering what consumers want, new competitors will surely emerge to eat their lunch,” Toh added.”
Quest Ventures and MaGIC executed on our respective MOUs with SIHUB to expose Singapore and Malaysia startups to the exciting Vietnam market.
“Nối tiếp thành công của chương trình Runway to the world đầu tiên được SIHUB triển khai cùng với sự hợp tác của Shinhan, nhằm giúp startup Việt Nam có cơ hội giao lưu, học hỏi với các hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp phát triển trên thế giới, sáng ngày 2/7, 6 startup từ Malaysia và Singapore đã có buổi giao lưu, gặp gỡ tại SIHUB. Đây là các startup xuất sắc đã được Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MAGIC) và Quest Ventures đã tiến hành tuyển chọn vào tháng 5 vừa qua.”
Quest Ventures brings 3 Singapore startups to Vietnam as part of the Runway to the World program organised by SIHUB.
“Đây là những startup đầy tính sáng tạo khởi nghiệp trên các nền tảng công nghệ mới, đặt mục tiêu tìm được ít nhất 1 khách hàng Việt Nam trong 3 tháng tiếp cận thị trường.
Runway To The World: đưa startup Việt ra thế giới
Sau buổi hợp tác mở rộng cung cấp thông tin và kết nối doanh nghiệp Việt – Hàn, Saigon Innovation Hub tiếp tục mang đến cơ hội giao lưu, học hỏi cho cộng đồng khởi nghiệp đổi mới sáng tạo TP.HCM với 2 hệ sinh thái khởi nghiệp phát triển trên thế giới là Malaysia cùng Singapore.
Theo bà Nguyễn Phi Vân – Chủ tịch hội đồng cố vấn Saigon Innovation Hub, đây là các startup xuất sắc đã được Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MAGIC) và Quest Ventures đã tiến hành tuyển chọn hồi tháng 5/2018 để đưa sang Việt Nam tìm kiếm cơ hội kinh doanh thuộc chương trình Runway To The World.”
“Eatsy Technologies, a Singapore-based food & beverages technology startup, has raised S$550,000 ($404,000) led by Quest Ventures, that invests in technology startups.
The round also saw participation from Wee Teng Wen, founder of The Lo & Behold Group, and RedMart co-founders Roger Egan III, Vikram Rupani and Rajesh Lingappa.”
“Transformation doesn’t take place overnight; it is a journey that requires patience and push – especially if you’re looking to transform an entire organisation. This is what HRD learned when we spoke to Juliana Ang, chief human resources officer at NTUC Income.
The homegrown insurance company was recently ranked first in the inaugural Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, which ranks the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore. For Income, the journey to achieving such high acclaim began in 2014 when they foresaw the need to reimagine the typically traditional sector of insurance early.
“We realised the need for dedicated focus, hence the beginning of the formation of an ecosystem that comprises the C-suite, employees and like-minded external partners to seed, mobilise and effect change,” Ang said.”
Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, weighs in on the Trump-Kim S$20 million question: What’s it worth to the Singapore brand campaign?
“Singapore was the place because of its learned ability to execute a complex Mice event in a short time, and a population that is used to the personal, professional and security disruptions from Mic events, road closures and congestion from F1s and international marathons to Cristiano Ronaldo and South Korea boyband visits.
The summit will reinforce Singapore as the Alpha choice for Mice events, further cementing and embellishing Singapore’s lofty Mic destination position.
The 9-5 capabilities have been augmented by the 5-9 activities of the two integrated resorts in the past 10 years, and now complemented by burnished credentials of executing big, security-conscious, multi-party Mice events in a short turn-around time.”
The Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) has appointed James Tan as its chairman to take charge of the region’s oldest angel investment network.
Tan serves as managing partner of venture capital firm Quest Ventures and co-founded NASDAQ-listed e-commerce startup 55tuan. He succeeds Dr Mark Hon who will remain on the board of directors as Immediate Past Chairman.
Under the new leadership, BANSEA aims to elevate the region’s angel investment scene to the next level by focusing on two key areas, education and investment.
“We will continue to build strong global partnerships to encourage greater investment collaboration across the funding lifecycle and geographies. I am grateful for the work that the previous board of directors led by Dr Mark Hon has done, and look forward to building on its momentum,” Tan said in a statement.
“… businesses operating in any one of the verticals Grab has targetted have more than enough reason to worry as startups with the mission to disrupt industries now have a significant backer in Grab, said James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures.
Startups that make it into Grab Ventures can leverage on its advanced tech platform, regional footprint as well as a vast network of drivers, delivery partners and merchants across the region. Moving forward, these startups may be tightly integrated into the platform or even outrightly merged under the Grab brand and platform if they prove they could add further value to the business, Tan pointed out.”
Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures said, “Every player in the content creation and distribution business is searching for a global platform with the advent of OTT players of all forms, and the new mega and irregular players like Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Tencent. Fox presents an immediate upgrade in capability and market knowledge for both Disney and Comcast to that global reach.”
Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan, in his role as deputy chairman at ACE, has led a group of Singapore corporations and tech startups on a business mission to Paris, France, together with Enterprise Singapore and SGInnovate.
The delegation met with Hello Tomorrow, AXA Innovation, Paris Region Entreprises, Station F, Bpifrance and others for market access and innovation collaborations.
Ambassador Zainal, Singapore’s Ambassador to France, hosted a welcome dinner for the Singapore delegation. Various stakeholders, including Minister for Communications and Information & Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Mr S Iswaran spoke at the VivaTech conference held on the final day of the business mission.
James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures also expects large rounds to continue to dominate headlines, and for angel syndicates driven by experienced angel investment networks such as BANSEA to gain prevalence. In addition, he anticipates a “rejuvenation” of seed stage deals which slowed down in 2017.
With venture capital activity poised to boom, competition for both talent and deals is heating up. Tan said that the most notable venture capital activity in 2018 so far would be the entrance of corporations into venture investments, particularly from Series B onwards.
… But Tan said there needs to be a stronger government push for deep-technology investments as private investment firms are not actively investing into this space. Government support could help the deep-technology companies zero in on their real-world applicability. Right now, these firm “are mostly solutions looking for problems to solve at the moment.” said Tan.
NTUC Income topped the 2018 Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark, conducted by the Applied Innovation Institute (Aii), and venture fund Quest Ventures.
“In a world where disruption is the only constant, we believe that it is even more important for corporations to understand the incredible challenges that lie in their strategy roadmaps,” said Prof. Paris de l’Etraz, chairman of Aii. “With the average lifespan of an S&P company dropping from 67 years in the 1920s to 15 years today, we cannot emphasise [enough] the importance of developing an innovation model that works not just to boost your bottomline, but places you at the forefront of disruption.”
Produced by the Applied Innovation Institute (Aii), in partnership with Quest Ventures, this is Singapore’s first benchmark to measure the ability of corporations to cope with disruptive innovation.
Researchers at the Applied Innovation Institute recorded and analysed more than 80 data points across social, online, and innovation metrics to benchmark the progress of insurers towards key industry innovation and digitalisation goals.
The goal of the benchmark is to help insurers in Singapore understand the effectiveness of their innovation initiatives and drive innovation and digitalisation amongst insurers in Singapore. Insurers such as NTUC Income, AXA, Prudential, and Aviva, have all set up innovation initiatives in Singapore.
The annual report titled Applied Innovation Institute Singapore Insurance Innovation and Digital Benchmark ranks the innovation and digitisation efforts of 25 insurers in Singapore. More than 80 data points across social, online, and innovation metrics were recorded and analysed to benchmark the progress of insurers towards key industry innovation and digitalisation goals.
NTUC Income ranked overall first in the benchmark, and also ranked first in online efforts and innovation, while coming in seventh in social efforts.
The goal of the benchmark is to help insurers in Singapore understand the effectiveness of their innovation initiatives and drive innovation and digitalisation amongst insurers in Singapore.
Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan has been voted in as the new chairman of BANSEA, the venerable institution founded by NUS Professor Wong Poh Kam almost two decades ago.
“One of Southeast Asia’s pioneering angel investor network, the Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA), founded in 2001, has appointed James Tan as its new chairman, replacing Dr. Mark Hon. He will remain on the board of directors as the Immediate Past Chairman.
“We are confident that BANSEA members will develop best practices through our angel investment masterclasses and co-investment activities. We will continue to build strong global partnerships to encourage greater investment collaboration across the funding lifecycle and geographies,” said Tan.”
求索创投与美国应用创新研究所的评估报告指出，25个保险业者中，只有九个拥有推特账户，这当中仅有两个账户是活跃的。报告也指出，所有业者都没有使用Snapchat，并点名这是和千禧世代联系的关键平台。
本地大部分的保险公司甚少使用社交媒体与用户接触，一些公司虽然有户头，但却没将社媒的信息本土化。
Quest Ventures venture partner Goh Yiping was selected as one of 50 brightest connectors, creative visionaries, influential innovators and disruptive talents in Singapore.
“Her current job title may be venture partner at Quest Ventures, but Goh Yiping will always be remembered as an e-commerce trailblazer. The 36-year-old started All Deals Asia in 2010 with her brother. The site that consolidated the best local promotions from around the web proved so successful that it was acquired by one of Asia’s leading diversified conglomerates, Lippo Group, in 2014. Together with the Lippo Group, Yiping helped launch MatahariMall, an online version of Indonesia’s biggest mid-priced department stores, for which she moved to Jakarta for three years to accomplish. While cooking up new ideas for her next project, she’s taking on a completely different adventure: motherhood.”
Like the name suggests, startup Eatsy is about making dining out easy. Its CEO and founder Shaun Heng shares how the app offers a hassle-free experience for diners, even when they are in a group, while capturing valuable patron data for restaurants.
Eatsy’s investors include Quest Ventures, Spring Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore), the co-founders of RedMart (Roger Egan, Vikram Rupani and Rajesh Lingappa), Lo & Behold Group (Wee Teng Wen), and prominent angel investors.
Singapore’s tech and entrepreneur community took a big step forward today for LGBTQ+ equality, as several founders and investors lent their support to call for other businesses to step forward and raise funds for this year’s Pink Dot pride gathering in Singapore.
Led by 99.co’s Darius Cheung, six other prolific voices in the tech and investor circles have joined forces to lend their support.
Goh Yiping, Venture Partner, Quest Ventures said, “As a startup founder and investor, we have always firmly believed in seeing the best in people. This means looking beyond one’s racial group, socio-economic status, family background, sexual orientation or gender identity, and giving them the opportunity to learn and grow, in an environment they can truly be themselves.”
由世界区块链理事会（WBC）主办，金色财经、GMGC、3点钟社群和BIT.GAME联合主办的2018年世界区块链峰会（World Blockchain Conference）于4月3日在中国北京国家会议中心（CNCC）举办。峰会联合国内外知名学术机构、区块链技术公司和专家等共同参与，邀请全球三十多个国家或地区，近1000名区块链行业精英共同出席，特设领袖峰会、CEO闭门会、项目路演、区块链+数字娱乐论坛等多个重点环节。金色财经前方记者在峰会现场为您带来实时报道，更多内容请持续关注区块链专业媒体金色财经。
求索创投创始人王贇明以“区块链的具体落地应用”为主题发表了演讲，以下为演讲实录。
Theo đó, Sihub đã ký kết bản ghi nhớ với các đối tác đến từ các quốc gia, vùng lãnh thổ, gồm: Hàn Quốc, Malaysia, Singapore, Thụy Điển, Canada, Đức, Thụy Sỹ, Hàn Quốc, Hongkong (Trung Quốc).
Cụ thể, Sihub đã ký kết với Shihan Future’ Lab Magic, Quest Venture, Swedish Univerity Outreach và German Accelerator trong chương trình Run Way to the world (Chương trình trao đổi startup quốc tế); ký kết với Swedish Univerity Outreach – chương trình Bonndless! (Chương trình trao đổi giữa doanh nghiệp nhỏ và vừa); ký kết với Ivey Business School (chương trình nâng cao năng lực quản trị cho doanh nghiệp); ký kết với Unicef (Chương trình giáo dục kỹ năng thế kỷ 21 cho thanh thiếu niên); hợp tác với Swedish Univerity Outreach (triển khai hội nghị công nghệ ngành sức khỏe, y tế châu Á); ký với tập đoàn Bosch (Chương trình Liên minh chiến lược phát triển hệ sinh thái ngành mạng lưới vạn vật kết nối – IOT), ký kết với Kaizen Accelerator (Chương trình liên minh chiến lược phát triển hệ sinh thái ngành Blockchain & Công nghệ tài chính số); ký kết với Quest Venture (Chương trình thiết lập và phát triển hệ sinh thái đầu tư khởi nghiệp).
Singapore needs to push its startups beyond seed funding. “… one in five fintech firms lament the fact that Singapore doesn’t have enough venture capital to go around with 66% claiming that the current level of government assistance is inadequate to power their businesses.”
“The Fintech sector in Singapore is vibrant with the Monetary Authority of Singapore taking an active role in encouraging startups, and driving corporate innovation in financial institutions. Contrary to the survey, we believe that there is an abundance of exuberance with the easy availability of grants, venture capital, and cryptocurrency fund-raising in the form of ICOs,” said James Tan, Managing Partner of VC firm, Quest Ventures.
Senior Analyst Jasmine Toh was invited to Unbound Bahrain as a speaker on the topic of “Investors, VCs and their Strategies”. As the only female investor representative from Southeast Asia, Jasmine also shared her thoughts on female entrepreneurship and opportunities in new sectors.
“The small Arab nation has been gearing up to welcome startups, investors and HNIs from across GCC (Gulf Council Confederation) and MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) regions.
With a push from the government to move from oil to innovation, the Middle East today is looking at tech innovation and startups closely. Bahrain’s Economic Development Board and its semi-government organisation Tamkeen are looking to make Bahrain a Middle-Eastern hotbed for startups.”
Senior Analyst Jasmine Toh was interviewed on The Breakfast Huddle on Money FM 89.3.
Hosted by Yasmin Jonkers and Elliott Danker, this morning’s huddle covered mindsets, transformation in traditional industries, the Startup SG Founder funding from SPRING Singapore, the Productivity Solutions Grant which replaces the Productvity & Innovation Credit, and others.
Shaun Heng, Founder & CEO of Eatsyapp.co, a Quest Ventures-backed startup, was covered in The Straits Times today.
“Eatsy connects restaurants to their diners and helps them answer the age-old questions of ‘Who my diners are’, ‘What they like to eat’ and ‘How can I get them back with the right promotions’.”
Eatsy is backed by Quest Ventures, a venture fund for technology companies, and SPRING Singapore under the Startup SG Founder grant.
Analyst Khor Qianyi was interviewed on Vietnam Television 1 (VTV1) for her impressions of the Vietnam startup scene.
She contrasted the difference between Singapore and Vietnam startups, highlighted the importance of the Vietnamese market, and stressed the critical role of accelerators in strengthening the startup landscape.
While “digital transformation” is probably one of the most over-used terms in the past few years, to embrace it, is not easy.
Interviewed in the Marketing magazine, Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, said transformation itself means restarting the business with a new mindset and operational structure. If SIA really has transformation in its agenda, it has to “depart from the established topping up mindset” that is prevalent among many government bodies and MNCs.
The “topping up” mindset comes from adopting best practices from other companies (or start-ups) to gain ideas, and add that to the current business model. But it doesn’t necessarily mean hitting the restart button as transformation ideally should. For SIA’s transformation to work, it requires the company to have the mindset that it is changing the business from the core.”
Malaysia, home of the world’s largest Islamic finance industry, is taking the idea of creating a comprehensive Islamic economy a step further and announced it will launch a debut “Islamic Digital Economy Framework” by March next year as a growth backbone for its entire halal industry.
The driving force behind the Islamic digital initiative is the Malaysian Digital Economy Corp, or MDEC, a government-backed entity which is seeking to create a growth ecosystem for the Islamic economy in Malaysia in accordance with the government’s national strategy to tap the potential of both the Islamic and the digital economy.
Singapore-based Quest Ventures, which invests in Internet-related technology startups, as well as Jakarta-based Ethis Ventures, which invests in and supports Islamic crowd funding platforms, are among the three venture capital firms participating.
Quest Ventures is mentioned as one of the three investment firms that the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is working with. Ethis Ventures, one of the other investment firms, is a portfolio company of Quest Ventures, and further strengthens Quest Ventures’ collective presence in this space.
Malaysia’s leadership in Islamic finance and the halal sector put the country in a favourable position to dominate the Islamic Digital marketplace. The Islamic Digital Economy framework is part of Malaysia’s strategy to cement the country’s leadership in the global halal marketplace and create a unique and competitive advantage to accelerate the growth of digital economy.
Singapore and Malaysia are playing catch up with global tech capitals, but their pace may be slowed by talent that’s looking too timid for the cutthroat business.
“But playing too nice can cripple the industry. James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, a venture fund focusing on China and Southeast Asia, says that local startups should emulate China’s ruthlessness and “get big fast”.
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay as a small entrepreneur, but if so, why play in the fast-growth tech game? Tech startups have to grow by penetrating new cities or countries, including expansion by acquisition. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up to be acquired by the Chinese or the Americans when they enter your market.
Looking ahead, Tan says, a key tactic will be for Singapore and Malaysia to remain comrades, rather than competitors.
Venture partner Goh Yiping received The Peak’s magazine Power List 2017 award along with other industry honorees. Recognised for her achievements in the last decade, Yiping’s role in building up e-commerce in Indonesia was highlighted.
“By 2012, we facilitated about $10 million worth of transactions that originated from our site and was completed at our partners’ sites,” she says. All Deals Asia was acquired by Lippo Group in 2014. In the next three years, she helped Lippo Group to build from scratch Indonesian e-commerce site Matahari Mall. While it might look like yet another online shopping site, Matahari Mall presented a new concept for its time – Online-to-Offline.
“I emphasise three things: to keep reinventing ourselves to stay relevant, to experiment constantly, and to collaborate widely.”
Delegates from China, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam gathered at Siem Reap, Cambodia. Under the title “Role of Emerging Youth and Women Entrepreneurs in Economic Development”, they worked together with government representatives to plan a clear pathway for local and international economic integration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while discussing the challenges of young female entrepreneurs.
Singapore brought seven young, competitive representatives that reflect the power of women entrepreneurs in the rapid-growing business landscape of Singapore. Quest Ventures’ senior analyst Jasmine Toh was the head of the Singapore delegation.
福岡市は28日、シンガポール政府のスタートアップ支援機関である ACE（Action Community for Entrepreneurship）とスタートアップの相互支援に関する覚書を締結したことを明らかにした。これまでに福岡市は、エストニア政府、ヘルシンキ市、台北市、台湾スタートアップハブ、サンフランシスコ D-HAUS（btrax による運営）、フランス・ボルドー都市圏、ニュージーランド・オークランド市と同様の覚書を締結しており、今回の ACE を含めると8例目となる（エストニア政府とは、傘下の3つの機関と覚書を締結）。
福岡市長の高島宗一郎氏、ACE Deputy Chairman で 55tuan.com（55団）の共同創業者でもある James Tan 氏。
James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, signed an MOU with the Japanese city of Fukuoka in his capacity as the vice-chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship. Mr Soichiro Takashima, Mayor of Fukuoka, signed the MOU on behalf of the city.
“It (MOU) gives entrepreneurs access to information on the local market and access to a support system that provides them with all of the help they need to get their company up and running.”
求索创投高级分析师杜淑燕代表新加坡参加了在韩国首尔举行的2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛暨韩国虚拟现实产业博览会。
中国有最大的VR市场，韩国有顶级VR内容开发能力，但信息不对称之下双方如何对接？日前召开的2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛给出了答案。
9月16日至20日，2017亚洲VR产业合作论坛暨韩国虚拟现实产业博览会在韩国首尔召开。来自中韩日以及港台等国家和地区的200余位嘉宾齐聚岩洞数码媒体城，共话亚洲VR发展大势及商谈各方合作。
本届KVRF分展览和会议两个模块。参展项目达170多个，覆盖了中国、韩国、日本、新加坡、马来西亚、越南、香港、台湾等亚洲国家和地区的主要VR企业和投资机构。黑匣网、汇桔网、HTC Vive、幻影星空、启赋资本、超级队长、Pico、5号空间、创客街、当红齐天、大航海VR等中国机构代表悉数到场。
Jeffrey Seah, venture partner at Quest Ventures, said the F1 Grand Prix has evolved into “a transactional contract rather than a vanity or awareness project, as compared to the past”.
“The original aim of getting on the world map has been achieved. The timely change of F1 ownership has lubricated the renewal process,” Seah said.
As one of the earliest venture capital firms to set up in Blk71, Quest Ventures has seen the tremendous transformation of this area from one old flatted factory block to the LaunchPad that it is today.
In NUS Enterprise’s celebratory video on how it has shaped the ecosystem as a builder, collaborator and global connector, Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan was interviewed for his perspective.
“The transformation has been tremendous. I firmly believe that the ecosystem that NUS has been able to bring together has been the single biggest driver for making the place become what it is today,” says James in the video.
Quest Ventures’ senior analyst Jasmine Toh represented Singapore at the ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum held in Cambodia. Jasmine was the head of the Singapore delegation.
Cambodia’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation H.E. Luy David presided over the ASEAN-China Young Entrepreneur Forum organised in Siem Reap province from Sept. 3 to 5 under the theme “Role of Emerging Youth and Women Entrepreneurs in Economic Development.”
Quest Ventures’ venture partner Jeffrey Seah has joined Gravity4 (G4), a marketing cloud platform specialising in artificial intelligence and big data. Seah will join the company’s advisory board, which is now focused on developing blockchain technologies to eliminate ad fraud.
Seah said that blockchain has the ability to address the “unwieldy and opaque supply chain” in marketing and advertising technology. Through the technology, the company aims to establish transparency and trust by creating a central and secure way to record, review and execute deals.
“With Gravity4 heavily investing in blockchain, we’ll be able to eliminate ad fraud and provide personalised experiences to eliminate the need for ad blockers, a solution the industry desperately needs,” Seah said.
Untuk mengembangkan aplikasinya, Selasa (1/8) lalu Hapz mendapatkan pendanaan senilai US$ 501.200 dari sejumlah investor. Yakni, Cocoon Capital, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture, dan SPH Media Fund, serta seorang investor malaikat (angel investor) yang tak diungkap namanya.
Hapz memang butuh banyak suntikan dana untuk mengembangkan platformnya. Soalnya, persaingan di bisnis tiket online di kawasan Asia Tenggara terbilang sengit.
The Startup Cities Index found Singapore to have outperformed 84 of the 85 ranked cities in five areas – startup ecosystem, salary, social security and benefits, cost of living and quality of life.
James Tan, managing partner of venture capital firm Quest Ventures, didn’t buy all the findings. For starters, he said, the number of vacation days – one of three indicators of social security and benefits – are “irrelevant” to startups.
He said: “To founders, there is often no concept of weekends or public holidays. In comparison to their multinational corporation competitors, startups neither have the luxury of time nor money. So they need to move fast. If they work one Saturday more than the large companies, these startups would have done 20 per cent more work.”
James also added that safety, often overlooked for the sake of opportunity, ought to be a key driver for people. “Our multi-cultural, multilingual and multi-religion environment creates a comfortable base from which everyone from around the world should feel welcome to start the next big thing.”
James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures joins Vinod Nair, CEO of MoneySmart; Mohan Belani, CEO of e27; Patricia Polizzi, CEO of Startup Autobahn Singapore; and Professor Wong Poh Kam, Director of NUS Enterprise to launch the report.
“Start-up hub [email protected] has become a dynamic ecosystem, with many start-ups entering and leaving it, as well as an evolving range and profile of start-ups. This was one of the key observations which Professor Wong Poh Kam, Director of NUS Entrepreneurship Centre at NUS Enterprise, shared during TechSG Insights at BLOCK71 Singapore on 2 August.”
JTC LaunchPad @ one-north has matured into a dynamic ecosystem for startups, according to latest research findings by TechSG. For starters, the number of tenants (startups and facilitators such as angel investors, venture capitalists and legal firms) grew 65% to 425 from November 2015 to March 2017.
Interestingly, LaunchPad startups have a higher degree of “ecosystem engagement” compared to tech startups in Singapore. 80% of LaunchPad startups are found to have participated in at least one government funding scheme, versus 64.2% of tech startups. Nearly 40% of LaunchPad startups have received venture capital funding, versus 15.8% of tech startups.
As LaunchPad’s largest private tenant and earliest venture fund, Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan was invited to be on the panel to discuss the findings, along with Vinod Nair, CEO of MoneySmart; Mohan Belani, CEO of e27; Patricia Polizzi, CEO of Startup Autobahn Singapore; and Professor Wong Poh Kam, Director of NUS Enterprise.
Rise in startups, angel investors, venture capitalists and legal firms reflects new growth areas globally.
Wong Poh Kam, director of NUS Enterprise, said on Wednesday that a dynamic ecosystem features a high turnover of tenants, a prominence of young firms (aged two and below), a diversity of firms (in size, activity and maturity), and evolving firm profiles.
Event-tech platform Hapz has raised S$680,000 ($499,595) in seed funding from Cocoon Capital, SPH Media Fund, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture and an angel investor.
The firm said it will use the proceeds to expand its team and build partnerships with merchants and event organisers across verticals and through the region.
A company representative told this portal that the investment rationale behind this for investors lay in it being a new market, with “no existing player in the S.E.A region who can do cross-border experience booking.”
Event platform Hapz has raised seed funding of $680,000 from Cocoon Capital, SPH Media Fund, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture and an angel investor.
SPH Media Fund chief executive Chua Boon Ping said: “We have been involved with Hapz since their early days as it was one of our accelerator start-ups. We like the value propositions that Hapz brings to both merchants and consumers. For consumers, it means getting better deals, powered by Hapz’s dynamic-pricing algorithm. And for merchants, Hapz provides a channel to promote events.”
Have Islamic banking and financial services innovated at the speed they were expected to? Rushdi Siddiqui, mentor at Quest Ventures was invited to comment.
“There are industry insiders who have been making similar arguments for a long time now. Rushdi Siddiqui, who is now Advisor at Wall Street Blockchain Alliance and Mentor at VC firm Quest Ventures, and is an industry veteran, says Islamic finance is deeply linked to oil/commodity prices and hence remains as volatile as price per barrel of oil.
“When oil is $80/barrel, surpluses exist, infrastructure projects are many, banks are lending to SMEs, and non-Muslim countries want part of the petro-liquidity. Conversely, when the price bandwidth is $35-50/barrel, there is a lot of pain for governments, SMEs, banks, and consumerism,” Siddiqui wrote as early as late last year.”
Quest Ventures is pleased to announce that we are now an Accredited Mentor Partner under the Startup SG Founder program after a comprehensive, multi-agency evaluation process.
“The 17 AMPs range across different industries from manufacturing, fintech, digital commerce and medical technologies.
An evaluation panel with representatives from SPRING, National Research Foundation (NRF), Economic Development Board (EDB), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), deliberated on the selection. The AMPs were assessed on a set of criteria which included the track record of management team and quality of development programmes.”
“James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, expounds on the strengths and shortcomings of Singapore startups and the state of the Chinese tech ecosystem.”
“Needless to say, the founders (of Quest Ventures) know first-hand how difficult it is to build and scale a startup sustainably. e27 spoke with Tan, who is currently based in China, to gather his thoughts of the state of Singapore’s tech ecosystem, and how it matches up to the US and China.”
“Since the time that James Tan started Quest Ventures in 2011, it has funded some of the top startups in Southeast Asia including Carousell, 99.co, ShopBack, Ethis, Xfers, and Oddle.me, among many others. It remains focused on startups that have scalability and replicability in large Internet communities.”
“We continue to scan the horizon for the next big thing to bet on. We are usually the first cheque or investment into a tech startup so this means we are unusually forward-looking and can take a long term view on investments that few can,” says James. “Our DNA is deeply entrepreneurial. All our staff are hands-on and work hard side-by-side with entrepreneurs whom we consider part of our family. The Quest family is very close knit.”
The Straits Times asked Quest Ventures’ managing partner, James Tan, for his opinion on the changes surrounding the issuance of H1B work visas for employment in the United States.
Asked if the changes in visa rules and cost will affect tech workers based in the US or force tech workers to reconsider the US as a work destination, James said, “If one qualifies for the visa, why wouldn’t it be worth it to stay on, especially in tech and in the Bay Area? While the visa is important, its cost nonetheless pales against the opportunities and costs of living in the US.”
In a cover story for the ASEAN Edition of the China Daily, Quest Ventures’ James Tan was interviewed along with Edith Yeung of 500 Startups, and Duncan Logan of RocketSpace.
James said, “Before, China was a few years behind the West. Now, it is a few days behind… Chinese money moves faster, is more aggressive and makes decisions more quickly.”
Commenting on the financial front, however, Tan noted that the ‘white hot’ startup scene is headed for a correction in valuation. “You’re already seeing it in India, but it hasn’t occurred in China.”
The Straits Times covered the latest report from Startup Genome and remarked that “perhaps the biggest surprise coming out of a 150-page research report covering 10,000 start-ups and 300 partner companies worldwide is that tiny Singapore has overthrown tech centre Silicon Valley as the world’s No. 1 for start-up talent.”
The Republic also has the sixth-highest percentage of immigrant founders at 35 per cent.
“Singapore is an open society and welcomes entrepreneurs from around the world to create the next big thing here,” said Mr James Tan, managing partner of Asian technology venture fund Quest Ventures.”
Besides Quest Ventures, Dr Alex Lin of SGInnovate, Mr Lim Der Shing of JobsCentral Group and Mr Tiang Lim Foo of SeedPlus were also quoted.
A budget of S$20 million will be set aside under the Startup SG initiative to support first-time entrepreneurs. This was announced by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon on Wednesday (Mar 22) at an event marking the opening of three new blocks at JTC LaunchPad @ one-north.
As Deputy Chairman of ACE and responsible for driving internationalisation, Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan co-hosted the launch and site tour together with Poon Hong Yuen, CEO of SPRING Singapore; Alvin Tan, Assistant CEO of JTC; and other senior representatives.
新加坡政府将拨出2亿元入“起步新加坡投资”计划，用来投资在进行深奥科技的起步公司。政府也拨款2000万元入“起步新加坡创办人”计划，协助首次开办公司者创业。
国家发展部兼贸工部政务部长许宝琨医生今天在纬壹科技城起步谷三座新大楼的入伙庆祝会致词时， 针对在贸工部拨款委员会国会辩论上公布的一系列“起步新加坡”计划做进一步说明。
身为新加坡创业行动社群副主席的求索创投管理合伙人陈中、新加坡标新局总裁、裕廊集团副总裁及其他高级代表联合主持仪式并参观起步谷。
In a wide-ranging report that covered startup ecosystems around the globe, JF Gautheir, Founder and CEO of Startup Genome, said, “our (startup) culture is special and truly global… people who are busy working on their own ideas and organisations frequently take the time to make (introductions, favours, connections)”.
Beijing and Shanghai appeared in the report for the first time, and immediately leaped into 4th and 8th respectively, pushing Singapore to the 12th position from its previous 10th.
Singapore has the 6th highest Percentage of Immigrant Founders in the world at 35%. It also has the 3rd highest level of Global Connectedness of all top 20 ecosystems outperforming even Silicon Valley.
Invited to provide a human perspective to the data, Quest Ventures’ James Tan was quoted: “Singapore is an open society and welcomes entrepreneurs around the world to create the next big thing here.”
Accessing the world of fashion and contemporary culture through an Asian lens, Buro 24/7 interviewed Cafebond.com co-founders Eugene Chen and Keyis Ng.
They described how their experience with great coffee in Melbourne inspired them to go “online to find a way to purchase coffee from Melbourne, only to find out that some cafes do not ship outside of Australia. For those that did, the shipping fees ended up costing more than the bag of beans itself.”
Asked about the “most interesting person” they have met on the job, they answered, “It would be James Tan, the managing partner of Quest Ventures – Cafebond.com’s first investor. James is also one the very first investors to bolster top local start-ups such as Carousell, 99.co, and Burpple. He has been very supportive. Given his wealth of experience, we’ve learnt a lot from him as an investor and mentor.”
Vulcan Post profiles how Singapore start-ups met their first investors, with companies Carousell, Burpple, and 99.co among the interviewees.
“Needless to say, not all investments pay off due to many reasons, but there are some investors who somehow have the Midas touch when it comes to identifying potential successes.”
The common investor across these companies? James Tan of Quest Ventures.
The Straits Times covers a new piece of hardware backed by Quest Ventures.
“Shaped like a disc, weighing a mere 150g and fitting into the palm of your hand, Popsical does not look like the average karaoke machine. But plug it into any sound system and TV and you can be belting out your favourite songs to background music.
Popsical works with a mobile app that contains an ever-expanding music library of more than 30,000 ditties ranging from the classics to the latest hits in more than eight languages including English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Hindi and Thai.
About $475,000 in investments has come from companies such as Quest Ventures, the venture capital firm that backed online marketplace app Carousell.”
The Straits Times asks VCs to round up key developments in 2016 and look ahead to 2017’s biggest trends.
It notes that while the sector has grown immensely, in both breadth and depth amid a maturing venture capital landscape and a rising number of companies displaying regional or global aspirations, it still needs to develop in deep-tech areas like robotics.
“Fintech has been significantly hyped up by the ecosystem. More attention will be put on fintech and on attracting foreign teams to set up in Singapore,” says Mr James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, “There is a push for ‘deeper’ tech but I am not seeing interesting start-ups in areas such as robotics. We need to focus on the areas that are tackling real-life problems in this region, and not just Singapore.”
Quest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan made the list of 23 “influential people” in the technology scene who are putting their marks on the world and making Singapore proud at the same time.
Quest Ventures has “invested heavily in many recognisable tech startups in Singapore, some you have already seen on this list (99.co, Carousell), as well as some others like Shopback, Carro…”
James “has steered Quest Ventures into becoming one of the leading VC firms in both China and Singapore, especially when investing in tech related startups.”
求索创投管理合伙人兼新加坡创业行动社群副主席陈中在美国硅谷举行的首届新加坡日上和新加坡副总理及嘉宾举行了新加坡创业行动社群硅谷分社的成立仪式，并在座谈会上以其他政府机构嘉宾发表讲话。
新加坡副总理兼国家安全统筹部长张志贤在节目里说：“我们很高兴 第一次把新加坡日带到美国西岸。我们也希望让新加坡跟充满活力的旧金山湾区建立关系，因为这里有很多的科技起步公司。”
在新加坡日上，副总理张志贤也为创业行动社群在硅谷所设立的分社举行成立仪式。创业行动社群是一个非牟利组织，通过提供拨款、协助成立联系网络等方式鼓励和推动新加坡起步公司的发展。
创业行动社群执行董事潘俊璁说：“创业行动社群硅谷分社之所以会产生，主要是因为我们向不少起步公司了解到他们处在朝新加坡以外地方拓展的阶段。当他们要在美国设立公司时，他们需要联系网，需要有人帮忙。我们意识到这是一个难题，我们需要已经在这里的新加坡人的帮忙，帮助其他国人来到美国硅谷创业。”
Quest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan was mentioned in this article on the value of an MBA. Dave McClure of 500 Startups was quoted, while Grab founders and public officials were highlighted.
“In the public sector, notable examples include Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing, who was in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 12-month Sloan Fellows programme, as well as Senior Minister of State for Defence Ong Ye Kung, who has an MBA from the Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ms Grace Fu, the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, has an MBA from NUS.
For those interested in joining start-ups or looking for a partner to start one, business school seems like a good place to begin.
Other examples include Grab founders Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling, who met at Harvard Business School and came up with the idea that won them runner-up position in the school’s business plan contest, as well as Mr Roger Egan and Mr Vikram Rupani, who met at Insead and went on to start online grocery service RedMart.
Another success story is Mr James Tan, co-founder of China’s second-largest group buying site 55tuan, now called Wowo.
It listed on Nasdaq last year, raising about US$37.3 million. Mr Tan hit on his winning idea when he went to Tsinghua University in Beijing for a two-year MBA in 2008 and met his four co-founders.”
Quest Ventures’ Managing Partner James Tan was interviewed for his opinion on the recent closure of the Joyful Frog Digital Incubator’s (JFDI) accelerator programme, one of the earliest accelerators in Southeast Asia.
James said that “accelerators provide a ‘soft landing ground’ for start-up founders, and those who fail to build their own start-up would have gained experience for their next venture” and that “through SG-Innovate, there will be more accelerators tackling different verticals.”
Alex Lin, head of Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL); Ken Ng, CEO of insurer NTUC Income; and Lim Kuo-Yi, managing partner of Monk Hill’s Ventures also provided their opinions.
In conjunction with Singapore Day in San Francisco, California on 24 Sep 2016, the ACE Silicon Valley Chapter was launched by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Mr Teo Chee Hean. With this initiative, ACE will be partnering with the Bay Area Tech Singaporeans (BATS) to help Singaporean tech start-ups tap on in-market expertise and networks in the US so as to provide access to the US market with greater ease.
As Deputy Chairman of ACE and responsible for driving internationalisation, Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan, with the chairpersons of BATS and SingaporeConnect, launched the chapter together with DPM Teo.
As students head back to school after the summer break, CNBC Asia interviewed entrepreneurs and investors for their views on education.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma described the education landscape in China and what he wanted to do for education in the rural areas. He was followed by James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures. James described the EdTech landscape in Southeast Asia, the scale of the difference in investments between China and the US, and the opportunity to use technology to level the playing field for students in frontier markets who may not have access to good local education resources.
Watch Over Me has been acquired by Carousell. As the first investor in both companies, Quest Ventures was actively involved in the exit and is delighted with the possibilities that this acquisition brings for both companies.
“Less than a month after raising $35 million in new financing, social commerce and classifieds startup Carousell has made its first acquisition. The Singapore-based company has picked up most of the team from Watch Over Me, a safety app for principally for women that is based in Malaysia, in an acquihire deal that beefs up its engineering chops.”
Quest Ventures managing partner James Tan joins Vishal Harnal of 500 Startups, Arthur Brejon of Lazada Singapore, Rob Finlay of DBS Fintech incubator and Nicolas Chaussin of Aviva on the final day of the 2016 Startup Weekend Singapore to be part of the judging panel.
At his opening remarks, James highlighted the track record of Startup Weekend Singapore in discovering startups that have gone on to great heights, specifically Carousell (started as SnapSell by Startup Weekend participants) and VulcanPost (started by Startup Weekend organisers) that Quest had invested in.
Entrepreneurs should raise capital when it is available and not when it is required. “You want the confidence that you can run your business for the next 12 months at least. You’d be able to give that confidence to your employees… Make sure that you run the business frugally, have enough cash for the next 12 to 18 months, don’t wait till the last minute to raise the next round, in fact if the times are good and even if you have money, go and raise the next round”, says Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder & former CEO of Infosys, and now Partner at Axilor Ventures.
In this segment on funding, CNBC India also spoke with Shashank ND, Co-Founder & CEO of Practo; Girish Mathrubootham, Founder & CEO of Freshdesk; and James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures.
Sneha Banerjee, Senior Correspondent at Entrepreneur India, interviews James Tan for a feature in one of India’s most well-read magazines.
“On the qualities the firm looks for in an entrepreneur, James said that he doesn’t particularly check whether an entrepreneur is a product or a business person because ultimately every founder has to have a team. “No one is an all-rounder. Even Jack Ma has a team behind him. We want to see whether the team members of a startup compliment each other and there must be a little bit of “healthy” competition between so that they drive each other along”, he added.“
The Straits Times interviewed two venture capitalists in China, GGV‘s Jenny Lee based in Shanghai and Quest Ventures’ James Tan based in Beijing, for their thoughts on the funding landscape in China, and the opportunities and risks that are present in this gold rush.
“According to research firm Preqin, private investors had poured around US$26.2 billion (S$35 billion) into 796 Chinese tech firms as of the middle of this month.
Beijing-based James Tan… find Chinese tech firms to be very good at localising new ideas from Silicon Valley and achieving superior results on the mainland.”
Quest Ventures inks co-investment partnership with Cradle Fund, an agency under Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia (Ministry of Finance), becoming a part of the MYR200 million (USD50.92 million) co-investment war chest for Malaysian tech startups.
Firma dana modal teroka, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd bekerjasama dengan enam lagi rakan pelaburan bersama untuk menyokong syarikat permulaan teknologi Malaysia, menjadikan dana pelaburan bersama kini bernilai RM161.2 juta berbanding RM159.2 juta dalam kumpulan kelimanya pada Februari.
Enam rakan kongsi baharu itu dan Quest Ventures — menjadikan Cradle Fund mempunyai 25 rakan pelaburan bersama ekuiti berbanding 19 pada masa ini.
Managing partner James Tan was interviewed by Tech in Asia on execution and going public.
James was the first Singaporean founder in the C-suite to list a Chinese tech company on NASDAQ. This came after several hurdles were crossed, including new Chinese regulations on ownership that affected all foreign-listed entities (eg, Baidu).
Going public with about $1 billion in gross merchandise volume, 55tuan was the first O2O Chinese company to list, and the first tech IPO of a Chinese company on NASDAQ that year.
Cafebond, a new e-commerce startup aims to bring the liveliness of the Australian coffee culture to specialty coffee lovers in Singapore. Their website started taking orders on June 1, and the startup already has plans to penetrate coffee markets in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with the backing of Chinese investment giant Quest Ventures.
An “admittedly intimidating judging panel of industry experts, including Kei Shibata (Venture Republic), David Peller (Booking.com), Brett Henry (AngelVest) and Timothy Hughes (Agoda), Kusumo Martanto (GDP Venture), Steven Vanada (Cyber Agent Ventures), and James Tan (Quest Ventures)”, selected Deepdive as WIT Indonesia’s Start-Up of the Year after several rounds of pitching competition.
求索创投及安芙兰创投，长石资本，泽厚资本等创投机构联合主办走近投资人活动。
#走近投资人#系列活动自2012年11月开展以来，活动城市包括北京、上海、深圳、成都、青岛、烟台等，截至2015年12月，累计200+名投资人（其中合伙人60+名）、120+家知名早期投资机构、2000+个经过筛选的优质早期创业者参加活动现场交流、参加活动的企业中已经有N(N>20)家顺利获得投资。
In this cover story, Quest Ventures Managing Partner, James Tan, tells The Edge Markets what he looks for in startups, why he enjoys kopitiam sessions and why he thinks you should drop out of school if you need to.
“Although small, it has an impressive track record… When selecting start-ups to invest in, Tan says he looks first for ideas that are both scalable and replicable. “We try to differentiate between scale and replication,” he says. “If you go from a $1 million business in Kuala Lumpur to a $10 million business, that’s scale. But to move from KL to Penang, and from Penang to Bangkok, that’s replication. That’s not scaling.”
Quest Ventures-backed SGAG joins Tech In Asia Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. Today SGAG’s content is consumed by over 3 million people weekly across our 6 content distribution platforms with the mission to make every Singaporean’s day a better one. Ask them anything!
Quest Ventures-backed Cafebond named “Most Decorated Booth” at Tech In Asia Singapore 2016, out of 200 aspiring startup booths that exhibited at the Boothstrap Alley.
Before Block 71, before heavy government support, AllDealsAsia was paving the way for startups in Singapore; and now it has been acquired. Co-founder Goh Yiping is a venture partner at Quest Ventures.
Goh Yiping, founding member & CPO of MatahariMall.com and venture partner of Quest Ventures discusses best practices in product management for startups at Echelon 2016 in Jarkata.
Backed by Quest Ventures, Spiking, a home-grown app that gives investors up-to-the-minute information on share trades went live yesterday.
Spiking allows investors to make better sense of spikes in stock prices by sending instant information to their phones on trades made by company directors and substantial shareholders.
Penyelenggara mencari ide-ide terobosan dan menerima pengusaha yang pintar dan cerdas untuk ambil bagian. Ini adalah kesempatan bagi para startup founders untuk dilatih oleh para praktisi dunia digital dan mendapat spotlight pada Konferensi WIT Indonesia 2016.
Adapun juri dari kompetisi ini antara lain James Tan (Managing Partner, Quest Ventures), Steven Vanada (Cyber Agent Ventures Indonesia), Kei Shibata (CEO, Venture Republic, Japan), Kusumo Martanto (COO, GDP Venture).
Quest Ventures’ Associate Director, West China, Cheng Lei joins VC Meetup session at ChinaBang Awards in Chengdu, China. The annual ChinaBang Awards searches for the most promising and valuable startups in China with the aim of founding China’s innovation.
China has always been on the radar scopes of many in the startup industry. Tech In Asia puts together a panel of experts to answer any questions you have about the ecosystem in China. This Online Panel lineup features: James Tan, Managing Partner of Quest Ventures, Rui Ma, and Junde Yu.
Quest Ventures’ analyst joins Asia Beat 2016 as a judge at its startup battle. Asia Beat 2016 gathered over 3000 participants, around hundred Asian startup projects and representatives of numerous investment firms from China and around the world.
Carousell旋轉拍賣是現今東南亞成長最快速且最大的C2C行動拍賣平台之一，由500Startups、QuestVC等多创投的投资，今年3月任命Airbnb前東南亞區域總監蔡家驥為Carousell旋轉拍賣新任國際副總裁。
Carousell為提供用戶更便利、更完整的服務，正式於iOS及Android雙系統同步推出「社團」功能。QuestVC等多家創投公司的投資，致力於建立最佳的社群電商平台，激發更多人開始參與社群拍賣。
Tech in Asia’s top 10 AMA sessions of 2015 included Min-Ling Tan, CEO of Razer, Ajeet Khurana, former CEO of SINE, and James Tan, Managing Partner at QuestVC.
Lin Pingping, Quest Ventures’ Geek-in-Residence talks about Open Network Operating System (ONOS) for business operations at SDNLAB’s Future Network forum.
Burpple, a digital guide to restaurants and cafes in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur has received up to US$6 million (S$8.45 million) to expand into other Asian cities. Launched in 2012 by three Singaporeans, the company’s existing shareholders include Neoteny Labs, Silicon Straits, NUS Technologies Holdings and QuestVC.
Goh Yiping, co-founder and CEO of AllDealsAsia, venture partner of QuestVC, and CPO of MatahariMall.com, joins a panel that includes Ong Peng Tsin of Monk’s Hill Ventures and Teddy Himler of Softbank to discuss everyone’s favourite topic: Indonesia.
James Tan, managing partner of Quest Ventures, titled his talk ‘Winter is coming.’ He said 25% of Chinese startups were funded in just the past year and a half, growth that not only couldn’t continue but that would reverse amid China’s stock market sell-off…
QuestVC analyzes China funding landscape at 8×8 forum organised by Chinaccelerator in Beijing.
Organised by the “China-Singapore (Suzhou) Innovation Center”, the NUS Research Institute – Flex Global Business Plan Challenge held its finals in Suzhou. Finalists tackled smart city issues such as pollution, water resources and IOT. The panel of judges was chaired by QuestVC managing partner James Tan and made up of representatives from the Suzhou government, venture capital firms and Flex.
James Tan, Managing Partner of QuestVC, takes part in Tech In Asia Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. He took questions on his entrepreneurial journey, the startup and investment scene in China and living in China, generating more than 200 comments by the time the session concluded.
求索创投合伙伙伴王赟明，天天投创始人崔鹏，市科委中小型创新基金评审专家司徒晓南，清华经管创业联盟理事会刘勇， IC咖啡创始人胡运旺，91金融创始人兼CEO许泽玮，IT桔子创始人兼CEO为飞翔等纷纷发言。
Jerry Ku, partner at international law firm Gunderson Dettmer, and Chinese venture capital firm QuestVC managing partner James Tan attempted to paint a picture of setting up a business in China. It’s a tougher proposition than Singapore, but one that can be very rewarding due to sheer market size.
Concluding half a year of acceleration and competition in many countries in Europe, Middle East, the US, China and Asia-Pacific, regional finalists gathered at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, to compete in the grand finals of the Global Mobile Challenge. QuestVC managing partner James Tan participated as a jury member together with members of the board of the Applied Innovation Institute (non-profit organiser of the GMC).
After months of grueling competition, Claco Music (Taiwan), Erdo (Taiwan) and Jetbay (China) emerged winners at the inaugural SEAMAC Asia Pacific Mobile App Challenge.
After months of competition, three teams emerged victorious in the inaugural SEAMAC Asia Pacific Mobile App Challenge. The panel of 10 judges who selected the three winners from a field of 26 finalists included Jeffrey Paine, Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures; David Dacus, Founder & CEO of HitPlay; James Tan, Managing Partner of QuestVC…
James Tan, Managing Partner of QuestVC, will talk about how foreign tour operators can share in China’s inbound travel market. China is also the focus of the topic of online marketing.
Managing partner at QuestVC, James Tan discusses how Indonesia can learn from developed startup ecosystems overseas at the Startup Asia Jakarta 2014.
Carousell has raised a series A round worth US$6 million led by prominent venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and investment will be used for expansion into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Early investors include QuestVC and NUS Enterprise.
At Startup Asia Jakarta, managing partner James Tan takes the stage with Rebright Partners and Silicon Valley Asia Technology Alliance.
James Tan said “China is unique but closed” in terms of language and the prohibitions put on the market. But the unique Chinese landscape still holds lessons for Indonesia in terms of localization, as seen with the local success of firms like Alibaba and Baidu.
Managing partner of QuestVC, James Tan, founder of the Silicon Valley Asia Technology Alliance, Sonita Lontoh and founding partner of Rebright Partners venture capital firm, Takeshi Ebihara, will take the stage to discuss the Indonesia tech ecosystem.
DBS launches programme to help start-ups and SMEs grow their business and network across Asia. Start-ups and SMEs can now seek business advice and opportunities across Asia with DBS BusinessClass.
Lim Chu Chong, Head of SME Banking, DBS Bank said, “… fast-growing SMEs need help connecting with investors and experts when they are scaling up their business… we hope to help SME owners build social capital and sharpen their competitive edge.”
QuestVC participates in Ecommerce one to one, sharing the stage with Accel Partners to discuss international e-commerce trends. As the only representative from Asia at the event, managing partner James Tan described the fast-moving landscape in Asia and the challenges and opportunities available.
En Chine, le passage au numérique des secteurs traditionnels continue de manière implacable. Ce qui est hors ligne va passer en ligne. Ce n’est qu’une question de temps.
Venture capitalist James Tan believes local tech enterprises need to think big to thrive.
“It will take more than money to produce the next Google or Facebook, argued Mr Tan. Unwilling to break out of their comfort zone in Singapore, many start-ups fail to think big and move into large markets, such as China or the United States.
Mr Tan should know what he’s talking about… The firm has since expanded – organically and through acquisitions – to almost 4,000 staff across 150 cities.”
Carousell has announced it is partnering with SPH Magazines to launch SheShops Marketplace. With the launch, readers will be able to shop for over 20,000 brand new or pre-loved items.
Due to growth needs, pains, and challenges, China policy is fueling entrepreneurship at a massive scale and with intense competition. According to James Tan, GEL speaker and Managing Partner of QuestVC, Beijing is…
The Singapore event had nine teams competing for the prizes, supported by local partners such as InfoQ, SegmentFault, QuestVC, and World Wildlife Federation (WWF).
QuestVC’s Managing Partner, James Tan, provided the following quote to The Business Times on encouraging entrepreneurship in Singapore.
“While there have been many new start-ups, our biggest weakness seems to be the inability of the businesses to scale up. Perhaps it is a general lack of global exposure – not perceiving how small the Singapore market is, not appreciating the vast potential of markets beyond our shores and a lack of understanding in how to enter these markets. We need to enable aspiring entrepreneurs to plan their business with scale in mind.
We should also give our youth more prolonged global exposure during student exchanges, study tours and overseas internship stints, and let them network with successful Singaporeans there.”
The Baidu Open Cloud Hackathon is organised by the Baidu Developers Club and co-organised by QuestVC and SegmentFault. The event takes places in the key cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Taipei and Singapore.
Mentorship forms another cornerstone of the capabilities of China’s incubators. Chinaccelerator incubator has more than 60 mentors, among them James Tan, founder and Managing Director of the leading Chinese venture-capital firm QuestVC.
“Powerful mentors are rare in China,” says Josh Ong, tech-industry watcher for The Next Web site. “Guidance and insight to aid a start-up in overcoming challenges are some of the most important services an incubator can provide. It helps start-ups understand the value they can bring to the ecosystem.” Having world-class mentors onboard also boosts the incubator’s prestige, helping it to build its own products and brand, Ong adds.
Due to growth needs, pains, and challenges, China policy is fueling entrepreneurship at a massive scale and with intense competition. According to James Tan, GEL speaker and Managing Partner of QuestVC, Beijing’s Zhongguancun area next to Tsinghua, is the…
本期“走近投资人”沙龙邀请到的是求索创投管理合伙人陈中。作为有着丰富投资经验的新加坡VC管理者，陈中直接了当介绍了今年的投资方向、投资流程及成功案例，紧接着各创业团队争相将自己的项目情况、业务模式做了进一步介绍，希望引起风投的兴趣。
Backed by Quest Ventures, Burpple, the social discovery app that seeks to connect food lovers from around the world, just released their Android app in public beta.
3 real startups (Frogo, Mashup and Kailoo), currently at a fundraising stage, and 3 real VCs (QuestVC, ZhenFund and Phillip Chow) helps out at SLP workshop.
下午在网络点亮生活高峰论坛上，华视传媒VP朱华慈、新意互动移动互联网营销部总经理王甡、求索创投CEO陈中、31会议网CEO万涛、91无线高级市场总监郭云以及泰山兄弟&泰山天时创始合伙人陈亮一起就“互联网企业怎样转向移动互联网”、“下一阶段移动互联网创业趋势”发表了自己的观点。
Food journaling and discovery app Burpple has released its new Burpple Camera, which features six filters specifically designed to enhance photos of food and a tilt-shift blur effect.
iSTART项目携饱贝食记、新旋律、LittleLives、人力才酷、门徒游戏以及思募等10余家年轻活力的初创企业登陆中国，求索创投的创始人陈中被选为[email protected]项目的导师之一，他同时也是窝窝团的联合创始人。
Social food diary, Burpple, receives US$500,000 in funding, led by Neoteny Labs together with QuestVC. Burpple, the social food diary app, today announced their latest funding leg by Neoteny Labs together with QuestVC to the tune of US$500,000…
据国外媒体报道，开发出同名iPhone美食分享应用的新加坡Burpple公司种子轮获得50万美元融资，本轮领投者为Neoteny Labs，参与者为中国的求索创投（QuestVC）。
James Tan, from QuestVC in China, one of the jury members, added: “Waytag is a brilliant yet simple solution to improve how people interact and navigate on smartphones, it is much easier to use a unique one word address to find someone than a 5 line address…
我们在iSTART项目中提供的最重要的支持环节就是导师，我们选择的导师通常都是在目标市场有着非常丰富的经验以及关系网，例如我们iSTART项目在北京的导师之一—求索创投的陈中。。。
Veteran Straits Times reporter Grace Chng interviews James Tan. “To take on the giant Chinese market, it might be best for a Singaporean entrepreneur to start as a student. That is the advice of Mr James Tan, 37, co-founder of China’s second largest group-buying site, 55tuan. Today, 55tuan.com has eight-figure US revenue per month, with double-digit growth month-on-month… 55tuan.com sells a variety of things, such as beauty and travel products and clothes. It employs 3,900 workers and has expanded to 150 cities.”
iSTART项目导师之一、求索创投(QuestVC)创始人及管理合伙人陈中先生表示：“希望能够与年轻一辈的初创企业家们分享自己对市场的认知以及相关的创业经验，在为初创企业家们照亮前行道路的同时，也能促进中新两国在资讯通信产业方面更多元的合作和交融。”
投资人观点：他们如何看待和选择本地生活服务企业。每次17Startup沙龙，我们都会邀请关注该细分领域的投资人一起参加，分享他们关于这个行业的看法，以及他们会从哪些方面来看待这个领域的创业公司，这次我们邀请了4位投资人，一起来看看：求索创投陈中：1）获取用户的能力；2）获取商户的能力；3）商业的设定和赚钱。
“ACE Beijing provides a ‘by Singaporeans, for Singaporeans’ softlanding platform where mentors and entrepreneurs can sharpen their ideas and execution, thus improving their chances of success. We hope to eventually replicate this model in other cities,” says Mr James Tan, Chairperson of the ACE Overseas Chapter sub-committee.
James Tan, managing partner at QuestVC, signed the agreement on behalf of ACE as his role in chairman for internationalization.
“Singapore’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship Overseas Chapter in Beijing (ACE Beijing Chapter) recently announced collaborations… to provide China-bound Singapore entrepreneurs greater access to opportunities in Beijing and China.
James Tan… signed Letters of Intent on 4th July with the Managing Director of HDC, Du Peng, and the Director President of Coway, Dr Tan Hongxin. Singapore’s Minister for Education Mr Heng Swee Keat was also present at the occasion as a Guest-of-Honour.
Alongside him was Singapore Minister of State for Trade and Industry and ACE Chairman, Teo Ser Luck. The signing ceremony was attended by representatives from ACE, Tsinghua University, HDC and Coway, as well as the China and Singapore business communities.”
QuestVC managing partner James Tan joins Jeff Clavier of SoftTech VC and Ali Partovi, co-founder of iLike & LinkExchange and an angel investor in Dropbox; and other notable investors and entrepreneurs at the IE Venture Day held in Madrid, Spain.
This week, we talked to James Tan from QuestVC, a venture capitalist firm based in China. QuestVC is China’s leading seed to angel fund for technology companies that have scalability and replicability in large internet communities. The founders…
Willis Wee spoke with James Tan, the co-Founder of 55tuan who we have written about before and managing partner at QuestVC. James discussed his own experiences going to China to do business there, and explained that while his experience there has been a fruitful one so far, that it can often be an arduous process for foreign startups to adjust to the market there.
Our guest speaker, as well as a Jury member for the event will be Mr. James Tan, a well-known Angel investor based in Beijing and Singapore who will address the group on Startup Activity in China.
Willis Wee: I’m a keen admirer of James Tan. Many of you guys in Singapore might not know him because he is making his fortune in the big pond, China.
I don’t exactly like the group buy model or the clones either. But James and his fellow founders appear to have executed well in order to become one of the largest in China. As we’ve said before, quite often success hinges on the execution rather than the idea.
Regardless, James has done what most of us haven’t. He got out of tiny Singapore and plunged himself into China. While many Singaporeans still hold a skeptical view about the Chinese market, James was one of the first movers in the tech space to have made it there. So, there’s a load of experience which James can share with us and I’m excited to have him on board with us at Startup Asia Singapore.
