2016

2016 Dec 27

Large corporates raise the game

The Straits Times

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.”

2016 Nov 09

23 influential people in tech putting Singapore on the world map

Vulcan Post

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.”

2016 Oct 28

人在旧金山，心系新加坡

新传媒前线追踪

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。”

2016 Oct 16

To do an MBA or not, that is the question

The Sunday Times

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.”

2016 Oct 03

As JFDI pivots to corporate sector, does the start-up scene need to do the same?

The Edge Singapore

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.

2016 Sep 24

ACE Silicon Valley Chapter to help Singapore tech start-ups tap into US networks and in-market expertise

Various

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.

2016 Sep 16

Back to School – Views from Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Quest Ventures’ James Tan and others on Asia’s appetite for education

CNBC Asia

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.

2016 Sep 01

Mobile classifieds startup Carousell makes first acquisition weeks after raising $35M

TechCrunch

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.”

2016 Jul 24

Startup Weekend Singapore draws huge interest from aspiring entrepreneurs

Startup Weekend

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.

2016 Jul 07

YT Start-Up Deal Tracker: The Fight For Funds

CNBC

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.