2020

Deal Street Asia

Singapore-based venture capital firm Quest Ventures expects to hold the final close of its $50-million fund in March 2021, according to a top executive of the firm.

The vehicle, which targets early-stage digital startups across Southeast Asia, scored its first close in April 2020. Limited partners (LPs) comprising Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund subsidiary QazTech Ventures and multiple family offices and entrepreneurs have committed more than half of the fund’s target corpus.

“Southeast Asia and India are still where we and the LPs continue to see the growth is in,” James Tan, managing partner at Quest Ventures, told DealStreetAsia in a recent interview.

“Key markets for us are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. The rest of Southeast Asia will be what we call secondary markets,” he added.

Geographically, the Singapore VC firm has a strong focus on Vietnam, where it has set aside $10 million to invest in early-stage startups. Tan said that Quest Ventures has been evaluating at least 80-100 deals on a monthly basis.

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KrASIA

Jeffrey Seah is partner for Fund II Asia at Quest Ventures, a leading venture fund for technology companies that have scalability and replicability in large internet communities. Prior to this, Jeffrey co-founded a transformation advisory partnership with services in go-to-market, corporate venture capital, digital transformation and corporate reorganization strategy & implementation for Asia-based MNCs. Before that, Jeffrey was CEO, Southeast Asia and chair, Asia Digital Leadership Team of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG).

KrASIA (Kr): Hi Jeff, I know that you came from an advertising background. How did you jump from the ad space to the venture capital space?

Jeffrey Seah (JS): The advertising and marketing world used to be the original place for disruption. Everyone tries to get the big brands to try new things, but often they don’t speak the same language. The older, established folks will say, “Hey, we’ve got this process running. Everything’s perfect, but the new guys will say that they’ve got this new way of doing things.” You try to get them to understand each other. In that way, there was a genesis of understanding disruption, and over the years, I gave a lot of projects to new geek outfits—today, they’re called startups.

As a result of those years, I learned how to guide startups on how to speak properly, so as not to offend older, established folks. Through that, I became an angel investor. Along the way, many VCs started asking me to join because they wanted me to use their startups. So it was all the same thing, just in a different form.

Kr: With your background in advertising and marketing and disruption, how are you helping entrepreneurs create a more authentic brand and voice?

JS: Everyone needs to be authentic and real. You need to see the sweat, the messy hair, and people in frustration trying to get things done. This is today’s brand. Many startups believe strongly in what they can do, but some push themselves as if they are the best thing since sliced bread. Communication is very important. It’s not about marketing or branding. It’s just about simple communication—What are the real benefits you bring to the table? Many fail to address the unmet needs of the market. If you run a process of trying to understand people through focus groups, you’re getting the answers you want to hear. You’re not getting the real stuff.

Many times, when startups go to the market, they don’t really feel the real need. So when they pitch a product, it is either too early or too late. You have to be very genuine, and tell people what you are all about and what your benefits are. These benefits are real needs that many people want. Because they want and need, they will understand the value. With the value, they will give you the value-based pricing, which will give the real margin. You need to have a very good awareness of yourself and the outside world, and be able to see the changes, not just push your agenda.

Kr: How do you bring your global perspective of evaluating startups to Quest Ventures?

JS: The world today is a lot more globalized. Especially after COVID-19, I think the world has changed, and everyone has new skills. One of the best things I learned from working at multinational companies is to not see [a market] as a market, but as a society or a community. How do you customize your product for all the different communities and societies in the world? That’s a challenge. Only when you have both a gut view and an empirical feel of all the markets that you go to, will you understand how to run a business across the world. Learning to transcend both values and economic consumption is probably one of my [more important] lessons. To do that, I learned about the power of geography and psychology. I think the world goes through trends, like bubble tea. As I moved across, I realized that there are many ways to skin a cat. With that kind of experience, I tell startups: don’t expect the world to welcome you. Be part of the world, be authentic.

Kr: Can you talk about the relationship building that you build as a VC?

JS: The mission of venture capital has always been to maximize return on investment (ROI), but the journey to the ROI is very different. Sometimes the ROI that is created is not just financial ROI, but a lot of social good too. Many of the unicorns in Southeast Asia, like Gojek, had a very social ROI. They brought a lot of people real employment. You have to understand the motivation behind the founders, and along the way is a journey of them fulfilling a potential. At Quest, we build our ecosystem structures and conduct a lot of mentorship sessions. We are very good at early childhood development on a startup, and we coach and guide people, but we don’t spoon-feed them. We arm them with skills and [knowledge] about the world to fulfill their potential. The challenge for a lot of startups is always to maintain what they originally stand for. The raison d’être of the business must always remain. We like to see founders that are able to carry their values and do responsible, scalable, and profitable business. Then, ROI will come.

Kr: At Quest Ventures, how are you bringing those values in relationship-building internally within the company, not just your portfolio companies?

JS: Values must be believed in and espoused every day. At that time, [the founders of Quest] started the value of Quest being about this journey of improvement. Over the years, this thinking got developed more holistically and comprehensively and became more multifaceted. Quest built a famous intern system where we have a lot of people coming through and we expect to see values from all of them. Sometimes you get disappointed. Sometimes you get over-excited because they’re so much better than us. We have the belief that everyone has potential that’s even better than us. We’re always looking for people that are better than us to help build on the values. If you get the right people in, the values get stronger. It becomes a movement, an energy, that drives the system. Our partners in different markets think the same way as us, from Vietnam to the Philippines, to Kazakhstan. We realize that some of these values of disruption, growth, and respect are actually quite universal. I think Quest values are a summation of everyone that went through it, not just the founders, and definitely not just me.

Kr: What personal values do you hold closely that you hope to see and translate over in the companies that you’re investing in right now?

JS: One of the biggest things I ask from myself and companies is respect for non-living things. Many societies have many trends and movements—they’re not living. They don’t call out to you and say that they’re a trend. But if you have that kind of awareness and humility to understand [what is going on] around you, you will sense and seize market size much better than most people. In the marketing and advertising world, every day I see ten new guys coming to sell me some kind of “BS.” But I know that one of these things will become the next big thing. So I make sure that I spend time with all ten and hear them out because that’s the purpose of disruption. Those two values remain important to me: Stay humble while you’re aware, and allow yourself some vulnerability to accept things that you don’t know. I tell that to startup founders: If you really want to expand out of your comfort zone, you need to drop that shell. In your actual thinking, you must have humility and show some vulnerability to yourself at the least.

Kr: These are all great takeaways for anyone listening to this podcast, especially those who are looking to become a more values-driven company. Thanks for your great insight. For those reading, you can get in touch with Quest Ventures for your business idea by emailing [email protected].

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联合早报

我国起步公司的生态，已从第一代以数码科技和互联网平台为主，进入到多元化的阶段。

贸工部长陈振声昨天谈到他对本地起步公司生态的观察时说，起步公司更加多元化，若能以起步企业作为新加坡经济的新引擎，我国经济体系接下来将更有韧性。

不同起步公司生态的代表，昨天也同贸工部长陈振声和人力部长杨莉明，参与了记者会。

创业行动社群（ACE）主席兼求索创投（Quest Ventures）合伙人陈中说，由创新推动的企业需要集合五个元素，即企业家、合作、大学、风险资本（risk capital）和政府，才能取得成功。

他指出，我国风险资本存在的风险很多都因政府措施减缓或去除，例如资金配对和加强版的起新—先锋计划等。本地也是蓬勃的创投与私募基金枢纽，培养许多“独角兽”。此外，政府也积极参与和推动起步公司生态。

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The Straits Times

More cash is on hand to help first-time entrepreneurs get their business ideas off the ground and generate jobs amid the pandemic.

They can apply for capital grants of $50,000, up from $30,000 now as part of enhancements to the Startup SG Founder programme.

The changes also include a three-month venture building scheme to help new firms get their innovative ideas up and running.

The enhancements were detailed by Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing and Manpower Minister Josephine Teo during a visit to The Greenhouse, Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

They follow Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s announcement on Monday that $150 million has been set aside to bolster the Startup SG Founder programme.

The programme, which is overseen by government agency Enterprise Singapore (ESG), began in 2017 to provide mentorship and start-up capital grants to first-time entrepreneurs with innovative ideas.

Mr James Tan, chairman of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship, a private sector-led organisation, noted that more fresh graduates want to form start-ups so the venture building programme will provide a structure where they can address specific problems.

“This… potentially massive group of people are going to be funnelled through the venture building programme and (they can) focus (their) energies on solutions that are actually a problem to solve, and not create something that the world is not looking for,” he added.

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The Business Times

ENTERPRISE Singapore (ESG) will raise the grant support of the Startup SG Founder programme to S$50,000 from September onwards, in order to help extend the runway for startups to develop their business ideas in a challenging business climate, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Thursday.

This follows Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s announcement on Monday, where he said the government will pump up to S$150 million into the programme to continue spurring innovation and entrepreneurship during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aspiring entrepreneurs may apply through the universities’ call applications on their websites – which will be up by end-August – following which appointed accredited mentor partners (AMPs) will filter applicants based on the uniqueness of their business concept, feasibility of business model, strength of management team and potential market value.

AMPs under the programme include deep-tech talent investor Entrepreneur First, venture capital firm Quest Ventures and the SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IIE).

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CNA

SINGAPORE: The grant support for first-time start-up entrepreneurs will be raised to S$50,000, as part of enhancements to a support programme aimed at spurring more new innovative start-ups in Singapore.

The Startup SG Founder programme will also have a three-month venture building programme to groom aspiring entrepreneurs, said Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Thursday (Aug 20).

These details come after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his ministerial statement on Monday that up to S$150 million will be pumped into the Startup SG Founder programme, as part of efforts to continue to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in Singapore.

Making the announcement during a visit to an incubation centre at the Singapore Management University on Thursday, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said: “We are determined to grow a new generation of companies from Singapore to serve not just the Singapore market, but also the regional and global markets.

“In every crisis, there are always opportunities for us to grow a new generation of companies. And this crisis is no different.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has accelerated some of its initiatives to help local start-ups grow and penetrate new markets, he added.

Mr Chan said Singapore now has a very vibrant start-up scene, with several encouraging developments in recent years including a more diverse range of start-ups beyond Internet platforms and the hiring of both young and mature workers.

According to the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), Singapore now has 3,600 tech start-ups employing about 18,000 people across various industries.

Many of these start-ups are formed in the last five years, said ACE chairman James Tan.

The “very vibrant ecosystem” also includes about 150 venture capital firms and 100 incubators, he added.

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Vulcan Post

Many know Low Ser En as an award-winning filmmaker. After all, she was the first Singaporean to win a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) award in 2018 for her animated short film Poles Apart.

She has also produced local movies and TV shows like Zombiepura and Fried Rice Paradise, and coordinated visual effects (VFX) for Hollywood films like Godzilla, The Exodus and The Muppets.

The 30-year-old Prestige 40 Under 40 awardee has since channelled her storytelling skills to Sendjoy, a startup that she founded right before the circuit breaker took place this year.

Since the startup’s launch in mid-June, the number of talents on the platform has grown from 20 to 70.

Artistes on the platform range from household names like Gurmit Singh and Nat Ho, to people with unique talents like illustrators, artists, designers and magicians.

There has also been a steady 10 per cent week-on-week growth in the number of videos booked.

The startup has also joined Quest Ventures as a portfolio company in June.

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CUFIS

The Cambridge University Finance & Investment Society – CUFIS – the largest finance and investment society at the University of Cambridge, did an interview with Quest Ventures James Tan.

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In our third episode, Zhou Yang interviews Quest Ventures, a leading venture capital fund in Asia that has invested in some of the region’s most successful start-ups, including Carousell, a ecommerce platform currently valued at $850 million dollars.

Before founding Quest Ventures, Mr James Tan was an entrepreneur himself, having founded Wowo, a Nasdaq listed platform. In this episode, James shares his insights on the current climate of venture capital and advice for students keen on a career in VC.

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Marketing Magazine

Marketing Magazine interviews Quest Ventures Jeffrey Seah on his life after a successful advertising career.

Before he was a venture capitalist, Jeffrey was CEO of Southeast Asia & Chairman, Asia Digital Leadership Team, Starcom MediaVest Group. He brings decades of experience and relationships to portfolio companies looking for go to market strategies.

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KrASIA

Vietnam, with its young and tech-savvy population, is part of Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance network.

“Vietnam’s startup scene is now moving into the globalization stage.” Quest Ventures’ managing partner James Tan told the audience at Enterprise Singapore’s first SG Innovation Community Day that companies of the young and dynamic country are now looking for global scale. Quest Ventures partnered with Enterprise Singapore in the “Global Innovation Alliance” to connect Southeast Asian startups with the ecosystem in Vietnam.

At the event, Tan introduced Quest’s Vietnam Global Innovation (VGI) program for post-seed and Series A-stage startups. Michelle Ng, Senior Associate of Quest Ventures, is shedding some more light on the initiative responding to KrASIA’s questions.

KrASIA (Kr): You just kicked off your acceleration program for post-seed and Series A-stage startups in the Vietnamese market. What excites Quest Ventures about Vietnam? Why should the startups be excited?

Michelle Ng (MN): Vietnam is one of the most dynamic emerging economies in Southeast Asia. Its robust economy is supported by strong domestic demand and an export-oriented manufacturing sector. It has a population of 100 million with 70% below the age of 35. It has an emerging middle class that stands at 13% and is expected to reach 26% within ten years.

A tech-savvy population coupled with a propensity to spend provides many opportunities and challenges to solve for tech startups expanding in the region. Startups are excited about accessing the hottest economy of Southeast Asia, one of the fastest growing digital economies, with opportunities for startups in the e-commerce, software outsourcing, AI, fintech, and healthtech space.

Kr: Who can apply?

MN: Quest Ventures is looking for all tech startups and SMEs which (1) have an MVP, with existing customers and partners; (2) are at seed stage and beyond in terms of funding raised; (3) are strong in MAU, GMV, or revenue traction and (4) have the potential to address market needs in Vietnam and the region.

Kr: Please guide us through the program that the selected startups will run through. What can they expect and what are pitfalls they should prepare for?

MN: Quest Ventures supports startups through a wide network of mentors and domain experts. Startups will also have access to high quality and comprehensive online training module topics, and—if global health situation allows—an in-market immersion in Vietnam to maximize exposure and establish long-term partnerships between startups and ecosystem players. In our experience managing market access programs, the most common pitfall is a lack of understanding of the market, followed by a lack of support network. The VGI changes these dynamics and places startups on better footing to begin their exploration of the market.

Kr: Many e-commerce startups have been very successful during the pandemic. Aside from e-commerce, do you see any other sectors that might offer promising products for the Vietnamese market and why?

MN: We see excitement in sectors such as logistics and supply chain. These are also closely linked to the digital economy which we focus on. Examples include PostCo that Quest Ventures introduced to the Vietnam market. They have partnered with Sendo, one of the big four marketplaces in Vietnam, and even during COVID-19, are on track to outperform.

Kr: At the event you mentioned that you were still looking for strong partners out of Singapore for this program. Who can be a partner? How can they help and what are the benefits?

MN: Quest Ventures is looking for corporations and individuals who are key in driving entrepreneurship and innovation in Vietnam. They can help by working with our highly innovative startups to bring them into Vietnam through mutually beneficial partnerships. Benefits to them would be to be plugged into the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem and innovation.

KrASIA is a media partner of the SG Innovation Community Day.

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