Ask A VC: Key Takeaways from Jeff Paine of Golden Gate Ventures
For our 19th Silicon Global Online episode, Ask a VC Anything, our featured guest was Jeff Paine, a founding partner at Golden Gate Ventures, which focuses on internet and mobile startups across a variety of sectors in Southeast Asia. In our conversation with Paine, we discussed hot spots for startups in the Southeast Asia region, his firm's wide investment span, and the changing dynamic for startup ideas in the US and China.
Key Takeaways:
Online conversation with VC Jeff Paine and Rebecca Fannin, host of Silicon Global Online, October 22, 2020.
Investment Trends: Less Copying from US
Paine noted that he is seeing less copying of American ideas and more copying of Chinese ideas. This is a reversal of a trend that was in place a decade ago, when Silicon Valley-style startups were copied in China and elsewhere in Asia.
China’s Dragons Enter SE Asia
Chinese tech titans began entering Southeast Asia a few years ago, partly to expand in new markets but also as a reaction to growing tensions in the U.S. again China investment in tech startups and emerging companies with leading edge technologies.
Covid-19 Impact on
Tech Sectors
Hot sectors right now include education and healthcare due in part to the acceleration of growth trends stemming from Covid-19.
Missed Opportunity on
WhatsApp?
Paine noted that he’s seen companies in places such as Brazil create businesses around groups on WhatsApp, the ubiquitous messaging app owned by Facebook that claims to support a whopping 2 billion users worldwide. He expressed surprise that we haven’t seen companies in specific countries formed around WhatsApp groups. He implored entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity to leverage WhatsApp groups.
Startup Hierarchy of
Southeast Asia: Indonesia
As the country with the largest population, Paine sees Indonesia as the top regional market for startups. Vietnam is not far behind, as Paine was quick to note the country’s impressive Covid-19 response and large population of Korean expats who help to keep the economy buzzing. Paine called Vietnam the most dynamic country in Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia,
Making the Stops
Golden Gate
Ventures’ focus on Southeast Asia extends to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. But the firm also invests in companies
from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the U.S. if their businesses can tap Southeast
Asia. Startups across a wide variety of
mobile and internet sectors that have expansion potential in the region are
favored.
Average Check Size
Golden Gate Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A, and
Bridge rounds, with typical investments ranging from US $1 million to $5
million. Co-investors are welcomed who can add value and are open to leading or
following other investors in the round.
A Wide Scope of Market Sectors
Paine makes it a point to emphasize the wide area of sectors
that Golden Gate Ventures targets as investment sectors. The fund’s portfolio
contains companies from education, logistics, e-commerce, marketplaces, mobile,
fintech, SaaS, entertainment, and media.
Bio:
Jeff Paine is a Co-founder and Managing Partner at Golden
Gate Ventures, an early stage technology venture capital fund based in
Singapore investing in internet and mobile startups in Southeast Asia. Golden
Gate Ventures has over $175 million under management and has invested in 35
companies since 2012. Jeff is particularly
interested in startups in fintech, consumer internet, marketplaces, mobility,
education, healthcare, greentech, B2B SaaS and content
distribution platforms.
Paine has been the Director at The Founder Institute of
Singapore since 2010 and is currently overseeing its expansion in Southeast
Asia and Japan. The Founder Institute
is a global network of startups and mentors that has helps entrepreneurs launch
great technology companies internationally. Since 2010, The Founder Institute
in Singapore Paine has led has graduated more than 100 companies.
Paine is a Singapore native and holds a Bachelors of
Business Administration (Information Systems) from the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles.
-- Submitted by Mike Weiss, a contributor to Silicon Dragon
