Bit Santos listens to Joan Yao of Kickstart Ventures, as she shares her 12-year experience navigating the highs and lows of the startup ecosystem. Learn how founders can foster success through founder selection, strategic patience and the art of adapting to financial winters and tough economic climates.

The startup journey is an exhilarating ride of ups and downs especially in the bustling Philippine ecosystem. In the latest episode of Conversations Over Coffee, Bit is joined by Joan Yao, VP of Investments at Kickstart Ventures and who has been a cornerstone of the ecosystem for over a decade, to dive deep into what it takes to build a thriving business amidst the unique challenges faced by startup founders.

As Kickstart Ventures celebrates its 12th anniversary, the podcast episode kicks off with a reflective look at the elements that contribute to startup success. Bit and Joan’s discussion highlights the pivotal role of founder selection, the critical “four Ts” of Timing, Technology, Team and Total Addressable Market (TAM), and the remarkable resilience demonstrated by companies like Wattpad and ZAP. 

Episode Highlights:

• The resilience and adaptability required for startups to succeed.
• The importance of selecting the right founders as it is both crucial and challenging, emphasizing on learning from each interaction with founders and the necessity of investing in the right team.
• The evolution of founders and their ventures and the need for self awareness and courage to bring in external expertise for business growth. 
• Insights into the adaptability required of founders to shift between wartime and peacetime leadership are revealed, underlining the art of nurturing not just a product but an entire organizational culture.
• Strategies for startups to become “default alive” through pragmatic decision making in tough economic climates are tackled focusing on cash flow management and the difference between revenue and actual cash.

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Bit Santos engages in conversation with Pia Bernal from Kickstart Ventures, delving into the dynamic landscape of Philippine startups, the process of nurturing development via community involvement and the influential part that investors assume that extends past monetary support.

Immerse yourself in the intricacies of startup community development and investor relations with guest Pia Bernal, who leads Community and Ecosystem Initiatives at Kickstart Ventures, on this episode of Conversations Over Coffee. Bit discusses with Pia the critical contributions of community builders in the realm of startups and businesses. Drawing from her extensive experience in both the nonprofit and corporate worlds, Pia shares her insights on cultivating startup communities and their significance in the dynamic entrepreneurial landscape of the Philippines. 

Progressing from a foundational role assisting founders to orchestrating community initiatives, Pia uncovers the critical role that communities play in enhancing a firm’s expansion, market entry and prominence. They tackle the startup ecosystem’s fluid progression and the progressively calculated participation of investors. They examine the shifting requirements of startups as they progress from their nascent stages to Series A and B financing, influencing the manner in which investors and community figureheads join forces to foster value creation.

Episode Highlights:

• The journey of Pia Bernal from advocacy to leading community and ecosystem initiatives.
• The transformative role of community spaces in a startup’s market presence.
• How investor engagement evolves as startups scale.
• The Philippine market’s appeal to venture capitalists and international fun

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Bit Santos, Bettina Capistrano and Kendrick Ong take you through the dynamics of early stage funding and investment in this vibrant region. Get an insider’s view on the technical due diligence process, the importance of product market fit and the weight of a team’s promise delivery in investment decisions.

Shownotes

Prepare to be immersed in the bustling world of Southeast Asia’s startup scene in this episode of Conversations Over Coffee. Bit Santos, together with Bettina Capistrano and Kendrick Ong, both Senior Investment Analysts at Kickstart Ventures, Inc, unlock the secrets of pre-seed and seed investments. Kickstart Ventures is a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, a telecommunications company, and it plays a crucial role in nurturing and supporting a dynamic community of technopreneurs in the Philippines. 

They discuss the complexities of evaluating the total addressable market for these startups, considering the market’s structure and the presence of dominant players. Bettina shares the process of investment based on her personal encounter with a startup pitch. They also delve into the necessity for substantial infrastructure and robust security measures, ensuring our innovations are both powerful and protected. 

Episode Highlights:

• How pre-seed and seed investments in Southeast Asia's startup landscape showcase distinctive dynamics
• The significance of early-stage investments in Southeast Asia, considering the region’s relatively young startup ecosystem.
• The technical due diligence process for early-stage startups, including assessing the product-market fit and the team’s ability to deliver.
• Evaluating the total addressable market for startups and considering the market’s structure and presence of dominant players.
• The power of human connections in the pitching process and its influence on investment decisions.
• Emerging concepts and innovations in the Southeast Asian startup scene, with a focus on the Internet of Things.
• The necessity for substantial infrastructure and robust security measures in advancing technological innovations.

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Mike Maté talks about how agri-tech and food tech innovations can help solve rice shortages and enhance food security in the Philippines. They discuss increasing agricultural yields, technology's societal impact, startup solutions for societal issues, and the future of technology for a more prosperous society.

Shownotes

In this episode of Conversations Over Coffee, Bit Santos sits down for a conversation with Mike Maté, a venture capitalist affiliated with Kickstart Ventures. Kickstart Ventures is a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, a telecommunications company, and it plays a crucial role in nurturing and supporting a dynamic community of technopreneurs in the Philippines. They explore how agri-tech and food tech innovations can address rice shortages and food security in the Philippines. This includes enhancing rice yields with efficient farming technologies like SariSuki and considering gene editing and nuclear fusion for food and energy challenges. 

Mike also discusses his background in law and finance and his shift into venture capital, emphasizing the significance of trust in startups with transformative ideas.  

Episode Highlights:

• Rice shortages and the role of agri-tech and food tech innovations in addressing the issue.
• The importance of increasing yield in rice production and the potential of agri-tech solutions.
• The potential impact of technology on addressing fundamental societal problems such as food security and energy.
• The importance of belief in startups and their solutions to overcome challenges and make a positive impact.
• The concept of a future that is prosperous, connected, and longer-lived, and the potential of breakthrough technologies in achieving this vision.

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Jason Ramirez shares his journey, beginning with studying accounting and progressing to equity research at UBS. He later became an Investment Associate at Kickstart Ventures. He also reveals how his family business involvement and tech investment interest sparked his curiosity for the Philippine startup scene, eventually leading him to join Kickstart Ventures.

Shownotes

In this engaging episode of Conversations Over Coffee, Bit Santos sits down with Jason Ramirez, a seasoned Senior Associate at Kickstart Ventures. Through a candid conversation, they delve into Jason's intriguing career journey and his pivotal role within the startup ecosystem. Despite feeling inadequate at first, he immersed himself in the world of investing and eventually joined Kickstart Ventures. 

Jason shares his insights on the startup community, emphasizing the significance of taking risks and pursuing one's passion. Tune in to gain invaluable insights from his journey through the dynamic world of startups, where risks become opportunities and passions take flight.

Episode Highlights:

• The crucial factors that determine the success and investability of a company: the size of the opportunity and the potential for growth.

• Rapid growth often means needing less capital for the same or quicker results.

• The importance of having investors whose interests are strictly aligned with the company.

• The ripple effect of shifting interest rates is particularly evident in the valuation multiples of high-growth, non-profitable tech companies.

• Valuation is not the sole determinant of a company's worth.

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In this episode of Conversations Over Coffee, host Bit Santos sits down with Jecky, the legal director at Kickstart Ventures. They tackle Jecky’s role within the company and his responsibilities. He also shares some of his ideas and perceptions into deal documentation, legal diligence, and giving support to portfolio companies. Stay tuned to be in the know of the inside and out of the legal aspects of the Philippine startup ecosystem.

Shownotes

Conversations Over Coffee podcast host, Bit Santos, welcomes Jecky Pelaez, Kickstart's Legal Director and member of the investment team. Jecky details his role at Kickstart, the transition he had from practicing law to working at a VC firm, and the legal considerations for startups in the Philippines. They also delve into various ways on how to raise capital, including convertible notes and safe notes. He stresses the significance of mastering equity dilution and keeping up a healthy balance between investor equity and other stakeholders. The  importance of having a clean cap table and setting up the proper corporate structure for startups are also brought up.

Episode Highlights:

• Transitioning from law to VC - Transitioning from law to venture capital (VC) can be an exciting and fulfilling career move for individuals who are eyeing to widen their horizons and explore new opportunities just like Jecky, who made the transition from practicing law to working at a VC firm, Kickstart Ventures.
• Understanding different ways to raise capital -  Jecky understands the importance of familiarizing oneself with different methods of raising capital and the legal implications that go with it.
• Convertible notes can introduce complexity - One method of raising capital that founders often consider is through convertible notes. Convertible notes are a type of debt that can be converted into equity at a later date. While convertible notes have certain benefits, like speed and simplicity, they can also bring complexity into the fundraising process.
• Corporate structure considerations for startups - There are various aspects of corporate structure for startups, focusing on the importance of strategic planning and decision-making. Three key considerations are pointed out. First is the need for a Holdco entity at the very start of a company. Second, the location of operations and potential markets. And the third, the source of investment capital as an important factor in determining the corporate structure.

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In this episode of Conversations over Coffee, host Bit Santos sits down with Bam Mejia, Co-founder of SariSuki, to discuss his remarkable 17-year career in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Bam shares his journey from working in corporate to starting his entrepreneurial journey, where he partnered with his long-time friend Brian Cu to establish SariSuki, a thriving business in the local market. Join us for an engaging conversation as we explore Bam's experiences and insights into building a successful venture in the FMCG sector.

Episode Highlights:

• Learn about Bam Mejia's extensive 17-year career in the FMCG industry, including his notable experiences and key learnings gained while working in corporate. Discover how his international exposure and diverse skill set contributed to his entrepreneurial journey with SariSuki
• Building SariSuki: Dive into the fascinating story behind the establishment of SariSuki, a successful FMCG company in the Philippines. Discover the strategies, partnerships, and innovations that Bam and Brian employed to transform their vision into a reality. Learn from their experiences and gain valuable entrepreneurial insights.

Join Bit Santos and Bam Mejia in this captivating episode of Conversations Over Coffee, where they delve into the world of FMCG and the journey of building SariSuki. Don't miss out on the valuable lessons and inspiring anecdotes shared by Bam as he recounts his career and entrepreneurial endeavors.

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Minette's recent inclusion in the 450 over 50 for Asia 2023 list serves as a validation of her work and the efforts of Kickstart Ventures in changing perceptions and practices in the startup ecosystem. This engaging and insightful episode provides valuable lessons on pursuing growth and leadership, and is a must-listen for anyone interested in the startup industry.

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