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Episode Themes (timestamps below)
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Topics covered in this episode:
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This podcast episode touches on:
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Episode Themes
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Episode Themes
From Accounting to Journalism
Born in Malaysia, Su-Lin came to Australia in her early teens. After losing her finance job during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Su-Lin embarked on a journey to pursue meaning over money. Over 2 years, Su-Lin sampled a variety of potential careers such as law, child-care, chemistry, and at one point, wanted to be a concert pianist. Eventually, she settled on journalism and hasn’t looked back.
Timestamps
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Episode Themes
About The Dream Collective
The Dream Collective was founded in 2012 by Sarah Liu, a passionate advocate for women in leadership and furthering diversity and inclusivity practises in corporate culture to transform the way we work.Sarah was named one of the “40 under 40: Most Influential Asian-Australians” in the Entrepreneurship category at the 2019 Asian-Australian Leadership Summit.The Dream Collective is a global leadership consultancy, helping businesses across Sydney, Shanghai, Melbourne, Tokyo & Singapore build diverse and inclusive workplaces: https://www.thedreamcollective.com.au/our-story/
Timestamps
1:20 – Introduction
3:50 – Cultural & diversity barriers in the workplace.
6:00 – Advice for others…career journey, upbringing, entrepreneurship.
9:25 – How did the Dream Collective start?
12:00 – Sarah’s transition from corporate to startup. Thoughts on having a “safety net” & taking risk.
12:40 – Seeing a gap in the market for mid-career level women
13:55 – What exactly are the barriers for women in the workplace?
15:40 – How is Sarah & The Dream Collective solving the lack of female leaders?
17:25 – thoughts around diversity & inclusion quotas in the workplace. The importance of having measurable targets. The lack of meritocracy in the workplace.
21:40 – utilising cultural & gender barriers to your advantage, addressing cultural barriers.
24:35 – why women have been unfairly impacted by COVID? What is the ShePivots program? How is it addressing this problem?
26:40 – opportunities for women in tech. You don’t need a technical/coding background to succeed. Using your diversity as a strength
28:25 – thoughts around entrepreneurship, advice for others on a similar journey, understand your “why”, impacts of COVID.
31:00 – Expanding globally to expand into other markets, differences in diversity & inclusion between countries.
34:10 – Using Japan vs Australia as an example
36:10 – COVID impacts and how to turn obstacles into opportunities
38:15 – Wrapping up, final thoughts, the launch of 50/50 in 100 days
41:15 – how to find out more about The Dream Collective, ShePivots, other programs & initiatives.
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Listen to this episode if you want to find out more about Taiwan’s startup ecosystem or if you simply want to hear about Elisa’s unique journey. We talk about:
Show Notes: https://bordersless.com/business/elisa-chiu-anchor-taiwan/
Timestamps
1:00 – Introduction
2:35 – Journey from Taiwan to Canada. Navigating a new environment and cultural barriers.
6:10 – Working as a junior trader.
6:40 – Was this your passion? Why did you go down the finance path?
10:45 – Navigating cultural and gender barriers in a male dominant environment.
13:20 – Importance of finding a mentor and support systems. Turning bad situations into an advantage and bring value to others.
17:30 – Are there gender barriers in Taiwan?
18:50 – Working at a Hedge Fund, living in a bubble, resigning from a comfortable life, throwing yourself into the unknown.
22:45 – The motivation for living a different life. Overcoming fears and perceived limitations. Pursuing your passion, finding fulfilment, why you should give things a try.
30:20 – Experiencing Silicon Valley, getting into innovation + technology, impact investing and the startup world, moving back to Taiwan to setup Anchor Taiwan.
36:15 – Reasons for setting up Anchor Taiwan.
38:00 – The beginning of Anchor Taiwan.
40:10 – Tackling challenges and the unknowns. The difficulty of marketing Taiwan.
43:50 – Thoughts around leaving and returning to Taiwan. Gaining perspective.
45:30 – What is Anchor Taiwan + Anchor Venture Partners?
50:40 – Overview of Taiwan market – VCs + Accelerators (AppWorks, Cherubic Ventures, Cornerstone Ventures).
55:35 – Government initiatives for foreign startups.
57:20 – Corporate Venture Capital in Taiwan.
59:20 – Why should I go to Taiwan over Singapore or HK? What sort of startups should go to Taiwan?
1:01:30 – Google expansion into Taiwan.
1:05:00 – Impacts of Coronavirus on the startup space in Taiwan. Initiatives to help startups.
1:08:00 – How can startups navigate this tough period?
1:10:00 – Investment trends and opportunities in this period?
1:14:25 – Would you have done anything differently? Career advice for young professionals?
1:17:45 – Overseas born Taiwanese coming to Taiwan. E.g. the co-founders of YouTube and Rotten Tomatoes.
1:19:05 – Thoughts on young Taiwanese + how Taiwan can stay competitive.
1:21:40 – Last words + how to contact Elisa.
A selection of career & life advice from some of my Podcast Guests from various industries. Snippets from both the BordersLess and the Professional Development Forum podcast. Timestamps are as follows:
[This episode is adapted from my recent YouTube upload]: Dr Joseph Lai is the Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Ox Capital, an Australian-based boutique investment manager specialising in emerging market stocks & equities. We interview him about the investment opportunities in Asia for making money (with a focus on China & Indonesia) and his thoughts on the recent recession & inflation news (timestamps & topics below).
Born in Hong Kong, Dr Joseph Lai came to Australia at a young age. After becoming a medical doctor, he realised that a career in investing was much more exciting and made the career change to finance.
Prior to founding Ox Capital in 2021, Dr Lai was the Portfolio Manager for Platinum's Asia Funds (one of the biggest Asia-focused funds in Australia with $~8bn AUM across multiple products) and has a successful track record of investing in Asia.
You can find out more about Dr Joseph Lai and Ox Capital here: https://www.oxcapm.com/
Topics & timestamps:
[Subtitles available on YouTube) Born in the Netherlands, Huihan started to ask questions about his Indonesian-Chinese ancestry & heritage. Knowing nothing about the language or culture, he moved to China 18 years ago to find out more about his roots and experience life working & living in China. In the process, he found many others on the same journey and so he founded My China Roots to help other Overseas Chinese reconnect with their roots & families.
Essentially aiming to be the Ancestry.com of Asia, My China Roots offers a wide variety of services to help Overseas Chinese find out more about their ancestry. They have an extensive database of records both in China and overseas (simply create an account and answer a few questions to start building your family tree) and also provide investigative, research and translation services if you run into any brick walls (or if you simply have no idea where to start).
Find out more about My China Roots here & and join their Discord community!
The Zoom audio was a bit glitchy and the conversation was a bit rushed at the end as we realised we were running out of time. But feel free to reach out to Huihan directly if you want to find out more.
Timestamps:
Today's guest is Kenneth Tang, the Managing Director of Dynamic Technologies. Born in Cambodia, Ken & his family moved to Australia during the Civil War and lived a relatively comfortable existence in the suburbs of Sydney.
However, over time, Kenneth realised that he wasn't on the path he wanted, despite a successful tech career that took him abroad to Hong Kong, the US and Europe.
He eventually decided to step back and re-assess his life, attempting various things (like an Australian themed cafe in Hong Kong) and failing a lot in the process.
Listen to this episode to hear more about Kenneth's journey, the way he navigated his life & career, and how he ended up back in Cambodia to help contribute to the country.
I enjoyed this conversation as it focuses on finding meaning and purpose in your life & career. Note the Zoom recording was laggy but I'm sure you guys aren't watching the screen that intently :)
Episode themes & timestamps:
INTRO / LIFE IN AUSTRALIA
0:00 - Intro
2:25 - Ken's Intro, growing up in Sydney, Australia from Cambodia
4:55 - Any struggles growing up Asian Australian?
7:30 - Were you familiar with your Cambodian heritage?
KENNETH'S CAREER JOURNEY & LIVING OVERSEAS
10:55 - Kenneth's early career journey
12:41 - Kenneth's journey from Australia to Hong Kong, the US & Europe.
18:00 - Ken's career break back in Australia & re-assessing life, getting to know his family & heritage
21:10 - Moving back to Hong Kong and trying to experience as many things in life.
LIFE LESSONS
23:10 - Re-assess your life, finding something meaningful. Ken's decision to return to Cambodia for the 1st time and deciding to stay permanently.
26:25 - Falling into the trap of the 9-5 rat race vs pursuing something meaningful.
30:10 - The importance of "failure" or failing
33:25 - The importance of relationships and understanding who you are.
ON CAMBODIA
38:20 - What does Kenneth do in Cambodia? What are Dynamic Technologies? Improving the quality of life for locals through smart cities and solutions. The High economic growth rate in Cambodia creates issues & opportunities.
44:05 - How did Kenneth adapt to working in Cambodia? How did he adjust to day to day life?
50:30 - Are many overseas Cambodians coming back to Cambodia? Advice for others thinking of returning to Cambodia?
55:00 - Kenneth's future plans & conclusion
Find out more about Dynamic Technologies (part of the Dynamic Group) & their vision for Cambodian smart cities here: https://dynamictechnologies.io/
I interviewed Wei Chen about how foreigners can find a startup job in Japan with limited Japanese proficiency. Born in Taiwan and having studied abroad in the US, Wei found herself in Japan and has managed to embed herself into the Tokyo startup ecosystem despite being a foreigner. She currently works as a freelance talent sourcer, helping match startup companies to great talent.
Listen to this episode to hear Wei’s story about:
If you want to find out more, feel free to reach out to Wei on Linkedin!
Timestamps / Topics
Intro
0:00 – Introduction
0:57 – Wei’s introduction
2:25 – Why did she move to Japan?
7:25 – Why did she stay in Japan?
9:10 – Being an Asian foreigner in Japan. Pros & Cons
10:45 – Main cultural barriers in Japan
12:50 – Challenges of being a female foreigner in Japan
Finding a Job in Japan
17:40 – How Wei found her 1st job in Japan
23:10 – What does Wei do as a talent sourcer?
26:50 – Advice for foreigners finding a gig in Japan.
28:26 – Advice for foreigners who aren’t fluent in Japanese? Potential industries?
30:30 – English teaching in Japan as a starting point?
21:15 – Recruitment jobs in Japan … how does it work without Japanese proficiency?
33:40 – Applying for big Japanese corporations?
35:16 – Visa options (working holiday, freelance etc). How Wei got Permanent Residency in Japan
40:00 – Is Japan open to foreigners to get visas/jobs?
42:50 – Scholarships?
46:50 – Is doing a 2nd degree in Japan worthwhile?
48:35 – Wei’s thoughts on the startup ecosystem in Tokyo
Life in Japan
50:15 – Wei’s life in Japan.
51:50 – Raising a child in Japan
54:30 – Wei’s future plans. Final thoughts/conclusion.
Why move to a poor, landlocked country of 7 million people to pursue entrepreneurship? Listen to this episode to hear why some expats, foreigners and overseas Laotians should consider moving to Laos.
Laos is a country that does not attract much attention globally, so I chat to Benjamin Soo (based in Vientiane) to hear more about life in Laos and the opportunities & challenges for foreign startups and businesses in Laos.
Born in Malaysia, Ben moved to his mother’s home country of Laos in high school and was inspired to bring about positive change after seeing so much poverty. He went through a long soul searching journey to figure out what he could do to bring about the most impact and create employment and opportunities for locals.
Based in Vientiane, Ben eventually co-founded an upscale construction business, Modern Lao Homes and a SE Asian import/export business for Australian goods called Bunnasia.
Find out more about Ben's businesses here:
In this podcast episode, we chat about:
Podcast Timestamps & Topics
Before the 2021 coup, Myanmar was experiencing rapid economic growth (more than 7% per annum), with poverty falling from 48% to 25% between 2005 and 2017. This growth attracted many overseas investors that were attracted by the opportunities in the country.
However, this growth has reversed drastically with the event of COVID & the coup. Listen to this podcast episode to get some insights into what life & opportunities were like pre & post-coup in Myanmar.
About Brandon Aung
Born in Myanmar, Brandon quit medical school to pursue his passion for finance in Australia. However, he was unable to find a finance job as an international student (I’ve discussed this problem in a prior podcast) but he managed to secure a coveted private equity investment role back in Myanmar.
Unfortunately, Brandon left his home country after the 2021 coup and in this podcast interview, he details his life pre & post-coup as an overseas Burmese that has made his way around Australia, Sri Lanka & Thailand (topics & timestamps below).
More episodes here: https://bordersless.com/
Brandon's Life as an International Student in Australia
Moving Back to Myanmar
Moving to Thailand
Life as an overseas Burmese currently
Future Plans, Startup Chat & Conclusion
Today's guest is Ratana Phurik-Callebaut, a Cambodian private sector & investment specialist and the founder of the Cambodia Community of Investment Professionals (affiliated with the CFA Institute). Born in Cambodia, Ratana lost her parents in the civil war and left for France at the age of 2 to stay with her extended family.
After a successful banking career in Europe (France & Switzerland), she decided to move back to Cambodia and has remained there for the last 18 years. Listen to this episode to get an insight into why Ratana left her comfortable life to move back to Cambodia and why others should consider moving there too.
Show Notes: https://bordersless.com/business/opportunities-cambodia-ratana-phurik-callebaut/
Timestamps & Topics:
About Ratana
Life & Careers in Cambodia
Why Cambodia?
Conclusion
Today's podcast guest is Rosaline Chow Koo, the Founder & CEO of Asia's leading InsurTech startup, CXA Group. We chat about the advantages & disadvantages of navigating business in Asia as an Asian American serial entrepreneur.
Rosaline grew up in a poor and chaotic environment, developing survival skills and becoming street smart (especially during events like the L.A. Watts riots). This adversity early on in life is what ultimately contributed to the success she has now, giving her the resilience and motivation to push through when times are tough.
Listen to this podcast episode to hear how Rosaline built the biggest InsurTech startup in Asia, why she thinks there are more opportunities in Asia than the US, and advice for aspiring female leaders on how to navigate the glass & bamboo ceilings.
Timestamps & Topics
Ron Baetiong: From Call Center to Serial Entrepreneur
After hearing so many positive things about the Philippines’ tech ecosystem in a prior episode, I asked Ron Baetiong to come on the show to share his experiences as a serial entrepreneur in the Philippines and what’s changed in the startup ecosystem over the last 10-15 years.
Starting his career off in a Filipino call centre, Ron quickly realised his dreams of buying his mom a house was not realistic. So, he started to pursue entrepreneurship, and after many ups & downs, he was finally able to find success and fulfil his dreams.
Today, Ron is the founder of Podcast Network Asia and the host of the Hustleshare Podcast (the #1 Business Podcast in the Philippines). In this episode, he shares his perspectives on the exciting startup ecosystem in the Philippines and his journey as a serial entrepreneur.
We also chat about Ron’s journey as a podcaster, how podcasting has become a serious business in Southeast Asia (especially in the Philippines & Indonesia) and advice for aspiring podcasters!
Also check out Ron’s new tool to help podcasters save time when editing: https://www.podmachine.co/
Timestamps
If you’re interested in the startup scene in the Philippines, the ecosystem’s biggest names are gathering this March 9 & 10 at Build, the first-ever annual startup festival co-organized by Sinigang Valley and Esquire Philippines.
Find out more here: https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/movers/build-a-startup-festival-2022-a00203-20220217-lfrm
Episode Topics & Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
1:31 – Start of the interview / Ron’s Introduction & entrepreneurial journey
7:25 – Was Ron born to be an entrepreneur or did he stumble across it?
10:55 – Did your family & friends say you were crazy for starting a business?
11:56 – After Ron’s 1st startup failed, why did he keep going and how he eventually found success.
22:07 – How has the podcasting market changed in the Philippines over the last 5 years? What podcast topics do well in Southeast Asia?
27:33 – Why Ron started Podcast Network Asia (PNA). The challenges he came across when he started podcasting. What is PNA?
33:05 – Advice of aspiring podcasters.
36:30 – Why did Ron expand to Indonesia? What are the challenges of expanding internationally? What are Ron’s future plans?
41:55 – How has the Philippine startup ecosystem changed over the last 10-15 years?
45:11 – Is entrepreneurship becoming more popular in the Philippines? Advice for young people interested in entrepreneurship?
49:25 – What’s exciting Ron about the Philippines? Conclusion.
Asami is the founder of Shapes and Sounds, the leading voice for Asian-Australian mental health and wellbeing, seeking to normalise conversations about mental health in the community.
As a registered music therapist, she noticed that many Asian-Australians were falling between the gaps in the Australian mental health system and so she started Shapes & Shapes in 2019 to normalise conversations around racism & cultural expectations in the community and also provide specific resources (like a list of Asian Australian mental health practitioners for those seeking someone who can understand their own cultural background and upbringing).
Shapes and Sounds Links & Resources:
Timestamps & Topics:
In this podcast episode, Franco Varona, a Filipino Venture Capitalist, explains why the Philippines is one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the region and the opportunities this presents for entrepreneurs. Born in Canada, we also chat about why Franco moved back to the Philippines and also why other overseas entrepreneurial Filipinos are returning.
As the Managing Partner of Foxmont Capital Partners, the first independent Venture Capital (VC) firm in the Philippines, Franco has had a varied career, most notably being a founding member at MyTeksi Phillippines (now named Grab). This opportunity to get on board one of the most exciting startups in the region supercharged his career into what it is today, something that might not have been possible if he stayed in the States.
As passionate advocates of the Philippines startup ecosystem, Foxmont's investment thesis is this: “We invest in Filipino-focused or Filipino-founded early-stage technology startups that have proven that they can scale effectively and lead the Philippine digital evolution. We believe that if a Filipino startup can succeed in the Philippines, it can succeed anywhere.”
Show Notes: https://bordersless.com/business/philippines-opportunity-franco-varona-foxmont/
Episode Topics & Timestamps
Today’s guest is Denise Sandquist, the founder of Fika, a female-focused AI social & dating app in Asia. Born in Vietnam and adopted to Sweden, Denise is truly a global citizen, speaking 6 languages and having lived in multiple countries.
Episode Themes
Find out more about Fika here: https://keepfika.com/
Timestamps & topics:
Introduction
On Fika
Fun Questions