Geeks of the Valley connects with some of the brightest minds globally, who are leading their respective industries today. We discuss the hottest upcoming industry trends and how their work is affecting the global economy.
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#110: Building Stablecoin Rails & Raising $82M in Funding with Mesh’s Bam Azizi
33:27
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33:27In this episode, we sit down with Bam Azizi, the CEO and Co-Founder of Mesh—a fintech infrastructure company revolutionizing how businesses and users interact with financial systems through embedded crypto and stablecoin solution with 300+ integrations today. Mesh empowers developers to seamlessly enable read, write, and transfer functionality with…
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#109: The Overlooked Side of Wellness & The Future of Physiotherapy with Joint Dynamics’ Colin Symmonds
38:48
38:48
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38:48Today, we’re excited to welcome Colin, a seasoned clinician with 27 years of experience revolutionizing physiotherapy through personalized treatment plans. Guided by the belief that “every body is unique, therefore every physio treatment plan should be unique,” Colin emphasizes the vital role of the nervous system in pain management and functional …
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#108: Decoding Venture Capital Through Data-Driven Insights with Hatcher+’s John Sharp
39:48
39:48
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39:48John Sharp is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Hatcher+, a venture firm pioneering data-driven investment strategies. With a distinguished career spanning leadership, technology, and venture capital, he has played a pivotal role in transforming the investment landscape. Previously, John served as CEO of Authentium, where he co-authored three …
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#107: From Big Platforms to Big Ambitions with Optimist Ventures' Teddy Himler
28:15
28:15
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28:15Teddy Himler brings over 15 years of global experience at leading institutions, including Goldman Sachs, SoftBank, Comcast Ventures, and Antler, to his role at Optimist Ventures. Throughout his career, Teddy has cultivated deep expertise in global technology trends, innovative business models, and firm-building, with a focus on sectors such as arti…
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#106: Revolutionizing Global Healthcare Through AI from Opyl's Saurabh Jain
39:05
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39:05In this engaging episode we welcome Saurabh Jain, Executive Chairman of Opyl Ltd, to delve into how artificial intelligence is driving transformative changes in the healthcare and biotech sectors. With a career marked by pioneering tech startups and forward-thinking healthcare innovations, Saurabh provides a compelling perspective on the evolving r…
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#105: Decoding Recruitment in the Digital Age with Madison Pearl's Warwick Pearmund
17:37
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17:37Warwick Pearmund leads Madison Pearl's Hong Kong operations, specializing in sourcing top-tier talent across a wide array of disciplines, including financial technology, quantitative and systematic finance, payments, digital strategy, insurtech, data science, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain, and cybersecur…
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#104 Generational Wealth Management Beyond Balance Sheets with Clearwater Capital Partners' John Sleeting
38:39
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38:39In this episode, we welcome John Sleeting, Executive Partner at Clearwater Capital Partners and host of the podcast Entrepreneurial Legacies. We dive deep into the challenges and opportunities unique to entrepreneurial families, exploring topics such as pre-liquidity event planning, intergenerational wealth transfer, and the role of family offices …
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#103 Indie Dreams & Gaming Insights with Execution Labs' Jason Della Rocca
40:23
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40:23Ever wondered how small indie studios become global game changers? Jason Della Rocca—game industry entrepreneur, funding advisor, and co-founder of Execution Labs—shares his extensive experience in transforming the game industry. He provides unique insights into pitching, funding, and ecosystem development, offering a glimpse into what it takes to …
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#102: Pioneering Fintech in Latin America with Mercado Pago's Osvaldo Giménez
43:48
43:48
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43:48Osvaldo Giménez serves as the President of Fintech at Mercado Libre, and is also the CEO of Mercado Pago, its financial services division. Osvaldo shares his journey, the challenges of building fintech solutions for diverse markets, and the strategies that have made MercadoLibre Latin America's largest e-commerce powerhouse, Mercado Pago is Mercado…
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#101: Generative AI for Filmmakers and Creatives with CyberFilm AI’s Russell Palmer
44:41
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44:41In this episode, we sit down with Russell Palmer, CEO & Co-Founder of CyberFilm AI and the co-creator of the first and leading Generative AI app for screenwriters and filmmakers called SAGA (WriteOnSaga.com). We explore how Generative AI is transforming the world of filmmaking. Russell shares his journey from his engineering and product managemen…
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#100: Blueprint for Success Strategies and Lessons with Illumination International’s Rick Li
33:50
33:50
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33:50Rick is the CEO of Illumination International, a family office based between the US and Asia. He is a seasoned investor specializing in distressed consumer assets, with an impressive track record of managing a diversified portfolio of over six businesses. His expertise extends into the real estate sector, where he has successfully developed and con…
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#99: Navigating China’s Media Landscape to Neural Networks with Ex-New York Times China’s Craig Smith
36:26
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36:26Craig S. Smith, born on October 13, 1955, in Spokane, Washington, is an American journalist and former executive at The New York Times. Until January 2000, he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, notably covering the rise of the Falun Gong movement in China. In 2000, he joined The New York Times as the Shanghai bureau chief, reporting extensively on …
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#98: Future of AI Innovation & Safety with Qantm AI’s Seth Dobrin
36:21
36:21
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36:21Dr. Seth Dobrin is the founder and CEO of Qantm AI, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) with over two decades of experience driving innovation in the tech space. Formerly IBM’s inaugural Global Chief AI Officer, Dr. Dobrin has made significant contributions in developing human-centered AI strategies that drive business modernization and data-d…
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#97: Revolutionizing Meditation & Shaping Wellness with Jammy's Eric Davich
44:00
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44:00Eric Davich is the Founder and CEO of Jammy, a mental health coaching app with music committed to enhancing the emotional well-being of young adults. Prior to Jammy, he co-founded Songza, later acquired by Google, and was an early team member of Amie Street, acquired by Amazon. During his 8.5 years at Google, he led various partnership marketing fu…
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#96: Real-World Assets & Token Valuations with MANTRA's John Patrick Mullin
31:02
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31:02John Patrick Mullin is a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur and builder, specializing in DeFi, blockchain technology, digital assets, and Web3. He is the CEO and co-founder of MANTRA and SOMA.finance, with over 10 years of experience in crypto and digital asset investment. John's journey began with Bitcoin in 2013 while studying International Business at…
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#95: Spotting Patterns & Managing Remote Multi-Market Companies with 88 Ventures' Nitin Mahajan
35:01
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35:01Nitin Mahajan, a visionary in the tech industry, is actively transforming the tech universe one company at a time while currently building 88 Ventures to achieve unprecedented success. Recognizing the transformative power of AI, Nitin is passionate about ensuring its widespread adoption in a way that positively impacts lives and maximizes its reach…
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#94: Venturing into Indonesia & Building Future Trends with Intudo Ventures' Eddy Chan
36:09
36:09
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36:09Eddy Chan is a founding partner of Intudo Ventures, an independent venture capital firm exclusively focused on investing in Indonesia. With approximately US$300 million in committed capital, Intudo Ventures serves as the "Indonesia-beachhead" strategy provider for top-tier institutions, Forbes Midas List investors, family offices worldwide, and a n…
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#93: Unveiling India's Macro Trends & Providing Valuable Insights for Foreign Investors with 2am VC's Brendan Rogers
27:40
27:40
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27:40Brendan Rogers is the Co-Founder of 2am [VC], an early-stage India Fund. Previously, he co-founded Wag! (NASDAQ) PET, the largest pet platform in the US. Brendan is a respected advisor and mentor to numerous companies, accelerators, and universities globally. He is a sought-after speaker at major startup conferences worldwide and has appeared on to…
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#92: Revolutionizing Silicon Valley’s Future through Fresh Leadership & Bold Action with Joby Bernstein
37:08
37:08
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37:08Joby Bernstein and is running for Congress (CA-16) because it’s time for fresh leadership in Silicon Valley. He is deeply committed to addressing the pressing issues his district faces, from climate change to education and immigration. Palo Alto is his home. Joby is an avid nature seeker, and spends his free time biking on Skyline and trail running…
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#91: The Future of Biotech & Investing in Cutting-Edge Technologies with Valhalla Ventures' Matthew King
49:08
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49:08Matthew King is an Entrepreneurial Investor passionate about venture investing & building, deeptech, sustainability, mental health, wellness, automotive, luxury goods, and hospitality. Currently Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Valhalla Ventures, a venture capital firm backing visionary founders at the forefront of social and technological breakthr…
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#90: Navigating the Gaming Revolution with Konvoy Ventures' Josh Chapman
22:06
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22:06Josh Chapman is a co-founder and Managing Partner at Konvoy, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage companies in the video gaming industry. Their firm focuses on companies building technology, infrastructure, and platforms in the gaming industry. Prior to founding Konvoy, Josh worked at Blackrock and Morgan Stanley in New York City. Lin…
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#89: Unraveling the Japanese Venture Capital Market with Global Brain Corporation's Ken Kajii
30:52
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30:52Ken joined GB in 2021. As General Partner, he oversees the entire fund activities including strategy development, investment in Japanese and overseas startups, post-investment support, support for collaboration with corporations, fundraising, and forming/operating CVC funds. He is an expert in growth strategy and digital transformation based on his…
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#88: Bain & Company's Acquisition of Rainmaking APAC with COO Virginie Hello
26:59
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26:59Virginie Hello is an accomplished professional currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Rainmaking APAC, a globally recognized venture builder established in Denmark over 15 years ago. Rainmaking APAC has achieved remarkable success, boasting a diverse portfolio of more than 55 ventures, investments in nearly 1,000 startups, and st…
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#87: Web3 Payments for the Next Billion Users Across Asia with TransFi's Raj Kamal
29:10
29:10
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29:10Raj comes with a deep background across payments, tech and Web3 in a multitude of roles - operator, investor and consultant. Raj's Past Experience: Ex CEO, OYO Vacation Homes, a top 3 specialist vacation rental business (fully owned sub of OYO). Ex Global Head of Investments and M&A for PayU, a Prosus Company (Prosus is a leading listed global tech…
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#86: Unveiling Compelling Investments in Emerging Markets with Etohum's Burak Büyükdemir
24:30
24:30
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24:30Burak Büyükdemir is a well-known investor, startup ecosystem builder, author, and founder. He is the founder of Etohum, a leading accelerator and seed investor organization in Turkey, as well as the founder of Startup Istanbul and Startup Turkey. Through these programs, he has supported and invested in over 100 startups, providing training, mentors…
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#85: Building the Future of Japan's Startup Ecosystem with Antler's Ryo Umezawa
25:34
25:34
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25:34Ryo Umezawa is a Partner leading Antler’s expansion into Japan. Prior to Antler, Ryo was a Principal at East Ventures, Japan, an early stage venture capital firm. As a serial entrepreneur, Ryo founded two companies, including AllCoupon Japan (acquired), and was Japan’s country manager for companies such as Tinder, Homeaway (Expedia Group) and Hailo…
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#84: Geopolitics and Pakistan's Economy - What Investors Should Consider with Zayn Venture Capital's Faisal Aftab
27:39
27:39
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27:39Faisal is a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and investor. He is the Founder & General Partner of Zayn Venture Capital (Formally Zayn Capital), a leading US & Cayman domiciled venture capital fund, investing in early-stage tech ventures in Pakistan. He is considered to be one of the most prolific investors with the most number of notable investment …
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#83: The Materials Revolution, Corporate Venturing, and the Double Bottom Line with Zeon Ventures' Dennis Clark
21:15
21:15
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21:15Dennis currently serves as Investment Director at Zeon Ventures, a newly-formed, early stage venture capital firm investing across materials, sustainability, climate and health. Zeon Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Zeon Corporation, a global leader in elastomers, polymers, and specialty chemicals. Prior to joining Zeon, Dennis was …
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#82: Venturing into China - Insights from a Global Investor on Investment Strategies, Geopolitical Landscape, and Cross-Cultural Challenges with MSA Capital's Ben Harburg
59:26
59:26
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59:26Ben Harburg is a Managing Partner at MSA Capital, a global investment firm with over $2 billion in assets under management. Mr Harburg also leads MSA Novo, the emerging markets focused franchise of MSA. Ben has significant investment and operations experience in the Greater China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Afri…
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#81: Overvalued Web 3.0 Startup Multiples & VC Micro-Betting with Lightning Ventures' Mike Jarmuz
30:26
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30:26Mike Jarmuz… or Muzz… is a General Partner at Lightning⚡️Ventures and is focused on investing in Bitcoin companies. His goal is to evangelize and demystify early-stage investing to plebs and whales alike. He is super passionate about educating founders and operators on strategies to fund their projects and believes everyone should invest in technol…
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#80: Shifting from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 & Venture Building with Spartan Labs' Shaun Heng
27:36
27:36
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27:36Former investment banker (@ SCB) turned CorpDev (@ RedMart - acq) turned founder & CEO (@ Eatsy) and VP, Growth & Ops (@ CoinMarketCap - acq). Shaun most recently led Spartan Labs, a $100M Web3 venture-building studio. He is excited about solving growth and strategy challenges while building high-performing teams. He has operated through almost eve…
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#79: Web 3.0, AI, & Deep Science Investing with Vibe Capital's Tim Ryan and Dave Goldblatt
43:55
43:55
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43:55Dave joined Facebook in 2007, and worked on Product and Operations at Facebook until 2017. While there, he learned from world class builders, thinkers, and operators how to scale technologies and businesses to billions of users.More recently, he was the CEO of Wavechat, a social audio company. After Wavechat, he was a fellow in the On Deck Angel In…
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#78: 6x Startup Founder (Binance Acquisiton, YC W17 Soomgo) & Building a Team from 0-1 with Antler Korea's Jiho Kang
55:44
55:44
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55:44Jiho built his career working with South Korean tech giant SK Planet and ecommerce unicorn Coupang as lead product manager. Jiho is also well connected to Silicon Valley becoming the first Korean to be accepted into the 500 Startups accelerator program in 2010 and went on to co-found Soomgo, a Y-Combinator portfolio company(#153 of top YC portfolio…
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#77: DAO's, Token Valuations, & Crypto Ponzy Schemes with Newman Capital's Adrian Lai
29:33
29:33
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29:33Adrian Lai is the founder of Newman Capital, a principal investment firm focused on private equity and venture capital investment with significant presence in Web3. Newman is an investor in influential companies such as Reddit, Epic Games, SpaceX, Dapper Labs & Kraken. It has also invested in Web3 funds such as Bitkraft, Shima Capital, Republic and…
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#76: Developer Productivity & Technical Challenges in Machine Learning with Bain Capital Ventures' Rak Garg
31:04
31:04
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31:04Rak is a Principal at Bain Capital Ventures, which manages over $6b and was an early investor in companies like LinkedIn, Docusign, Docker, and Redis Labs. Rak leads early-stage investments in cybersecurity and developer infrastructure companies. Before investing, he was a product manager at Atlassian, where he led the identity management tool Atla…
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#75: Overvalued Crypto Startup Multiples & Web 3.0 Developer Talent with EVG's Allen Ng
37:29
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37:29Venture veteran turned crypto enthusiast, Allen has participated in the making of over a dozen renowned TMT unicorns, start-ups and blockchain projects across the globe since 2012 and is an investor in 50+ startups globally, including a dozen unicorns till date. As a VC, he has invested $100m across frontier technologies, ranging from autonomous dr…
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#74: Engineering Radical Transparency & Decision-making Best Practices with Meetup's David Siegel
38:13
38:13
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38:13David Siegel is the CEO of Meetup, the largest platform for finding and building local communities. He has 25 years of experience as a technology and digital media executive leading organizations through innovative product development, rapid revenue growth, and digital traffic acceleration. Prior to joining Meetup, David was CEO of Investopedia and…
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#73: Second Home Co-Ownership with Pacaso's Austin Allison
29:44
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29:44Austin is CEO of Pacaso and co-founded the company to make the dream of second home ownership a reality for more people after experiencing the profound effect it had on his own life. Pacaso is Austin’s second startup. In 2009, he founded dotloop in his hometown of Cincinnati, a company that created software to seamlessly manage real estate transact…
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#72: Trusted, Verified, & Connected Documents on the Blockchain with Dedoco's Daphne Ng
26:15
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26:15Daphne is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dedoco– a Digital Document Management-as-a-Service that focuses on protecting data privacy and document security for companies, leveraging on blockchain technology. Set up in 2020, Dedocois now transacting thousands of documents every month across Government, Banks, FIs, Professional Services, Real Estate, Tech p…
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#71: The Crypto-Asset Broker of the Future with Nomura's Olivier Dang
16:56
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16:56Olivier Dang is the Global Chief Operating Officer for the Wholesale Digital Office of Nomura. He supports the development and implementation of the digital strategy of Nomura’s Wholesale business. Olivier has been at Nomura since 2010 and held various roles in Corporate Strategy and Business Management. Prior to this, he was a Management Consultan…
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#70: The Future of the Crypto Economy in Southeast Asia with Coinbase's Hassan Ahmed
46:41
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46:41Hassan Ahmed is an experienced operator and investor in web3 and fintech. He is currently the Regional Director of Southeast Asia at Coinbase, the largest crypto platform in theworld. Prior to this, Hassan served a dual role at GoTo Group as Chief Executive Officer of Coins.ph, the leading crypto brokerage in the Philippines, and Head of Strategy f…
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#69: SoftBank Group Operator School with Laura Gaviria Halaby, Operating Lead SoftBank Latin America Funds
35:05
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35:05Laura Gaviria Halaby is a scale-up and business development expert with entrepreneurial background and ample experience in leadership roles in venture capital and tech. Her current role as Operating Lead for the US$8 billion SoftBank Latin America Funds focuses on delivering operation support to the portfolio companies to accelerate their growth. S…
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#68: Winning Customers' Hearts through Big Data Realization with Google's Chief Measurement Strategist Neil Hoyne
35:30
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35:30Neil has served as an analyst, researcher, inventor, lecturer and, in his words, the father of many forgettable slides of glossy funnels and Venn diagrams. A witness to and participant in billion-dollar successes, and instructive failures, all in the pursuit of building indestructible customer relationships through digital media. A key player in th…
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#67: The New Era of the Creator Economy with Bemyfriends' Steve Seo
14:23
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14:23Over the last few years, bemyfriends co-CEO Steve Seo has established himself as one of the leading authorities in the global fandom business. A serial entrepreneur, Seo joined bemyfriends in January of 2022 after serving as the CEO of beNX (now known as Weverse Company) and as a technical advisor for HYBE Corporation. It was in those roles that Se…
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#66: Vietnam's Future of Home Ownership & iBuyers with Homebase's Phillip An
24:51
24:51
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24:51Phillip An is the Co-founder and COO of Homebase, one of Southeast Asia’s leading Proptech companies. Homebase (www.homebase.com.vn) provides revolutionary products made accessible that empower homeowners to buy, sell, and own homes in ways that work best for themselves. Homebase is backed by leading investors and partners around the world (YC, Goo…
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#65: High-Impact Entrepreneurship through Underserved Markets with Endeavor's Adrian Garcia-Aranyos
20:19
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20:19Adrian Garcia-Aranyos is the President of Endeavor, a global community of high-impact entrepreneurs present in ~40 markets with a rules-based venture arm, Endeavor Catalyst, which is a leading VC investor in most emerging markets. he joined Endeavor in 2014 as Founding Managing Director of Endeavor Spain. Prior to that he held several executive rol…
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#64: AI Enabled Technologies & Economic Equity with Fika Ventures' Eva Ho
36:34
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36:34Eva is a General Partner at Fika Ventures, an early stage fund investing in companies that leverage the power of data as a core component of their business model. Prior to Fika, Eva was a founding GP at Susa Ventures. She is a serial entrepreneur and founder, with a company experience portfolio including Applied Semantics (AdSense), Factual, Google…
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#63: How to Start a Fund with Investment Fund Secrets' Bridger Pennington
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45:05Bridger Pennington is the founder of 2 investment funds that have done over 217 deals in the last 4 years. He has started helping others launch their own funds through Investment Fund Secrets, an online program with over 4,000 students designed to help them start investment funds without working on Wall Street or having an Ivy League degree. Bridge…
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#62: The Future of Blockchain Convergence with Kenetic Capital's Jehan Chu
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33:56Jehan Chu is co-Founder and Managing Partner at Kenetic, a blockchain Venture Capital and cryptocurrency trading firm based in Hong Kong. A former front-end developer, he started investing in cryptocurrency in 2013 and has invested and supported over 100 projects. Jehan founded the Ethereum HK community (2014), co-Founded the Bitcoin Association of…
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#61: Game Studio Venture Investing with Execution Labs' Jason Della Rocca
32:34
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32:34Jason Della Rocca is a game industry entrepreneur, funding advisor, and cluster expert. He specializes in business/partnership development, pitching/funding, and ecosystem/cluster development. As the co-founder of Executions Labs, he was a hands-on early stage investor to over 20 independent game studios from North America and Europe. Between 2000-…
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