On the Edge: Asia's Entrepreneurs Breaking Barriers

Panelist Profiles and Context

• Victor Cui: Founder/CEO of ONE Championship; formerly of ESPN; operates a sports media network broadcasting in 118 countries with content on Asian time zones.
• Patrick Choe: Founder/CEO of Katcha Group; created iFlix (OTT service) and iProperty; previously sold a Rupert Murdoch-backed venture for nearly $1 billion; focuses on "non-BRIC" emerging markets in Southeast Asia.
• Rishad Mansoor (Rish): Founder of BlipR and former founder of Magic Pony (sold to Twitter for $150M); active angel investor based in India/UK; focuses on AI and Augmented Reality.
• Finian Tan: Founder of Vicar Partners ($2B AUM); early investor in Baidu (originally held 25% stake); former Deputy Secretary of Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry; invests in regenerative medicine.
• Ken Housman (Moderator): Founder of Hausmann Ventures; Innovation Executive at Deutsche Telekom; active angel investor with history on Intel's Advisory Board.

Market Dynamics and Investment Opportunities

• Emerging Markets vs. BRIC:
  • Patrick Choe identifies "non-BRIC" markets (e.g., Indonesia, Pakistan) as having superior opportunity density due to a lack of capital and management expertise compared to saturated BRIC nations.
  • In large non-BRIC markets like Indonesia (250M+ people), entrepreneurs often have no capital, allowing a single well-capitalized player to dictate category dominance within a quarter.
  • In contrast, China and India see 10–20 entrepreneurs competing on similar Silicon Valley models, requiring $10–100M in capital just to compete.
• Content Consumption Trends:
  • Patrick Choe notes that Western content is declining in value in Asian markets; the top 10 weekly shows in Indonesia are now 40% Indonesian, 40% Korean, and 20% Thai.
  • The Asian middle class is increasingly "voting with their fingers" for local content and products rather than Western brands.
• Sports Entertainment in Asia:
  • Victor Cui states that sports entertainment in Asia is in its infancy, with the industry projected to spend upwards of $15 trillion in the next 20 years.
  • ONE Championship holds a unique position as the only live regional sports property broadcast on Asian time zones (Friday/Saturday nights), reaching 4.1 billion people.
  • The next three Olympics will all take place in Asia, further signaling the region's growth in sports.

Country-Specific Challenges and Opportunities

• India:
  • Fragmentation: Rishad Mansoor notes India is legally and culturally fragmented; state laws vary significantly, and only 70–80 million people speak English out of 1.18 billion.
  • Consumer Readiness: Indian consumers are eager to try new things but are being targeted by a homogenous group of entrepreneurs focusing on "Metro India" (English-speaking elites).
  • Untapped Potential: Significant opportunity exists in regional languages and sectors like precision medicine, genomics, and robotics in tier 2/3 cities, which are currently overlooked by VC firms chasing "unicorns."
  • Talent Model: The "IIT/IIM" (elite engineering/business school) model is criticized as narrow; natural entrepreneurship exists in chaotic environments outside top-tier universities.
• China:
  • Market Size: Finian Tan ranks China as the clear number two global economy, growing at ~6.5% overall but with a domestic engine growing at 13–15%.
  • Regulatory Environment:
    • The government acts as a "pseudo-democracy" within the Communist Party (70M+ members); business can succeed if it does not threaten political stability (e.g., no Falun Gong or political dissent).
    • Media is censored; content is delayed by 7–10 seconds and heavily monitored.
  • Data Collaboration: Unlike the US, Chinese competitors (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) share data to build richer consumer profiles, a practice accepted by the public who are accustomed to surveillance.
  • Brand Loyalty: Low in consumer goods due to the prevalence of counterfeits (e.g., refilled water bottles); success often requires selling verified imported goods (e.g., Japanese cosmetics) to foreign buyers.
• Singapore:
  • Considered a "small first-world market" with 5M people (1M expats) where customer acquisition costs are too high for scaling startups.
  • Serves primarily as a legal and government-backed foundation for credibility rather than a primary revenue market.

Venture Capital and Talent Strategies

• Capital vs. People:
  • Consensus among the panel is that finding capital is easy if the business model is sound; the primary constraint is finding the right "people" (entrepreneurs and leadership).
  • Investors look for three criteria: a "sexy" rising market, a competitive edge, and a team capable of pivoting.
• Talent Acquisition:
  • Expat Reliance: Katcha Group hires 70–100 expats across Asia to bring "learnings from developed markets," paying above-market rates and creating significant wealth (50 US dollar millionaires in 10 years).
  • Qualification Bias: A major cultural challenge in Asia is an over-reliance on paper qualifications (degrees) rather than practical hunger or execution capability.
  • Retention: In competitive markets like Indonesia, retaining talent requires generous option plans and salaries, as top local talent is often poached by larger firms or starts their own ventures.

Comparative Growth and Execution

• Ease of Entry:
  • The panel agrees it is generally easier to start and succeed in Asia than in the US due to a "crystal ball" effect: Asian markets are 5–10 years behind, allowing for the localization of proven Western/Chinese models without needing to invent new categories.
  • Execution in complex, multi-lingual, multi-currency environments (e.g., Southeast Asia) is viewed as a higher-value differentiator than pure innovation.
• Innovation Hubs:
  • US: Retains leadership in "ambient computing" (AI, computer vision) and deep R&D.
  • China: Possesses massive IP in hardware and R&D, leading in areas the US does not.
  • India: Currently lagging in deep R&D innovation, often copying US/China models rather than creating native IP.
• Manufacturing Shifts:
  • Manufacturing is expected to remain in China for the next two decades, driven by automation and government support for efficiency.
  • Labor-intensive manufacturing may shift to Vietnam or Indonesia, but India is seen as less likely to become a primary manufacturing hub due to cultural and logistical factors.

Strategic Decisions and Forward-Looking Statements

• One Championship: Plans to continue expanding live events across Asia, leveraging the unique cultural resonance of martial arts which requires no explanation to local audiences.
• Regenerative Medicine: Vicar Partners is actively investing in this sector across Asia and the US, citing the need for precision medicine data tailored to Asian and Chinese genetic profiles (currently underrepresented in global drug R&D).
• Future Workforce: The panel anticipates a shift where coding becomes automated (AI-driven), making creativity and problem-solving the primary drivers of future employment, potentially challenging current Asian education systems focused on rote academic scoring.
• E-commerce Expansion: Businesses must be prepared to "reinvent the wheel" for every country entry due to distinct legal, religious, and regulatory environments; a single "Asia" business model is ineffective.