Jingjing Zhong

UNLOCKING THE SECREATS OF THE GLOBAL VC ECOSYSTEM : A SUMMIT FOR LIMITED PARTNERS AND VENTURE CAPITALISTS TO THE GLOBAL VC's ECOSYSTEM SUMMIT -------------- 💰💵 Check 1st post in features section in my profile 💵💰 -------------- #VCEcosystemSummit #VentureCapital #LimitedPartners #Investment #PortfolioManagement #GrowthStrategy #IndustryLeaders #Networking #Collaboration #Innovation #Startup #Entrepreneurship #Funding #Investor #LP #GP #VC #PrivateEquity #HedgeFund #AssetManagement #WealthManagement #FinancialServices #InvestmentBanking #CapitalMarkets #BusinessGrowth #Scaling #Expansion #Disruption #Volatility #RiskManagement #Resilience #Sustainability #ESG #ImpactInvesting #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity #Equality #WomenInVC #WomenInFinance #MenInVC #MenInFinance #VentureCapitalist #InvestmentBanker #FinancialAnalyst #PortfolioManager #InvestmentManager #AssetManager #WealthManager #FinancialPlanner #InvestmentAdvisor #VCFirm #StartupAccelerator #Incubator #CoworkingSpace #EntrepreneurialEcosystem #InnovationHub #BusinessNetworking #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #Mentorship #CareerGrowth #IndustryTrends #MarketInsights #FinancialRegulations #InvestmentStrategy #RiskAssessment #DueDiligence #DealMaking #MandA #IPO #PrivatePlacement #HedgeFundManager #AssetAllocator #FamilyOffice #SovereignWealthFund #PensionFund #EndowmentFund #VentureCapitalInvesting #StartupFunding #GrowthCapital #ExpansionCapital #Buyout #Recapitalization #Restructuring #Turnaround #DistressedInvesting #SpecialSituations #EventDriven #CreditInvesting #DebtFinancing #EquityInvesting #MezzanineFinancing #GrowthEquity #VentureDebt #SeedFunding #SeriesA #SeriesB #SeriesC #IPOPrep #PreIPO #PostIPO #PrivateCompany #PublicCompany #MicroVC #NanoVC #SeedStage #EarlyStage #GrowthStage #LateStage #PrivateEquityFund #HedgeFundManager #InvestmentPortfolio #RiskManagementStrategy #InvestmentResearch #FinancialPlanning #WealthCreation #CapitalGrowth #InvestmentOpportunities #BusinessExpansion #MarketTrends #IndustryInsights #FinancialInnovation #InvestmentInnovation #VCDeals #StartupSuccess #InvestmentStrategy #PortfolioDiversification #InvestmentRisk #InvestmentReturn #InvestmentGrowth #InvestmentIncome #InvestmentManagement #InvestmentConsulting #PrivateEquityInvesting #HedgeFundInvesting #VentureCapitalInvesting #AngelInvesting #ImpactInvesting #SustainableInvesting #ESGInvesting #ResponsibleInvesting #InvestmentFirms #InvestmentCompanies #InvestmentPartners #InvestmentNetwork #InvestmentCommunity #InvestmentEvents #InvestmentConferences #InvestmentSummit #InvestmentForum #InvestmentRoundtable #StartupInvesting #EarlyStageInvesting #GrowthStageInvesting #LateStageInvesting #PrivateEquityFirms #HedgeFundManagers #VentureCapitalFirms #AngelGroups #ImpactInvestors

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Want to take your angel investing game to the next level? Here’s how to start your own syndicate: 1. Gather your network that may be interested in angel investing 2. Create and set up your legal entity and SPV infrastructure via a platform like AngelList 3. Prepare for your first deal - discussions with the founder, collection of deal materials, confirmation of your allocation 4.. Write your deal memo, circulate the deal, collect commitments 5. Close the deal, wire the funds, and celebrate your first syndicate deal Importantly, after wiring the funds, ask the founder if you can pass along future investor updates to LPs so they can stay up to date with how the company progresses over time.

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🚀 New Product Launch – Investor Connect by Iterative. I launched SEA Checks on May 31, 2023. Since then, over 500 startups have submitted their pitch decks, which have been circulated to the 12 investors in the group. It mostly worked, but we encountered a few problems: 1. Overwhelming Investor Interest – I received an overwhelming number of emails and DMs from other investors who wanted to participate. I apologize to those I didn't respond to; I simply didn't know how to proceed at the time. 2. Founders Wanted More Investors – Although SEA Checks boasts a desirable group of investors, founders expressed a desire for a platform with a broader reach and a larger set of investors. This was especially true for startups working on less mainstream projects. 3. Lack of Filter – Given the high volume of applications and our process of sending every submission to the small group of investors, I suspect that most investors didn't spend much time reviewing the submissions. There were simply too many, potentially leading them to overlook promising startups. A straightforward solution would be to significantly expand the number of participating investors, but this contradicts the original intention of maintaining a small group of investors who know each other (mainly through me). So, what should we do? I believe there’s value in a platform that’s more inclusive to a broader set of investors and, consequently, a broader set of startups. However, I think this requires a different platform than SEA Checks. In fact, it should go in the complete opposite direction. I've always admired Mercury Raise broadly and Investor Connect specifically, but they’re US-focused. I've also thought there should be something similar for Southeast Asia, so that's what we've been working on. Today, we're launching our own Investor Connect. Here’s how it works 1. Submit Your Deck – We welcome founders based in Southeast Asia to apply. Tell us about your startup and upload your pitch deck. 2. We Review – Every month, the Iterative team reviews and selects startups based on idea, team, and market. These are then shared with our investor network. 3. Connect with Investors – If an investor expresses interest, we'll connect the two of you. We hope this will be helpful to a wider group of both founders and investors. To find out more, look for the 📌 in the comments.

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Weekly Update: Had an interesting week 1. Got a response back from someone on Uber Press Team 2. Finished up an exciting content collab call 3. Attending a Private Fireside virtually- with Garry Tan of Y Combinator 4. Planning for a demo day in Singapore 5. Coming up on 4 years of Business Podcast by Roohi in late May/ early June Power of creating content, and posting it is so powerful Will be sharing more such updates every week

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As MAGIC AI is gearing up for the second round of funding, I was interviewed by Actum Group to share plans for MAGIC AI. We started with the single motto, Making PT affordable for everyone🏋 Fast forward to now, we👇  🚀 Have hit product market fit. 💲Clocked a seven-figure ARR. 💰 Served 100s of customers & impacted their health. 🌏 Built one of the world’s most in-demand AI products. We’ve been overwhelmed by love and support❤️ We want to give back to them by making MAGIC AI more advanced. 👉Geographic expansion, new services, operational enhancements, and team strengthening are our core focus now. To make all this possible, We are also hiring a Freelance QA Engineer. So, if you have any references, do hit me up! Exciting times ahead✨ --------------- The link to the whole Q&A is in the comment section👇 #ukstartup #funding #entrepreneurship

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Founders raising for the first time? This is an awesome guide. 👀⤵️ All credits to Brian Ortiz 👏🏽 #firstdegree #founders #investors
#alwaysbelearning #sharingiscaring #changethewaywework

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Founders: Learn to say "tell me more." When faced with challenging questions or negative feedbacks in a meeting with an investor or a customer, or when in a tough negotiation, your instinct will be to respond and counter immediately because you don't want to look bad. Don't do that. Instead, say "tell me more." In most cases, such challenging questions or negative feedbacks are only a very small expressed part of the entire context. By saying "tell me more" you can extract more context behind them and better understand what that someone on the other side of the table really wants to know or concerns about, and it will help you regain the control over the conversation. Especially with investors, if you're a seed-stage company, most of the seed-stage VCs ask challenging questions just to see how you can clearly and logically think and respond as we understand that you may have to change your strategy, product, etc, going forward. In tough negotiations also, even when some things seem non-negotiable with the other side, there are alonost always second best and third best alternatives which you could find simply by saying "tell me more." Of course sometimes those tough questions, negative feedbacks or tough negotiations are the indicator of flat-out 'No’s.' But in such cases, just by simply asking them to tell you more, you’ve just - at the very least, learned a new perspective. So learn to say "tell me more."

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the biggest difference between San Francisco & Singapore for me is this. whether it's the population of experienced, ambitious series A-B founders that's low (they leave to SF/London for better network effects once they reach this level) or if they exist but the chance of meeting them is low because they're too busy to spend time with people outside of their team/customers/family (or they rather meet up other founders at their level or higher in private dinners) is worth being looked into. but regardless, this takes a massive toll on knowledge/wisdom transfer in an ecosystem. that's bad because startups are peak knowledge economy and insights and short cuts make all the difference in both life and death of startups, as well as in the rate at which they can grow and generate and capture value. singapore is way ahead of most countries. most countries don't even have that critical mass of early stage startups, or a critical mass of exited tech builders/investors. but this curve will create negative network affects, if not dealt with. not just singapore, any country that wants a healthy ecosystem for startups or any other important thing (scientific research etc.) needs a healthy knowledge/wisdom transfer pipeline. can't miss a few layers in between and expect the system to produce great output. Btw I think San Francisco is absolutely lucky to have the knowledge transfer pipeline that it has. It's not necessarily designed or intentionally set up. and I don't think it's sustainable either (smart people leaving their countries to go 1 place can be exciting for a few decades but then causes their home countries to get worse and worse, which makes the world worse and worse. no city can become/stay great if the world around it is burning). but this problem wont get solved by itself because humans have a natural tendency to hang out with people at their level of competence/consciousness or higher. elitism reinforces elitism. LearningLoop.com's global mission since day 1 has been, not to disrupt elitism, but to capture the wisdom of the elite, present it at different levels of abstraction to people who seek it but can't get it; because of their location, wealth, level competence, etc. make 1 billion elites we've started with 1 knowledge space that is startups. so at this scale, we define success as making sure San Francisco's startup network and knowledge/wisdom pipeline and discourse not just available but accessible globally. availability = being able to see/read/hear about it vs accessibility = being able to participate in it and get value from it. P.S: we're hosting an event in singapore this wednesday, if you're a founder you should drop by. the RSVP list looks amazing and you'll love the people and conversation. link in comments

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This is so important to call out Chang (CK) Kim. It’s such a rat race in the Valley. When you surround yourself with people working in corporate big tech who are paid big salaries and stock, you can feel so small and broke as a startup founder trying to build something. You envy them for them for their stability and income, but they envy you because you’re pursuing your dreams. You can often feel like a failure because you can’t provide the same things for yourself or your family. At least in Silicon Valley there are many other founders around and people understand what you are doing. I remember when, in places like New York or Los Angeles, saying you’re a founder at a dinner party might as well be saying you have an infectious disease or are unemployable. I remember turning down invites to glamorous weddings in exotic destinations because I just couldn’t afford it on my startup budget. It wasn’t until I started surrounding myself with other founders who could relate to my experience that I was able to be in a better mental space and stop questioning my self-worth. Of course you will still compare yourself to your founder peers when they raise a new round or have an exit, but you’re rooting for them at the same time, because you hope that will be you someday. There’s a fellowship among struggling founders, because they’re the only ones who understand the rollercoaster of emotions you go through every single day. You can literally be happy one moment because you closed a huge deal and terrified the next because a key employee hands you their resignation letter. This is the biggest reason I started the Asian American Founder Circle, because we as founders had a whole separate load of baggage we had in common. Find your people, you’ll be better off when you realize you’re not alone.

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With Accelerating Asia Ventures celebrating our 6th birthday this week, I thought I would reshare a little story. In 2016, I applied for a job at a "fast-growing" startup. It was a social impact partnerships role, working in a globally distributed team. The role was to grow their global partnerships with non profits and social enterprises to support the company's growth and their work with women and girls in Africa. Seemed like a perfect fit. I got through all the interview rounds and my final step was an interview with the founder. Unfortunately, it was one of the worst interview experiences I've ever had. It seemed like he had already profiled me, doubtful about everything that I had done during my career. He would ask a question and then interrupt me as I answered, cynical. It was about 30 minutes of me constantly on the back foot desperately trying to prove myself. He ended the interview abruptly by telling me that there are too many twenty-something year olds running around the world with their laptops thinking that they are going to create social impact, and that it's not the kind of person they were looking for. Needless to say, I didn't get the job. (Well actually, I don't know... maybe it's still an option because I never heard from the company again after that interview) But at the time, for a twenty-something year old person who was pretty hopeful that I could be doing something impactful with my job, that experience was pretty confidence crushing. 2 years later in 2018, Craig Bristol Dixon and I started Accelerating Asia Ventures. And *I* became a twenty-something year old person, running around the world with my laptop, working with startups who are creating a positive impact and changing the world. We now have 80 portfolio companies across Southeast Asia and South Asia. The results are still coming in from our most recent metrics gathering exercise across the portfolio. But from my initial number crunching, I can tell you this: ✨ Our portfolio companies have created jobs for close to 17k people across the region ✨ 2.5mil individuals and micro-enterprises have gained access to financial services through their work ✨ Over 8mil patients have been provided access to healthcare services through work that portfolio companies are doing in the healthcare space. ✨ 1.4mil students have been able to access quality education digitally around the region through our ed-tech investments ✨ 60k farmers have gained access to customised farming advice and information through portfolio companies in the agri-tech industry ✨ And 62k metric tonnes of co2 have been avoided through the work of portfolio companies in the green economy. You know, every now and then life throws you a teachable moment. The feelings associated with those moments can often be pretty negative but I've been learning that these are the moments that define what kind of person you want to be like. Or, most importantly, the kind of person you don't want to be like.

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"How do you switch VC firms?" I get this question a lot 👆 from VC's looking to make a move. In our Moves in VC newsletter tomorrow, we'll be sharing an interview with Sri Ayangar, who has some great advice on the topic. He's had solid stints at 2 firms already, and has just announced this week that he's moving to Lakestar. Watch the clip below to see how he recommends a #vc approach this delicate topic 👇🏻

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Did you know that some of the highest valued startups in Y Combinator are based in Southeast Asia? Xendit, one of the most successful YC alums, was founded in 2015. It was created to provide payment solutions that simplify payment processes for businesses in Southeast Asia and its valuation passed $1 billion in 2021. If there’s one thing Xendit is good at, it's knowing who to serve and how to serve them. After graduating from Y-Combinator (S15), Xendit went ahead to secure: - $64 million in series B funding in March 2021,  - $150 million in series C round in September 2021,  - $300 million in series D funding on May 1, 2022 Xendit is one of the fastest growing fintechs in Southeast Asia, tripling annualized transactions from 65 million to 200 million and increasing total payment value from $6.5 billion to $15 billion. Their growth has seen sales increase by 10% month over month since its inception. Currently ranked #32 on Y-Combinator’s top 100 list of most valuable companies, Xendit has been referred to as Indonesia’s Stripe in many cases. In Southeast Asia, you can’t just build everything around credit cards. Credit card penetration is extremely low in countries like Indonesia, and merchants need alternative payment methods. Then came Xendit. They integrated payment options for merchants and became a reliable way for startups to connect with customers. The platform fixed problems like disbursements, including marketplace refunds. The goal was for every merchant to get on board and never leave. Xendit’s expansion to the Philippines was an easy decision. According to Tessa W., Co-founder and COO of Xendit, “the real problem in the Philippines was accepting money,” so they focused on solving that problem. They hired a lot of locals who understood the market rather than telling them what to do, which has worked and that is how they’ve continued their expansion plan so far They’ve strategically invested in Dragonpay Corporation in the Philippines and Bank Sahabat Sampoerna, a private bank in Indonesia, to fulfill their dream of being a part of Southeast Asia’s digital economy, which will be worth $360 billion by 2025. The opportunity is huge.

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Money20/20 Bangkok was fine, but most of the speakers blended together in a samey blur. Founders, Chief Product Officers and VPs of Engineering, BE PROVOCATIVE because you all sounded the same. Especially in payments. While you were speaking, I watched the audience look at their phones. Most of you had the same thing to say: better, faster, cheaper (BFC). There were screenshots and architecture diagrams of course but essentially, BFC through tech. Given the chance to speak at a general industry event like this, the only thing that stands out are companies with a point of view. - What is the radical shift you envision for this industry? - Is there a fundamental market error that everyone in your industry is making? If you can pack a punch onstage, people will come find you at your booth or connect with you. If not, they’ll just go to the next booth along or compare your price with the next guy.

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Some exciting callls tomorrow 1. W/ a Singapore based community builder re the various events, and such 2. Might be recording a podcast with Dilip Kumar: The Other Side Podcast, Rainmatter 3. Learning more about what someone is building One of my goals this year: Trying to talk with more people about what I am building, sharing my half baked ideas, learning more about the startups and VC ecosystem Surrounding myself with more builders, hustlers, founders, and people doing cool things Will be sharing more like this in my weekly updates on X And hopefully in my personal newsletter- once I get it up and running

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Good summarization of the dilemma facing investors. Agreed Amy Wu there will be generational companies but at most in low single digits (OpenAI seems that one). AI startups will have tough survival rates - due to being sandwiched between fast following cash rich hyperscalers (delivering full stack of AI) and product whales (like Apple who can in one OS update can make dozens of AI writing assistant startups irrelevant).

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I’m going to invest $9M into early-stage startups in the next 6 months. 15 companies. $600k per investment. 🚨 Big problem statements 🚨 Sector agnostic  🚨 Building from Singapore  🚨 Pre-launch, pre-seed, and seed funding 🚨 Open to individuals who are still ideating, as well as, companies with co-founders that are already building - - - If you’re still ideating, comment "STEALTH" below and I'll message you. If you’re already building, comment "BUILD". If you know people building the most defining technology companies, tag them below or share this with your network. - - - Antler is a global early-stage VC investing in the world’s most driven founders across 30 cities including Singapore and across Southeast Asia. By investing from day zero, we are the earliest backer for startups as well as a long-term capital partner that provides follow-on funding of up to $10M for growth-stage startups at Series A and beyond. Want to reach us sooner? In addition to the above, connect with us at antler.co/singapore

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📰 Solo VCs are rising in popularity once again. This means only one General Partner is leading the firm, versus multiples. 💔 Why? There are GP breakups going on all around us after partnerships have been tested by the market for years now. The bar to co-found a venture firm with a partner is very high. Those GPs that thought they might graft another one on in the short term to share the load are stopping in their tracks to deeply consider those implications. 🌱 Many are opting to bring in more junior talent and grow them into Partner roles instead. It’ll take time and capital to be able to do that as the firm grows. Talked to 3 diff GPs about this at dinner last night and we’re all leaning toward that approach in our short and long term planning. 💡 FYI - this is just an observation of the moment we’re in. There are plenty of firms thriving with full partnerships as well as solo GPs. But it’s worth calling out that new partnerships are particularly risky right now, especially if the partners haven’t worked with each other for a long time.

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🔥Raise Millions For Your Startup🔥 This is arguably the most valuable startup fundraising resource I've had the privilege of stumbling upon. It's from Tam Pham from hustlefund.vc and it's good... The reason why it's particularly useful is because the intel provided is ACTIONABLE: ● Should I raise from angel investors or venture capitalists? ● What do all the fundraising stages mean? ● What do equity, SAFEs, and dilution mean? ● How do I determine my startup’s valuation? ● Why are cap tables, shares, and vesting so important? ● Where should I incorporate my company? ● When is the best time to start fundraising? ● What exactly should I include in my pitch deck? ● How should I structure my first meeting with an investor? ● What questions will early-stage VCs ask me? ● How do I build authentic relationships with investors? ● What happens if an investor says no or ghosts me? ● What should I expect after an investor verbally commits? You guys can save this doc to your local computer by enlarging the PDF below and then by clicking the "download" icon in the top right corner of your browser. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 💡Join 30,000+ Amplified Investors: https://lnkd.in/eAYGMHRN ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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