"Being a parent has made me a better investor. There's a parallel between communicating with children and engaging with founders. You can't simply dictate actions to kids. Similarly, founders are driven by conviction and resist directive approaches. I have adjusted my communication style to get the message across so that it lands well. It speaks to the founders and it becomes a more collaborative relationship." - Jeremy Tan
"Before we started fundraising, each of us wrote down what we thought we could contribute financially, and when I tallied it up, it was less than 10 million—clearly not the start we hoped for. Raising our first fund was challenging, especially in a region like Southeast Asia where the venture capital market is still emerging, unlike more established markets like the US, China, and India. The pool of LPs familiar with and willing to invest in venture capital here is limited. However, we quickly realized we needed to extend our search beyond Singapore, and fortunately, our Harvard network proved invaluable. We secured our first and second anchor LPs and strategically partnered with regional LPs familiar with our work, leveraging their transition to digital platforms. This alignment has been instrumental, as it allows our startups to effectively enter the market." - Jeremy Tan
"I'm still mastering the art of juggling life's demands, but I've found that journaling each morning really helps. I take a few minutes to write down my thoughts and what I'm grateful for, which keeps me from dwelling on the negatives. This practice grounds me. Throughout the day, I take small breaks for things like deep breathing in a taxi or daily exercise, which refreshes my mind and keeps me from thinking about work. On weekends, I truly disconnect to spend quality time with my family. I also carve out a few hours for myself—like early Saturday mornings when I go fishing before taking the kids swimming. Being in nature is a crucial part of staying balanced for me." - Jeremy Tan
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on the Cambridge engineer and Harvard MBA journey, founding Tin Men Capital, and fatherhood insights.
Keywords: Jeremy Tan, Cambridge Engineer and Harvard MBA, Founding Tin Men Capital, Fatherhood Insights, Singapore, VC, Harvard, Founder Story
