"There are different ways to build the future. As an investor, I bucket three very distinct categories of company building or types of companies that you see in Southeast Asia. One is, building in Southeast Asia for Southeast Asia using models that have worked in developed markets. Two is, building in Southeast Asia for the rest of the world. The third category is building for Southeast Asia in Southeast Asia but with business models that are unique to the region, eFisheries is one of those. What are sectors that are uniquely Thai, uniquely Vietnam, uniquely Indonesian, and that's where you're truly innovating where you're not just copying models that work, but building something unique to that country." - Wing Vasiksiri
"I believe a lot of the top regional funds now are byproducts or initially seeded by the Singaporean government, which is a great idea. I don't think many other countries do that, but if we can contrast that with, let's say Vietnam, where politically it's not as stable but they've still done a good job of positioning themselves as number three in Southeast Asia in terms of startups and the excitement. And when I look at Vietnam, every time I visit, it's more cultural. People there are naturally entrepreneurial. They're risk-taking. They have this ownership, risk-taking mentality that I don't see in many other countries. Everywhere you go, people have a side hustle. They're excited, they're working towards building their own thing, and you very much feel the energy when you're in Ho Chi Minh." - Wing Vasiksiri
"The reality is that every system is, by nature, fundamentally conservative in the sense that new laws are not built every year. They catch up to whatever it is. For example, I've noticed a lot of Filipino entrepreneurs who are very entrepreneurial are learning from Silicon Valley over YouTube and podcasts in English. So I've coined this phrase called language-locked, but to some extent, the Philippines has a very strong cultural linkage with the US. I've met so many American-Filipino diasporas, but also Filipinos who are very, glued to that American culture of hustle. You can really see the flavor of those things in terms of how they pitch, present, and frame up the problem. So there's an interesting dynamic where English fluency and all these other links play a big part in it." - Jeremy Au
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on the Thailand BCG startup report, ecosystem underperformance (smallest in ASEAN-6), and why the time is now with Wing Vasiksiri.
Keywords: Thailand, BCG Startup Report, Ecosystem Underperformance ASEAN-6, Why The Time is Now, Wing Vasiksiri, Thailand, Thought Leadership
