"There's a saying we often share: you can divorce your spouse, but you can't divorce your investor. Once you’ve sold 20 percent of your company to a group of investors, the legal and information rights they acquire are almost impossible to undo. This reality has led to plenty of founder horror stories. Take, for example, a situation last year where a company had to sell for 20 cents on the dollar. Most investors stood to lose 80 percent of their money, but one person refused to accept the deal and vetoed it. In the end, the entire deal fell through, and everyone ended up with nothing. It’s a stark reminder of why we need to think carefully about rights in two major ways.” - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Jeremy Au
"We talked about how, with each bet carrying very high risk but also very high reward, the most logical approach is to bundle that risk into a portfolio. This strategy generates a unique set of returns, a pattern we see repeatedly across industries. It’s the same with blockbusters—some movies make extraordinary profits, while most perform poorly. Similarly, in the entertainment industry, Hollywood actors, actresses, and supermodels follow the same power law dynamics: a few become household names, while the majority fade into obscurity.” - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Jeremy Au
"Concentrated bets are a different strategy. Companies like Monk’s Hill, NextView Ventures, Haystack, and Alpha JWC in Indonesia, for example, often focus on fewer, high-conviction investments. On the other hand, multi-stage investing, which was much more popular a few years ago, takes a broader approach. Multi-stage essentially means investing in the same company across multiple stages of growth. The idea is to secure the largest possible stake in a company that’s clearly a winner. For instance, a seed index portfolio might invest in 40 companies at the seed stage. A Series A-focused fund might make 20 investments, each with a check size around $3 million. But the multi-stage investor might start with a $10 million check at the seed stage, follow up with $50 million at Series A, and go even bigger with $100 million in later rounds. They view each stage as a limited opportunity and aim to secure ownership throughout the company’s growth trajectory.” - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast" - Jeremy Au
In this episode, Jeremy Au speaks on unicorn and blockbuster hunting, emerging fund returns, and the Southeast Asia VC landscape.
Keywords: Unicorn Hunting, Blockbuster Hunting, Emerging Fund Returns, Southeast Asia VC Landscape, Singapore, Southeast Asia, VC, Education, Thought Leadership
