60/40 Podcast20 Nov 2025

How Endowus charted their own path to $10B in AUM

This week, 60/40 sits down with Endowus co-founders Gregory Van and Samuel Rhee — the duo behind one of Asia’s fastest-growing wealthtech platforms. We unpack their latest $70M fundraise, how they built a conflict-free investing model in a region dominated by commissions, why they stayed laser-focused on Singapore and Hong Kong, and how they survived the tech winter without mass layoffs.

Greg and Sam also get candid about their co-founder dynamic, risk appetites, early failures, and yes — who really loses their cool in a meeting. Plus, a lightning round of “Superlatives” that you won’t want to miss.

Timestamps

00:00: Intro

01:50: The $70M raise and why fundraising still sucks

03:48: Singapore first, Hong Kong second, and the B2B opportunity

09:42: Fundraising in a bad VC market & reverse inquiries

14:31: The founding story: CPF shock, Grab learnings, and pensions

17:41: Why most Asian robos failed — and why Endowus is different

21:06: Trailer fees, misaligned incentives, and systemic industry flaws

32:54: Bootstrapping, employees buying shares, and ESOP culture

36:27: Co-founder dynamics: complementary skills & Monday meetings

46:32: The hardest moment: navigating tech winter without layoffs

52:01: AI as a tool, not a strategy — how Endowus sees the future

56:18: Do they think about exits? The partnership ethos

58:51: The Superlatives game + closing comments

Give us feedback or nominate topics & speakers at 6040podcast@techinasia.com.

60/40 is a bi-weekly podcast co-hosted by Prashanth Ranganathan, Peter Bithos, Aleksey Mironenko, and Maria Li. Special thanks to our guests, Gregory Van and Samuel Rhee from Endowus.

A podcast by Tech in Asia, a member of The Business Times.

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