Vertex Ventures & Venture Capital in Southeast Asia & India with Carmen Yuen

"The whole of Southeast Asia has to come up as a group. Hence, my secret about what I know about the VC industry that people don't know. The secret is that you've got to be very sane when you come to investing, right? So, if you invest so high, we can't get exits. When we can't get exits, we can't return money to LPs, and then the investors will say, ‘Oh, Southeast Asia cannot find exits one.’ It cannot be, right? So to me, we must be able to show exits. That's the proof of the pudding.” - Carmen Yuen

Fresh out of the studio, Carmen Yuen, general partner from Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India, joined us to discuss the current state of venture capital in Southeast Asia & India after the difficult fundraising climate in the past year. Carmen began the story of her career, moving from the government sector to venture capital. She shares the evolution of Vertex Ventures from their investment thesis to the portfolio of startups and evaluates the startup class of 2023 vs 2021. Last but not least, Carmen describes exits as the leading indicators for startup success and elucidates what great would look like for Vertex Ventures.

Episode Highlights:
[00:50] Quote of the Day #QOTD from Carmen Yuen.
[01:21] Introduction: Carmen Yuen, General Partner, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.
[02:16] Carmen’s career story from the government sector to venture capital.
[05:03] Career lessons from Carmen Yuen.
[08:32] Introduction to Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.
[12:41] Perspectives on Markets: Southeast Asia & India.
[14:50] Finding Local champions vs Regional players in Southeast Asia.
[16:12] The verticals that Carmen Yuen invests in Southeast Asia & India.
[18:48] Carmen’s typical day as a VC.
[20:22] Traits of Founders & Startup Teams that Carmen invests in.
[22:50] The red flags that deter Carmen from investing in startups.
[24:46] Solo Founders vs Startup Teams.
[26:55] Interesting companies under Vertex SE Asia portfolio.
[32:05] Advice to founders on market expansion in Southeast Asia.
[35:44] The startup class of 2023 vs the startup class of 2021.
[38:19] Outlook for 2024: Headwinds and Tailwinds.
[40:00] The one thing that Carmen Yuen knows as a VC that very few do.
[42:36] Advice to Startup Founders in a difficult fundraising climate.
[44:42] How do you explain the Southeast Asia to LPs?
[46:50] Exits are key to success in Southeast Asia: M&A and IPOs.
[47:36] What does great look like in Vertex Ventures SEA and India?
[48:11] Closing.

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.