Bet on the forks-and-chopsticks startups in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asians love their food

Filipinos have eighteen ways to cook a pig. Thai have discovered what is possibly the most perfect cup of coffee. Malaysians have somehow managed to fall in love with a fruit that smells like garbage.

Yes, Southeast Asians really love their food.

And there are so many different culinary variations, recipes, and specialties throughout the region that tasting them all is impossible, let alone identifying the ones that are actually enjoyable to eat.

(I honestly can’t understand the gastronomical devotion afforded to that King of Fruits.)

But the one thing all this food has in common? The one thing Indonesian ayam penyet, Vietnamese pho, and Malaysian bak kut teh all share?

No matter where you are, you’re probably going to be eating that meal with a fork or chopsticks.

Potential of this region

Southeast Asia, if it isn’t already abundantly clear, is rapidly becoming one of the most lucrative markets in the world. Even if judging it on the admittedly simplistic metrics of middle class growth, internet and smartphone penetration, and online spending, it’s clear that the region has already passed its inflection point in terms of online consumption and digitisation.

In other words, Southeast Asians are spending more time and money online, thanks to growing purchasing power, more accessible internet, and — perhaps more a consequence than a driver — the rise of technology companies leveraging these dual trends.

Those numbers are growing, and quickly. For investors, this is a great thing. Some of world’s next billion dollars companies will be found here, and I believe we’re going to be seeing a steady uptick in mergers and acquisitions over the next few years. Series A funding will skyrocket, which will have both a trickle-down and trickle-up effect on seed and later-stage funding rounds.

But finding those great companies? Not so easy.

No chopsticks, no food

That is to say, it’s not so easy if you’re only thinking about the food under your nose, and not about the chopsticks in your hand.

During the California Gold Rush of 1849, most miners failed to strike it rich, a disconcerting reminder for those in venture capital that the Power Law was still going strong even 160 years ago. The most consistent returns were actually found in those entrepreneurs that sold the picks and shovels to the miners.

The chopsticks

Final thoughts