New face tasked with guiding Northstar in early-stage venture

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Hello reader,

I’m a proponent of regularly hiring new talent, but that wasn’t always the case. Until recently, I believed the benefits of fresh recruits were often overstated. That all changed when I came across this book called Loonshots by Safi Bahcall. It’s definitely one of the most insightful business-related books I’ve read.

While it touches upon a host of topics – from lean organization structures to the fascinating discovery of cholesterol-reducing statins – it was the book’s analysis on how bringing fresh faces into the picture can revitalize both ailing and successful businesses that has really stuck with me.

Citing real-world examples, Bahcall shows how organizations can escape a singular way of thinking. He even goes so far as to suggest keeping new recruits away from the established workforce so as to not stifle innovation. This concept has, eventually, led to the creation of standalone “innovation hubs” by multinational corporations.

Perhaps, Northstar Group ripped a page or two off Loonshots when it hired Melvin Hade, an Indonesia-based partner at Global Founders Capital, to co-lead its newly established VC fund.

Our featured story today brings to the fore how the Southeast Asian private equity giant is counting on Hade to guide the firm through its first venture into early-stage tech investments since 2014.

Today we look at:

• Hade’s appointment at Northstar
• Love Bonito’s acquisition of activewear firm Butter
• Other newsy highlights such as Indonesian unicorn Blibli and Indian car-sharing platform Zoomcar heading for public listings

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Investing early

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Hade will not be leading Northstar’s first early-stage investments venture in nearly a decade on his own. He will be paired along with Carlson Lau, a managing director at the firm.

• The fantastic four: While declining to disclose the finer details of the new fund – which is called Northstar Ventures – Hade says that it will invest across different industries. He adds that the fund has developed a thesis around four key sectors: consumers, fintech, enterprise software, and Web3.
• In a confident mood: Hade, who started his career at McKinsey, believes he’ll fit like a hand in a glove at Northstar, thanks to his experience as an early-stage investor for over three years.
• Double dipping: The new fund marks the private equity firm’s first venture into early-stage tech investments since 2014, when it established affiliate VC fund NSI Ventures. This went on to become an independent firm that rebranded as Openspace Ventures.

Read more: Northstar appoints GFC partner Melvin Hade to co-lead new VC fund

Everything’s better with Butter

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