Vertex focuses on founders not market amid economic turmoil

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Hello reader,

I’m a big fan of Tech in Asia’s Recession Run series, which provides insights into how experienced high-profile investors and VCs are navigating the current macroeconomic storm.

The Q&A series offers a holistic picture of the strategies that the dominant VC firms adopt in the region and where investment opportunities exist in the startup ecosystem amid rising inflation, interest rate hikes, mass job cuts, and the slowdown in venture funding.

So far, Tech in Asia has covered the views of East Ventures, Sequoia, 500 Global, Antler, and Quest Ventures. It is fascinating to analyze their contrasting perspectives and current investment plans.

For instance, Jussi Salovaara, co-founder and managing partner for Asia at Antler, sees the firm almost doubling its investments across the region, while East Ventures’ managing partner, Roderick Purwana, anticipates a bit of a slowdown.

Today’s featured piece is the latest installment of the Recession Run series, where Pui Yan Leung, partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, takes the hot seat. She shares her views on nosediving startup valuations, the market correction, and is at pains to highlight the importance of founders in Vertex’s investment strategy.

Today we look at:

• Vertex’s outlook on investing amid the ongoing economic downturn
• Logistics firm Shippit’s US$11.3 million acquisition of Singapore-based Luwjistik
• Other newsy highlights such as Coinbase receiving MAS approval, and Airwallex’s latest US$100 million funding round

— Shravanth

P.S.: If you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, fill out this form to get your company featured on our list of fundraising startups.

Premium summary

Backing the founder

Image credit: Timmy Loen

As funding dries up, many founders are scrambling to secure capital to keep their startups afloat. Leung’s advice to is to secure even more, as she urges companies to keep a healthy cash runway – enough to last for the next two years – in order to survive the ongoing economic turmoil.

Moving parts of the logistics space

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