The student-run fund that’s nurturing budding founders and venture capitalists

Did you have your own company when you were 28 years old?

In Singapore, that’s the average age of startup founders, and venture capitalists usually fall within the 25 to 34 age bracket themselves.

This begs the question: How does one become a founder or a venture capitalist at such a young age? How do they hone the right skills, build confidence, and connect with the right networks that early on in their careers?

While financial analysis can be taught at universities, networking, investment judgment, and negotiation skills are best sharpened in a practical setting. For some, training these muscles starts as early as their university days through initiatives like Protégé Ventures (PV), Southeast Asia’s first and Singapore’s only student-run venture fund.

Photo credit: Protégé Ventures

The program is run by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE) and is “for students, by students,” says Anaanya Bijay, an undergraduate student at SMU who’s an incoming partner at PV.

A safe space for budding venture capital enthusiasts

The program was started in 2017 to help students immerse themselves in the startup ecosystem, engage with founders, and identify and witness trends as they unfold. Through its investments, PV aims to support the growth of early-stage tech startups founded by students or recent graduates.

The program serves two sides of the equation: student founders seeking funding and a community as well as VC enthusiasts learning the ropes of investment.

Photo credit: Protégé Ventures

PV operates similarly to your average venture capital firm. New joiners start out as analysts, eventually working their way up to associate, principal, then partner. Analysts and associates source deals and speak with founders before pitching them to the investment committee – made up of student partners from current and previous batches – who then vote on which startups to invest in.

Before joining PV, where she is also research and education lead, Bijay started her own venture. When things did not go according to plan, she decided to take on an investment analyst internship with 500 Global. She applied to PV after that as a way to continue building her knowledge and experience in the investment world.

Anaanya Bijay, incoming partner at PV / Photo credit: Protégé Ventures

“I wanted to figure out how VCs evaluate deals and pinpoint how I can support other young founders beyond my internship stint,” says Bijay. “PV offered a safe way for me to continue exploring the space and stay in touch with the ecosystem.”

Aside from sourcing for tech deals, Bijay is also heavily involved in running the Protégé Academy program, the firm’s signature training academy. Here, participants are taken through the fundamentals of venture capital through student-run masterclasses, workshops, and networking events.

While PV is an initiative by SMU IIE, the program is open to all tertiary education students in Singapore. For example, managing partner Keith Tan is from Nanyang Technological University.

“I thought PV was pretty cool – you get to write investment checks for startups as a student,” he says. “At the time [of applying], I really wanted to work with people who were both entrepreneurial and the best of their respective schools – I wanted to be exposed to people outside of my own university.”

An inside look into the life at a student-run VC firm

While Tan’s main focus as managing partner lies in running the fund and developing plans to ensure its continued success, sourcing for deals and networking – through venture nights and startup events – remain a key part of his responsibilities. He’s also involved with PV’s portfolio startups, providing support to these founders.

Keith Tan, managing partner at PV / Photo credit: Protégé Ventures

For Tan, joining PV has exposed him to new technologies he wouldn’t have known about otherwise. He recounts a meeting with a startup that specializes in AI influencers, which showed him the potential of the tech before the industry’s recent boom.

“Because of PV, I got exposed to ‘crazy’ ideas like AI and the next generation of technology,” he adds.

As part of PV, Tan has also experienced the startup and VC world beyond Singapore and was involved in global startup competitions.

“I went to Finland for a global startup event called Slush to connect with the student startup and venture capital ecosystem from around the world,” says Tan. “I also went to Korea a few months back to drive signups and interest for the global startup competition that we are co-organizing with SMU IIE [called the] Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC).”

Tan in South Korea for LKYGBPC / Photo credit: Protégé Ventures

LKYGBPC is a biennial global university startup challenge that brings together bright minds to address challenges of the 21st century, and Tan and his team organize the Venture Capital Office Hours, where partner-level venture capitalists across Southeast Asia are invited to have one-on-one consultations with participating startups. PV members also take on roles for the program’s global roadshows – Tan was the Korea roadshow director, while Bijay handled the Australian editions.

“We had to figure out who were the right leads to enter the Sydney and Melbourne markets and who were the right people to reach out to to get students into both markets. We also had to consider how to build long-term partnerships not just for the competition but also for the student startup ecosystem in Singapore,” says Bijay.

This experience allowed her to connect with like-minded young people in Australia and foster longer-term relationships between the different communities.

The road after graduation

When Bijay first joined the venture capital space, there weren’t many women in leadership, which is why she’s committed to staying in the scene after university, paying it forward by getting more young women involved.

“I want to stay rooted and help bridge boundaries, no matter where companies and talent are from,” she affirms.

Bijay in Australia for LKYGBPC / Photo credit: Protégé Ventures

Similarly, banking and finance student Tan, who is in his final year at university, is optimistic about carrying on in the venture space after graduation. He’s looking to join a VC or an early-stage startup, possibly to pursue a product or operations track.

“I know a lot of students, when they graduate and join startups, they get a culture shock: Things move so fast, everything is so messy. Being in the venture space and seeing the chaos firsthand, I believe I’m more prepared for it,” says Tan. “I’m equipped with very good resources for my future career, so I’m definitely excited for what lies ahead.”

Advancing Singapore’s startup landscape

PV has two main objectives: to back the next generation of entrepreneurs and to train the next generation of venture capitalists. By doing this, PV aims to play a large role in building and catalyzing the future of entrepreneurship in Singapore.

Bijay is optimistic that Singapore’s startup and VC space will have more connected ecosystems in the future.

“I’m excited to see how PV and LKYGBPC can continue enabling the startup ecosystem in Singapore to be a lot more vibrant. I hope that it continues to be something that people can be proud of – not just as a university, but as a country,” says Bijay.

As Southeast Asia’s first student-run venture fund program, Protégé Ventures trains students to be tech-savvy, entrepreneurial leaders. It equips them with the necessary skills and mindset to navigate an increasingly volatile and complex global environment through venture capital training and empowers them to actively shape the future that they envision through actual capital investments.

Applications for Protégé Venture’s 2023/24 student analyst roles are open. Apply by June 23 for exclusive early bird benefits and kickstart your VC journey.

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