How Block 71 helps Southeast Asian startups launch in the USA

In the final week of August, btrax sat down with Voon and Jasmine, the program and community managers of Block 71 San Francisco to talk about the story behind the biggest launch pad for Southeast Asian startups in the US.

btrax CEO Brandon Hill encountered Block 71 while visiting Singapore as a speaker for the Tech in Asia Singapore Conference earlier this year. Through this, we arranged an interview to learn more about Block 71’s origin story and their goals for the San Francisco office.

How did Block 71 get started?

Blk71 (abbreviation of Block 71, same pronunciation) was part of the Ayer Rajah industrial estate in Singapore, housing the light-manufacturing industries way back in the 1970s.

Before Blk71’s became what it is today, it was slated for demolition and redevelopment in 2010. At the time, NUS Enterprise was looking for a place to house its growing startup community, and Blk71, within close proximity of the NUS campus, was a good choice for location.

Hence, NUS Enterprise, in partnership with Singtel Innov8 and with the support of MDA, came together to save the block from demolition and at the same time, aggregate the startup community which was previously dispersed all over Singapore.

Block 71 in Singapore. Photo credit: comprock/Flickr

NUS Enterprise has been in partnership with Singtel Inov8 from way back then and we still work together today. In Singapore, you know you’ve made it when you can get into a taxi and tell the driver you’re going to “Blk71,” and he or she immediately knows where to go.

Moving forward from Singapore’s Blk71 success, NUS Enterprise partnered with Singtel Innov8 and IIPL to continue helping startups in their expansion, particularly overseas, and this was how Block 71 SF began.

What is the mission of Block 71’s SF office?

Our mission is to provide a space for Singaporean startups to get started in the US. Our other intent is to help US companies understand what Singapore is all about. For example, when we host events, we want people who are interested in Singapore to come and network with us as well as other attendees. When Stripe opened an office in Singapore, they came to talk to us as well.

How many startups are there in the SF office and how long do they usually stay?