Silicon Straits founder wants to bridge startup and government hollow chambers

Shiwen is a part-time freelance writer, aspiring entrepreneur and overall generalist interested in exploring, researching and writing.

Silicon Straits’ James Chan (left) at Co.Lab with Sanjay Nath, managing partner at Blume Ventures.

James Chan is the Singapore-based founder and CEO of Silicon Straits, a ‘tech venture foundry’ focused on Southeast Asia. James is also the principal of Neoteny Labs, a $5 million venture fund co-founded with Joi Ito in 2009, funding startups in their early stages in the United States and Asia.

Prior to establishing Silicon Straits and Neoteny Labs, Chan sharpened his edge at venture capital firms Walden International and Infocomm Investments as well as government agency IDA (Infocomm Development Authority) Singapore, gaining skills and experience in industrial and policy development, investment promotion, business development, operations and venture capital.

These experiences gave Chan a rare breadth and depth of experience in the startup ecosystems of both Silicon Valley and Singapore, as well as insights into the workings of the public and private sectors.

Chan took time off work to speak to Tech in Asia at Silicon Straits’ coworking space Co.Lab over at Block 71, the heart of Singapore’s startup community.

Tech in Asia: What inspired your deep interest in technology and startups?

Chan: Well, I grew up as a geek. Star Trek was a heavy influence during my childhood, and I was a member of the Computer Science Club during my time in school. I initially didn’t make the grade or know any Computer Science stuff (e.g. computer binary language) that many guys in Raffles Institution already knew, but eventually I managed to get a waiver. The teacher-in-charge made an exception.

I could’ve spent my time doing stuff that didn’t further my interests but fortunately, I managed to get in based on my passion. I pursued my interest in computers and got into the robotic club and web development. I also learned about DHTML and CSS, which were critical during the early years of the Internet. So I guess all of that furthered my geek tendencies.

How did your tenure at IDA shape your decision to enter the startup venture business?

I got exposed through the tech blog e27, which some of my friends started. I also had the experience of helping IT companies go international through my work with the IDA. I was exposed to a lot of different platforms and areas; gaming, mobile computing and e-government were part of it. Because of that, I gained a great amount of insight into the IT industry, and also through helping out at game publisher Garena, when it was a part-time project for me and the rest of the team.

I helped with the product and community management, specifically with regard to its virality and spread. It helped me to apply my skills and background. When they became serious and went full-time, I couldn’t join them as I was bonded to the IDA. So really, Garena inspired me. IDA was essentially doing what the Economic Development Board did for the Multi-National Corporations in Singapore’s early development. We acted as a concierge service for VC-funded startups. Everything was designed, end-to-end, to attract people to Singapore. Honestly, it was like selling ice to Eskimos. We tried very hard to get SV (Silicon Valley) startups to come into Singapore and make it their engineering home base. It was this that got me further involved in the startup scene.

Let’s talk about your time with Infocomm Investments. What did you do there?

Infocomm Investments was about serving the A and B sides of the startup equation. It was about formulating a direct human capital strategy and develop human networks to draw investors, technologists and entrepreneurs into Singapore.