Online Panel: Singaporean founders in Silicon Valley

Ah.. Silicon Valley, the epicentre that drives the vibrant buzz that is the tech world. Where the allure of the ecosystem attracts countless of the best minds to it, forming what is essentially, the startup capital of the world.

But what is it really, that makes SV such a special and ‘revered’ place? Could it have easily been somewhere else around the world? Why the valley? So much so, every country wants to rival that, and look to call themselves, the “Silicon Valley of..”

For others, having been to, worked in, and lived in Silicon Valley brings a certain badge of honour, having being through the toughest and rubbing shoulders with the best in the business.

On today’s panel, we have three founders, born and bred in the little red dot, Singapore. They currently have their startups parked in the valley, with sights aimed on the bullseye at making their mark from startup central.

Here are the panelists for this segment:

Inian Parameshwaran – Co-Founder of Dexecure.  He has been working in the web performance and security space for quite sometime and his current startup, Dexecure, is a spin-off from the Systems Security Research Lab in NUS. Dexecure builds products to help developers build fast-performing websites easily. He is currently working on building his company as part of the on-going YC Fellowship programme in the Valley.

Kenneth Chew – Co-founder of Qanopy, a mobile app for you to get Video Responses to the Hottest Trending Questions & Topics from people all around the world. They hacked TechCrunch Disrupt SF in 2015 while working on thier first idea, PIF.  Prior to the startup, Kenneth was in business development & strategy roles for the Singapore Economic Development Board and a Korean Investment Holding company, and was previously based in Seoul.

Spencer Yang – Co-founder and CEO of KeyReply, an applied AI engine for analysing unstructured data for insights and automation. KeyReply powers automated support for enterprises across the US and Asia with their deep NLP engine. (They also worked with Tech in Asia to launch Asia’s first Facebook news bot) KeyReply recently graduated from the AngelPad accelerator, the #1 seed accelerator in the USA, 2015 & 2016.

• Taking the leap of faith
• The difference between SV and Singapore
• The hype surrounding SV
• Anything about Silicon Valley!

Here are some reads about starting up in Silicon Valley that you might find interesting:

• Every country wants to rival Silicon Valley: here’s how Singapore can
• 9 things to do as a founder visiting Silicon Valley
• I returned from Silicon Valley and built a failed startup
• Here’s the advantage that keeps Silicon Valley ahead of the world
• 7 characteristics of Silicon Valley you won’t find in Asia

Note from Daniel, TIA’s community manager:
The hosts may choose at their preference to not answer particular questions. This Online Panel is moderated by the community managers, so let’s keep the questions friendly.