From zero to VC: A peek into SEA’s VC scout programs

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Hello readers,

We all know the primary step to becoming a founder: Just launch your idea. But what are the steps to become an investor at the venture capital level? You can’t just throw all your savings into a startup and call yourself a VC, can you? And if, like me, you don’t even have any savings to throw into any startup, entering a scout program run by a VC could be your ticket to becoming one.

Today we look at:

• How VC bootcamps have come to Southeast Asia
• The startup that can vet your potential business partners
• Other newsy highlights such as Ant Group’s valuation possibly getting cut and India gaining a new unicorn

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Pssst… Ever heard of VC bootcamps?

As more investors enter the tech scene looking to become venture capitalists, programs from VCs such as Saison Capital Scout Program and Insignia Ventures Academy are developing talents that can become the next generation of VC investors in Southeast Asia.

• What is a VC scout? Ideally, scouts are the super resourceful connectors who can help VC firms find great, hidden founders and companies to invest in before everyone else. Some scouts operate in an incentives-based model as a full-time job while others do so to gain the tools and the knowledge to become VCs themselves in the long run.
• Introducing the VC bootcamps: Originating in Silicon Valley, Sequoia Capital was among the first to run scout programs 12 years ago. Today, similar programs in the SEA region run between three months to a year, and they consist of activities from mentorships to online lessons. The goal is to help participants generate deal flow.
• Yay or nay: According to Swarandeep Singh Kambo, a participant of Saison’s pilot scout program, he believes that such programs make it easier for individuals to become startup investors, and that they will likely go mainstream in Southeast Asia this year.

Read more: Hunting for deals: the rise of VC scouts in SEA

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

What happens when three great minds behind three great brands join hands?

Building business relationships is difficult. It becomes even more challenging during a pandemic when you can’t physically meet potential partners to assess their trustworthiness. So a former executive at Stripe, a former vice president of engineering at Grab, and the ex-regional head for Southeast Asia at Standard Chartered have banded together to launch a startup to tackle this issue.

• Trust me, trust you: India-based Tazapay was launched in April 2020 to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) conduct background checks on potential business partners and set up a digital escrow to protect their payments.
• The US$8 trillion market: The SME B2B cross-border trade has a total addressable market size of US$8 trillion globally and US$500 billion in Southeast Asia. Tazapay is expecting this to grow even further at a compound annual growth rate of 25% in the next five years.
• Its winning strategy: The startup is currently targeting SMEs in Southeast Asia through digital channels and sales teams. From each successful deal, Tazapay will take a transaction fee of 1.8% capped at US$500.

What the heck is a secondary market?

Quick bytes