‘Champions League’ mindset drives more SEA founders to US

Felix Lee still keeps his diary from the one-month solo trip he took to San Francisco in 2018.

Then 19 and fresh out of pre-university, the Singaporean entrepreneur had just sold his trip-planning startup, Packdat, to an Indonesian-listed SIM card provider.

Meeting at least three new people each day on that trip, Lee jotted down everything he saw, heard, and learned. His goal? To answer one question: Why do amazing ideas seem to be born only in Silicon Valley?

Later, it clicked: “What we lack, in Southeast Asia, is not resources, but the guts,” says Lee.

Many founders in Silicon Valley don’t rely on earning credentials or establishing networks before starting a company, he observed. Instead, they head straight to San Francisco in hopes of building the next billion-dollar startup.

Lee didn’t see the same spirit in Singapore.

Fast forward to today, he has spent over half a year in San Francisco building ADPList – a platform connecting individuals with mentors, mostly within tech.

Lee isn’t the only Southeast Asian founder who’s making the US their home base, though.

With funding in Southeast Asia declining for three straight years, it’s no surprise that more founders in the region are chasing other markets.

Regional investors have also tended to stick to tried-and-tested sectors like ecommerce and fintech, compared to their US counterparts who have large risk appetites. This makes the latter more attractive to emerging and deep tech companies.

Tech in Asia has compiled a list of 78 Southeast Asian founders of 66 companies that are now based in the US. Among these founders, 19 relocated after building firms in the region, while the rest have been based in the country from the start.

While not exhaustive, the list paints a picture of an increase in founders choosing to grow their businesses in a market that they think gives them the best shot at becoming a global company.

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