MON Co.’s Post

We’re hosting our fourth Phoenix offsite on November 23, Saturday, 10am-12pm SGT. We’ll hear founders discuss their early transitions, how they mentally integrated past learnings, and their approach to exploring new opportunities as future tech operators, VCs, or repeat founders. Confidential, pro bono, 2 hours, virtual. Interested founders can RSVP here. Read the full newsletter at: https://lnkd.in/gZwjEsGq We covered: • Vietnam’s new president To Lam & the $3.3B of damages caused by Super Typhoon Yagi • $1B+ AAA game “Black Myth: Wukong” and how the Chinese story “Journey to the West” reflects long historical ties with Southeast Asia • The upcoming Johor-Singapore SEZ agreement • Indonesia’s shrinking middle class and the urgent need for economic reform • 🎯 Serena Lam's journey from her seven-year experience at IBM to SaaS founder • Jesse Choi’s transition from Bain Capital & Stanford MBA to founding Reku, Indonesia’s cryptocurrency and US equities investment platform • Audra Pakalnyte’s role in localizing and scaling Groupon Malaysia and Fave & her pivot to early-stage consumer tech VC investing • Raditya Wibowo’s development of Gojek’s surge pricing algorithm & his founding of electric motorcycle startup • 🃏 Sherry Jiang’s pivot from a stablecoin protocol to building an AI-driven personal finance platform  • Oscar Jesionek’s journey into founding Fonos and shaping the audio learning space • Joseph Mocanu’s shift from molecular genetics to founding a brain imaging startup and later investing in global healthcare technologies • Rob Snyder’s evolution from political philosophy to McKinsey & his journey through product-market fit generate Thanks to Shiyan K., Jianggan Li, Valerie Van V., and Gita Sjahrir-Wright for the insightful discussions about the region’s tech scene! #SoutheastAsia #SuperTyphoon #JohorSEZ #FinancialInclusion #InvestingInInnovation #VentureCapital #ClimateTech #Entrepreneurship #FounderLessons #BRAVEpodcast

We’re hosting our fourth Phoenix offsite on November 23, Saturday, 10am-12pm SGT. We’ll hear founders discuss their early transitions, how they mentally integrated past learnings, and their approach to exploring new opportunities as future tech operators, VCs, or repeat founders. Confidential, pro bono, 2 hours, virtual. Interested founders can RSVP here. Read the full newsletter at: https://lnkd.in/gZ2YYAxG We covered: • Vietnam’s new president To Lam & the $3.3B of damages caused by Super Typhoon Yagi • $1B+ AAA game “Black Myth: Wukong” and how the Chinese story “Journey to the West” reflects long historical ties with Southeast Asia • The upcoming Johor-Singapore SEZ agreement • Indonesia’s shrinking middle class and the urgent need for economic reform • 🎯 Serena Lam's journey from her seven-year experience at IBM to SaaS founder • Jesse Choi’s transition from Bain Capital & Stanford MBA to founding Reku, Indonesia’s cryptocurrency and US equities investment platform • Audra Pakalnyte’s role in localizing and scaling Groupon Malaysia and Fave & her pivot to early-stage consumer tech VC investing • Raditya Wibowo’s development of Gojek’s surge pricing algorithm & his founding of electric motorcycle startup • 🃏 Sherry Jiang’s pivot from a stablecoin protocol to building an AI-driven personal finance platform  • Oscar Jesionek’s journey into founding Fonos and shaping the audio learning space • Joseph Mocanu’s shift from molecular genetics to founding a brain imaging startup and later investing in global healthcare technologies • Rob Snyder’s evolution from political philosophy to McKinsey & his journey through product-market fit generate Thanks to Shiyan K., Jianggan Li, Valerie Van V., and Gita Sjahrir-Wright for the insightful discussions about the region’s tech scene! #SoutheastAsia #SuperTyphoon #JohorSEZ #FinancialInclusion #InvestingInInnovation #VentureCapital #ClimateTech #Entrepreneurship #FounderLessons #BRAVEpodcast

#SoftwareDevelopment #EntrepreneurJourney #RevenueGrowth #UniqueSide #StartUpStory Hey everyone! 🎉 I'm super excited to share that my software development company, UniqueSide, has officially crossed $120K in revenue after a wild ride of 1 year and 3 months of hard work! 🚀 Just a quick backtrack: I left my job in July 2023 in Singapore to pursue this dream. It’s been quite the journey! Here’s a little peek into my background: Over 7 years in the software industry, from big corporations to AI startups. Launched multiple products during my college days, reaching thousands of users! 🎓 Experimented with over 40 side projects while working full-time. In 2020, I took a leap with a fintech app that gained 5K users, but despite numerous VC rejections, I didn't give up. Fast forward to 2022, I found a job in Singapore. It wasn't the right fit, so I decided it was time to dive into my passion. I had this idea for UniqueSide brewing for a while—an MVP-focused software development company ... How Did My Software Startup Hit $120K Revenue in Just 16 Months? Answers: https://lnkd.in/gJNAcmNb

// ARRIVED IN HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam 📍 /* Are you in Ho Chi Minh City? Let's connect if you WANT to: */ 1. Build tech product or MVP ASAP; 2. Launch and gain traction for your token/web3 product; 3. Scale your existing tech business; 4. Seed invest in promising web3 startups; // Connect With Me 📩 if (interested_in_above) {   console.log("Drop a comment or send a DM to chat!"); } else if (exploring_synergies_for_collaborations_bla_bla_bla) {   console.log("Potential fee = 1 ETH per hour for consultation."); } else {   console.log("See you soon for a coffee!"); } // END OF POST

MAANGO is better. Include Oracle in the acronym.

On this day two years ago, I stepped onto the stage at Plug and Play Japan in Tokyo and pitched Tait Labs to win the top prize! #FlashbackFriday This had been only my second pitch in months after a 4-year hiatus to recover from health issues brought on by the relentless pace of the entrepreneurial journey and the grind of the angel investor circuit. I won by simply showing up. Really. The final decision came down to a democratic audience vote to select one of the 10 companies pitching, but only two of us were there in person — and one was local. The rest relied on video presentations. This was still during pandemic times, with Japan just starting to open back up. I had to navigate serious bureaucratic hurdles and travel to the other side of the globe to be there. But people were craving face-to-face connections, and that gave me an edge. We pitched against younger, better-funded startups with slick video presentations, but sometimes, just being there is enough. Keep showing up, my friends. 💪 [I discovered just recently an article covering the event - see link in the comments] #EntrepreneurLife #LeadershipLessons #Resilience #StartupJourney #NetworkingMatters

Navigating the bustling tech startup scene in Japan can be as exhilarating as it is challenging. Just like finding the right job boards or understanding the unique recruiting culture in Japan, diving into the startup ecosystem requires a keen eye for innovation and trends. Today, we're spotlighting some of the freshest faces on the block, showcasing how they're making waves across various sectors. Don’t sleep on these new exciting startups in Tokyo.

🚀 UPDATE Thank you to everyone who reached out to me. The most interesting thing from my conversations so far is this: Companies are interested to know more about setting up in Dubai and Riyadh. Why? Dubai has always been a great launchpad for companies to launch into Middle East and Africa. Now Riyadh is also getting a lot of interest due to Saudi's impressive push for tech development. Another key point was expansion to the SEA market using Dubai or Riyadh as a launchpad. This comes as no surprise with more SEA countries focusing more on tech and infrastructure. Growth stage B2B companies want to either get closer to their clients or find new clients in North America which is still the ideal market. If you're interested to know more about these regions and expansion then get in touch. #innovation #startups #tech #venturecapital #growth

japanese startup first steps: - make a pitch deck - go drinking with investors - give away large percent of your company for pennies american startup first steps: - build something you yourself want - talk to customers - get traction 3rd world startup: - politician uncle give you rigged government contract - $27.8k monthly infra cost paid to uncle's shell hosting company reselling $5 vps - "nephew, you know how to build roads? there's this perfectly good road to rebuild before re-elections" this is why only america innovates when you look at the successful japanese founders, none of them followed the traditional methods that japanese startup founders almost all do (even though it doesnt work), they all did stuff that on paper makes no sense (via the 𝕏 platform) There is an interesting mix of very successful Japanese founders-Den Fujita and Masayoshi Son are, of course, very well known. People who were pre-Japan SaaS successes (ie before 2010) all were pretty much non-traditional. Other good examples would be Hiroshi Mikitani, who in an era where everyone knew Internet Malls wouldn't work built Rakuten, the world's largest internet mall. (Though perhaps Amazon counts as a mall now?)

🌟 Pitch Day: Present Your Startup to European investors! Are you ready to take your startup to the next level? 🚀 Join us on January 14 for a unique opportunity to:
🔹 Attract investments for your project.
🔹 Showcase your innovative solutions to international investors and partners.
🔹 Expand to European markets and scale your startup globally. 💡 Who can apply?
👉 Ukrainian-registered startups positioning themselves as Ukrainian.
👉 Early-stage projects with an MVP and initial traction.
👉 Ambitious teams with plans for international expansion. 📅 Application deadline: January 8, 23:59
📍 Event format: Offline at Kooperativ or online.
⏰ Pitch Day time: 16:00–17:30 📌 Important: 👉Pitch Deck and verbal presentation must be in English.
👉Selected startups will be invited to a pre-pitch day after completing the application form. Details will be shared personally with eligible teams. 💼 Don’t miss this chance to present your startup to leading European venture capitalists and partners. 📝 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/dx_69RGz Let’s open new doors to success together! 🚀