Insights

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From the real-world impact of AI and the rise of operator-investors, to the growing influence of women and underestimated founders in the funding landscape. Sarah breaks down what’s happening beyond Silicon Valley, explore how capital and media now move together, and spotlight the billion-dollar ideas driving the next wave of innovation.

Coming into Her Own with Rachel Lim

In 2005, three Singaporean teenagers set up a secondhand clothes blog. They didn't realize it at the time, but it laid the framework for this multi-million dollar empire, one of the largest omnichannel womenswear brands in Southeast Asia, that has gone global, delivering to 18 countries with its most recent pop up store in SoHo New York. This week we dive into the story of Love, Bonito, in the business of serving the modern Asian women; which last raised a $50M Series C in 2021 led by Primavera Capital Group, China’s second-largest private-equity firm which previously invested in Alibaba and ByteDance. We chat with Love Bonito’s co-founder Rachel Lim about risking her mother’s entire savings to overcoming jealousy of her new CEO and finding herself as a leader even as they scale profits, revenues and markets, and build to an exit for their investors. This is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Building Unicorns Indonesia with Shinta Dhanuwardoyo

Indonesia’s startups have been making headlines in the last few years, including most recently the news that online mall Bukalapak is set to raise $1.5 billion in the country’s largest-ever initial public offering - setting the stage for a wave of tech listings, with fellow unicorns GoTo and Traveloka to follow suit. Home to the region’s largest population, it is no surprise, Indonesia is in it’s primetime for entrepreneurs. This week, we begin to scratch the surface of the Indonesian startup storyline with veteran digital entrepreneur and evangelist Shinta Dhanuwardoyo.

Never Too Late To Startup: Building Insurtech with Rosaline Koo

We love rooting for the underdog- but what does it really take to rise despite the odds, as THE underdog? Rosaline Koo founded CXA Group from her living room in 2013 after a storied career with multinationals, with ambitions to transform health benefits for employees. Tune in to her story from risking all her family savings to build her startup; to scaling to over a million users and raising over $50M from the likes of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital Group, EDBI, Openspace Ventures and more.

ZILINGO’S JOURNEY WITH ANKITI BOSE

At 23, Ankiti co-founded Zilingo in 2015 with the vision of bridging the technology gap within the fashion and lifestyle supply chain to help small merchants and traders go digital. Under her leadership, Zilingo has raised over $300 million, scaled to over 8 countries, with over 10,000 merchants and 7 million active users.