The Beginning

Around end of last year, I started toying with the idea of starting a VC blog. I have spent more than a year now as an investor and have learnt a lot from Albert and Amano-san and Tsutsumi-san. I obviously have a LONG way to go on this journey, but switching from the Light side to the Dark side, I think I know enough about this crazy industry to start writing about some of it and hopefully be of help to the people who matter the most in this startup world, the Founders. Choosing a blog name as I talk about these two sides, I don’t have to look beyond my own startup company’s name: Grayscale.

Signed up on Medium. Check.
Bought a domain. Check.
Enough coffee in. Double Check.
And Start.

But wait. I have to first do what every good founder setting out on an unknown startup journey should do. Scan the landscape.

For a week I have scoured around for blogs from fellow VCs in SEA. And here I report my findings:

Khailee: Probably the most popular VC in SEA. Ran a website, talking about experiences till 2012 when (I am guessing) he was still a young founder, and then (I am guessing) he became too busy to blog.

Saemin: The man with the moolah. Indeed. There is a reason he gets chased around so much, by press and founders alike. He is one of the coveted Series A+ investors in the region, who almost single handedly (it appears so) can take a call on a company to invest in. I snooped around, and although could not find a blog, found out that he is quite active on Quora. RV however is a global VC and hence has its thoughts tuned to the global market. Not Asia specific. Not SEA specific for sure. I wonder how Saemin manages this internal tussle, I personally feel it already as we invest in SEA and India. To be elaborated on further in a different post.

Kuan: Another one of the popular guys that every one wants to grab a whiskey with. No blog. Hyper active on social though. Best VC Photographer in town, hands down.

Peng: Phew. Finally an experienced serial entrepreneur. He should have written something. I google and find this. Close, but too little and too dispersed. Blogging is personal. You put in your own thoughts and your inspiration in your blog. It’s your baby. A team blog is just not the same.

Tee: Sadly, the only female on this list. On a positive note, probably the most popular female VC in the region. But again, I return to the article empty handed.

Justin: Ah now we are talking. Great guy. He was one of my two favorite people (the other one is my boss) in this ecosystem when I first entered Singapore. Gave great advice to me (biggest one was pointing me to Venture Deals by Fred, Mendelson). Runs a blog, very informative, very relevant for founders. BUT, and there is ALWAYS a but, posts 4 times a YEAR! Not good enough, but right up there in terms of content and delivery. You should do this more often Justin!

Jeffrey: Yes! Finally if there is some one who’ll own a blog, keep it honed, give sound advice, and has the ability to do so, it is dear Jeff. The almighty, the heavy weight (oops pun, no pun?), he is for sure up there amongst the best. But what do I find? Nada.

Paul: Last but not the least, my favourite co-investor in the region, dear Paul. You can call on him at 4 AM with a catastrophe that just struck a portfolio company, and he’ll walk in, unfazed, and advise on how to fix things. Found this. Started but stopped. Wonder why?

I have a super helpful intern from China right now in the office. Whenever (everyday) she struggles with a series of questions, she asks me with a very straight face,

“Then How?”

Till now, I had never understood what it really meant. Maybe it’s a literal translation from a Chinese word? Maybe it’s the Singlish for asking questions? Maybe it’s just her? But I think I do understand now and have the same question.

“Then How?”

How do the founders in SEA (and rest of Asia) know what is right and what is wrong for their region? If the fund sizes, fund managers, round sizes, valuations, exits, acquirers, lawyers, incubators, accelerators, corporates, and most importantly CUSTOMERS, are so different from what the founders see in the US, how are the founders here expected to navigate the ecosystem armed with the knowledge dispersed by the likes of Fred Wilson and Brad Feld? Why is no one trying to make life easier for them by spending an hour or two of their own precious life on the simplest medium of internet communication invented exactly 2 decades ago — a BLOG?

My guess is because they don’t have the time. Most investors in SEA are in their first or second funds, are busy chasing LPs, are busy meeting hordes of founders, are (hopefully) spending time with their portfolio, and do not have a decent sized team yet to do the “menial” work.

Well, I’ll find time.

This is my new year’s resolution, probably the only one I ever made, to write one blog post per week, at least for this year, and see where it goes. See if it helps. If at the end of the year, 10 people have written in to thank me for any thing the blog did for them, I’ll keep it running. If not, my assumptions were wrong and RIP grayscale.vc

With this I sign off from the first ever VC blog post I write. But I leave the founders (who may never end up reading this) with one suggestion which I just gave to a portfolio founder (thanks Justin for giving the same advice to me a few years ago). If there is one thing you read this year, make sure it’s this.

Sayonara.