Binny Bansal

On fear of sharing too much, and giving away leverage to competition Some tech startups benefit from building in stealth mode, most tech startups that people around me have been building in Singapore and SF and elsewhere (including my own startup) are more likely to die due to being quiet than loud and revealing, before hitting $1mil in revenue (and/or 1mil returning MAUs), given a great product. Given a great product, when you start telling everyone about your product, you start building your top of funnel, your non-stop stream of feedback, your revenue and/or usage stream (depending on the nature of your product), your luck, essentially. People start recommending what you do. They start interacting with your posts and their friends see your posts and they sign up for your product. You get invited to random high-leverage places where other potential customers & investors may be present. If a competitor steals your idea, they will rarely damage your ability to get your first 1000 users/customers. Any tech company that has its first 1000 customers or returning users has serious leverage to grow it to a bigger pool. That gives us leverage to get more resources. Another angle is that most people building stuff are what I call "unserious unintentional pivoters". They pick ideas, try them for 3 weeks, pivot, and repeat. When you have a great product and conviction, just sticking around and trying to get to the first $X or Y number of users is your biggest superpower. Build in public (or in a curated public on somewhere like LearningLoop). Link in comments

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Earlier this year, Jensen Huang - Founder / CEO of Nvidia - opined the following when asked where he thought the next amazing revolution was going to come from: - (Text transcribed verbatim) ***************** "This is going to be flat out one of the biggest ones ever, and I told you I was going to tell you, and I'm going to tell you. There's no question that digital biology is going to be it. For the very first time in our history, in human history, biology has the opportunity to be engineering, not science. When something becomes engineering, not science, it becomes less sporadic and exponentially improving. It can compound on the benefits of the previous years, and every company's contributions, every research's contributions, compound on each other. For the very first time, we know how to represent biology, understand the language of biology. We can represent the language of chemistry. It's never happened before. And now we're going to have incredible tools that bring the world of biology, which is very chaotic and constantly changing, and very diverse and complex, and bring it into the world of computer science. And that is going to be profound. And so if you happen to love this intersection, I think it's going to be rich with opportunities. It's going to be a giant industry." ***************** Now if you take this thesis and apply it to the world of #ClinicalDevelopment / #ClinDev in #LifeSciences, the opportunities to leverage #AI cuts across: * optimizing trial design * patient recruitment and retention * data analysis and prediction And the impact on the speed, cost, and efficacy of new therapeutics will be profound. And so I am really looking forward to joining some of the best minds in the intersection of AI and Life Sciences including Adam Petrich, MD | Arnaub Chatterjee | Prof Ava Amini from MSFT | Charbel Haber from Moderna | Fred Martin | Ittai Harel | Thaminda Ramanayake | Jasmine LaCoursiere | Gaurav Singal, MD former Chief Data Officer from Foundation Medicine | Orr Inbar | Sean Hilscher | Thorsten Wirkes from Bertlessman at the world's first AI Summit focused on clinical development in Boston on May 30th. Together we hope to demystify the role of AI in Clinical Development, discuss the risks and regulatory issues surrounding this field, and real-world applications and success stories, and the venture capital investment happening in this area. Apply to join us on May 30th - https://qhsummit24.com/

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Genesis Alternative Ventures’ latest move to close its second debt fund at $125M, despite being at the lower end of its target, highlights the changing dynamics in Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem. As venture valuations remain depressed and the global economic outlook remains uncertain, the pressure on founders to prove sustainable growth without relying on equity is higher than ever. This fund underscores a growing trend: venture debt is increasingly becoming a lifeline for start-ups. With traditional equity funding harder to come by, especially for high-risk, unprofitable ventures, debt financing is emerging as a critical tool for startups to sustain operations. But while venture debt provides temporary relief, it's important to recognize the potential risks it poses for companies lacking assets or profitability. 💡 Key Risks: Taking on high-interest loans when a business is unprofitable and lacks collateral can be a slippery slope. Without a clear path to profitability, startups relying on venture debt may find themselves in a deeper financial hole: 1. Mounting Debt: High-interest loans accumulate quickly, and if a company fails to reach profitability, repaying this debt can become an overwhelming burden. 2. Limited Options: Startups that fail to improve their financial health while carrying debt will have fewer funding options moving forward, as investors and lenders alike may shy away from a struggling company. 3. Increased Risk of Insolvency: Without profits or assets to fall back on, startups may be forced to rely on more debt to cover their expenses, which increases the risk of insolvency if growth targets are not met. 📉 While venture debt can provide crucial runway for growth, it’s not a substitute for a solid, sustainable business model. For many startups, taking on debt without a clear and achievable path to profitability could be a short-term solution with long-term consequences. I also cannot help but wonder if lenders are not too optimistic here, they are chasing higher return on their money, but risking they will later be worried about the return of their money.

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The business benefits of passionate missionary vs bean counting mercenary culture and leadership Last night our co-founder and CTO Shuangling Yin was coding until 5am to impress and go above and beyond for a customer that is implementing InspectMind AI (YC W24). The customer call went very well and adoption of our solution is now speeding up within their organization. It was well worth it! There is no number of beans the bean counters at Autodesk can throw at their team to make them work until 5am instead of 5pm. This is what happens when people actually care about their work and deeply and passionately care about making the customer successful. This culture, passion, mission, purpose, vision, leadership is the reason we are going to #dethroneAutodesk. (In their early days Brex used to say they want to beat American Express. In fact they made their wifi password beatamex. But I like dethrone better, sounds like Game of Thrones, more fun.)

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June 16 2024 – 5 Notable Articles To Read Article: OpenAI’s Japanese Rival Gets $1B Valuation From Silicon Valley Investors Takeaway: New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Lux Capital, and Khosla Ventures are jointly spearheading a new funding round for Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based developer of large-language models. Established last year by former members of Google's DeepMind, Sakana aims to secure approximately $100M in this latest round of financing. Source: The Information Link: https://lnkd.in/dg7ZnFrJ Article: Pharma Investing Is All About Service Now. The Patent Cliff Era Is Ending. Takeaway: Advanced therapies and personalized medicines are rapidly emerging at the forefront of healthcare. Also referred to as precision medicine, this field enables healthcare providers to prescribe specific treatments tailored to each patient based on their unique genetic makeup and other factors. Source: Barron's Link: https://lnkd.in/d7j5Z9dQ Article: Pakistan rice exports hit record following Indian sales ban Takeaway: Pakistan is exporting record amounts of rice to global markets, capitalizing on trade restrictions implemented by India last year. Rice exports surged to $3.6B over the period, compared to $2B from July to May 2022-23. Source: Financial Times Link: https://lnkd.in/dGGyJGzx Article: Saudi regulator proposes new funds rules on debt Takeaway: The draft aims to enable public fund managers to invest in a broader array of debt instrument issuers by lifting certain restrictions imposed by current regulations. Source: Funds Europe Link: https://lnkd.in/dru_7bnM Article: Edmond de Rothschild launches Saudi infra debt fund Takeaway: Rothschild has partnered with SNB Capital, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's largest investment bank, to establish an infrastructure debt fund platform. Source: Funds Europe Link: https://lnkd.in/dR6Zi5kw #news #business #research

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Love this tip by Alfred Lin from Sequoia Capital: "Who is your worst reference and why?" [During the interviews] we've all asked for references but provided references tend to be cheerleader references. Fed up with these useless references, I have been asking for a person's worst reference and why since Zappos. Generally, this question puts the conversation into a more vulnerable discussion. Even so, most will come up with an example of when they were right and disagreed strongly, similar to answering that they are perfectionists to questions about their weaknesses. Rarely will someone answer the why part voluntarily. Pulling on these threads provides valuable insights into how introspective the interviewee is and how vulnerable and candid they can be with the interviewer.

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We believe that 2025/26 will see a resurgence of new generation of fintech and financial innovation opportunities across the economies of #SEAsia and #India. As open data architecture, digital public Infra, cross border solutions, financial innovation across verticals, and digital evolution of SMEs reshape the real economies, we believe that new business models will be born and prevail. Taka Yamada Varun Malhotra Satvik B. Disha Soni Rachel Teow

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100x multiples on AI businesses gives you an idea of where the VC money is flowing and that the slot machines appear to be back in full operation, but only for AI. 100XEV means on a pre-revenue basis a company with a somewhat coherent AI story can take their 409a and multiply it out by 100X. The only thing taking money at that valuation will ensure is you go flying through the windshield in 24 months. Run as fast and as hard as you can from it. Theoretically this means a company with $1m EV showing it is doubling can raise at $100M.

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My top 3 takeaways from Open AI DevDay Singapore: 1. There is still a large gap between what developers know is possible and what businesspeople know is possible with LLMs. 2. To OpenAI solution engineers, using an LLM to manipulate the UI is an old trick; to everybody else, it’s mind blowing. 3. Everybody wants to incorporate voice modality, but few are prepared for it. The winners in the coming months will be apps built voice-first, with traditional web apps that laid the groundwork for voice peaking months later.

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The SEA consumer investment segment is brimming with opportunities. Reflecting on our recent investment in Coolmate and other portfolio companies, I find the interplay between consumer upgrading, downgrading, and addressing unmet needs to be complex, yet super rich with potential. https://lnkd.in/gSZetkyS

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THE CHESS BOARD OF PRIVATE EDUCATION That's now the RM1billion question in the market. Will he take Segi private? There has been a lot of activity recently in an increasingly more competitive private education sector. Taylor's International School, both the university and its schools and those under the "Garden International School" brand (of which I am Alumni from the original Garden School), is a dominant player but has always been private. It's big business, private education brings a higher standard, networking for the future, a solid educational foundation just look at the Doyen of private schools The Alice Smith School (again of which I am Alumni). But I digress. SEGi University & Colleges is one of the few who remain in the public arena. Even HELP University formerly listed has reverted into private hands. A common trend? The PE investors have reached the end of their fund cycle, usually after a handsome return. Is PE still looking at education? Some say yes, some no, because the emergence of edutech, virtual metaverse based universities and the accessibility of learning on apps has dramatically changed the landscape. As they always say, chess is a great game as long as you're not a pawn. Private education has Kings! [Declaration of interest: these are my own views and are unrelated in my employment in any capacity. The information I have is only sourced from the public arena]

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Ever thought of Super AI? Me too. It is emerging right now in Singapore. I am in Singapore as well for the SuperAI Conference, looking for BeyondTech and AlienTech startups. Let's meet up if you are one of those.. With IMPACTA [ Capital ] | Edward Eremyan |. TELEPORT |. IMPACTA [ Lab ] #superai #quantum #quantumai #singapore #ai #artificialintellegence #startup #startups #venturecapital #venture #robotics #space #spacetech #disruption #transformation

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第3弾は、Y CombinatorのWebサイトで「Healthcare」で分類されている、メンタルヘルス×モニタリング（1社）、企業の医療費削減（1社）、在宅介護支援（1社）、カップル向けAI恋愛アプリ（1社）について、スタートアップについてそれぞれまとめました。ぜひnoteをご覧ください。 ブログ記事はこちら（Here is the blog post）↓ https://lnkd.in/gT-RcVVJ *Although the articles are in Japanese, please feel free to contact me in English if you are interested in the content. I would like to introduce companies from the Y Combinator Winter 2024 Batch. Part 3 summarizes each of the startups categorized under "Healthcare": One in Mental health x monitoring, One in Reducing corporate healthcare costs, one in Home care support, and one in AI relationship app for couples.

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As a venture capitalist, TRIVE's focus is on exits for my SouthEast Asian based portfolios, and IPOs are one of the main avenues to achieve an exit and a return on my investments. 5 of our startups are considering their IPO plans in the coming 3 years. After advisory from the M&A advisors and internal consideration, the NASDAQ is the choice for 4 of 5 of them. Only one decided on the local SGX as it is on a more traditional path. Nevermind if these startups are primarily operating in SEA and naturally should find familiarity with SGX to list. Unfortunately, they see better valuations, liquidity and brand recognition by listing on the NASDAQ. It has been a long-time complex issue to energize the SGX and to ask our SEA startups to call it home. It is a pity because Singapore is the prime location for private equity and venture capital fundraise for startups in the region. But SGX barely sees any of our SEA unicorns listed on it. I for one, am a believer of a regional bourse to support the aspirations of the startups. And I hope more deeper conversations with the Singapore government and our relevant associations will one day see the SGX building that vision. Thanks to See Kit Tang for a very insightful long-form article and allowing me to be a part of it to bring my thoughts to it. #venturecapital #sgx #ipo https://lnkd.in/g_kzvyGa

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Really excited for the discussion between Andrew Boyagi, Preeti Kota (Atlassian) + Andrew Lau, CEO and Co-Founder of Jellyfish. Maybe you have a Platform Engineering team who is struggling with Developer Experience? Or your CEO is fixated on how #GenAI can increase the engineering team's productivity? Today's LinkedIn Live has the tonic for your troubles. "DevEx platforms, Dev Surveys & AI Coding Assistants: What’s worth the hype?" Tune in TODAY at 1PM PT / 4PM ET. Link in the Comments. #DevEx #DeveloperExperience

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Today, we are excited to share that Anapi has created a high value yet low-cost healthcare insurance product specifically for Singapore based solopreneurs and startups with ONE or more employee headcount as part of the take up eligibility criteria. For months, we have been having conversations with Andrew Lai and Gabriel Tay Zhichao from Anapi to launch this product. We are grateful that they share our passion for driving impact and supporting fellow entrepreneurs on their journey. This new product, priced at approximately S$300 per year, provides coverage for basic inpatient benefits, four paid GP visits and 3 telemedicine consults. There is also an option to top up for specialist coverage… Hurray! We understand that entrepreneurship is tough. And in addition to that, in life, there are always unforeseen circumstances. We are confident that with this product, you and your team members can enjoy peace of mind - be taken care of by quality doctors and recover quickly, whilst balancing a tight P&L and budget. Afterall, a healthy team is a productive team. Cheers to business growth and expansion! Find out more about the insurance plan here: https://lnkd.in/g84Pz3SH To apply for the product, simply fill up the brochure and email [email protected] or book a meeting with anapi at https://lnkd.in/gQF5bPJD. This is just the beginning. If you're interested in working together and positively impact entrepreneurs, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We can’t do anything impactful alone - join us to build the SEA startup ecosystem hand in hand. #insurance #protection #startupsg

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The voices are coming definitive about the need of a supportive Singapore stock exchange for startups. One of Singapore's legendary investors Boon Hwee Koh, who also happens to be the chairman of SGX, chimes in. In his letter to SGX shareholders, he explained that "Should [SGX} fail to enable venture capital and private equity to exit their investments and recycle the capital deployed, the supply of such capital will eventually dry up and threaten the start-up ecosystem that Singapore has built and nurtured over the past decades." In the past 20 years, startups operated independently of the SGX, where trade sales and US IPOs were the norm for exits. But it is timely for an alignment together with the SGX, in order for the Singapore startup ecosystem to evolve and survive. #venturecapital #sgx #startupsg https://lnkd.in/gAqZ9st9

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the biggest difference between San Francisco & Singapore for me is this. whether it's the population of experienced, ambitious series A-B founders that's low (they leave to SF/London for better network effects once they reach this level) or if they exist but the chance of meeting them is low because they're too busy to spend time with people outside of their team/customers/family (or they rather meet up other founders at their level or higher in private dinners) is worth being looked into. but regardless, this takes a massive toll on knowledge/wisdom transfer in an ecosystem. that's bad because startups are peak knowledge economy and insights and short cuts make all the difference in both life and death of startups, as well as in the rate at which they can grow and generate and capture value. singapore is way ahead of most countries. most countries don't even have that critical mass of early stage startups, or a critical mass of exited tech builders/investors. but this curve will create negative network affects, if not dealt with. not just singapore, any country that wants a healthy ecosystem for startups or any other important thing (scientific research etc.) needs a healthy knowledge/wisdom transfer pipeline. can't miss a few layers in between and expect the system to produce great output. Btw I think San Francisco is absolutely lucky to have the knowledge transfer pipeline that it has. It's not necessarily designed or intentionally set up. and I don't think it's sustainable either (smart people leaving their countries to go 1 place can be exciting for a few decades but then causes their home countries to get worse and worse, which makes the world worse and worse. no city can become/stay great if the world around it is burning). but this problem wont get solved by itself because humans have a natural tendency to hang out with people at their level of competence/consciousness or higher. elitism reinforces elitism. LearningLoop.com's global mission since day 1 has been, not to disrupt elitism, but to capture the wisdom of the elite, present it at different levels of abstraction to people who seek it but can't get it; because of their location, wealth, level competence, etc. make 1 billion elites we've started with 1 knowledge space that is startups. so at this scale, we define success as making sure San Francisco's startup network and knowledge/wisdom pipeline and discourse not just available but accessible globally. availability = being able to see/read/hear about it vs accessibility = being able to participate in it and get value from it. P.S: we're hosting an event in singapore this wednesday, if you're a founder you should drop by. the RSVP list looks amazing and you'll love the people and conversation. link in comments

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