Asia Tech Podcast

[00:05] Welcome Andrea Loubier to Asia Tech Podcast Stories, hosted by Graham D Brown [00:37] Andrea talks about her current location of Canggu, Bali and the coworking scene in Bali [03:42] Why did Andrea choose Indonesia as a base? [06:47] Graham reminisces his experiences backpacking in Indonesia back in 1994 [10:11] All about Mailbird, an email management app created by Andrea [14:24] The different roles played by the three creators of Mailbird and the story of how the co-founders met [16:48] The turning point - when did Andrea know that it was time to pack her bags and move to Bali? [18:22] Why did Andrea choose Bali instead of the Silicon Valley as a place to start her company? [20:32] Graham shares an anecdote about a Google employee who commuted from Bend Oregon to San Franscisco to save costs [22:56] Cultural fit when hiring - if you don't limit your hiring pool to one location, you open up doors to amazing talent [24:53] The lack of a pervasive start-up culture in Bali and how that impacts Andrea's experience of running a business [26:16] Is the idyllic tropical island vibe dulling Andrea's aggressive entrepreneurial drive? [28:44] Andrea's experience of time management as a digital nomad [30:40] The scalability of a remote company and Andrea's transition plans to help with that [33:16] The customer happiness team at Mailbird and how it works [38:23] What kind of qualities does Andrea look for when recruiting new team members? From a cultural fit interview, skills test, final interview to a 3 month probationary period [42:00] The challenges of hiring remotely and how Andrea deals with them [44:35] If money is not a deciding factor, would Andrea still choose to have a remote and distributed team? [47:08] Find out more about Andrea on Googleplus, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or email her al@getmailbird.com

[00:05] KYL5 - Cross Border Kyle with Kyle Ellicott [00:15] Graham and Kyle last saw each other in Hong Kong where they got to go on a tour [03:05] Kyle spoke at the Startup Launchpad Conference by Global Sources. What did Kyle take away from having seen those Southeast Asian and Asian startups? [06:10] Was there a lot of hardware startups there? Yomee - The World's First Automatic Yogurt Maker. Kyle says "Lessons are being learned, companies are educating themselves on what works and what doesn't, and are starting to see what the market needs are versus just building to build" [09:35] How do Asian startups go on the "pitch" side of things? The Valley does very well on the story side. In Asia, there is an overemphasis on technology and not so much in the story but this has changed dramatically over the past year [14:15] Did Kyle see anything interesting on the AI and deep tech startups side of things? [17:05] Coming from "Motor City" Detroit, Michigan, Kyle touches on the innovations in the automotive industry of China - Shanghai Auto City [23:40] Michigan and Chinese Automotive industries working together - was there a scenario where it's too regulated to test some kind of tech in the US that they go to China and test it right out of the factory gate? [26:05] How did the guys in Michigan take it when people from China went there and talked about technology and China itself? [28:45] According to John Waraniak, Detroit has been so crushed that all of the traditional infrastructure was gone - did this have an effect on the Michigan people being open in the conversation with people from China? [31:45] An auto industry that's starting to grow and see the pathway for innovation and the need to work with startups and to work on a global scale like the case of Oakland County in Michigan taking 300 companies over to China [33:10] The governor of Michigan has made 8 trips to China which is the most of any previous governor - which other cities out there are doing this? [35:05] "Sometimes, something gets so broken that the only option is to start again" like the Michigan auto industry but you see this in Asia as well like Hong Kong and Vietnam [39:35] Be open-minded as a business owner, as an innovator, as an executive, or as a consumer today and in the future and incredible things will come in the future because of that [40:40] Check out crossborderkyle.com for podcast episodes and other unique content

[12:00] Avijit talks about his startup Regular.li - a time management app in the mobile devices of employees [30:25] In India, startup people are the new rockstars - people leaving safe jobs and becoming entrepreneurs now. The next step is the maturity of the market [36:15] In terms of having startup accelerators, where is India now? Also, startup founders now come straight out of college, go to an accelerator, get funding - they never had to go out and hustle. Does Avijit think this is positive?

[00:00] Welcome to Digital Lives Asia #4 with Graham D Brown and Simon Kemp. In this episode, Simon drops his latest data on global social media growth trends [06:40] With all the recent focus on the "delete facebook" movement, what's actually happening to Facebook data? Facebook users are up but teenagers are down [17:20] What's happening with Facebook advertising? Fan pages may be struggling to get attention but businesses have few alternatives to reach their consumers [27:50] Who's actually clicking these ads on Facebook? Some insight into Facebook ad campaigns and click behavior of Indonesians [35:00] What are the changes in the advertising landscape doing to shape traditional marketing demographics? We talk about Red Bull and why traditional social media demographics [47:40] Advertising is no longer a moniker of trust, so how do brands build trust? We discuss why giving away content and creating value is key to building trust and winning attention [53:20] What can we learn about 18 year olds and their motivations on Facebook? We discuss social listening and how brands are missing a trick learning what their audience really care about [56:00] We discuss differences in empathy with Uber and Grab in Southeast Asia

[00:00] ASH12 - Ashley Talks with Ashley Galina Dudarenok and String Nguyen [01:00] Starting out on Meerkat, how did String Nguyen build content and community around her video content and eventually get 20,000 followers on Linkedin? [05:00] How do videos convert compared to other platforms? Before you get to conversion, you should build brand awareness? Is it okay to publish informal personal content on Linkedin or does it have to be slick and professional? [08:45] In video content creation, it's tortoise vs the hare. Personal branding is a marathon not a sprint. It's a full time job that you have to commit to for the long term [13:10] Growing your Linkedin followers to 20,000+ . There's a 30,000 limit on Linkedin followers, how do you get around it? How do you win a Linkedin "top voice" award? It's all about community and growth. [14:10] An insight about String's entrepreneurship and her journey. Where did it come from? [19:00] How do you become good at communication and ask great questions in videos and podcasts? [21:00] String's thoughts on Blockchain and ICOs, including who she follows on Twitter [30:00] How do education systems shape our thinking processes and entrepreneurship long term? [31:40] What are String's thought on Asia, innovation and entrepreneurship? [39:00] Why did String double down on video? What does it mean for SEO? What about sponsored video content? [44:30] Why did String delete SnapChat? What's the problem with SnapChat for content creators? How does the ROI of SnapChat compare with Linkedin? [52:00] Live Streaming and the future of Video. Ashley and String discuss Live Streaming in Asia, its impact on social media, micro influencers and new retail.

[00:05] Welcome Don Phan to Asia Tech Podcast Stories, hosted by Graham D Brown [00:51] A bit of background about Don Phan and what he does [02:04] Catching up with Don on what has happened in his life since he was last on the show [05:20] How did Don decide to give up on one start up, his baby business, to shift to his other start up in education? [08:26] Don talks about the concept of 'founder market fit' and how to gauge that objectively [12:06] How does Don feel now in education compared to a year ago when he was working on his baby business? [15:52] All about Don's education company HillHouse and its role in the Asian education market [17:03] A comparison between how American and Asian families approach education for their children [20:41] Don shares anecdotes about expensive private education 'consultants' that can be currently found in Vietnam [23:05] The services offered by HillHouse from help with tests to assisting with applications including personal statements [25:16] Do education systems in Asia encourage students to develop their personal narrative? Don's thoughts on the Asian education system [26:34] The focus on collective learning found in the Japanese and Asian education system [28:08] How is Don building Hillhouse? Don's method of hiring English teachers for his company and how it distinguishes Hillhouse from other companies [32:30] A comparison between online teaching versus other forms of teaching [35:04] Will online education form the bulk of education for certain age groups in the future? [39:00] Is HillHouse more focused on the educational agenda of the future of learning or more focused on merely improving test skills? [41:12] Don's views on the future of online education in Asia and how it compares with the US [44:33] Young Asian parents in their 30s consider the educational gaps they themselves experienced when deciding on how to invest in their children's education [48:05] Will Asia, in some way or form, be a future leader in education? Don's opinion on the possible evolution of the Asian education system [49:40] Don explains the differences between US online education systems and Asian online education systems [53:41] Go to Hillhouse.us to check out Don's education company

[00:05] FIA4 - Founders in Asia with Ria Lao, founder and CEO of Groupstar, hosted by Jodie Collins [01:14] Ria talks about her background and how she ended up in Singapore [03:00] All about Groupstar and how it transforms communication within large companies using video solutions [06:30] The key question of when to pivot and what to focus on, the curse of the entrepreneur - everything is an opportunity [09:03] The importance of having a clear vision for your team and not just focusing on the product offering [12:02] As a founder, is the decision making backed by data points or gut feel? Ria's views on this [14:33] Where does Ria see the greatest opportunities across the region? [15:47] Ria addresses the perceived challenge of selling technology to less developed markets [17:52] Examples on how companies use Groupstar to turn internal information into videos [21:49] Ria shares the lessons she has learnt and the mistakes she has made throughout her journey as a founder [24:20] Is it necessary to have a co-founder when starting a business? Ria and Jodie share their thoughts [26:51] Ria dispels the myth that you need investor money up front to get started with a team [28:28] How various areas of expertise in startups are being handled by other markets abroad like in India or Philippines [30:23] Where in the region does Ria see the most exciting growth potential for her business? From Indonesia, Japan to Australia [32:03] The surprising demographic uptake of Groupstar, senior management are more interested in using it than the young millennials [34:02] Ria's number one tip for others who are interested in setting up a business in this region- don't quit your day job!

[00:05] Welcome Dan Itsara to Asia Tech Podcast Stories [01:25] Why did Dan decide to build Glazziq, an e-commerce brand for prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses? [03:10] Where did the Glazziq design get its influence from? Also, where did the idea of starting Glazziq come from? [08:10] Does Dan see his previous work experience for the US Air Force and NASA relevant to building an eyeglass company in the context of what he is doing? [14:55] Thai people are friendly, don't like confrontation and don't like saying there's a mistake - how does Dan culture that mindset into a group of people who may have been programmed in another way? [18:20] "Disagree and commit" - an example of Korean Airlines in the 1980s [22:05] A backstory on Dan as an American-Thai, growing up in Northern California and his rationale for going to Thailand [25:20] Did Thai people - or Dan himself - not know where he fitted in when he moved to Thailand? Also, did that put doubt in his mind? [28:00] Having experience living in cross-cultural worlds develops empathy - a powerful tool for retail and e-commerce [30:55] How did Dan grow Glazziq, an e-commerce/retail business, to operational positive within six months? [34:10] Is it difficult to standardize the process of making prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses? Also, the many mistakes Glazziq made in the process [38:55] How close is Dan to having the "ultimate dashboard" to simplify his business or is it a pipe dream to have? [42:45] Now that Glazziq is a growing business and operationally positive, does Dan have a clear idea on where he should be focusing? [45:20] As a mountain climber and an entrepreneur, what is Dan's take on the "never give up" advice? [49:35] "Amateurs practice until they can do it right but professionals practice until they can't do it wrong" [50:05] Dan's experience is a great case study on why it makes sense to not necessarily work for a startup straight out of the gate but to get training first in the corporate world or the military [52:15] Check out www.glazziq.com or find Dan at LinkedIn.com/DanItsara

[00:05] ASH11 - Ashley Talks with Ashley Galina Dudarenok [00:10] Welcome Case Engelen, CEO of Titoma, to Ashley Talks [00:35] Case shares his journey into Taiwan and Mainland China and founding Titoma - "time to market" [02:15] What is the difference between manufacturing in Taiwan and manufacturing in Mainland China? [07:25] Is Taiwan losing its competitive advantage against Mainland China? Is Case moving there from Taiwan? [11:10] Is Taiwan worse paid than Mainland China in the manufacturing world? Also, what are the pitfalls or dangers that manufacturing firms face now? [20:30] What are the differences between hardware, software, and firmware? And how fast can people manufacture devices in places like Shenzhen? [28:35] Does Case see a lot of factories, like traditional OEMs, start to market their own brands? Huawei as an example [32:00] A lot of people think China is still a nation of copycats and that any partner you work with is potentially gonna stab you in the back, take the product and sell it by him/herself - what is Case's take on that? [38:20] Would Case encourage people to go to platforms like Kickstarter with an idea in order to raise money in order to test the market and move ahead with it? [40:25] In terms of the manufacturing process itself, what is the technology that gives Case chills and excitement right now? [44:05] More manufacturing migrating away from Mainland China into Southeast Asia and the rest of the world like Africa - what does Case think about that? [50:45] What scares Case the most about China are the regulations which are often rather "fluid" but Ashley sees the situation getting a lot better [55:55] What book or movie does Case recommend that gave him critical insight into China, the world or manufacturing? [56:50] What does Case's company, Titoma, do? Get in touch at titoma.com

[00:05] Welcome Kineret Karin to Asia Tech Podcast Stories, hosted by Graham D Brown [01:11] Kineret talks about ImpacTech, a Singapore based accelerator focused on startups that create a positive impact on the environment and the society [02:02] How ImpacTech has grown and evolved since Kineret's last appearance on the show in August last year [06:03] Are corporate accelerators the future? ImpacTech's collaborations with large coorporations like Shell and Singtel [08:23] Kineret shares the process behind ImpacTech's work with Shell [11:53] The first five start ups selected for the ImpacTech program with Shell - hydrogen batteries for electric scooters, smart meters for utilities, wireless charging for busses and cars, more cost effective solar panels, smart tent for the homeless and energy panels for different weathers [14:42] The learning curve working with engineering startups - Kineret's background is in the service industry [17:25] Shell's commitments to startups in this batch [19:07] Why are large corporates like Shell investing resources into startups? What is in it for them? [20:51] Are large corporates genuinely helping startups or just doing it for PR purposes? How can you tell? [22:55] Kineret's thoughts on the growth of accelerator companies and the startup accelerator model in Singapore [27:18] Singtel and ImpacTech's start up accelerator program "Future Makers" and what it involves [28:25] The challenge of identifying the right startups and Kineret's strategy to overcome this [30:47] The commitments between startups and Singtel for startups in the 4 month "Future Makers" program [32:30] Kineret's secret methods of distinguishing a good startup from the rest [34:12] The double bottom line - measuring the economics of na ImpacTech startup involves measuring the social impact created and the associated financial model associated [35:14] How does Kineret measure the potential social impact of a startup? [36:56] Kineret shares future plans for ImpacTech including expansions to Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan [40:16] What kind of start ups is ImpacTech interested in? [42:10] When would it be the best time for a start up to contact accelerator companies like ImpacTech? [44:29] Get in touch with Kineret through her LinkedIn or website

[00:05] Welcome Blake Larson to Asia Tech Podcast Stories [00:40] What exactly is Lalamove? How do consumers use this mobile app? [02:45] In Bangkok, it costs $40 to move a parcel, which is the same price to hire a delivery driver for a day [05:10] Lalamoves addresses the challenge of redundant inventory [06:45] How does the trust aspect come into that? The number one thing Lalamove customers value the company for is its reliability [08:40] Can you train people - from the provinces, who may not have an education or who may not be fully literate - to be great at customer service? Lalamove created a system that incentivises the behaviour the company wants [12:15] Respect, income, and freedom - the three values Lalamove brings to their drivers. To what extent does driver-to-driver word-of-mouth help the company? Also, is it common for drivers who use Lalamove to use other platforms? One could be better off if it wasn't exclusive on both sides [16:00] A quick look at Lalamove's published numbers of where they are right now - US$160 M in funding, 126 cities in 7 countries [18:15] The dynamic on the ground is very different in each individual city - What is it like to do business in Ho Chi Minh for example? What's it like to be a foreign business coming into Vietnam and work with people who may not have a lot of experience working with foreigners? Empathy as an increasingly used approach to building a service business [23:45] As Lalamove's MD International, what does Blake do? Does he force himself to go out there? Also, the idea about the training program conceived by Lalamove to make their culture stronger - making sure that as they grow quickly, they actually keep their feet on the ground [28:30] How did Blake arrive at the day-to-day approach - his interpretation of strategy - as the right way to do it? Also, spending his first eight weeks for Rocket Internet in Hong Kong standing outside petrol stations handing out flyers to taxi drivers [31:05] What did Blake learn from doing his market research at the petrol station? People make the internet to be way sexier than it is and it as a good reminder of humility despite his MBA and corporate background [35:00] As a well-educated, successful and MBA-holding person who went well outside his comfort zone, what are Blake's formative experiences? Personal growth is so much more when the world becomes not about you and what you're trying to do and his love of feeling "small" [39:50] How does Blake constantly challenge himself considering his position in Lalamove, a high-profile company? The risk gets higher but it's even higher if you don't do anything [42:45] Coming from outside of Asia and working for a high-growth startup, is this kind of environment for everybody? What kind of people thrive in a place like Lalamove? The four values of the company - passion, grit, humility and execution [47:05] Blake's advice for people who would interview about joining a startup - go talk to whoever the users or potential customers of a company are [49:00] The story behind Blake making their new employees build their chairs, which symbolizes why Lalamove are the way they are as a company

[00:05] ATP640 - Asia Matters with Graham D Brown [00:20] North Korean president Kim Jong-Un stepped across the parallel and shook hands with South Korean president Moon Jae-In - An image that defines the Asian Century about building bridges and not walls [03:55] The historic summit between the two Koreas - a long road ahead and it may fail but what if it worked? Its similar implications and parallels with the fall of the Berlin Wall - the beginning of globalisation [07:05] Growing up in an era where nuclear war was a real threat before the fall of the Berlin Wall blew away the old ways of thinking and shifted to looking at "The East" as opportunity [08:35] It takes somebody to break the mould and push the boundaries - British pop singer Jessie J winning a talent competition in China equivalent to American Idol, the Beatles breaking into the US, Jack Ma taking his Chinese company Alibaba to The West [14:50] Nobody cuts a red ribbon to open the Asian Century - defining history as a series of events like the Industrial Revolution, digital age, the British Century or American Century [20:30] Nobody ever names these eras when they're happening, like the Reformation - In Germany, Martin Luther nailed his "95 points" on the door of a Catholic church who sold repentance, made a lot of money from this and exercised a lot of power, kicking off ideas like self-development, that you could make your life better [27:05] What will the global media industry look like for kids growing up - what they think of as a music, movie industry is gonna be very different to what we understand [32:20] If your most innovative people are focussed on trying to find better ways to connect, you're building the future - when you have a generation of people growing up where the default is to build connectivity and bridges, then you have the beginning of a new era [36:40] Media conditioning us with wall-building narratives like the case of Fox News reinforcing its narrative towards Iran. But young people are malleable enough that these narratives don't stick - they will see an Asian region which builds bridges emotionally and physically [41:35] America exercised its soft power in 1915 like what China is doing right now in 2018 [43:00] Who brokered the meeting between the two Koreas? Chinese leader Xi Jinping - China, not USA, is brokering power in Asia, politically reinforcing what is happening economically in the world [45:10] The North and South Korean meeting is the image that would define the Asian Century - the point at which people's mindset shifted far enough that they thought the old way of looking at this old region was changed so far that it was broken

[00:10] Welcome Dan Waldschmidt of Edgy Conversations - international best-selling author, business strategist, speaker and extreme athlete to Ashley Talks [01:00] What is the story of Dan? How did he arrive in Asia? The unfair advantage of being raised by strict parents who forced him to learn and be disciplined, reading 3,000 books and learning early on that he was good at growing businesses [06:20] You have to love to learn with so much information out there - people make the mistake of getting locked in, "I already know, I don't want your advice", which holds them back from learning. But if you learn, there's so much greatness for you and no limit to your capability [08:40] Business leaders don't set aside time to be quiet - take a step back and quietly look at what's really going on and also the unfortunate state of the human mind programmed to link several things together that should never be linked together - especially when you're having a bad day [13:55] The four behaviours of high achievers - 1) use extreme behavior, 2) disciplined activity, 3) giving more value than you take and 4) being human [16:45] Giving Value - how do you put out a strategy about giving first but still staying profitable and growing? The example of a major software manufacturer in Silicon Valley giving value that eventually led to $300M in new revenue and how to create the Theater of Success to give value [22:15] Being human - we're great at a lot of stuff, we're not robots, we make mistakes - but successful people hack that by using their flaws in humanity to help people achieve a high level of success - disrupting the "stiffness" of emails, resumes, by using curse words for people to get the sense that you meant it [26:10] Who influenced Dan? How has he become so positive and is he always like that? Having that belief that his life was destined for greatness because he was unwilling to quit. Also, Dan using ultra-running as a way to stay in his mind, to be positive and realistic, and continue [30:30] How did Dan start his blog? How impactful was it for his business and why does he keep going? Shifting his blogging from whatever he wanted to blog about into focusing on just one subject for a whole month to force himself to be disciplined and telling the story of Hollywood action star Sylvester Stallone in their blog [35:25] How do you know you're doing the right thing? - Staying grounded to core principles and "be, do, have" as a template for successful people. Also, what are you willing to do to get to where you want to be? Examples of Dan's friends moving to the natural gas-rich North Dakota and of another friend who postponed her wedding for one extra year [42:35] Why are there so few businessmen who are willing to go through those lengths? Because they don't need to. But you can create this need for change by having bigger goals than you're achieving right now or find yourself in a situation where you're forced to change [44:15] Working across so many countries and continents, does Dan see that people perceive business success, the way these people approach doing business, and taking things to the next level differently? Culturally, we all think of success differently, but we're all looking for this feeling of significance. That is universal [47:25] What are the companies that Dan is running right now? Who does he work with and what does he do? Concentrating his work now on people who wanna change the world and make it better. Check out danwaldschmidt.com [51:50] "You don't have to be reckless but you don't have to play it safe" - if you have this feeling that you're meant for more but don't know how to tap into that, lean into that feeling and raise your hand so we can guide you [53:15] You can get Dan's book at freeedgybook.com for free,

[00:05] Welcome Daniel Fraser to Asia Tech Podcast Stories, hosted by Graham D Brown [00:53] Daniel's first time in Asia in 1995 in a student exhange with the Thai Royal Family [04:54] Graham's experience when he came to Asia in the summer of 1995 [07:17] Being neither expat nor tourist - how Daniel's first year in Thailand was a complete immersion in local Thai culture [10:23] The second coming. Why did Daniel come back to Asia in 1999? [13:49] Why did Daniel take the risk to build a business based on adventure travel and experience travel back in 1999? [17:10] Daniel's story of coming back to Thailand in 1999 and the first few years, from oddjobs to tourist visa runs [20:08] Thailand is now derisked compared to what it was. What was it like back then to start a business in Thailand as a foreigner? [23:33] How did Daniel deal with the 'dark entrepreneurial days', days when he felt like buying a flight ticket and going home? [26:08] The fear of failure as a powerful motivator and how publicly stating your intentions will help entrepreneurs [28:02] Daniel's experiences of being a 'white guy' entrepreneur in Thailand back in 1999, from being in a rare club to living locally [32:23] The tours initially offered by Daniel's adventure travel agency, from unexpectedly popular motorcycle tours to putting millionaires in little guesthouses in Northern Thailand [37:10] Travel is about bridging worlds. All of the tours offered in the early days of the business came directly from the life Daniel was living at that time [41:00] The new trend of luxury adventure travel and how it incorporates authentic local experiences [43:07] Daniel's stint on Thai TV, hosting a travel culture documentary series 'Long Rat Yim' in the Thai language [47:05] How did Thai people react to a white guy talking about their culture and their country on TV? [49:34] How Asian countries like Thailand are starting to see themselves from a global perspective [51:30] All about planning to be lucky and how actually going somewhere would create an energy to seek out opportunities [54:42] Daniel's advice for listeners thinking about coming to Asia. What does it take to be successful when leaving one world and starting in another? [59:00] Get in touch with Daniel through his travel company Smiling Albino, facebook Daniel B Fraser, or watch him on the Thai TV program 'Long Rat Yim' on Channel 3SD every Sunday evening at 4.30pm

[00:05] Welcome Julian Kwan to Asia Tech Podcast Founders in Asia with Jodie Collins [01:25] How did Julian Kwan get into Asia? A backstory on Julian backpacking in and around Asia, studying in Beijing, then working in Shanghai on different jobs before moving onto real estate development and renovating a prosthetics factory in Shanghai [06:35] Did Julian have any local partner to work with in the renovation of the prosthetics factory project? Turning it to a hotel, raising money from a big American entrepreneur, opening it, eventually signing up a couple of deals with real estate developers in China then expanding into other parts of Asia [08:50] Did Julian move to Sri Lanka permanently for a project there? The challenges Julian faced in doing business at Sri Lanka [12:00] How did Julian Kwan get started in Singapore? It's the best place to start a property tech business. Thinking where the investment comes from is critical [15:05] What is Investacrowd? A real-estate financing company, a tech platform where global investors can access high-quality commercial real-estate investments - a diversification tool [17:35] Did Julian develop the Investacrowd technology in Singapore? Expansion plans into adopting the blockchain technology and the shareholdings into the smart contracts instead of old paper contracts [20:50] How did Julian develop the idea behind Investacrowd? What was his inspiration for starting the business and how did Julian transition from idea to making it happen? [24:25] The huge sense of belief and 150% conviction that you need to have in starting a business. The dilemma startups face with an idea that's too early for the market (like real estate token exchanges) [28:20] Does Julian see ICTX (Investacrowd Token), an extension of the Investacrowd business, as a pivot away from what he is doing? [30:25] As the CEO, how does Julian balance out his team in terms of where their focus is on the existing business versus the new business? And how are the "old-world" real estate companies moving into the blockchain space? [35:55] Being a business founder now working in an area that is moving at an extremely fast pace, how does Julian manage that from a health and time perspective? [39:50] Asian companies don't support startups like Western companies do. Raising money from traditional sources is much harder in Asia than in The West - but is this situation changing in recent years? [42:35] Where are the most interesting markets for property technology in Asia? [44:30] Julian's tips for founders who are looking to move or are interested in Asia - find and go what's behind the curve; work in an accelerator or VC fund, see all the different things and come up with something of your own; understand the cost space; play the long game otherwise people won't work with you