After more than two decades of investing...
I believe we’ve found the next big hidden opportunity:


Most LPs exploring venture capital funds as an investment vehicle are concerned with media sentiment.

"Capital at risk"
"Growth at all costs"
"Long-term"

The numbers don't lie. If well managed, venture investing reaps very attractive ROI versus most other alternatives.

And, you won't even need to find the next unicorn to do that.

Today, sustainable, sticky growth is the holy grail for any investment office looking for longevity with attractive returns.

Some years ago my partner, Murli, and I started Tin Men Capital in pursuit of that.

Our fund's unique focus:
- B2B and Enterprise Tech Startups
- With a strong focus in Southeast Asia
- Who are in Series A stage and beyond

Our thesis:
SouthEast Asia's legacy industries are still largely undigitised.
B2B tech in large TAM > High-gross margins > Sticky recurring revenue > Quicker pathway to profitability

We've already proven that these ideas our sound with measured results from our inaugural fund.

Family offices and institutions that work with us appreciate our ethos in running the fund:

⚙️ DISCIPLINED DEAL-SOURCING : 
Carefully scrutinising every deal for the right valuations, founder mix, and expertise. No exceptions.

⚙️ HIGH-CONVICTION: 
We only invest in a handful of teams that apply. Sounds counterintuitive, but It's seeing above-market returns with below-average failure rates.

⚙️ EXPERIENCED B2B OPERATORS AT THE HELM: 
Murli and I bring collectively more than 40 years of experience in investing and management, having sat on boards and brokered large M&As. Our thoughts have also been featured on TechInAsia, Peak Magazine, and more.

Some of our portfolio companies:

🔵 Hubble (Series B)
Resource management platform for parties in the construction value chain to track and optimise processes

🔵  Zipline (Series A)
Australia's #1 workplace management platform for the aged care and health sectors

🔵  GlobalTix (Series A)
Software and marketplace software for tourism attraction operators and travel product distributors 

We’re always on the lookout for new partners and startups to join us.

If keen to chat, shoot me a DM/email or head over to our website to drop us a line.

Jeremy Tan

What no one tells you about running a VC fund (until you find out yourself).

People who’ve founded, or started, a VC fund know this:
It doesn’t just take a good investing team to run a fund.
You need an army of professional services firms to keep the clockwork going.

Most people see the obvious work.
 - Fundraising
 - Sourcing
 - Investing
 - Exiting

But there’s so much more running behind the scenes.

+ Capital calls
+ KYC / onboarding investors
+ Periodic reports to Limited Partners
+ Regulatory filings
+ Audit

None of these are optional.
If we want a well-functioning ecosystem, we need dependable service providers who can do these at a cost structure that makes sense.

However, that’s not we see today.
Come audit season, we’re still getting questions like:

“Why are your startups burning cash?”
“Can I have a DCF model for your investment?”

Audits are important. They’re a third-party opinion on how we value the portfolio.

But many auditors here are still (stubbornly?) looking at VC portfolios with a mature company lens.
And the pricing often follows: ~US$2k per year per company for a fair market valuation.

For VC funds (typically smaller than PE funds), that adds up fast and eats painfully into net returns.

It’s not sustainable. 
We’re in severe need of a step change in approach.

One bright spot for us has been working with good folks like those at Carta. (this is not a sponsored post 😅)

They’ve taken a tech-enabled approach to an archaic part of fund admin.

🔺 Capital call calculations done faster, with fewer errors.
🔺 Financial details available online, with enough granularity.
🔺 Onboarding, KYC, subscriptions, all in one platform.

To be clear, they’re not perfect.
Beyond the tech, the people we interface with…
They listen. They hear the pain points. 
And they keep iterating.

Eventually, investors should be able to access investment-level financials seamlessly, straight from source data.

If SEA wants a world-class VC ecosystem, the services layer around fund management, legal, accounting etc. has to keep evolving.

As it is right now, there is much room for improvement. 

For an aspiring financial hub of Southeast Asia, I don’t think this is too much to ask.

PS. If you know good individuals who are bright spots in the services layer of tech in SEA, do tag them in the comment section for visibility.

Backing brilliant B2B founders 🦓 in Southeast Asia | Co-founder at Tin Men Capital | Linkedin Top Voice

Tin Men Capital

Leading our engagement strategy with key stakeholders in the VC ecosystem:
- Policy makers
- Limited Partners
- Startup Founders
- Service Providers

I strive to help make introductions that would maximise success for individuals and organisations.

Head of Partnerships

Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore)

My original career plan, if I did not stumble into startups as a youth, was to work in the government. 
Part of the Futures, Strategy & Plans Division, then was a Founding member of the Intelligence & Futures team which studied global trends what would impact Singapore's economy.

Felt that it was the right juncture to try getting into one of our country's economic agencies. Was fortunate to be able to join HQ despite my non-conventional background. My time in public service helped me gain immense appreciation for Singapore's growth and trajectory, and a lot of respect for individuals who shape the nation's growth behind the scenes.

Assistant Director

Shanghai Huaxiang Sweater Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Huaxiang is a leading Chinese manufacturer for the global fashion industry, producing sweater products for top global brands such as Burberry, Versace and Zara.

With the advent of fast fashion and manufacturing, the company founder who began as a local seamstress wanted to ensure that her workers were well taken care of even in the times of hyper growth.

This guided our mission to create a foundation that:
- Paid for medical bills for all current and ex-workers, especially for serious medical conditions which no longer allowed them to work
- Paid for the further education of children of low wage workers so that lack of finances would not stop them from learning as a means out of the low income bracket

I also leveraged the manufacturing capabilities of the company to develop a new streetwear brand called "OVERWORKED" which was showcased at fashion shows in China. All brand conceptualisation and development was done with Singapore creative talents.

Head of Brand Development & CSR

Soule

At the age of 17 years old, I endeavoured to raise funds for children growing up in rural parts of Asia so that they would pursue their education. Together with Justine Lee and Lim Jing Ying, we founded Soule which stood for "A sole for every soul". 

We created a brand that sold flip flops, sunglassess and accessories which channelled part of its profits towards social causes. This was the early days of Social Enterprise and played our small part in advancing that business model. 

The mission started with providing school shoes to children studying in rural mountainous regions, so that they had the proper footwear to walk to school. It expanded to sponsoring doctors and nurses on medical humanitarian trips to natural disaster zones in South East Asia. 

Soule were eventually hired by larger corporations as consultants to help craft their CSR policies and projects. This included clientele like Meiji & Samsung. Together with our clients, we impacted hundreds of lives with true philanthropic efforts.

This journey lasted 7 years as the founding team decided to pursue our respective career & personal dreams, after building a company which took up all of our youth.

Co-Founder

Spent the past 17 years of my career on different sides of the startup ecosystem:
- Startup Founder
- MNC Department Head
- Economic Policy in Public Service
- Venture Capital

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