In episode 12 of Platform Builders, Christine and Isaac chat with Mike Boufford, CEO of Otti and former CTO of Greenhouse. Mike unpacks hard-earned insights on topics like leadership philosophies, management best practices, and the unexpected moments that shape company culture. This conversation blends candid war stories with practical takeaways for anyone leading technical teams.

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Platform Builders - Ep. #12, Earn Respect, Not Headlines with Mike Boufford

Host Gary J. Ross speaks with Ruth Jin, Partner at Mintz Levin, about GP-led secondary transactions, in which a general partner of a fund initiates a sale of one (or more) of its portfolio companies to a new fund, called a continuation vehicle (CV), which is typically managed by the same GP. Ruth describes the setting up and marketing of the continuation vehicle, and the options given to the current fund’s limited partners. Gary and Ruth spend significant time on the conflict of interest issues, and how they are mitigated. Ruth also touches on the necessary disclosures that must be made in the CV’s offering documents.

VC Law: Episode 40: GP-Led Secondary Transactions with Ruth Jin, Partner at Mintz Levin

In episode 43 of Generationship, Rachel explores the frontier of AI-driven cybersecurity with John Amaral, co-founder of Root.io. Together they unpack the promise and challenges of agentic systems that detect, patch, and remediate vulnerabilities automatically. This installment offers a mix of technical deep dives, AI optimism, and a vision of security that works more like an immune system than a fire alarm.

Generationship - Ep. #43, Security Woven In with John Amaral

Reuniting after more than a decade since their days in This Week in Asia Podcast from 2009, Michael Smith Jr., co-host of The Generalist podcast, and Daniel Cerventus Lim, semi-retired entrepreneur and community builder in Malaysia, join us for a candid assessment of Southeast Asia's tech ecosystem evolution. In this raw conversation, Michael offers his unflinching perspective on what he calls the 'broken windows era' of Southeast Asian tech, arguing that recent alleged fraud cases like E-Fishery and Tanihub require serious consequences to restore investor confidence, while questioning whether the region was ever correctly modelled for Silicon Valley-style outcomes. Daniel shares his pivot from startup founder to search fund advocate, explaining his bullish view on acquiring profitable traditional businesses and reflects on whether the region's potential was genuinely unrealized or simply impossible to achieve. Together, they explore the shift from venture-backed unicorn dreams to bootstrap realities, debate work ethic of Southeast Asia founders in comparison with Chinese and Indian founders, and discuss why the future of Southeast Asian tech may lie in smaller, profitable exits rather than the massive IPOs once envisioned.

"I think wealth creation here is very SME-focused." - Daniel Cerventus Lim
"Basically whether, it's SME or startup, to me now it's just: can you build a profitable business?" - Bernard Leong
"I have this philosophy that I think people don't agree with me, but we're in a broken Windows era of Southeast Asia and the only way in my opinion, the windows get fixed is if some of these people are behind bars." - Michael Smith Jr.
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Daniel Cerventus, Bernard Leong & Michael Smith JR
[00:59] Introduction: Daniel Cerventus and Michael Smith Jr. from the Generalists Podcast
[06:00] Multiple alleged frauds in Southeast Asia: E-Fishery, Tanihub
[09:57] Southeast Asia in "broken windows era"
[11:26] Only exits from seed to Series A
[11:47] B rounds virtually gone, A rounds endangered.
[14:00] 50-100 million exits still viable
[16:30] Malaysian crypto companies globally focused
[19:25] Country expansion model in ASEAN doesn't work
[23:02] Israel model: never think local market
[24:15] Razer story: HP Mafia network backing
[25:07] Supabase: not really Singapore capital, but globally successful
[30:18] Chinese founders arriving with speed
[31:19] Work ethic comparisons with India
[32:34] Search funds emerging in Singapore
[37:25] Mainstream media ignores bootstrap success
[39:50] Search fund model targeting aging operators
[41:21] SME vs startup distinction blurring
[46:20] Hedge funds questioning regional companies
[49:32] Unrealized vs impossible potential debate
[51:07] Bangladesh ecosystem showing promise
[53:20] Structural exit issues remain unsolved
[54:31] Reset creating better founder discipline
[55:40] Optimistic on Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem
[57:21] Closing

Profile:

Michael Smith Jr., Tech Evangelist from Oracle & Co-Host, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast

 

Daniel Cerventus Lim, semi-retired entrepreneur, Community Builder in Malaysia and TEDxKL founder. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cerventus/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/80164351656

 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format.

Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.

Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia

Southeast Asia 16 Years Later with Michael Smith Jr & Daniel Cerventus Lim

In episode 21 of Open Source Ready, Brian and John sit down with Chad Metcalf, CEO of Continue, to explore the rise of continuous AI. Chad shares his journey from early embedded systems and platform engineering to leading an open-source-focused company building coding agents. They discuss automation, developer trust, open source attribution, and how AI is reshaping workflows across the entire software lifecycle.

Open Source Ready - Ep. #21, Continuous AI with Chad Metcalf of Continue

Episode overview:
April Long spent two years fighting reality. The co-founder and CEO of "Afro-Asia Cross-border payment infrastructure" startup Pyxis was so determined to serve Africa's small merchants - the "bottom of the pyramid" she'd read about in Harvard Business Review - that she nearly bankrupted her fintech ignoring the bulk traders actually driving Africa-China trade.

In conversation with Andile Masuku, Long delivers uncomfortable truths about impact theatre versus impact reality. Her journey from receiving President Xi Jinping in Tanzania at 23 to finally accepting who actually moves goods between Africa and China at 35 offers a masterclass in entrepreneurial humility.

Key insights:
-On impact delusions: "I used to defend, I was like, 'No, no, no, no, no. It's that you don't get to this market.'" Long admits she lived in a bubble, desperately wanting to believe SMEs were ready for direct China trade. The truth? "90% of African trade is still happening in a more traditional way" - through the aggregators she'd dismissed as insufficiently mission-driven.

- On the cost of stubbornness: Despite zero demand after six months embedded in Nairobi's wholesale markets, Long refused to pivot. "I was quite stubborn. I was like, no, we have to work with SMEs." The result: burning 90% of her time on unprofitable small traders whilst the 10% spent on bulk traders kept her company alive.

- On acceptance as strategy: "The future is not here yet. And we need to build the future by serving who is there currently." Long's breakthrough came from accepting that Chinese trading companies scaling from $0 to IPO in a decade were the real infrastructure of Africa-China trade - not the romantic vision of empowered individual merchants.

- On being un-fundable forcing clarity: Without millions to burn on market education, Long had to face reality faster than her funded competitors. "I'm grateful I didn't have money to burn, or else I could have burned myself."

Notable moments:
1. The marketplace wake-up call: Walking through Nairobi's famous Gikomba market as a Chinese woman, traders shouted "China, China, what are you selling?" They wanted products, not payment rails. Long built the wrong solution for the right market.

2. The Eric Simanis paradox: The same Harvard Business Review article that inspired her Africa move warned against oversimplifying "bottom of pyramid" markets. Long spent years learning what she'd initially misread.

3. The three Aprils: Long describes fragmenting into Chinese April, Western April, and African April - "these narratives are so vastly different" that keeping them separate became exhausting. Building Pyxis became about reconciling these selves.

The aggregator revelation:
Long's former Standard Chartered clients - the Chinese trading companies she'd tried to convince to take loans in 2015 - transformed from traders to manufacturers to near-IPO giants in under a decade. They were the real story of Africa-China trade, moving containers whilst she chased individual merchants moving parcels.

"These Chinese trading companies making impacts in Africa, making products super affordable... because of the storytelling, they are not recognised." Her role shifted from trying to bypass them to helping them operate more efficiently.

The present tense:
Long's current focus on settlement infrastructure for bulk traders isn't the sexy SME empowerment story she'd imagined. But with a 12-person team across four countries and actual revenue, she's building what the market needs today whilst preparing for the SME future she still believes will come.

Image credit: Pxyis

April Long of Pyxis: Why serving bulk traders beats saving SMEs in Africa-China trade

This interview first aired on ONE FM 98.5 Shepparton.

One FM announcer Roman 'Koz' Kozlovski interviews Euroa resident Neil Tubb for his weekly program 'The Passing Parade".

This program first aired on Friday the 26th of September, 2025.

Listen to Roman Koz on Friday Mornings from 10am to 12pm on One FM 98.5.

Contact the station on admin@fm985.com.au or (+613) 58313131

The ONE FM 98.5 Community Radio podcast page operates under the license of Goulburn Valley Community Radio Inc. (ONE FM) Number 1385226/1.

PRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association Limited  and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) that covers Simulcasting and Online content including podcasts with musical content, that we pay every year. This licence number is 1385226/1.

Passing Parade with Neil Tubb

On episode 15 of Platform Builders, Christine Spang and Isaac Nassimi sit down with Amrit Dhangal. Together, they explore his journey building Acquire from a scrappy live chat tool to a venture-backed customer service platform. Amrit reflects on scaling challenges, personal sacrifices as an immigrant founder, and the lessons he’s carrying into his new company, Aero.

Platform Builders - Ep. #15, Everything’s Recorded Whether You Know It or Not with Amrit Dhangal

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.

This episode is with with Mark Phillips of 11 Tribes, an early stage VC fund that invests in the care and resilience of its founders. Another notable difference is that the fund focuses on businesses and founders that are pursuing profitability within their business model and comfortable seeking exit opportunities between $75M-$250M. Learn more at https://11tribes.vc/

In this episode, we discuss Mark’s journey to getting into VC and how his previous (failed) startup shaped his vision, how he had over 200 Zoom pitches to get to his first yes, why selling the vision and passion worked well for Fund I, how the narrative changed for Fund II, the critical importance of resilience, tips for landing Family Offices, and more. 

11 Tribes most recently raised a $46 million for Fund II from 220 HNW investors and Family Offices.  That follows a Fund I that was $11 million and largely sourced from around 80 HNW LPs.  

How I Raised It is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Foundersuite's customers have raised over $21 Billion since 2016.

If you are a startup, create a free account at www.foundersuite.com.

If you are a VC, venture studio or investment banker, check out our new platform, www.fundingstack.com

Ep. 309 How I Raised It with Mark Phillips of 11 Tribes Venture Capital

Puntata dedicata alla raccolta fondi! Copriamo anche un esempio, elevenlabs.

Archetipi dei founders, cosa piace ai VC? Bitcoin Cabana Podcast ep 3.3

A weekly podcast dissecting the pulse of business, technology & media in Asia. Hear our host interviewing leading journalists, senior executives, respectable authors & thinkers, entrepreneurs & thought leaders to discuss the most important issues that move and shake the business landscape in the Asia Pacific. The show is originally created and hosted by Bernard Leong.

Heavybit is the leading early-stage investor in enterprise infrastructure. Since 2013, we've helped launch and scale visionary technical startups—from DevSecOps and feature flagging to AI code generation and beyond. We go hands-on from day 0, backing founders as they turn code into companies and build the future of software from the bottom up to the top down.

Africa-focused technology, digital and innovation ecosystem insight and commentary.

One FM Community Radio Station airs a range of programs, including  "Ethnic Programs"  (in languages other than English), specialist interview programs such as "Shepplife" and health programs (So Much More)which are podcast here.  We also podcast a range of local sports programs as part of our Super Saturday Sports Show.  
Goulburn Valley Community Radio Station  Inc. (One FM 98.5) podcast site operates under APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Rights Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) and ACMA (Australian Communications Media Authority) Licence Number  1385226/1.

The programs are recorded and first aired at One FM 98.5 Community Radio Station in Shepparton (Victoria, AUSTRALIA), and produced with the assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation or the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters' Council.

All intro and outro music for So Much More podcasts are taken from Beneplacito Boogaloo composed by Terry Barbossa and Matt Holland.

Podcast: siediti al tavolo con Thomas Rossi e Federico Francolini, discutiamo macro economia, fare impresa e di come #bitcoin sta stravolgendo tutto!

Produced by Foundersuite.com, makers of the leading software stack for raising capital: Investor CRM + VC/Angel database + Pitch Deck Hosting + Investor Update tools. Used by startups to raise > $2.5 Billion.

New tracks tagged #VC