<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[APAC Innovator]]></title><description><![CDATA[Meeting the tech innovators and entrepreneurs of Asia Pacific]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Y_r!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f0bab12-5dd9-4e7e-80b9-1f134cfe1789_817x817.png</url><title>APAC Innovator</title><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:40:01 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.apacinnovator.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Founder Media Group]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[apacinnovator@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[apacinnovator@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[apacinnovator@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[apacinnovator@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Ecosystem Profile: Quidnet Ventures]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mark Bregman - New Zealand]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-quidnet-ventures</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-quidnet-ventures</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 02:37:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ONpW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d33c91d-99a0-4123-a9b2-3ae658fee94b_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Organisation Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Quidnet Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund backing deep-tech founders in New Zealand who are building globally relevant companies.</em></p><p><em>We focus on technically differentiated ventures <strong>operating at the harder end of innovation</strong> - where science, engineering, and long development cycles create real barriers to entry. </em></p><p><em>Our role is to provide early capital, strategic support, and long-term partnership to founders tackling problems that matter and markets that extend well beyond New Zealand.&#8221;</em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Is Your Origin Story?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Quidnet Ventures emerged from a simple observation: New Zealand produces world-class technical talent, but too many companies stall in the early stages due to fragmented capital and shallow risk appetite.</em></p><p><em>After decades working across Silicon Valley, large corporates, and startups, <strong>I saw an opportunity to apply global venture discipline locally</strong>.</em></p><p><em>The fund was founded to close that gap - bringing patient capital, global perspective, and active engagement to Kiwi deep tech.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Are You Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;One quiet but meaningful win is seeing portfolio founders mature into disciplined CEOs without losing their technical edge.</em></p><p><em>Several companies we backed at a very early stage are now attracting high-quality international customers and follow-on investors.</em></p><p><em>That progression - from promising science to credible enterprise - is exactly what we set out to enable. It confirms that with the right support, <strong>New Zealand deep tech can compete on the global stage</strong>.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You&#8217;d Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;I wish I&#8217;d internalised sooner that investing is as much about temperament as intellect.</em></p><p><em>Pattern recognition and technical insight matter, but <strong>patience, restraint, and clarity under uncertainty matter more</strong>. </em></p><p><em>The hardest mistakes often come not from backing the wrong idea, but from moving too quickly, pushing too hard, or underestimating how long real innovation takes to compound into value.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;I stay grounded by remembering that venture capital is a long game played in chapters, not days.</em></p><p><em>Time outdoors, regular exercise, and disciplined reading help maintain perspective. More importantly, spending time with founders - especially when things are hard - reinforces why the work matters.</em></p><p><em><strong>Tough days are part of the job</strong>; what sustains energy is a clear sense of purpose and a commitment to building something that outlasts the current cycle.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Mark Bregman of Quidnet Ventures</p><p>HQ: Auckland, New Zealand</p><p>Web: <a href="https://www.quidnetventures.com/">quidnetventures.com</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: MACSO]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sam Collins talks with Saba Samiei, founder and CEO at MACSO about her AI startup's groundbreaking international distribution deal with French animal health giant, Virbac.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-macso</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-macso</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:06:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193739568/943c0b297da4b96890607e0ba1fc15f3.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Auckland, New Zealand: <a href="https://www.macso.ai/">MACSO</a>, a New Zealand-headquartered innovator in artificial intelligence and sensor fusion, has announced an exclusive strategic partnership with Virbac, a global leader in animal health. Under the agreement, Virbac has secured exclusive distribution rights for MACSO&#8217;s breakthrough AI swine health monitoring technology across its extensive network in Europe, Latin America, and Asia (excluding Australia, China, and the United States).<br><br><strong>Revolutionising Swine Health with AI</strong><br><br>Respiratory diseases represent a significant threat to global swine production, accounting for up to 60% of deaths worldwide. MACSO&#8217;s technology transforms traditional, often reactive detection methods by utilizing advanced environmental and audio-based AI to &#8220;listen&#8221; for early signs of illness.<br><br>Key performance metrics of the technology include:</p><ul><li><p>Early Detection: Proven to detect respiratory distress between 16 hours and 6 days before clinical symptoms are audible to the human ear.</p></li><li><p>Comprehensive Monitoring: Provides 24/7 analysis of acoustics, temperature, and humidity.</p></li><li><p>Improved Outcomes: Reduces animal mortality rates and improves feed conversion rates.</p></li><li><p>Sustainability: Supports the reduction of unnecessary antibiotic use and lowers the carbon footprint of livestock production by preventing animal losses.</p></li></ul><p>Christian Burkhardt, Head of Corporate Business Development of Virbac says about the deal, "This partnership brings a digital 'sixth sense' to the stable, allowing us to detect the invisible days before it becomes inevitable. By integrating MACSO&#8217;s advanced AI into our Suigen Range, we are delivering on our 'One Health' commitment to improve animal welfare while promoting the responsible use of antibiotics through precise, data-driven intervention.&#8221; </p><p>&#8220;We are incredibly excited to partner with Virbac, a company that shares our vision for the future of farming and the role of AI as a force for good,&#8221; said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabasamiei/">Saba Samiei</a>, Founder and CEO of MACSO Technologies. </p><p>&#8220;Together, we are enabling a shift toward more proactive, data-driven care that improves animal welfare, supports farmers, and builds a more resilient and responsible food system.&#8221;</p><p><strong>A Milestone for New Zealand Innovation</strong><br><br>This multi-year, multinational partnership includes a future roadmap for the co-development of additional capabilities. For MACSO, the collaboration leverages Virbac&#8217;s global reach and animal health expertise to scale its New Zealand-grown technology at an unprecedented pace.<br><br>Saum Vahdat, CEO of Bridgewest Ventures New Zealand (MACSO&#8217;s lead investor), noted the significance of the deal for the sector: &#8220;This collaboration marks one of the earliest and most impactful forays of advanced AI into animal health. Through this alliance, MACSO&#8217;s cutting-edge technology will propel forward, delivering accelerated real-world impact and advancing more resilient, responsible food systems worldwide.&#8221; <br><br>The technology also helps address critical industry challenges, such as ongoing labor and skilled workforce shortages on farms, by enabling more efficient, data-driven management.</p><div><hr></div><p><strong>About MACSO Technologies</strong><br><br>MACSO is a VC backed Auckland-based technology company specialising in AI and sensor fusion for precision animal health. The company develops advanced edge-computing AI that processes complex environmental data to deliver actionable insights for the agriculture sector. Their first commercialised solution focuses on swine health, aiming to reduce mortality and antibiotic use while improving efficiency. MACSO also offers consultancy services to help animal health organisations leverage data and AI. <strong>More information:</strong> <a href="http://www.MACSO.ai">www.MACSO.ai</a></p><p><strong>About Virbac</strong><br><br>Virbac is a global animal health company dedicated to preventing, diagnosing, and treating animal pathologies. They offer a comprehensive range of care, hygiene, and nutrition products for veterinarians, farmers, and pet owners worldwide. <strong>More information:</strong> <a href="http://corporate.virbac.com">corporate.virbac.com</a></p><p></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Actvo]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sam Collins talks with New Zealand startup founder Melissa Jenner about building the worlds first "Career Navigation" platform, Actvo, in Denver, Colorado.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-actvo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-actvo</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 03:02:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193533188/d2744acdb32cf3d4a4d54c2608b9409f.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With some of the worlds largest tech companies recently citing AI in <a href="https://www.hcamag.com/nz/news/general/atlassians-ai-job-cuts-spark-warnings-of-a-chaos-tsunami-for-the-workforce/568757">announcing wholesale layoffs</a>, can Melissa&#8217;s human-centric, AI-powered company provide workers with the strategies needed to navigate a rapidly changing job market?  </p><p>When artificial intelligence started dominating headlines with warnings about job losses, automation and the uncertain future of work, most founders rushed to build tools that would replace labour. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-jenner-actvo/">Melissa Jenner</a> chose a different path.</p><p>Instead of asking what AI could eliminate, the New Zealand entrepreneur asked what it could protect.</p><p>Now based in Denver, Jenner is the founder of <a href="https://actvo.ai">Actvo</a>, an AI-powered platform that predicts a person&#8217;s next job and helps them learn and grow into it before they&#8217;re left behind. In a labour market increasingly shaped by algorithms, restructures and shifting skill demands, Actvo is designed to give individuals something many feel they&#8217;re losing: clarity and control.</p><p>&#8220;We predict your next job or gig,&#8221; Jenner says simply. &#8220;And then we help you get ready for it.&#8221;</p><p>The idea was sparked in early 2023 during a coffee conversation about where artificial intelligence could have the most positive impact. Jenner had spent eight years running a successful in-person career services business, helping people navigate professional transitions. Through that work she had accumulated a deep library of insights, use cases and proven processes. But she could see the limits of a human-led, time-intensive model.</p><p>At the same time, she was noticing something counterintuitive emerging in research around AI: when conversations involve vulnerability like finances, weight, or career uncertainty, many people felt more honest with a machine than with another human.</p><p>Career decisions sit at the heart of identity. They affect income, status, confidence and family stability. Yet most people don&#8217;t have a truly safe space to explore their next move. Managers are conflicted because they want to retain staff. Friends and family bring bias. Professional coaches can be expensive and time-consuming. Existing corporate tools are typically built with the employer&#8217;s interests first.</p><p>Jenner believed AI could create a neutral, emotionally safer environment for individuals to think out loud about their future.  And importantly, start learning again.  <br><br>&#8220;Fundamentally &#8211; none of us can remain comfortable.  To transition into new work in the age of AI, we are all going to have to start learning again&#8221;, she says.</p><p>That belief led her to &#8220;blow up&#8221; her existing business model and rebuild it as a scalable personal career learning platform. Actvo uses human-centred design principles (a methodology Jenner learned from Stanford University during her time at NZ Trade &amp; Enterprise) to guide users through a structured self-discovery process before surfacing &amp; matching them to both &#8216;work pathways&#8217; and potential next roles or projects.</p><p>Rather than starting with ideas and searching job boards and listings, Actvo begins by unpacking who a person is becoming. What do they value? What are they wanting to learn? What kind of lifestyle do they want? What skills are adjacent to the ones they already have?</p><p>From there, the platform predicts realistic next roles and maps a learning skills &amp; experience pathway to get there. For around the same monthly price of a pint of beer, the model is deliberately affordable, making structured career navigation accessible beyond executive coaching circles.</p><p>The timing may prove critical. Globally, organisations are restructuring at pace as AI tools accelerate productivity. Entire job categories are being reshaped. Even high-skilled professionals are questioning what their roles will look like in five years. In that environment, reactive job searching can feel chaotic and disempowering.</p><p>Jenner argues that the real opportunity isn&#8217;t just replacing work with automation, but helping people proactively reposition themselves with new skills, before disruption hits.</p><p>Actvo has already piloted with multiple companies across different markets, refining its customer base and narrowing in on where it delivers the most value. But Jenner has deliberately resisted chasing fast venture capital or building a hype-driven Silicon Valley narrative.</p><p>Instead, she relocated to Denver to embed herself in a startup ecosystem known for its collaborative &#8220;give-first&#8221; culture. The move has opened doors to accelerators, federal government workshops and international speaking opportunities such as her recent address to the International Economic Development Council Leadership Summit in Washington DC - experiences that would have been difficult to access from afar.</p><p>Still, at the core of Actvo is not geography or growth strategy, but mission. Jenner believes the psychological cost of career uncertainty is underestimated. Loss of work, or even the fear of it, can erode confidence and destabilise families. In her view, the next wave of AI products should not only optimise productivity, but restore hope.</p><p>That conviction is what keeps her building, even when the founder journey feels heavy.</p><p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re mission-driven, you&#8217;re in it for the long haul,&#8221; she says. &#8220;This job market is changing fast. People are going to need tools that help them reskill and reposition at scale.&#8221;</p><p>As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, Actvo represents a subtle but powerful shift in how it might personally play out for more people.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ecosystem Profile: From Scratch]]></title><description><![CDATA[Katharina Chiu & A-Chau Le - New Zealand]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-from-scratch</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-from-scratch</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 03:45:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:893570,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/193428603?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFGT!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6cc7fad6-8374-47e9-b3a2-6e2f72711d1a_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Organisation Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;From Scratch is a community for <strong>early-stage female founders</strong> navigating the messy, uncertain first steps of building a business.</em></p><p><em>We create spaces where women can connect honestly, share real experiences, and learn from one another.</em></p><p><em>Our focus is on founders who are starting from zero, changing careers, or rebuilding after a move, pivot, or personal reset.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Is Your Origin Story?</h3><p><em>&#8220;From Scratch was founded by Katharina and A-Chau who had both moved countries and found themselves rebuilding, personally and professionally.</em></p><p><em>While navigating new beginnings, <strong>we realised how isolating early-stage entrepreneurship can be</strong>.</em></p><p><em>We created From Scratch to offer the kind of honest, supportive community we wished we&#8217;d had at the beginning.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Are You Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;We&#8217;re celebrating growing to over 100 engaged members, entirely through word of mouth.</em></p><p><em>What matters most isn&#8217;t the number, it&#8217;s how active and supportive the community has become.</em></p><p><em>Founders are showing up, asking real questions, and <strong>helping one another move forward</strong>. That sense of trust and momentum feels like a huge win.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Would You Say to Founders Wanting to Engage Your Organisation?</h3><p><em>&#8220;You don&#8217;t need to have everything figured out to belong here. From Scratch is for founders who are curious, honest, and willing to learn alongside others.</em></p><p><em>If you&#8217;re at the beginning, feeling unsure, or simply craving connection with people who understand the journey, <strong>this community is here to support you</strong> - exactly as you are.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;On tough days, we lean into the community itself. Hearing founders share progress, challenges, and small breakthroughs is incredibly grounding.</em></p><p><em><strong>We also remind ourselves why we started</strong>: to reduce isolation and self-doubt for women building from the ground up.</em></p><p><em>That purpose, combined with rest, reflection, and mutual support, helps us keep going.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Katharina Chiu and A-Chau Le of From Scratch</p><p>HQ: Auckland, New Zealand</p><p>Web: <a href="https://www.fromscratchcrew.com">fromscratchcrew.com</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Founder Profile: Mara Bio]]></title><description><![CDATA[Steve Boggs, Maya Tangestani, Mark Balchin - New Zealand]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-mara-bio</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-mara-bio</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 01:00:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1059379,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/192799062?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WPcL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F689efbd6-361d-4543-aa41-3f32ddd0291e_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Company Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Mara Bio is a biotech company developing an innovative, proprietary fermentation platform that transforms dairy industry by-products into proteins, fibre, minerals, and functional bioactive ingredients for the world&#8217;s leading food companies.</em></p><p><em>Our process <strong>reduces waste, cuts emissions, and generates new revenue streams</strong> for dairy producers.</em></p><p><em>By co-locating and integrating with existing facilities, we enable partners to decarbonise and lead in climate action. We&#8217;re driving the future of sustainable food innovation through circular economy solutions.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Is Your Origin Story?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Some years ago we developed an active nutrition brand, with our first products using whey protein as a core ingredient.</em></p><p><em>We explored alternatives that were more sustainable, but some, such as plant-based proteins weren&#8217;t soluble and had taste and texture issues.</em></p><p><em>With research we discovered mycelium, the root structures of mushrooms, and <strong>by using a circular approach we could utilise food industry sidestreams as a food source for these microorganisms</strong> and to convert them into high-value ingredients.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Are You Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Having our <strong>new lab installed here at Foodeast Haumako</strong>, the fourth lab for Mara Bio.</em></p><p><em>This will enable us to continue to optimise our process and explore new opportunities in biotechnology.</em></p><p><em>At the same time we&#8217;re scaling our technology in our partners facilities, which is our core focus for this year, and moving up the Technology Readiness Scale (TRS).</em></p><p><em>We&#8217;ve also been successful with a Bioresource Processing Alliance (BPA) funding project and will have more news to come.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s a lesson we&#8217;ve always been aware of but continue to learn, and that&#8217;s to <strong>truly understand the value we offer to our customers</strong>, whether they be our corporate partners or the end consumers.</em></p><p><em>Like all startups, we have a runway and limited resources so it&#8217;s imperative that we are solving our customers problems and not just doing R&amp;D for R&amp;D&#8217;s sake.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Reminding ourselves that it&#8217;s a long road, and we have a big goal in mind in terms of the impact we want to have; in terms of the economic impact, as well as food security and the environment.</em></p><p><em>And we can&#8217;t do it on our own, so <strong>working with our partners, investors and others connected to the food network here in Aotearoa helps keep us energised and informed</strong> about the bigger job we&#8217;re trying to do.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Steve Boggs, Maya Tangestani and Mark Balchin of Mara Bio</p><p>HQ: Hawkes Bay, New Zealand</p><p>Web: <a href="https://mara-bio.co.nz/">mara-bio.co.nz</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ecosystem Profile: Jelix VC]]></title><description><![CDATA[Andrea Gardiner, Australia]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-jelix-vc</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-jelix-vc</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 23:59:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:904193,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/192674362?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n1k5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3fbe1864-cb32-401c-8e0e-785c6c4d9622_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Organisation Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Jelix Ventures is a venture capital firm, based in Sydney. We invest in early stage technology companies, backing daring founders to make the world better. With over $50 million in funds under management, we&#8217;ve invested in over 45 companies that have collectively raised hundreds of millions in further capital.</em></p><p><em>Jelix is sector agnostic, and we invest broadly, however, we take a special interest in:</em></p><ul><li><p><em>Deep or frontier tech - world changing solutions at the frontiers of science. </em></p></li><li><p><em>AI - empowering people to do more and achieve things at a pace and scale never before possible.</em></p></li><li><p><em>Climate change  &amp; sustainability - these technologies will transform our world. The scale of the problems, and the potential opportunity for solutions, is vast.</em></p></li><li><p><em>Software tools &amp; development - relating to proprietary operational systems or, leveraging proprietary data unable to be scraped by AI.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p></li></ul><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Is Your Origin Story?</h3><p><em>&#8220;</em>In 2003, Ian Gardiner co-founded Innovation Bay (IB) to provide educational and networking opportunities for technology startup founders like himself in Sydney. Later, Innovation Bay organised regular angel investment pitch dinner events. (IB has since evolved into managing startup community groups of investors and of founders).</p><p>In 2015, I led a syndicated investment into StorReduce after it pitched at an IB event. It was rapidly oversubscribed. So, I founded Jelix Ventures to provide a way for investors to access highly vetted investment opportunities in early-stage startups with confidence. </p><p>Since then, Jelix has invested over $45m into 45 startups, over a 100+ investment rounds, through both syndicated co-investments and the Jelix $30m fund. Jelix plans to start raising another, larger fund later this year.<em>&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Are You Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;The recent exit of Jelix portfolio company Clipboard. We were proud to be first round investors and so returned over 9X to our syndicated co-investors and circa 4.5X to the fund.</em></p><p><em>After investing early, in the very young founders who had recently graduated, and supporting them on the roller coaster of growing their startup, it was immensely exciting to be part of a great outcome for them and our Jelix investors.</em></p><p><em>We are particularly proud because so few Australian venture funds have returned capital to their investors in this wave of VC funds, and we will do this in the next couple of weeks.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;I will give you three...</em></p><p><em>Back myself and my judgement with strong conviction.</em></p><p><em>Be more assertive with green founders making the potentially fatal rookie error of hunting big whale sized customers at the expense of developing the less sexy, bread and butter lifeblood revenue that can keep them alive until they land the whale.</em></p><p><em>Great tech founders who &#8216;don&#8217;t know what they don&#8217;t know&#8217;, and continue to spend investors&#8217; capital on further tech development at the expense of building the commercialisation team. Revenue is paramount; it is the lifeblood of all companies, and it keeps startups alive to grow and thrive and diminishes reliance on the increasing uncertainty of obtaining further capital investment.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;That is easy. I love what I do. This is the best job I have ever had.</em></p><p><em>It is a genuine privilege to back extraordinary founders to make the world better and provide fuel for the economic growth of Australia and New Zealand, as our portfolio companies grow and create jobs.</em></p><p><em>I learn from them every day and I never get bored making my way up the learning curve of different technologies and different sectors.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Andrea Gardiner of Jelix VC</p><p>HQ: Australia</p><p>Web: <a href="https://www.jelix.vc/">www.jelix.vc</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ecosystem Profile: Outset Ventures]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mat Rowe, New Zealand]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-outset-ventures</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/ecosystem-profile-outset-ventures</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 20:10:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1310445,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/189058354?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!In8d!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd186d20a-9299-4ae8-81e1-9f602603e9ce_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Organisation Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Outset helps visionary founders turn breakthrough science into globally relevant companies. We bring together specialist lab and workshop facilities, early stage venture capital, and hands-on operational support within a single platform.</em></p><p><em>Our team invests across New Zealand from pre-seed through Series B, typically leading rounds between $100k and $10m. While founders don&#8217;t need to be based within our Campus, many have emerged from or returned to it, creating a strong flywheel of talent and experience.</em></p><p><em>We focus on <strong>complex, hard-to-replicate technologies</strong> in sectors such as energy, aerospace, advanced materials, industrial chemistry, biotech, med-tech, waste-to-value, and future food.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Is Your Origin Story?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Outset was born from my own journey as a early stage employee and co-founder in deep tech. I spent a decade at LanzaTech as employee #1 working alongside Rocket Lab in the lower levels of an old government building that would later become our campus. </em></p><p><em><strong>I caught the startup bug hard </strong>and then co-founded two deeptech companies alongside Outset itself. Seeing first-hand the power of clustered ambition, founders helping founders, shared facilities, warm introductions, and early-stage capital efficiency, I realised this ecosystem itself was an enabling asset. </em></p><p><em>When the pioneers moved on we secured the site for the next generation of ventures and in 2020 during Covid, we raised our first VC fund, finally completing the platform to support founders with capital, infrastructure, and trusted networks to follow in the footsteps of New Zealand&#8217;s deeptech unicorns and scale globally.&#8221;&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Are You Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;One ongoing win is seeing the <strong>scale and diversity of companies now coming from across New Zealand</strong> and through Outset&#8217;s platform, from advanced energy and space technologies to industrial biotech and materials.</em></p><p><em>It&#8217;s incredibly rewarding to be able to support whether this is through facilities, advice or funding and watch founders move from early experiments to global partnerships and real-world deployment. On a personal level, I still count every successful technical milestone, first hire, first customer, next capital raise as a genuine win and we are proud to be able to share in the celebration of many of these milestones in our community hub.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Turning projects into great companies <strong>requires formidable people</strong> that can take an idea from -1 to 0 and beyond. It&#8217;s messy, nonlinear and often exhausting.</em></p><p><em>The teams that I have seen thrive are not just technically brilliant, they&#8217;re resilient, adaptable, and willing to be honest with themselves and each other. Success comes down to how a founding team communicates, supports each other, brings in similar formidable people and keeps moving under pressure.</em></p><p><em>I bring my lived experience to how I work with founders, helping them collaborate effectively, navigate challenges and make tough decisions. For me, supporting people, their dynamics, and their growth is the key to turning breakthrough science into real, globally relevant companies.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;I try to get outside as much as possible running, walking, ideally with my dog Axl and the family.</em></p><p><em>I also get a lot of energy from good conversations with founders and peers - hearing what others are building puts challenges into perspective.</em></p><p><em>Ultimately, being part of long-term journeys and <strong>seeing people grow gives me a lot of motivation</strong>, even when things feel hard in the moment.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Mat Rowe of Outset Ventures</p><p>HQ: New Zealand</p><p>Web: <em><a href="https://outset.ventures/">www.outset.ventures</a></em></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Founder Profile: SE1FMADE]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nicky Tregidga, New Zealand]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-se1fmade</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-se1fmade</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 23:15:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1132699,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/188198970?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sF5U!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5281e7ee-36a8-4e5e-b868-dc1c320b63fb_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Company Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;SE1FMADE is an AI-powered mental performance coach that athletes can chat with in real time via web or mobile.</em></p><p><em>It draws on proven sports psychology and behavioral science principles to help athletes develop the mindset skills needed to perform at their best.</em></p><p><em>We&#8217;re here to help make <strong>athletes legendary</strong>.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Inspired You To Start It?</h3><p><em>&#8220;When I was an elite athlete I saw the impact that mental performance coaching, or the lack of it, can have on performance.</em></p><p><em>I believe all athletes should have access to this kind of support, not just those with financial privilege. I saw an <strong>opportunity to build something</strong> that hadn&#8217;t previously been possible.</em></p><p><em>I have a feeling I haven&#8217;t had since being an athlete. A sense of compulsion, obsession, and hunger to make this level of support possible for athletes.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Win (big or small) You&#8217;re Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Our <strong>beta product is</strong> <strong>live!</strong></em></p><p><em>Athletes can now register for free on our website <a href="http://www.se1fmade.io">www.se1fmade.io</a>&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Don&#8217;t hesitate to ask for help. The startup community in NZ is <strong>awesome</strong>.</em></p><p><em>Get out there and meet people because everyone is lovely and always happy to share stories, answer questions, or provide insight and connections.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Accepting it&#8217;s okay to not have energy or enthusiasm all the time. Expecting 100% constantly is unrealistic.</em></p><p><em>Ups and downs are normal, how we respond is what matters. Sometimes that means recovering, and others it means tricking ourselves.</em></p><p><em>As an athlete when my body ached and I was tired, I&#8217;d tell myself, <strong>&#8220;just do 15 minutes,&#8221;</strong> which often turned into a full session. I use the same approach now, and those small commitments often lead to real progress on tough days.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Nicky Tregidga of SE1FMADE</p><p>HQ: New Zealand</p><p>Web: <em><a href="http://www.se1fmade.io">www.se1fmade.io</a></em></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Founder Profile: Senang]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sharian Raj, Malaysia]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-senang</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-senang</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 23:47:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:896928,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/187341421?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Chtu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3824c987-9a23-4cd8-a620-1b381d186cc7_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Company Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Senang is an embedded insurance and takaful (a halal version of insurance) distribution platform that helps cooperatives, lenders, and merchants offer simple protection products to their members and customers.</em></p><p><em>We provide white-label journeys (quote-to-payment), digital onboarding, and salary/loan deduction payment rails, enabling partners to sell at scale with minimal operational burden. Our focus is <strong>making insurance more accessible for everyday Malaysians</strong>, especially underserved segments.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Inspired You To Start It?</h3><p><em>&#8220;I saw how insurance can feel complicated, expensive, and hard to access&#8212;especially for B40 communities who often rely on cooperatives and salary deductions.</em></p><p><em><strong>I started Senang to remove friction:</strong> fewer forms, clearer pricing, faster issuance, and easier payments through channels people already trust. The goal has always been to turn insurance into something simple and practical, not intimidating.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Win (big or small) You&#8217;re Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;A meaningful win is<strong> proving repeatable distribution at scale</strong> through cooperative ecosystems. We&#8217;ve grown our partner base and built a large member database, with strong penetration in several cooperatives and consistent premium volumes.</em></p><p><em>We&#8217;re also proud of improving payment accessibility through salary/loan deduction options&#8212;small operational details that make a big difference in keeping coverage affordable and continuous.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Distribution and operations matter as much as product. Early on, I focused heavily on building features, but the biggest breakthroughs came from tightening processes, partner enablement, and measurement&#8212;<strong>what gets tracked gets improved.</strong></em></p><p><em>I also learned to be very clear on &#8220;who owns what&#8221; with partners from day one (commercials, responsibilities, and timelines) to avoid slowdowns later.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;I anchor on the mission and the team. When things get tough, I go back to customer stories&#8212;why this matters&#8212;and break big problems into the next two or three executable actions.</em></p><p><em>I also <strong>protect my routines</strong> with short workouts, focused work blocks, and quick check-ins with my leadership team to unblock issues fast.</em></p><p><em>Momentum, even small wins, keeps the energy up.</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Sharian Raj of Senang</p><p>HQ: Malaysia</p><p>Web: <a href="https://senang.io/">senang.io</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Founder Profile: LaunchPal]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sawyer Paul, Egor Golopeatov and Dale Viljoen, New Zealand]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-launchpal</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-launchpal</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2026 23:05:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:815505,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/186552875?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0rJh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb87df3f4-1731-48e1-9a7d-f5d474e0ca77_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Company Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;LaunchPal helps founders and operators launch faster by turning outreach, partnerships, and distribution into a repeatable execution system.</em></p><p><em>We focus on getting ideas in front of real customers quickly with validated prospecting, campaigns, and direct conversations. This allows founders to <strong>build momentum, learn from the market, and move forward</strong> with confidence instead of getting stuck in planning mode.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Inspired You To Start It?</h3><p><em>&#8220;LaunchPal started when Egor and I worked at Global Fashion Collective, producing fashion weeks worldwide. With limited time, we built an early version of the software to find, verify, and contact designers at scale.</em></p><p><em>In three months, it helped us send 6,000+ emails, book over 350 meetings, and close six figures in deals. That experience <strong>showed us the power of fast, focused execution.</strong> The software has now been taken to another level with Dale our CTO who has made this now an incredible Vertical AI SaaS tool.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Win (big or small) You&#8217;re Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Seeing founders replicate the same momentum we experienced early on. Watching brands go from zero traction to real replies, meetings, and distribution conversations within weeks is a huge win. </em></p><p><em>Those early signals from the market are often the difference between <strong>a founder pushing forward or giving up.</strong> An example is a New Zealand brand Jagiya who we got into 30 Stores in under 30 days - with them working with us this number has now reached 200+&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Speed and clarity come from action and talking with your customers. We made a product because Egor and I had a problem that needed solving now it has blossomed into what it is now. </em></p><p><em><strong>Some of our biggest breakthroughs came from shipping something imperfect</strong> under time pressure and learning directly from real responses.&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;By <strong>staying close to the work and the people we&#8217;re helping.</strong> Seeing real outcomes and genuinely being excited about what we are building and who for.</em></p><p><em>It has been one of the most exciting opportunities I have taken on.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Q&amp;A with Sawyer Paul of LaunchLab</p><p>HQ: New Zealand</p><p>Web: <a href="https://www.launchpal.io">LaunchPal.io</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Founder Profile: Sky Realm]]></title><description><![CDATA[Max Ting and Danny Chong, Malaysia]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-sky-realm</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/founder-profile-sky-realm</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2026 02:14:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png" width="1200" height="1500" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1500,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:978519,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/i/185916442?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YvUG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F73b72d17-a69a-4651-84a7-046b027d57b4_1200x1500.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h3>What Does Your Company Do?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Sky Realm leverages the underutilised airspace to solve urban congestion through its <strong>SkyDrop drone delivery service</strong> and UTM SaaS platform.</em></p><p><em>We provide an end-to-end solution integrating hardware and software to enable instant, greener, and safer on-demand deliveries. Our ecosystem automates flight paths to bypass road traffic, reducing delivery times by up to 75% while acting as an air traffic control system for drone operators.<strong>&#8221;</strong></em></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h3>What Inspired You To Start It?</h3><p><em>&#8220;We were driven by the realisation that roads are congested everywhere and the traditional delivery workforce faces critical shortages and safety risks.</em></p><p><em>We identified a massive gap in utilising the airspace above ground, which was completely untapped for on-demand logistics.</em></p><p><em>Inspired to create a &#8220;Greener&#8221; and &#8220;Safer&#8221; delivery model, <strong>we founded Sky Realm to bypass ground infrastructure entirely</strong> and revolutionize how goods move through urban environments.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Win (big or small) You&#8217;re Celebrating Now?</h3><p><em>&#8220;We are celebrating the <strong>successful completion of our MVP</strong> in SkyDrop drone delivery at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Engineering Campus.</em></p><p><em>Furthermore, our drone has achieved SIRIM certification for MCMC compliance, a critical regulatory hurdle. These milestones validate that our technical performance aligns with expectations, positioning us strongly for upcoming commercialisation and full CAAM certification.&#8221;</em></p><h3>What Is One Lesson You Wish You Learned Earlier?</h3><p><em>&#8220;Being a founder can feel super lonely and rough, especially when you&#8217;ve pitched a hundred times and only a couple of people say yes.</em></p><p><em>One killer piece of advice, it&#8217;s this... Get really good at spotting and connecting with that one person in the room who&#8217;s actually going to invest. Nailing this means <strong>you have to be a top-tier people reader.</strong>&#8221;</em></p><h3>How Do You Keep Your Energy Up On Tough Days?</h3><p><em>&#8220;The belief that the SkyDrop solution is the future, keeps us going.</em></p><p><em>We&#8217;re committed to being pioneers and actually getting things done to solve problems as they pop up&#8212;that&#8217;s how we&#8217;ll get to that exciting future.</em></p><p><em><strong>We&#8217;re all in and ready to tackle any hurdle</strong> to make this amazing solution happen.&#8221;</em></p><h3>Learn More</h3><p>Who: Sky Realm</p><p>HQ: Malaysia</p><p>Web: <a href="https://www.skyrealm.io">skyrealm.io</a></p><h3>Be Featured</h3><p>Startup founder, investor or supporter in Asia Pacific and like to appear here? Subscribe at <a href="https://apacinnovator.com">apacinnovator.com</a> and click &#8220;Be Featured&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading APAC Innovator! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Catalist]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Colin Magee, founder and CEO of the New Zealand early stage business stock exchange Catalist, in Auckland.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-catalist</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-catalist</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/165589205/f9f020c990f210a6299dcc4d34685c3d.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Catalist at <a href="https://www.catalist.co.nz/">catalist.co.nz</a>.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Vidanex]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Dr Elaine Chan, CEO and cofounder at cancer treatment AI startup Vidanex, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-vidanex</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-vidanex</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2025 01:54:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/163884830/620dcdcb4afb8cd52b3f2390a8af1d87.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Vidanex at <a href="https://vidanex.com/">vidanex.com</a>.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Squizify]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Daniel McDouall, CEO and founder at food safety Saas startup Squizify, from Brisbane, Australia.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-squizify</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-squizify</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2025 22:07:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/162574249/ebd26bba7001ee106b559b824f4bdbde.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Squizify at <a href="https://squizify.com">squizify.com</a>.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Esper]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew interviews Shoaib Iqbal, CEO and Co-founder of satellite technology startup Esper, from Melbourne, Australia.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-esper</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-esper</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 29 Apr 2025 01:56:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/162377368/0e8d29a80792274a35d624dc1bda2073.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Esper at <a href="https://espersatellites.co">espersatellites.co</a>.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: M8 Ventures]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Alan Jones, Co-founder and Managing Partner of M8 Ventures, from Sydney, Australia.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-m8-ventures</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-m8-ventures</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 03:13:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/161355755/6b603432806cd562fbfeafae39ef42e5.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about M8 Ventures at <a href="http://M8.ventures">M8.ventures</a> and check Alan&#8217;s podcast <a href="https://dayone.fm/show/pick-my-brain">Pick My Brains</a>.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Umami Bioworks]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Mihir Pershad, Founder and CEO of Singapore-based cultivated seafood startup Umami Bioworks.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-umami-bioworks</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-umami-bioworks</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 05:43:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160917508/0832f8c4fee187cb156511a0661fd9e8.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Umami Bioworks at <a href="https://umamibioworks.com/">umamibioworks.com</a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Octovox]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Igor Portugal, Founder and CEO of conversational generative AI and telephony startup Octovox in Auckland, New Zealand.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-octovox</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-octovox</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:32:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/160383545/f8e5892dfb506529348ecf99a4d24d52.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Octovox at <a href="https://www.octovox.ai/">octovox.ai</a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Juno]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Juno Co-founder and CEO Michelle Gilmore, in Sydney, Australia.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-juno</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-juno</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:18:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/159873785/b9201845dc978782dcd6786dd4aff3a5.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Juno at <a href="https://heyjuno.co/">heyjuno.co</a> </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soundbites: Ora Pharm]]></title><description><![CDATA[Richard Liew talks with Ora Pharm CEO and Founder Zoe Reece in Waikato, New Zealand.]]></description><link>https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-ora-pharm</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.apacinnovator.com/p/soundbites-ora-pharm</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Liew]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 19 Mar 2025 02:33:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/159384189/494dfa63eaa92b81cbdb07964f6d023f.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Learn more about Ora Pharm at <a href="http://orapharm.co.nz">orapharm.co.nz</a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.apacinnovator.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><strong>Tech founder in Asia Pacific? Subscribe to join our community and be featured.</strong></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>