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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some of our portfolio companies:

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremy Tan

I hesitate each time someone asks me for career advice.

Just last week, we had a team lunch to thank our intern who’s finishing up her time at Tin Men Capital.

She asked me,
“What do you think I should do?”
“What would you do if you were me?”

This is NOT the first time I get these questions.
But it still gives me pause.

Because what I hear is someone looking for the answer.
A formula.
A truth to copy and treat as gospel.

That scares me.
Reality is life doesn’t work like that.

Each person's life and path is unique.

↳ Different opportunities and social backgrounds 
↳ Personal loves, dislikes, and motivations 
↳ Life events that happen at different times

Context, timing, and opportunities all differ.
What’s right for one may be completely wrong for another.

Over time, I’ve only found a few things that hold true. 

What I told her:
🔹 Life will throw you curveballs. Play the cards you’re dealt and adapt. 
🔹 Gratitude is the gateway to happiness. 
🔹 Priorities and desires change with time. 
🔹 Pay attention to global shifts. Macro forces often shape personal outcomes. 
🔹 When you take advice, listen for the context behind it.

In the end, being able to choose your own path is a privilege in itself.
The rest is just figuring out how to make it work for you.

I still don’t have perfect advice.
But maybe that’s the point.
No one should.

The best any of us can do is stay curious.
Stay adaptable.

Keep building a life that makes sense to us.

To me, that’s how we end up in fulfilling careers and more importantly a happy life.

Agree?

Talks about #startup, #investing, #fundraising, #familyoffice, and #venturecapital

Tin Men Capital

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

Tuan Le

I just got into KL.

The last time we were here together was five years ago,
Right after we led Hubble’s Series A at Tin Men Capital

We flew in to meet a co-investor and closed the round on that trip.

When we headed back to Singapore in Feb 2020,
We didn’t know it would be our last time travelling for a while.

Today, I got to travel with SJ Lin again.
We chose to drive in this time.

It’s cathartic to spend some quality, uninterrupted catching up and dreaming up the future of Hubble.Build.
Five years felt like a lifetime.

A pandemic.
A funding winter.
More ups and downs than we expected.

And I’m thankful for the friendship and partnership we’ve built through all of it.

I’ve learnt a lot from founders like SJ.
I admire the way they stay steady under pressure, even when the environment is tough.

This time, we’re meeting investors and customers.
Wish us luck.

Hello KL, looking forward to building with you!

Singapore was built to avoid failure.
But our progress - our very survival depends on it.

Yet, we still treat failure like a scar.
Here, it’s partly culturally ingrained.

We were raised on the idea that we’re a small island,
With no resources and can’t afford to fail.

That mindset made sense when survival was top priority.

But over time, it manifested into something else.
A quiet fear of getting things wrong.

Across the region, failure is viewed very different.

In Malaysia, for instance.
Many built their businesses without the safety nets we have.

No government backing.
No currency stability.
No guaranteed support.

For them, the only path was forward.
Failure wasn’t shameful.

It was part of the process.

I’ve seen the same pattern with founders too.
The resilient ones study their missteps.
Every failed pilot, missed forecast, or wrong hire becomes data for the next decision.

That rhythm of trial and error builds staying power over time.

We should see it that way.
Failure can be a stepping stone to greater things.

It's proof of learning.
It's a showcase of progress in motion.

Don't shy from failure. Accept it as a part of the journey.

---
🎧 From Unfair Advantage with myco-founder Murli Ravi
(a Tin Men Capital Podcast)

We bring voices from across the ecosystem to understand what drives the region’s B2B growth.

Now streaming on all major podcast platforms: 
🟢 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gEig_89f 
⚪️ Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gECJhtSS
🔴 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g8bfShYA

I’ll be in KL, Malaysia this week - looking to connect with founders/ investors.

Tin Men Capital will host a casual networking drinks session on Wednesday evening. (19th November)

I’ll be sharing some thoughts about the evolving Southeast Asia startup ecosystem with a focus on the big part Malaysia plays in it.

It’ll be a great opportunity to trade insights and stories with other folks in the space to learn and unwind. 

You’ll get to hear from both founders on the ground and investors to get a pulse of where things are heading.

Possibly get inspired on new directions before the year’s out to set 2026 strong.

I expect some really great conversations and a fun evening.

Will be joined by a friend: First Move’s GP - Audra Pakalnyte.

There are limited slots - so I’d recommend applying early.
(Will attach the link in the comments.)

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Founders, don’t trade “nice” for “formidable.”

You can be both.

Mean founders might win once.
Nice founders win every round after.

I’ve been around this ecosystem long enough to see both.

Some founders think you need to squeeze every deal, underpay talent, or push for harsh terms to get ahead.
Some are unnecessarily antagonistic.

And yes, they might capture a little value in the moment.

But over time, it backfires.

In startups, the game is compounding.
🔸Company value ≈ Initial value × (1 + growth rate)^t

Shave a little off your growth rate every time you mistreat a hire, frustrate a partner, or shortchange a customer.
And those “wins” quickly turn into losses.

On the flip side, I’ve seen founders who:
✅ Pay fairly and on time
✅ Fix customer problems without excuses
✅ Treat partners like long-term allies

They build reputations that compound.

Hiring gets easier.
Deals close faster.
Investors lean in.

And in Southeast Asia, backchannels travel faster than revenue.
Your reputation is often the first due diligence that gets done.

The point isn’t to be “soft.”
Or to just to protect your growth rate.
It’s more basic than that.

Really, just don’t be a jerk.

Being decent should be the default.
Being formidable makes it  even more powerful.

That combination wins almost every time.
That’s how you compound.

What goes around comes around. 
Costs nothing to be nice.

Ingrained in Tin Men Capital's mission is to play a key role in building a thriving eco-system.

For SEA and for many generations to come.

It is that north star that fuel's Murli and my conviction and provides light at the darkest moment.

Earlier this week, I had the great pleasure of being invited to a small VC roundtable led by MOS Dinesh Vasu Dash,
together with other Singapore-based VCs.

We were invited to share views on the recommendations being shaped for the Economic Strategy Review.

I hope the candid views of all the VCs attending is useful for the policymakers in attendance.

Stoked that we can play a part in shaping vital policies.

What I appreciated most was how seriously the government is taking this role.
And I hope we’ll see more of these discussions happening even after the recommendations are announced and rolled out.

If we want founders to feel confident building here,
The right policies and financial infrastructure need to be in place, with frequent calibrations.

Whilst we are going through a reset now, we are starting at a higher base and that should be celebrated.

And I’m optimistic.

I believe we’ll get there at a much faster pace, with Singapore well-positioned to lead.

Big thanks to MOS Dinesh, Cindy Khoo, Heng-Tong CHOO, Emily Liew, Alvin Cai for the kind invitation.

And great catching up with friendly faces too:
Jixun Foo, Edgar Hardless, Arrif Ziaudeen, Jeremy Loh PhD Shailendra J Singh, B. Paul Santos and Dickson Loo.

Onwards!

They say Cash is the lifeblood of any startup. There's a good reason why.

As the ecosystem matures, founders have become much more financially aware.

They’re reading their numbers better.
Tracking recurring revenue, churn, ACV, margins.
That progress matters.

But I still meet teams who aren't as aware of cashflow management.

Take this example:

🔸A company doing $10M ARR, growing 100% YoY, with 80% gross margins.
Everything looked solid.

🔸Then the finance lead pulled up their collections report.
Only $2M had been collected at the gross profit level.

🔸Most customers paid every six months, with 90-day terms.
Several invoices were still overdue.

✅The books said healthy growth.
❌The bank account told another story.

This is probably an extreme example, but the point still stands.

Cashflow management may seem as a afterthought as we prioritise booking revenue,
Yet it often decides survival.

-Trading off contract size for faster payments
-Appointing someone accountable for collections
-Negotiating better terms with suppliers

Each move compounds over time.

More predictability.
More breathing room.
More control.

Good cash discipline rarely makes headlines. 
That is… until you run out of money.

But it keeps companies alive long enough to earn them.

Cash is king.
Founders should treat it that way.

For years, we’ve glorified one outcome for startups of any size.

Going public. Listing on a major stock exchange.

I get why this was the case.
It’s what most of us grew up reading about.

The glorious bell-ringing and confetti.
Those splashy headlines.
It felt like the mark of success.

But Southeast Asia doesn’t quite work that way.

Public liquidity lives offshore.
Markets are much more fragmented.
It takes longer to build scale needed for IPO.

Trouble is, when everything revolves around IPOs as the only option,
Other good outcomes get overlooked.

Founders keep building for windows that don’t open.
Funds hold on for longer than they should.
And solid M&A paths get ignored, even when they make perfect sense.

The truth is, M&A has driven a significant part of returns .

Done right, it rewards founders, recycles talent and capital,
And keeps momentum in the ecosystem.

We don’t talk about it enough, because it’s less flashy.
But we’re seeing it start to take off.

What would help now are doable fixes.

Building bridges with acquirers' corp dev team.
Cleaner cap tables.
Shift in local corporate mindset of "I will build it myself"

None of that’s out of reach.

We don’t need to chase Silicon Valley’s version of success.
We can design our own.

With the founders and investors already here,
Building outcomes that actually fit this region.

How do you define a good outcome in SEA today?

Avet Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Avet provides high quality generic medicines that help patients and practitioners achieve affordable healthcare solutions. Our global supply chain network is built around centers of manufacturing and scientific excellence to provide you with the highest level of quality, safety, value and service in generics.

Head of Supply Chain

#EverydayLeaders Interview Series

What's the Most Effective Leadership Tool?

Brady Pyle had great advice...

----

I often tell leaders that your most powerful leadership tool is a mirror

You need to start by knowing yourself, your strengths and weaknesses

I like to surround myself with people who are different from me in a variety of ways--how they grew up, personality and communication style, and leadership strengths

I also regularly seek customer feedback about the performance of my team members

Brady Pyle

Bill Castengera had this bit of advice to new and emerging #leaders:

It is easy to get caught up in tasks, but people want leaders who slow down, listen to concerns and take actions that address those concerns.

The question of whether we should push our employees or pull our employees can be a tough one.

Have high standards. If you lead correctly, your employees will want to do their best to match or exceed those standards.

Bill Castengera

1906

Nuka Foods is a privately held firm that manufactures the highest quality cannabis-based tablets.  Its 1906 brand of plant-based tablet and chocolate experiences are market leaders in this emerging industry.

Teva Pharmaceuticals

Oversight of supply from seven strategic internal manufacturing sites focused on the North American markets.  Program manager for a transformational shift focused on fixing foundations and inventory optimization with 11 initiatives incorporated within.

Director, Supply Planning

Change Management Lead for an SAP Implementation.  For this long-term project, I have responsibility for project communications, stakeholder engagement, business process change impact, change readiness, organizational alignment and training for a more than 10,000 end user base.

Director, Organizational Change Management

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Teva) is a global pharmaceutical and drug company. It develops, produces and markets generic drugs in all treatment categories.

Director, Supply Chain Planning

Teva Animal Health, Inc. is engaged in the research, development and manufacture of veterinary pharmaceutical products for North America and the worldwide animal health community. Teva Animal Health is the largest US manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical formulations for the animal health market, and our proprietary brand line, DVM Pharmaceuticals, leads the industry in the development of companion animal dermatological products and nutraceuticals.

Director, Supply Chain

RPI Lally School of Management

Member of external advisory board for the Master of Supply Chain Management program at the Lally School of Management.

Located in the heart of Upstate New York's Tech Valley, the Lally School of Management is the business school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. We develop aspiring business leaders who have a passion for innovation with the ability to work across business functions.

Supply Chain Advisory Board Member

The Refractive Thinker

The Refractive Thinker is a new, innovative outlet for doctoral scholars who want to publish their research. It is unique because it meets the critical standards of peer-reviewed literature while still appealing to readers outside of the world of academia. 

Vol. VIII: Effective Business Practices for Motivation and Communication
Ch 4: Five Steps to Navigating the Social Exchange Perspective Landscape

Download at no cost at:  http://goo.gl/wpnKbu

Contributing Author

Hospira

Manager, Capacity Planning and Project Management

Hospira is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company driven by its vision of Advancing Wellness™. Bringing proven leadership and experience, Hospira provides solutions to help improve the productivity, safety and effectiveness of patient care.

Supply Chain | Capacity Planning Manager

Section Manager, International Deployment

Supply Chain | International Deployment

Systems Analyst, Centralized Materials Management Group

Supply Chain | Systems Analyst

Supply Chain | Materials Manager

Supply Chain | Section Manager, SVP Finishing

Supply Chain | Section Manager, Materials Management

Supply Chain | Material Control Supervisor

Section Supervisor, Materials Management, Large Volume Parenterals

Supply Chain | Section Supervisor, Materials Management, LVP

Manufacturing Supervisor, Propofol Filling

Supply Chain | Manufacturing Supervisor, Propofol Filling

Supply Chain | Manufacturing Supervisor, Actiq

Corning Incorporated

Corning Optical Fiber, part of Corning’s Telecommunications segment, invented the first low-loss optical fiber in 1970 and today remains the worldwide market leader, offering a full line of single-mode and multimode optical fibers for all network applications.

Positions Held:
New Technology Receiver (Project Engineer / Production Management)
Shift Supervisor

Production Engineering and Manufacturing Supervision

GE Silicones

GE Silicones, Inc. offers specialty silicones, such as silicone surfactants, emulsions, catalysts, organomodified, and reactive fluids. It serves personal and household care, coatings, paints and inks, crop protection, textiles, oil and gas, paper, food and beverage, tissue and nonwovens, automotive, furniture and bedding, appliances, and shoes markets.

Process Safety Analyst

I profile the extraordinary work being done by #EverydayLeaders. Leaders from the front lines of industry

WHAT I DO: 

I’m on a quest to profile the extraordinary work being done by #EverydayLeaders.  Leaders from the front lines of industry.   

HOW I DO IT:  

I start genuine conversations with real people.  We discuss what it takes to lead people in the real world.  And I help them share or develop their wisdom. 

Over the last two years, I’ve interviewed and profiled dozens of people and published their stories in Volume 1 of the Everyday Leaders Series.  Here are few examples:

➡️ Kerry Wekelo on listening to your teams —  https://goo.gl/BgU8Ma 
➡️ Ross Wirth on asking the right questions — https://goo.gl/zKjf9H
➡️ John Reagan on the art of teamwork — https://goo.gl/UPRcGn

I also help Emerging Leaders discover their innate brilliance. We use a time tested framework to align your desires and preferences with your those of your peers, teams, managers, and organization. No tricks, no secret formulas.  But the techniques are so simple my 4-year-old could do it.

CURIOUS TO KNOW MORE?  

Let’s connect and see how we may help each other.

taplio

The Battle

Jeremy Tan

Dr. Ernest Jones

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