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.

A big exit in SEA: Singapore-based Manus AI just got acquired by Meta.

First: congratulations to the founders and team at Manus.

It’s not easy to hit that level of ARR in such a short time.
And to pull off such an acquisition amidst this geopolitical climate.
More importantly, on a personal level, to uproot and move to a new region comes with sacrifice.

Manus’ relocation wasn't a paper exercise. Real boots on the ground, founding team actively engaging the AI ecosystem in Singapore.

It’s great for our ecosystem to see Chinese founders choosing to build here.
And I like how Manus approached it. 

But I’ve also seen a lot of posts saying:
“Backing Chinese founders building in SEA should be the playbook for SEA venture firms.”
And that “Singapore made this deal happen, so this bodes well for our ecosystem.”

But does SEA actually benefit?
I hesitated in commenting initially, as I have a different perspective.
But mostly because I’m on leave 😅

Before we get too excited, a few questions are worth asking.

❓ 1/ What does SEA VC have to offer such founders?
Do note that Manus raised from Benchmark (a very reputable US VC), partly due to better terms (incl. valuation) than what some Chinese VC funds offered. 

I suspect that by the time Manus moved here, they had enough capital optionality to pass on SEA capital.

❓ 2/ What long-term value is being created here post-acquisition?
There is no doubt Singapore’s neutrality, rule of law, etc. helped facilitate the navigation of this deal.

Credit must be given to the government agencies who helped create the environment for this to happen. 

But beyond that, what long-term value is being created here in Singapore, let alone SEA?

(And separately, I do think China’s interest in avoiding capital and brain drain is a factor on its own.)

Singapore needs to be more than a convenient location for such deals. It needs to be a hub that anchors global startups, leading to job creation and local investments.

Let’s not lose our long-term vision of building SEA as an ecosystem.
I’m glad Singapore was able to play a part in this acquisition.

But if it’s to contribute meaningfully to our long-term goal, we shouldn’t celebrate at the point of acquisition. We need to observe and engage to see tangible value transfer into the region post-acquisition.

✅ High calibre founders (from China or anywhere) diffusing knowledge and lifting the quality bar, hence a more reliable pipeline tackling world-class problems.

✅ Maturity of market demand in SEA, so quality founders have one more reason to stay and build.

✅ Unlocked capital recycling back into SEA, so exits like this become fuel for the next generation.

I hope this is the start of something sustainable.
And doesn’t stop at Singapore being a place of convenience.

📷 Photo of me last year with founders in Singapore including Manus co-founder Tao Zhang and Carousell founders Marcus Tan and Siu Rui Quek, together with Enterprise Singapore and Minister Jeffrey Siow.

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

It’s official.
Ailytics and GlobalTix just landed in Singapore’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies.
(Ranked #11 and #15 respectively.)

I’m glad to see the growth of Tin Men Capital portfolio companies recognised.
But what matters more is how they got there.

Both companies scaled while keeping very positive unit economics.

That’s hard to do.
And it doesn’t get talked about enough.

This is quality revenue growth, rather than growth at any cost.
Fast, but fundamentally sound.

Proud of the teams behind this:
Wei Zhuang (Lenard) Tan and Prateek Manocha with the Ailytics team.
Chee Kong (CK) Chan, Chee Chong Chan, and the GlobalTix team.

Well done. 👏

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremy Tan

Starting 2 years ago, I said a lot of things that were unpopular views in my industry.

Most of those views have become mainstream and part of our zeitgeist. It’s encouraging to see more people in the industry speaking up in the same narrative that I believe will benefit the region.

That context came to mind again after I watched Mark Carney’s Davos address.

His message was simple and uncomfortable:
We are living through defining years, where systems are forced to confront the consequences of old assumptions.

SEA venture is in one of those moments now.
More than two years ago, I wrote about why copying the Silicon Valley power-law model into Southeast Asia wouldn’t end well.

What was happening:

↳ Application of the power-law playbook into a fragmented region
↳ Growth at all costs
↳ Funds raised too much, too fast

My unpopular views have become less abrasive as outcomes have materialised:

↳ Early-vintage funds struggling to return capital
↳ High-profile blow-ups and governance failures
↳ A real erosion of LP trust in the region

Today, VC funds, particularly emerging managers, are facing severe headwinds raising capital.

Meanwhile, mature markets have largely moved on, now buoyed by the AI cycle.
SEA is still in a deep reset.

That said, it’s not all bad news. We have a way forward.

● Founder quality and depth have improved meaningfully.
● The region continues to attract global FDI as neutral ground amid geopolitics.
● A new cohort of emerging managers is building smaller, more focused funds.
● Greater diversity of fund strategies, sectors, and operating styles.
● More collaboration across the ecosystem.
● SEA Governments are not letting the past hold them back from capturing future growth.

How we work through this will have a profound impact on the longevity of our still-fragile ecosystem.
Past results are not deterministic of future performance.

To borrow from Carney’s framing:

🟢 We need to be honest
🟢 Accept and move on from old, flawed assumptions
🟢 Decide for ourselves what is appropriate for this region
🟢 Build strength at home, together

Tourist capital has largely left.
What remains is the work of building a stronger Southeast Asian venture ecosystem, together.

I’m quietly confident we can do it.
We are in reset, and we can get it right.

I wasn’t ready for 2026 on Jan 1.

New Year’s Eve is a particularly stressful time for me.

Come Dec 31, my feed filled up with resolutions and so much enthusiasm about the year ahead.
And I’m just… not there yet.

I’m still getting over the fact that Christmas and the holidays were coming to an end.
Definitely not ready to start the new year.
Not even close to putting out affirming resolutions.

This year, I allowed myself to sit with these feelings.
Not making it wrong or trying to figure it out.
Just sitting with it.

I journalled, and a few realisations came up:

📍1/ There’s a stark difference between my “switch on / lock in” mode and my “switch off” mode.
It takes time for my engine to get going again, and hit peak performance.

📍2/ When I commit to something, I want it to be wholehearted, where the whole of me (heart, head and gut) align.

Which means, landing on my commitments for the year takes inner reflection and deep processing.
I’m simply not ready to rush that just to meet a calendar deadline.

In short: I’m going to run my own race.

Year end is for resting.
I’m going to make full use of it and clear my head.

There’s no need to conform to expectations of getting it all “buttoned down” by New Year’s Eve.
It matter less how you run it as long you finish.

You are accountable to you.
Each to his / her own race and pace.

May you finish yours well.

This is a post about football. But it’s more than that.
I’ve supported Manchester United since I was a kid.

My son recently got into football, like properly into it.
He’s now kicking a ball around the house nonstop (to the annoyance of my better half).

A few weeks ago, he decided to support the same team as me, a club that is far away from it's glory days.

He insisted we watch Man U play Man City. 
One of those big matches for fans as the rivalry goes way back. 

If you go by the numbers, you’d expect it to be one-way traffic.

⚽ Man City: 8 titles in the last 12 years
⚽ With the same proven manager for ~10 years

The stage was set for Man U to lose.
He and I both expected a big loss.
The whole family watched.

And then… Man U played some of the best football I’ve seen from them in a long time.
They won 2–0.

My son was stunned. 
He kept rattling off the stats and asking how this could happen.

At one point, he said:
“Man U players played like they wanted it so badly.”

A very simple and timely reminder.
Even when the odds are stacked against you, a lot boils down to who wants it more.

When he got into football, I was just glad he’d found a sport that gets him moving and away from screens.
I didn’t expect it come with life lessons, but I’m glad it does.

It’s a reminder I needed too, as I try to balance being pragmatic without becoming overly cynical (which seems to come with age).

Particularly apt for folks like us in venture and innovation.
We spend our days constantly trying to beat the odds.
Every now and then, you see a team show up with a level of hunger and belief that changes what’s “supposed” to happen.

We can only do so much to navigate the external environment, but what we have full control over, is our attitude and determination. 

I’ll remind my son of this game when things get tough for him.
I hope he’ll do the same for me.


📷 Incidentally I found an old pic of him in a Man U jersey. A kind family friend bought it for him. Poor guy did not know what he was wearing and clearly looked uncomfortable!

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