Accelerators & Incubators in Southeast Asia with Hugh Mason
In this episode, Hugh Mason, co-founder and CEO of Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) joined us on an interesting discussion on the role of incubators and accelerators in Asia @ Blk 71 (where most startups in Singapore are located with a total valuation of US$1.5B). We traced the story of JFDI, from how they started from the Hackerspace Singapore to the present state where they have incubated and delivered three batches of 100+ startups worth about US$36M all over Asia. In the same podcast, Hugh also shared his perspectives on the business models and business trends of incubators and accelerators across Asia and stories on what works and fails with entrepreneurs within the JFDI network. Hugh also shared his thoughts on how corporations can work with local incubators to jump-start new projects in coping with disruption and also providing a glimpse of what the future entails for JFDI in the next 3-5 years.
Here are the articles which form the basis for our discussion:
- The story of Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI): its origins, mission and vision and a short history to date (source: Tech In Asia).
- How many batches of startups have JFDI produced? What’s the success rate and total funding to date? (a) JFDI 2012/2013 startups valued at S$36m+ (JFDI.Asia) and (b) JFDI.Asia versus Y Combinator: Batch One compared (Tech In Asia). We also discussed some interesting trends on the various batches of start-ups within JFDI, and also mention two interesting companies: OurHealthMate, and CodeToki.
- We discuss the operating models and business trends of global incubators and accelerators: (a) Y-Combinator, (b) 500 startups, (c) TechStars (which contributed to the origin story of JFDI) and local: IDEOSource (Indonesia), Merah Putih (Indonesia), Beenos (Japan) and how Asia is evolving in this space.
- Corporates and accelerators/incubators: Is this a viable mode if the corporations outsource the product or lean startup project to accelerators/incubators? Corporate-run startup accelerators: the good, the bad and the plain ugly (Tech.eu)
- Sara Sarasvathy on effectual logic and the five principles which run across most entrepreneurs: (a) How great entrepreneurs Think and (b) Saras Sarasvathy’s Full Case Study and Questions (Inc.com). In addition, this article from Harvard Business review “A Leader’s Framework in Decision Making” is a good read for those who are leading their companies.
- A Tribute to Professor Patrick Turner who have recently passed away and the advice which he has shared with Bernard on how an entrepreneur should shut down a company gracefully.
- What is the future of JFDI in 5 years time? What are the challenges coming for the startups and investors in the next year given the current surge in startup activity?
Podcast Information:
The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bleongcw) and is sponsored by Ideal Workspace (Twitter & Facebook).
