Archives: Episode

S5E1 – Insights and Strategies to Navigate Career Transitions

Are you feeling like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole in your career? Join us as we delve into the Art of Career Transitions in this episode of Small Talk with RainKraft.

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Startups vs Big Tech: Leadership, work styles and growth stages

Join us on the Growth Leaders Podcast as we embark on a journey with Haji Munshi, Group CEO of Cloud Kinetics. From his adventurous spirit to building a thriving private equity-backed platform, Haji shares invaluable insights.

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#83 Mentoring the greats – Brian Tracy, Marshall Goldsmith, Joe Vitale, Allan and Barbara Pease, Martin Lindstrom

Join us on ‘Timeless Teachings’ as Host Yana Fry delves into the captivating world of Gennady Polonsky, a Ph.D. economist and Reader in International Economics.

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S3E02 – Who Approved That Ad with Manisha Kapoor

In the latest episode of the Damn Good Marketing Podcast, hosts Subha and Hasita are joined by Manisha Kapoor, CEO of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), who reveals the importance of self-regulation in the advertising industry.

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Addressing Greenwashing: Does a good ESG score equate to being a good company?

In this episode of “Debunking ESG Myths”, host Ravi Chidambaram dives deep into the world of greenwashing with guest expert Dr. Kim Schumacher from Kyushu University. They explore the various shades of greenwashing, from compliance and competence to financial strategies.

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YT05 | Veteran TV Presenter Talks About The Two Sides Of Singapore

Meet Wayne. You might have seen him on TV or heard him on the radio. Wayne is a former Channel NewsAsia (CNA) and 93.8 Live presenter. He’s reported on 3 elections and has won numerous awards at MediaCorp.

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YT04 | Celebrating National Day #SG58 And YanaTV Launch

Hello friends. Good evening, good afternoon, good morning, whichever part of the globe you’re in right now. This is Yana Fry from YanaTV. And guess what? We are officially launching a YouTube channel and website this month. As the name says this is Yana which in Sanskrit means a vehicle, a vehicle of knowledge.

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S3E01 – What Did ChatGPT Do To Digital Marketing?

ChatGPT: Unleashing Creativity or Taking Over Jobs? Or both, perhaps? Join Subha and Hasita as they explore the impact of generative AI tools like ChatGPT on content creation, marketing processes, and whether it is a game-changer or just a shortcut for writers and marketers alike.

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#82 Upgrade Your Money Story And Be Financially Free

What do money and consciousness have in common? Studying the link between money and consciousness matters because it helps us understand how our thoughts and feelings affect our financial choices.

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YT03 | Ex-Corporate Leader Tells You How To Break From The Grind And Discover Your Purpose

Meet Sharad, a top Podcaster and Life Coach who gave up a corporate career studded with achievements to seek out the meaning of happiness.

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Cultivate People Capabilities For Sustained Business Growth

Banjo shares key insights from his career, how he handled a range of challenges, and how it shaped his passion for helping others achieve their aspirations.

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#81 How To Achieve Mental and Emotional Mastery – Sonia Samtani

Discover the fascinating journey of Sonia Samtani, a renowned mental health expert based in Hong Kong, as she unveils the transformation of mental health awareness in the bustling city.

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YT02 | 26-Year Old Shares What It Takes To Succeed For The New Generation Of Singaporeans – Rae Fung

Meet Rae. She is a speaker, coach and talk show host with Scape Media and Entertainment in Singapore. In this interview Rae shares her journey in public speaking and her tips for discovering and pursuing your passion – and lessons learnt in sharing those desires with your parents!

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Season 5 Trailer

Hi there. My name is Alison Eyring, and I’m the host of the Growth Leaders Podcast, where I interview some of the world’s top leaders about how they drive growth long term.

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#46 Life in 4 quarters with Avivah Wittenberg Cox

Explore a new perspective on life with thought-leader Avivah Wittenberg Cox as she unveils the untapped potential of the third quarter.

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YT01 | He Bridges The Gap Between Expats And Locals In Asia

Please welcome Max Chernov, the guy who helps bridge the gap between expats and locals all across Asia with his highly popular YouTube channel. In this episode, we ask him about his experiences in Singapore and how it influenced his YouTube career.

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Bonus Episode: Adapt Now For The Future With John Boudreau And Kevin Oakes

Join us for an insightful discussion on future work insights in Episode 1 of the Growth Leaders Podcast.

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#80 From Self-Improvement To Unfoldment | Steve March

Have you been trying and failing to make improvements in yourself? Perhaps the problem isn’t with you, but with the entire approach of self-development as a way to ‘fix’ ourselves vs letting our best selves shine through.

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#045 Stoicism in Daily Life with William Irvine

Join host Sharad Lal as he engages in a thought-provoking conversation with world-renowned philosopher and author, William Irvine.

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TiE Talks Podcast 02 | Legalities Of Angel Investing With Karun Cariappa | Investment Insights

In this episode, the host delves into the world of angel investing, exploring the legalities, due diligence process, and exit scenarios for both founders and investors. The conversation begins with a discussion on the documents involved in angel investing, such as non-disclosure agreements and term sheets.

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PD1 | How We Offer Free, High-Quality Rural Education | Lakshmi Ramamurthy, Amyga Foundation | India, Pre-School Education

Discover the inspiring journey of Mrs. Lakshmi Ramamurthy, founder of Amyga Academy, as she revolutionizes education in rural areas through a unique government partnership model. 

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MT30 | Being Rich Is Not The Same As Being Wealthy

Do you feel information overload in a world where every other person has their opinion on finances and investments? Are you also confused about which asset to buy given so many options?

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AV8 | Season 1 Recap And Highlights

There is a lot said about how to be an entrepreneur or how to pitch for funding, but nobody talks about what comes after starting your own venture.

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ST22 | Empowering Women Professionals With Flexible Work Solutions

In this episode we explore the story of Flexibees, a platform that is revolutionizing the way businesses hire qualified professionals and helping women professionals return to work on their own terms.

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MT29 | How To make Daulat In Times Of Economic Uncertainty

Are your CAs charging a hefty amount for advice on investments? Meet Varun Fatehpuria, Founder of Daulat, a wealth management app designed for Indians. Varun talks about how GenZ is impulsive when it comes to investing and ignores the two Ds of investment – Disciplined approach and Diversification.

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TiE Talks Podcast 01 | From Idea To Execution W/ James Chan, ION Mobility | EV, Hardware

In this episode, we talk to James Chan, founder of ION Mobility, about the challenges and triumphs of building an electric motorbike company in Southeast Asia.

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AV7 | C-suite Hiring And  Why “Business Problems Are People Problems”| Minh Giang – Newing Company

Corporates are much better than startups at hiring impactful C-level leaders and it isn’t just because they pay more. Fortunately, startups can apply the same methods and mindsets to find the right people solutions to their business problems.

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S1E11 | Truths About Automating And Growing F&B And Retail businesses In Southeast Asia | Fong Wai Hong

How do you build a business servicing a client base that operates on a fine line between survival and failure? And how do you ensure your business is not just client-churn proof but also emerges resilient towards funding challenges? Find out from Wai Hong, founder of StoreHub.

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AV6 | Recruiting The A-team And Making Them Earn A Seat At The Table

Before launching Aitomatic, Christopher Nguyen and his founding team worked together for nearly 10 years building new AI solutions over multiple ventures. As a seasoned Silicon Valley and Vietnam tech veteran he imparts his wisdom for pragmatic decision making, winning over A-team hires, and how they should earn a seat at the table.

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S1E10 | Truths About Modernising The $15B Ayurvedic Wellness Market | Ameve Sharma, Kapiva

How do you get millennials to buy something usually recommended by their grandparents? And how do you keep their attention when the product you sell takes months to show results? How do you know when you’ve achieved product-market fit?

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Highlights Episode | How To Step Up The Career Ladder

Tired of being stuck in your career for a while? This episode gives highlights of Season 4 of Small Talk with Rainkraft where Subha and Hasita give career lifting tips.

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S1E9 | Truths About Empowering SEA’s 71M MSMEs Through Financial Inclusion | Nikhilesh Goel, Validus Capital

How do you convince billion-dollar institutional investors to trust a relative upstart with their funds in a market with so much financial turmoil?

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AV5 | Starting A Business With Your Partner And The Art Of The Reverse Pitch | Kevin Hoong, Oyen Insurance

Convincing A-players to join a new company in a completely new industry may sound nearly impossible. How do you create a winning team when you have no funding?

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S1E8 | Truths About Building A Billion Dollar, Profitable Content Business | Joseph Phua, 17LIVE

We often think about startups as a 0 to 1 game with a team of founders working and pivoting around one theme in the hope of finding success. But that is a highly risky way to try and build VC-scale businesses.

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S4E11 | How To Be A Good Pitcher | Hasita Krishna And Subha Chandrasekaran | Pitching Ideas

You may not judge a book by its cover. But you will judge it by the book blurb – the short description at the back of the book. Similarly, your pitch is your own blurb. It is your first impression of the world. Make it your best version.

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XA Podcast 030 | How To Secure Your First Board Position | Su-Yen Wong And Howie Lau | Governance Series

Are you a senior tech executive wondering how to level up with a board position? Why would they appoint you? And what would be the expectations, risks and rewards once you actually make it onto one? Find out in this latest instalment of the XA Governance Series.

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S1E7 | Truths About Helping Influencers Make A Living In The $68B SE Asian Creator Economy | Paulina Purnomowati, CMO TipTip

Indonesians are voracious consumers of social media, and the creator economy is set to grow massively in the coming years. As the industry grows, unmet needs in engaging and monetizing their content arise.

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AV4 | ‘Self-Serve’ HR And Building A Remote-First Organisation | Jason Kan, Virtual Internships

Getting your team to embrace the culture you want to build is challenging especially when they are remote and distributed across the world. How do you create structures and processes without making it heavy and bureaucratic?

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S4E10 | Startups Need A People Strategy, Even If Not A People Function

In the beginning, startups have nothing but an idea – and a team of true believers who hope to bring it to reality. Everything is riding on the success of that team.

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S1E6 | Truths About Being A Female Leader In The Trillion Dollar Climate Tech Market | Natalia Rialucky, Fairatmos

What are the hard truths about building a climate tech market in a country and region where the awareness, tech and regulations are yet to mature?

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S2E10 | How To Be More Creative With Your Marketing Ideas

Do you have to be a mad genius to be creative? Or get inspired somehow? Or is it something within reach of all of us, something that can actually be executed reliably and within deadlines?

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S1E5 | Truths About Lighting Up One’s Own Path And That Of 60M Workers In Indonesia | Nelly Nurmalasari, Pintarnya

It’s hard to translate vision into reality – and especially so when you are trying to help workers build a better life. But when you see it happening, the moment is magical!

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S4E9 | How To Cultivate Executive Presence

You know how some people can walk into a room and behave as though they own it? Well, in this episode we discuss how you, too, could become one among them, by developing the elusive Executive Presence.

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AV3 | Expanding Regionally – Hire Local And Trust The Team

POPS Worldwide is one of the few Vietnamese companies to successfully expand regionally in SEA. In this conversation, Esther dives into the crucial aspects of trust, attitude, and personal qualities and how she grew the company from a 4 person team in Vietnam to a 400 person team across 3 different countries.

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S2E9 | How To Run LinkedIn Ads

Have you been frustrated with your lead-generation efforts on LinkedIn? In today’s episode we share with you tips and (kind of) a formula that you can apply to attract and nurture quality leads at a reasonable cost.

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S1E4 | Truths About Disrupting India’s Age-Old Manufacturing Industry | Sonam Motwani, Karkhana

What are the hard truths about being a startup builder in manufacturing, and what was Vertex Ventures’ thesis for investing in such a tradition-bound and notoriously difficult space?

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S4E8 | Dealing With Bad Bosses

How do you know when a ‘bad’ boss is really just someone with a different working style – and how do you align your styles for better outcomes? And what do you do when the relationship is truly toxic?

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XA Podcast 029 | The Entrepreneur Gene | Roger Egan, Co-Founder, Nurture And RedMart

When everyone is saying No, how do you eventually get to a Yes? Sheer persistence. Roger Egan, Co-founder of and former CEO of RedMart joins Reza Behnam to discuss his journey of founding RedMart

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AV2 | Articulating Team Values – Velocity vs. Speed | Kartick Narayan, Founder & CEO, Kilo

Is speed really the right thing to optimise for? How do you actually evolve company values? And how should you design your hiring process to ensure your new hire is aligned with company values and is able to hit the ground running?

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S2E8 | What Can I Cut Out Of My Marketing Effort?

Have you found yourself managing two personas, one of an entrepreneur and the other of a coach? Or are you wondering if you should be present on all the major platforms or maybe choose quality over quantity and stick to what’s relevant?

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S1E3 | Opportunities In SE Asia And India | Ben Mathias

Vertex Ventures has been investing in South East Asia and India long before it became fashionable (!) so we know a thing or two about which sectors are on the rise.

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S4E7 | It’s Not Always About The Money!

“I gave her a raise, yet she left.” Dual careers and an increased appreciation for work-life integration sparked during the pandemic have made employees think about work more broadly than just a pay packet.

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S2E7 | On Storytelling, Community, And Making Marketing Beautiful

Have you ever struggled to articulate what your brand stands for? Or wondered how to not just be, but also sound authentic online?

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XA Podcast 028 | Backing Founders For Life | Allen Taylor, Endeavor Catalyst

What would you say about a VC that uses all its profits to help establish economic opportunity in emerging markets? Or one that professes to back entrepreneurs for life, rather than on the strength of their business plan?

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AV1 | How It Feels To Be An Early Employee

Hau Ly and Adrian Latortue kick off the season with a discussion about their own experiences as early employees in Vietnam-based startups.

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S1E2 | Building Nium Into A Unicorn | Pratik Gandhi, COO, Nium

Starting with a little office in a dilapidated old building to joining the rarefied ranks of unicorns in Southeast Asia, Nium has come a long way. But what did it take to keep it going even when the chips were down and fresh funding was hard to come by?

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S4E6 | What To Do When Your Manager Needs Managing

So you’ve expanded your team and yet you find yourself having to defer important things to handle day to day questions? The answer might lie less in behaviour and more in process.

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XA Podcast 027 | Two Sides Of The Startup Investing Table

In this episode, a little reminiscent of a Shark Tank investing recap, we bring together a founder and their investor to hear both sides of the investment story.

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S2E6 | How To Scale Your Content Creation Process

Everybody understands the struggles of creating unique content with consistency. This episode charts the pains and gains of content creators as they are encouraged to explore new mindsets and approach newer topics that abet success

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S1E1 | Building An Enduring VC W/ Kee Lock Chua, CEO Vertex Holdings

How did Vertex Ventures get started as one of the oldest VCs in the region? And what’s our secret recipe for identifying high-potential founders? Find out in this episode

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S4E5 – “Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?”

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” is THE dreaded interview question. And you know what, it’s okay not to have answers! Your career path is exactly that—a path. One that deserves exploring.

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JT25 | Paolo Garde On Transitioning From Operations To Software Engineering

Paolo garde on transitioning from operations to software engineering, safety net thought process and planning, application orientation and learning process, Progressing in software engineering etc.

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MT28 | Kanishk Pratap Singh On How To Invest In Startups When You’re Not Yet A Millionaire

How do you invest in startups when you only have a little money? Is there a way to do it with just a few hundreds or thousands?

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ST21 | The Realities Of Being A Part-Time Author

Getting started in the logistic space? Challenges and issues are on the way to success. Explore this episode to learn how to exit from your startup.

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What Should Be My Marketing Plan For 2023?

It’s a new year! For many of us, that means a new planner and a new beginning. This is even truer for marketers, who have a whole new world of social media content, email campaigns, blogs, websites, and other cool things to work on.

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Holiday Crossover: Damn Good Storytelling

It’s the holiday season! And that means it’s time for something special! This week, we’re excited to bring you the first-ever crossover episode with our sister podcast The Damn Good Marketing Podcast. In this episode, Subha and Hasita discuss a topic dear to both their hearts: the power of storytelling and its ability to make…

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Holiday Crossover: Small Talk About Storytelling

We’re excited to bring you the first-ever crossover episode with our sister podcast Small Talk with RainKraft- a podcast for those who feel passionately about growing their career

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S4E4 – Can We Do Goal Setting Differently This Year?

Every year around this time we take stock of our achievements versus the goals we had made. But are we going about it the right way?

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AVV Founders And Friends Podcast: Trailer

Follow the AVV Founders and Friends podcast for insights into the early days of venture building from successful founders in Vietnam and South East Asia.

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S2E4 | Why Are My Landing Pages Not Converting?

In this episode, Hasita and Subha discuss what actually makes a landing page effective and how brands should approach making one.

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XA Podcast 026 | Board Composition With Abby Adlerman And Sze Meng Soon | Governance Series

Abby Adlerman and Sze Meng Soon join guest host Reza Benham to discuss board composition, what a board can do for a start-up and when it’s a good time to form one for a company.

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Hard Truths By Vertex: Trailer

Follow/ subscribe to Hard Truths By Vertex for a behind the scenes view of the most promising startups and investment opportunities in SE Asia and India. Vertex Ventures South East Asia & India is an early-stage investor in the region’s most promising sta

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S4E3 – How Not To Take A Layoff Personally

Layoffs are just business, not personal. But when you get laid off unexpectedly and it throws a curveball at your career, how can you help but not take it personally?

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S2E3 | What’s My First Step In Building A Personal Brand?

In this episode, Hasita and Subha discuss what personal branding is, how it differs from company branding, and what it takes to create a successful personal brand.

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XA Podcast 025 | Eric Cheng On Building A Leading E-Commerce Marketplace | Founder Series

Eric Cheng, an entrepreneur who built Southeast Asia’s largest car e-commerce platform from scratch, shares his idea of start-up stages, business growth, and strategy.

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TS11 | Cryptocurrency And Ahe (NOT SO) Secretive Blue Dollar Economy Of Argentina

Pablo shares his journey from not being able to open an investment account in a bank to trading in cryptocurrency full-time.

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S4E2 – Why Do I Struggle To Delegate? Here’s A Mindful Approach For Every Busy Professional

Do you find yourself doing a lot yet feeling like the work never ends? Are you still doing things that you mastered a few years ago or in your previous role?

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S2E2 | Is There A Right Way To Do Email Marketing?

Emails, emails everywhere, not a single one worth reading. Out of 50 emails of all shapes, forms, and varieties, we receive each day, we probably read one. The recipe for a good email consists of some ingredients- like understanding exactly who you want to speak to, knowing in depth the subject you’re writing about, and giving…

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XA Podcast 024 | From Inception To Acquisition: Tracking The Journey Of A Successful Start-Up With Max Bittner

Michele Ferrario in conversation with Max Bittner about his journey of founding and building his startup, the Lazada Group.

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TS10 | Donovan Choy On Why Principles Should Come First In The NFT And Crypto Space

Donovan Choy talks about the importance of sticking to first principles in crypto trading and the future potential that Web 3 holds.

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S4E1 – Your Career Doesn’t Need The Pressure Of Being Your Passion!

We’ve often heard that if you make a career out of your passion, you’d never have to work a day in your life. But then again, we’ve also heard it said- find your passion and let it slowly kill you!

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S2E1 | Why Do My Digital Marketing Efforts Keep Failing?

Welcome back! It’s season 2, and we’re starting, as always, with the big questions. If you’ve had failed digital marketing experiences, it is only natural to be unsure about trying it again. In this episode, we discuss why some things fail, and others succeed, with seemingly no explanation offered. In this episode, we discuss why…

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XA Podcast 023 | Board Fundamentals For Startups With Carmen Yuen And Ferish Patel | Governance Series

High quality startups spend time establishing a responsible and active Board so they don’t end up in hot water! Find out how.

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TS9 | ChanelCoco On Tasty Toastys, Transitioning To Web3 And Community-Building

How Chanel transitioned to Web3 and then to founding Tasty Toastys, the power of NFT communities and her top tips for navigating Web3

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XA Podcast 022 | Alex Gold On C-Suite Hiring, Self-Awareness And Culture | People And Talent Series

Alex Gold, MD of True Search SEA, discusses his experiences hiring top tech talent in South East Asia as well as his learnings about teams and culture

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XA Podcast 021 | Relationships, Experimentation And Founding Teams With Vicky Chai | People And Culture Series

Vicky Chai, former Group Head of People for SingLife discusses how to build a great founding team, handling crises and enabling experiments

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XA Podcast 020 | Resilience, Change And Culture With Shweta Shukla | People And Talent Series

How did Netflix maintain its strong culture through hyper-expansion? And what are some of the lessons in that for growth-stage founders?

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TS8 | Understanding Gas Fees

What are Gas Fees in an NFT transaction and how do they work? How do you optimise them to save money on your purchase?

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XA Podcast 019 | A Startup Approach To Nation-Building | People And Talent Series

Startup founders often associate government organisations with being plodding creatures, slow to adapt and reluctant to embrace change. But what if the organisation in question is a tech startup of it’s own, tasked with implementing the tools and tech needed by a future-friendly and foward-looking government? What does it take to build a culture of…

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TS7 | NFT Investing Strategies

First people seemed to be making millions on NFTs. Now they seem to be losing their shirt. What strategies can one follow to try and build wealth via NFTs?

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MT27 | Prasenjit Dasgupta On How I Built Wealth Despite A Late Start

Can you live a happy, financially secure life, even if you start investing in your 30s? Or if you start so late, do you need to boost your returns with day trading derivatives or crypto? Not really!

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XA Podcast 18 | Driving Change During Hypergrowth At Gojek | People And Talent Series

What worked as a new startup invariably stops working as you scale, especially so with people and teams. But the changes you need to make through various stages of growth can be surprisingly simple yet very effective. Discussion Topics: Driving Change During Hypergrowth at Gojek | People and Talent Series Role of a Chief People…

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TS6 | Five Rules To Avoid Getting Scammed

The NFT world is like the wild west. There’s great opportunity but it’s also full of scamsters and people trying to con you for a quick thousand dollars or two. But fear not – there are common sense ways to safeguard yourself

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Season 1 Finale- Much Ado About Digital Marketing?

All mentions of the metaverse aside, this one’s a very ‘meta’ episode. For the final episode of this season, we look back at what we said during the season and test whether that advice still holds. After all, in marketing, there’s always a shiny new tool to buy, or advice to follow. And yet, good…

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Bonus – Serena And Sebastian And Identity Clarity

Some events just have us making a mad dash to the podcast studio! Not just because we want to talk about them but because we have already been talking about them!

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XA Podcast 017 | Opportunities And Challenges In SE Asian FoodTech W/ Andre Menezes, Fengru Lin And Saurabh Bajaj

Many startups aim to be disruptive and revolutionary, but how many can claim to be changing habits ingrained in us since the dawn of evolution? In this episode, we discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by Foodtech entrepreneurs as they navigate the consumer adoption, regulatory and production challenges of changing the way we eat. Discussion…

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TS5 | How To Buy An NFT On A Marketplace

So there’s this NFT that you’ve been eyeing for a while and it’s now at a price you might be able to afford. How do you buy it from a marketplace like OpenSea?

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MT26 | Hena Mehta On How Money Works Differently For Women

Women face very specific issues around expenses, credit and disproportionate impacts of difficult situations and their needs are not being met today

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How Do I knock My Marketing Goals Out Of The Park?

Over time, Hasita’s favorite marketing saying has become this- most people do not have marketing goals, they have marketing dreams. Marketing campaigns can (and should) be creative and fun and even a bit outrageous. Marketing goals, however, need to be rooted in reality, plain hard facts, and be oftentimes, boring. How do you move from…

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XA Podcast 016 | XA Network And The South East Asia Angel Investing Landscape

What do successful angel investors look for in South East Asian startups? What are they advising their investees to do in the current market environment? And how does an influential angel network like the XA Network help with business growth and sustainability? Find out in this episode with Alap Bharadwaj (Director, Google), Tony Zameczkowski (VP,…

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