The Thailand Startup Ecosystem with Michael Waitze

Leong Chung Wei Bernard -

Michael Waitze, founding partner of Metaliq & host of Asia Tech Podcast joined us in a conversation to discuss the Thailand startup ecosystem. We discussed the interesting startups, incubators, accelerators and investors in Thailand and explore how the nascent ecosystem is evolving in the past few years. Last but not least, we discussed how the Chinese technology giants: Tencent and Alibaba are extending their influence in Thailand.

Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included):

  • Michael Waitze (@MichaelWaitze , LinkedIn), Founding Partner of Metaliq and host of “Asia Tech Podcast” [0:38]
  • How did you start your career? [1:29]
  • What eventually brought you from Japan to Thailand? [2:38]
  • What is your current role and coverage as the founding partner of Metaliq? [4:06]
  • Through your career journey, what are the interesting lessons you have learnt? [6:38]
  • Thailand Startup Ecosystem [7:37]
  • How does one navigate the Thailand startup ecosystem from the outside? [7:56]
  • Is the Thai startup ecosystem embracing international talent or insular from your perspective? [9:18]
  • Where are most of the startups aggregated in Thailand? Is there a location where most of these companies are placed similar to Blk 71 in Singapore, Gangnam in South Korea? [11:03]
  • What are the key verticals that most Thailand startups excel in? [14:16]
  • What are the key interesting startups in Thailand from seed to unicorn? [17:24]
  • Whenever there are entrepreneurs, there will be investors. Who are the VCs or angels that we should know in the ecosystem? [18:41]
  • Are there any Thai local angel investors? [23:55]
  • What are the accelerators and incubators in Thailand which are of interest? [25:00]
  • What are the key events that foreign entrepreneurs & investors need to attend in Thailand?  [26:30]
  • Recently, Tencent and JD dot com have been very active in Thailand, how is the startup ecosystem reacting to thse China tech giants? [28:19]
  • Asia Tech Podcast [30:00]
  • What is the back story behind the Asia Tech podcast? [30:06]
  • How do you select your guests on the show? [36:56]
  • Closing [39:22]
  • Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or documentary which you have seen that is interesting recently? [39:31]
  • Michael: Angel by Jason Calacanis  and the Accidental Tech Podcast.
  • BL: “Narrative & Numbers” by Aswath Damodaran
  • Where do my audience find you? [42:05]

Podcast Information:

The show is hosted by Bernard Leong (@bleongcw & my weibo account). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, “The Beginning” from Red Cliff Soundtrack.