Navigating Southeast Asia: Jeremy Au on Building, Investing, and Career Pivots - E720

Navigating Southeast Asia: Jeremy Au on Building, Investing, and Career Pivots - E720

Author: Jeremy Au August 10, 2026 Duration: 54:51

Jeremy Au joined Rohit Malhotra on Life Self Mastery to talk about the moves between founder, VC, and operator, and what each seat actually teaches you. Now leading Cosmetic Physician Partners Asia after Bain, CozyKin, Monk's Hill Ventures, and Lucence, Jeremy is candid about what does not transfer between roles.


They cover the three things every founder has to get right (the product, the team, and the business), the Southeast Asia story that still is not told at ground level, why angel investing is an Olympic-level race rather than a pass-fail test, why coaching someone and investing in someone are two completely different prisms, and the two-by-two he uses to advise emerging fund managers who have deployed capital without returns.


Support the original show: Life Self Mastery with Rohit Malhotra: https://www.youtube.com/@LifeSelfMastery 


Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/navigating-southeast-asia 


BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia.

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#VentureCapital #SoutheastAsia #TechPodcast #Founders #Singapore #AngelInvesting #Startups #CareerPivot #EmergingManagers #Leadership #SEAstartups #Malaysia #Vietnam #Indonesia #Philippines #Harvard #Entrepreneurship


00:00 Intro

01:19 Founder to VC to operator, and back again

03:10 The three things: product, team, business

07:33 Scaling a clinic group from the US into Asia

10:54 The Southeast Asia story nobody is telling

18:30 Why a regional thesis is too broad a brush

22:20 Angel investing is an Olympic race, not a pass-fail test

25:41 Coaching someone vs investing in someone

28:08 Advice for emerging VCs who have not returned capital

35:07 The thread: high-performing teams

41:59 The comfort crisis and the 2% idea

46:54 What he would tell his younger self

50:20 Why Flow Club is his favourite tool

52:37 Where to find Jeremy


There’s a unique energy building across Southeast Asia, a sense of possibility that’s palpable from Singapore’s skyscrapers to the bustling streets of Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech captures that momentum by going beyond the headlines and funding announcements. Host Jeremy Au, a venture capitalist and serial founder with a background from Harvard and Berkeley, steers these conversations with a distinct perspective-one that balances the hard metrics of growth with the very human elements of leadership and personal development. Each episode feels like a candid, in-depth dialogue, whether he’s speaking with a first-time founder navigating early traction or a seasoned investor mapping regional trends. You’ll hear genuine stories about building companies, the tough lessons learned from failures, and the often-overlooked journey of staying grounded while scaling rapidly. This isn’t about presenting a polished facade of success; it’s about the real work of creating something meaningful. With over eighty thousand regular listeners, this podcast has become a key resource for anyone invested in the region’s tech ecosystem. Jeremy brings his own experiences as a sci-fi enthusiast and a father into the mix, often exploring how broader perspectives on the future and empathy shape better leaders. Tune in for practical insights on venture capital, entrepreneurship, and management, all framed within the vibrant and complex tapestry of Southeast Asia. New conversations arrive every Monday, offering a thoughtful pause to reflect on how we build what’s next.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)
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