Timen is the founder at Lacàph, a fast-growing Vietnamese coffee brand, that is starting to export into new markets in Asia Pacific and around the world. Besides this he is a board member in companies in residential real estate development and software SaaS solutions. He has been in Vietnam since 2007, but is a proud Dutch person that happens to ha…

Simon Torring is the Co-founder of Cube Asia, a market insights company for online retail in Southeast Asia. Cube Asia helps brands, retail companies, and investors drive profitable growth by leveraging more recent, granular, and reliable data and insights about their online sales channels. In this conversation, we cover eCommerce in Southeast Asia…

Johan Rozali-Wathooth is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bintang Capital Partners. Bintang believes in the importance of deploying capital in an innovative, responsible and sustainable way, while still pursuing outsized risk-adjusted returns. Bintang is also now the first private equity firm in Southeast Asia to earn B Corp Certification…

Tim Bunting is a practising yamabushi from New Zealand, having moved to the Shonai region of Yamagata, Japan, in 2010. Describing a yamabushi is hard, because the only way to really understand what yamabushi are, is to become one yourself. But, essentially Yamabushi are the mountain dwellers of Japan, practitioners of the ancient belief of Shugendo…

Jorge Almazán is a Tokyo-based architect and a researcher and an educator at the graduate Center for Space and Environment Design Engineering at Keio University, where he leads Studiolab, a university-based collaboration platform dedicated to design innovation and research. He is also the author of Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City, wh…

Adam Fulford is the founder and CEO of Fulford Enterprises, which is a language services company. Fulford Enterprises works mainly in TV, providing translation, narration and other services to NHK and related companies. Adam is also active as a cross-cultural consultant who places a special emphasis on the value of regional Japan, which we focus on…

Brittany Garbutt is the founder of Pretzel Australia. Pretzel has 11 stores across Australia, a business turnover of more than $5 million a year and over 300 staff. In addition to Pretzel, she’s also the founder of Voodoo Cafe, Voodoo Priestess, and Chubby Boy Breakfast and Bar. But I'm (k)not joking, the pretzels are beyond amazing. So pretty stok…

In this conversation, we do deep dive into the bursting of Japan’s economic bubble in the ‘90s. Uncovering Japan's lost decade, the tragic tale of the economic bubble burst and its consequences Joining me for this deep dive is friend and previous guest, Rei Saito (@Misosoppa). Rei is the writer behind Konichi-Value. Konichi-Value aims to share my m…

Sarah Clarke is an award-winning journalist, TV presenter and media facilitator now based in Australia. Sarah spent 8 years living and working in Hong Kong and is now a freelance correspondent with Al Jazeera English covering major stories across Australia and Asia-Pacific. But selfishly, most exciting for me which I’ll detail in our conversation, …

Erik is the owner and creator of the Rice Noodles YouTube channel, where he shares everything Taiwan, from street food to normal food, culture, history and just general interesting and idiosyncratic things. In this long and fun conversation, we cover filmmaking, the beast that is YouTube, and of course, Taiwan. A different style of episode to my us…

In this conversation, we cover the business of Bukalapak, who they are, their valuation, and interestingly, the role of the Salim group in both Bukalapak and the wider ASEAN economy. Joining me to discuss and dive deep into Bukalapak’s business is Aaron Pek, the author of Value Investing Substack, and not surprisingly, a Value Investor in ASEAN. Su…

Peter Douglas is the senior executive of kk Nozawa Hospitality, a boutique provider of accommodation services in the unique mountain village of Nozawa Onsen. He is responsible for funding and financial strategy. In this super fun conversation, we cover the Japanese onsen tourism industry, Nozawa hospitality, and his transition from the financial se…

Michael McGaughy is the Founder and Portfolio Manager of Research Alpha, a specialist fund which invests in the equity of unloved and out-of-favour quality companies in some of the world’s least expensive stock markets, like Uzbekistan, Argentina and Egypt. In this conversation, we cover how he started and got interested in emerging markets, what i…

My guest today is Yusno Yunos, founder and CEO of Evenesis. Evenesis is a complete cloud-based end-to-end event management system that integrates event planners, participants and suppliers. In this conversation, we cover the events space, where it is and might be heading after the wild past few years, and also how the Metaverse may impact future ev…

My guest today is Bernard Leong (@bernardleong). Bernard is currently the group chief digital and information officer at a Singapore construction conglomerate. But also, is the founder of Analyse Asia, a weekly podcast on technology, business and media with notable industry players and thought leaders all over Asia. In this conversation, we cover t…

My guest today is Jon from Asianometry (@asianometry), creator of the hugely popular Asianometry YouTube channel where he posts video essays on business, economics, and history within Asia. In this conversation, we cover EUV Lithography, ASML, and everything in between from how it all works to their impact on the world and what it all means. I hope…

My guest today is Sean Upton-McLaughlin (@SeanUM_China). Sean has spent over a decade working with Chinese companies throughout China, often in Chinese-only working environments, helping to improve their global marketing and communications. Now, based in Shenzhen, he continues to help Chinese technology companies bridge the business and cultural di…

My guest today is Rajeev Mantri (@RMantri). Rajeev is the founder and managing director of India-focused venture capital firm Navam Capital. Prior to founding Navam, Rajeev worked as a venture capital investor at New York-based Lux Capital, focusing on investments in deep technology ventures. In this conversation, we cover deep tech investing withi…

My 2022 recap! Talking about my big year of the podcast, the stats, some future guests, episodes, and the plans for the podcast going forward. Will be back to regularly scheduled guests from next week! Have some thoughts on the podcast and want to leave feedback? Use my Google forms and vent to your heart’s content: https://forms.gle/Du61UxeJ25Bkyd…

My guest today is Raghav Kapoor (@Ragkap), CEO & Co-Founder at Smartkarma. As Smartkarma CEO, Raghav drives product strategy, oversees technology development, and maintains a hands-on approach with the company’s day-to-day operations. With Smartkarma, Raghav set out to reinvent how investment research is sourced, priced, and distributed. In today’s…

My guest today is Callum Morton-Smith. Callum is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with experience in Perth, London, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. In today’s conversation, we go deep into the construction industry and Quantity Surveying in the Middle East, some trends there, and Callum’s investment journey. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Callum Morton…

My guest today is Stephen Vines. Steve is a British journalist, writer, broadcaster and restaurateur, who was based in Hong Kong for over 30 years from 1987 to 2021. He is also the author of Defying the Dragon: Hong Kong and the World's Largest Dictatorship, which is today’s focus. In Defying the Dragon and today’s conversation, Stephen documents H…

My guests today are Daye Deng and Balkar Sivia from Value Punks. Balkar has spent a decade investing globally, in the US, Indian, and other Emerging Markets. He is a CFA charterholder and has a degree in electrical engineering from University of British Columbia. Daye has focused on Asian equities in his career, having worked in Hong Kong, Seoul, a…

My guest today is Eugene Park. Gene is a historian of East Asia, especially Korean politics and society since the 14th century. He is the Rick and Cathy Trachok Endowed Chair in International Studies and Professor in History at the University of Nevada, and is also the author of Korea: A History, which is today's focus. Korea: A History addresses g…

My guest today is John Huo (@stjohnhuo). John is the founder of VUCA Insights and currently creates investment-related content, for both corporate and retail clients. John also trains clients on industry metrics so they can evaluate businesses better. John has previously worked in engineering and management in the Oil & Gas industry, before eventua…

My guest today is Ramon Pacheco Pardo (@rpachecopardo), Ramon is a Professor of International Relations at King’s College London, and Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance. He is also a non-resident adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic Studies Korea Chair, and a non-resident fellow at the Sejong Institute. He is also the author o…

My guest today is Kyla Scanlon (@kylascan). Kyla is a prominent TikTok and YouTube financial analyst, and also a good mate. I’ve known Kyla for a few years now so today’s chat is a good exploration of creator life and her growth over time. Fun fact: when I first started speaking with Kyla, we both had around 1,000 followers on Twitter. Since then, …

My guest today is Rei Saito (@Misosoppa). Rei is the writer behind Konichi-Value. Konichi-Value aims to share my most valuable lessons from working in Japanese finance, and gold nuggets in the Japanese stock market. In this conversation, we go deep into Japanese real estate and some pros and cons, and also the Japanese stock market. So please enjoy…

My guest today is Robert Chelliah. Robert’s story is unreal so strap yourself in. Born in Malaysia in 1939 in a rubber plantation town. His father passed away when he was only 7, and when Robert turned 16 he left home and hitchhiked across Asia to Europe and then to England. Robert later returned home, became a social worker in Singapore, and event…

My guests today are Jay Allen and Noah Oskow from Unseen Japan (@UnseenJapanSite). Unseen Japan is a collective of writers who report on news, history, culture, and social movements in Japan based on Japanese sources. We aim to cover viewpoints from Japan that you may not often hear in the English-speaking world. Jay is the owner of UJ's parent com…

My guest today is Murray Hunter. Murray has been involved in the Asia-Pacific business scene for the last 40 years as an entrepreneur, consultant, academic, and researcher. Murray was named one of Asian Correspondent’s thirty-five selected bloggers in the region’s blogosphere based on quality of reporting, relevance and popularity, and is also the …

My guest today is Alvin Yuan. Alvin is the Founder & CEO of HealthMetrics. A next-generation employee healthcare platform for companies to manage their employee healthcare benefits holistically & seamlessly with process automation, live dashboards, data analytics, self-service employee mobile app & crafted wellness programs. In this conversation, w…

My guest today is Michael Fritzell (@Fritz844), Michael is the author and owner of Asian Century Stocks, a newsletter providing financial journalism for companies and stocks in the Asia-Pacific. In today’s conversation, we cover life as a creator, balancing readers' wants and authors' needs, and the marketing needed for a successful newsletter. I h…

My guest today is Wan Zahidi. Wan is the Director and CEO of Tapir Partners, based in Malaysia. Wan has previous equity research experience within Malaysia and Indonesia. But interestingly has an honours in physics before joining the investing world! In this conversation, we cover his investing style, investing in Malaysia, and a little about crick…

My guest today is Rachel Lau. Rachel is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of RHL Ventures. RHL Ventures is a Southeast Asian-based private investment firm that focuses on growth capital investments in the Southeast Asia region. In this conversation, we discuss the VC scene in Malaysia and ASEAN, how the landscape has changed over the last two years, …

Today’s conversation is all about TSMC. We go deep into the chip development process from start to finish, the fabs they’re constructed in, TSMC's business model, the competitive landscape, and what the future may hold. My guest today is Jon from Asianometry (@asianometry), creator of the hugely popular Asianometry YouTube channel where he posts vi…

My guest today is Shinya Deguchi. Shinya is the founder of Star Magnolia Capital, a multi-family office and Co-Founder of Gen Z Group. Through Gen Z Group, Gen Z Media creates and promotes educational content (mainly in the medium of graphic novels) in Chinese-speaking regions which is today’s focus. In today’s conversation, we cover Webtoons and M…

My guest today is Pratyush Rastogi (@FarrerWealth). Pratyush is the CEO & Founder at Farrer Wealth Advisors and was previously Head of Sales at Grab for Business, as well as prior experience in private equity. Today’s conversation is all about Grab. We go deep on their business model, Grab’s history, how regulation and management affect them, and w…

My guest today is Greg Lam (@lifewhereimfrom). Greg is the creator of the immensely popular Life Where I’m From YouTube channel. LWIF gives interesting and educational insight into the everyday, special events and uniquely Japanese aspects of life in Japan. In this conversation, we cover the process required for his videos, the YouTube landscape, a…

My 2021 recap! Talking a little about my lessons learned so far, some future guests, episodes, and plans for the podcast, and some of my stats so far. Will be back to regularly scheduled guests from next week! For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page on https://compoundingpodcast.com/ep26 -----…

My guest today is Max Koh (@heymaxkoh). Max is a private investor from Singapore with a background in marketing. In this conversation, we cover how marketing and investing intertwine, some interesting ways to research a company, and the lessons he’s learned along the way. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Max Koh. For the full show notes, trans…

My guest today is Jon from Asianometry (@asianometry), creator of the hugely popular Asianometry YouTube channel where he posts video essays on business, economics, and history within Asia. In this conversation, we cover his process for creating YouTube videos, some lessons learned along the way, and his plans for the future. For anyone interested …

My guest today is Punch Card Investor (@punchcardinvest). Punch Card is a private investor working in investment management in Singapore, with prior experience in M&A and investment banking. He is the author of the Punch Card Investor Substack blog where he does deep dives on companies in the technology, gaming, media and consumer sectors, and rece…

My guest today is Stephen Clapham (@steveclapham). Steve is a former partner of a Tiger Cub and former Head of Research at a second multi-billion hedge fund. Nowadays, he is the founder of Behind the Balance Sheet, where he produces investment research and offers training services. Steve is also the author of the book, The Smart Money Method: How t…

My guest today is Matthew Ruber. Matthew is the founder of Enlihtan Capital Management. At Enlihtan, Matthew employs a research-intensive "bottom up" selection process, in order to find excellent businesses at prices which represent excellent business sense. Before Enlihtan, Matthew was a senior trader with Macquarie Bank in Australia and Hong Kong…

My guest today is Thomas Chua (@SteadyCompound), founder and Lead Editor of Steady Compounding, where he now runs a stock research service focusing on Compounders and publishing his weekly newsletter. In this conversation, we cover Thomas’ investment style and philosophy, and his story behind Steady Compounding. I hope you enjoy my conversation wit…

My guest today is Jeevan Vasagar (@jeevanvasagar). Jeevan is the Environment Editor at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and author of LION CITY: Singapore and the Invention of Modern Asia, which is today’s focus. In this conversation, we cover Singapore’s past, its future, and the process of writing his book. I hope you enjoy my conversation…

My guest today is Pratyush Rastogi (@FarrerWealth). Pratyush is the CEO & Founder at Farrer Wealth Advisors, and was previously Head of Sales at Grab for Business, as well as prior experience in private equity. In today’s conversation, we cover Pratyush’s investment philosophy, Farrer Wealth and starting your own business, and the benefits of shari…

My guest today is Mio Kato. Mio is the founder of LightStream Research, and was previously the head of research at Uzabase. LightStream Research melds traditional research with alternative data and AI to provide deeper insights into companies, industries and economic conditions. LightStream’s Asian focus is centred on Japan and India with a particu…

My guest today is Jason Sedawie. Jason is Senior Portfolio Manager at Spaceship. In this conversation, we cover Jason’s investing style, mental models, and his Where The World is Going philosophy. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jason Sedawie. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page on h…