Everybody says they want to work for the next Uber, Facebook or Twitter; the road to riches via a Unicorn-sized exit is paved, in their minds at least, with creative working environments, long strategy sessions in bean bags and all the free sushi they can eat.
The reality is a little different: 9 out of 10 startups fail, the pace of work is relentless, the need to secure the next round of funding ever present and the possibility of the free sushi drying up a reality.
What should you consider when you're thinking about joining a startup? What do the different stages of funding mean for salary expectations, length of service before exit and amount of equity available? What's it really like to work for a company that wants to be the next $ Billion company and is starting out on a shoestring.
Join us to learn more from our experts
Our speakers
Matt Foley - CEO, PikoHANA
Matt Foley runs PikoHANA (www.pikohana.com) from the firm’s headquarters in Singapore. He is a seasoned executive with more than twenty years of operational finance experience (i.e., think CFO or FD), most of which he has spent living and working in the Asia Pacific region.
Matt has extensive experience in a wide range of companies and industries, from start-ups to multi-nationals across sectors including tech, telecom, data services, SaaS, cloud technologies, media and renewable energy, and is credited with playing a key role in securing more than $500M in funding, including several private placements, debt offerings, and an IPO.
Matt is a CPA with a Bachelor's degree in Business from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA with honors from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
Praveen Velu - Co-Founder, Evie.ai
Praveen Velu is co-founder of deep technology startup Evie.ai and has been with the company since October 2015. Since then, the company has gone on to develop the first commercially available AI scheduling assistant, Evie. Headquartered in Singapore, Praveen oversees the company’s overall vision, strategy, culture and growth initiatives. With over 9 years working in various regional roles for global media and technology companies, Praveen brings a breadth of experience spanning from business development, partnerships, content development and digital marketing.
Before starting joining Evie.ai, Praveen was Head of Network Development in Asia for Maker Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Praveen was a member of the founding team in Asia where he led global and regional campaigns for socially driven clients and launched the first Maker Bootcamp in partnership with the government of Singapore for aspiring online content creators in Asia.
Paul Endacott - Regional Managing Director, Asia, HaTCH
Paul Endacott spends a lot of his time working with startups and it’s no surprise he lives and breathes the language of the fast-paced growing companies. Not only has he grown Ambition Singapore from a startup sized business to a market leader in the field of specialist recruitment across multiple industry verticals, Paul has also extended the brand and developed Ambition's proposition and strategy for the markets across South East Asia and the wider region.,
Paul is passionate about building HaTCH into a hybrid organization; part advisor, part mentor, part service provider and recruitment partner, HaTCH was devised to fill a gap in the market. Paul is deeply embedded in the regional startup scene, having developed long-standing relationships with many startup scene veterans in technology, VC, PE and coshare spaces, and also having worked with small companies that have gone on to become well respected global brands.
With expertise in Banking & Financial Services, Finance & Accounting, Sales & Marketing, Technology and Supply Chain & Procurement, Paul moves between the worlds of startup and large companies, looking for areas of synergy between the two, helping startups move fast, learn from his mistakes and make informed choices when hiring.
Paul joined Ambition as Director of the Singapore office in 2008. In his current role as Regional Managing Director, he has the overarching responsibility for Asia, with a key focus on growing strategic and profitable market share across current Ambition Asia entities and expansion in the broader region. He is here to help and is building a team to support the Singapore startup scene.
Please join us for an interactive session, meet fellow like-minded professionals and keep up to date with the latest trends in the market.
