Yaw Shin Yeo gave a presentation on finding the next big thing in technology entrepreneurship. Some of the key points discussed included: 1) The cost of starting a tech company has dropped dramatically in the last 10 years. 2) Startup accelerators have become increasingly popular. 3) Emerging technologies are disrupting traditional industries like transportation, finance, and education. 4) Many new opportunities exist in Asia with its growing middle class and more than 1 billion smartphones expected by 2015.

1. Finding The Next
BIG Thing
Yaw Shin Yeo
NTC Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Forum
2 March 2013

2. Who am I?
Hi, I’m Yaw. I am the investment manager at Infocomm Investments looking after our
activities in the US. I work closely with our portfolio companies Twilio and Quid, and
spend most of my other time advising entrepreneurs on Asia expansion. I meet with
hundreds of startups every year over coffee and probably drink too much of it for my
own good. In my previous life, I was a IT repairman, firefighter and plumber.

3. So how has tech
entrepreneurship
changed in the
last 10 years?

4. I Cost of starting a tech company
has dropped dramatically
II
Maturing models of describing
the startup process
III
Rising popularity of
startup accelerators
IV
Tech entrepreneurship
becomes more global

5. I + II + III + IV =
Great time to be an
entrepreneur!

6. Startups Continue to Push the
Technology Edge
1. User Interfaces : Leap Motion, Thalmic Labs
2. 3D Printing : Shapeways, Makerbot, TurboSquid
3. Programmatic Adtech : Media Math, DataXu, RocketFuel, Criteo
4. Big Data : Cloudera, Palantir, Mu Sigma, Opera Solutions, 10gen
5. Software-Defined Networking : Nicira, Big Switch Networks, Pica8
6. IT Security : CrowdStrike, WhiteHat, Appthority, FireEye, CipherCloud
7. Communications : Twilio, Whatsapp, Viber
8. Crowdfunding : Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Fundable
9. Video : Tremor Video, Machinima, Vidyo
10. Mobile : Zenprise, Flipboard, Waze, Entreproid, Aereo

7. But more interestingly,
technology is
now disrupting
business models in
traditional industries

8. Transport
Google’s “self-driving car” Getaround’s P2P rental model
Uber’s on-demand “private driver” Zipcar’s self-service model
Photo credits : Asphalt & Rubber

9. Finance
Lenddo is using social networks
Lending Club’s P2P model to evaluate your financial reputation

10. Education
The Minerva Project Khan Academy
MOOC – Massive Open Online Courses

11. The Internet Revolution Has
Only Just Began…
Source : Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital by Carlota Perez

12. … and Some of the Biggest
Opportunities Are in Asia
More than 1 billion
4.2 billion people
smartphones by 2015
Rise of the middle class and “Green Field” opportunities
growing purchasing power
Photo credits : Jo@net (Flickr)

13. One more thing …

14. Practical Tips for An Aspiring
Asian Entrepreneur
1. Market size and geography matters
2. Competition (or lack of) can work for you
3. Do you really need venture capital?
4. Revenue is essential
5. Be creative when it comes to hiring

15. </ Thank you />
Yaw Shin Yeo
yaw@infocomminvestments.com
www.linkedin.com/in/yawshin/