Jake Thui is VP of Investments at Ignite Asia, an angel network connecting startups with funding and help, and a venture education provider.

They focus on pre-seed to seed B2B companies in enterprise solutions and software. Their current geographical coverage is around Malaysia and Singapore but may open up to more in the future. 

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👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

We seek motivated and driven founders with their startups and bridging them with the capital they need to change the business landscape, how we live our lives, and potentially the world.

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🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

Investing seems like a numbers game. But actually, human interaction is more important. Especially in the early stage, having a sense of what the founder is like and getting to know them is often the more important element that drives investment decisions.‍

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🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Connecting founders to the help they need, whether it may be funding, advice, or connections.

But the world of venture is one of process. It's the value we provided, and the help we gave that are of value to the founders and their startups, and the people we are able to connect them with. Every time we do that, we feel proud of ourselves. Every time I am able to do that and encourage entrepreneurship, it will be the biggest highlight in my career.

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🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

As our bread and butter lies in the 2B SaaS space, that's what we always focus on.

But I'm also looking at the comeback of 2C businesses, the retail-orientated businesses that are going back to physical brick-and-mortar with a digital presence. I think we are going towards more experiential products and it's another wave of opportunities.  

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💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry? 

Don't be afraid to say "I don't know" or "I'm not sure". VC is a learning game.

It is because you and most people don't know where the opportunities are for investment. It is also when you don't know and are willing to learn that you gain edges among peers.

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‍🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours? 

Breaking down businesses, business models, trends, insights, economics, finance, investments, and capital markets.

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🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show? 

Bourne series, CSI, James Bond.

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

I'd go for chocolate all day every day. Chocolate is perhaps one of most people's favorite flavors that has stood the test of time. 

You can almost never go wrong with that flavor. It's a reminder that some things are just simple and it doesn't need to be complex or even complicated. Businesses that can find their chocolate flavor would likely be able to last strong for a long time.

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FYI. We've edited this interview for clarity.