Shauraya Bhutani is the co-founder of Capital Connect Advisors (aka, Cap Connect), a boutique investment bank providing M&A and private placement services in Southeast Asia and India. They partner with best-in-class tech founders and investors to help them on their mission to build the future.

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

I help tech founders and investors with all things capital —raise capital to grow their companies, look for strategic acquirers when they want to sell companies and find targets when they want to invest in or acquire a company.

Typically, we'll help Series B+ companies build transaction marketing materials and financials set, introduce investors and/or acquirers, manage due diligence processes, structure the transaction and shepherd to close till cash is in the bank.

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

Tech investment banking in SEA goes beyond typical investment banking services. You often play different roles for the founder to drive a successful outcome — you are an investment banker, a CFO, management consultant, PR exec and most importantly, a confidante.

The tech sector is relatively nascent in SEA. Most are still figuring it out, business models are unique with unrealized or even unthought of potential and companies go through explosive growth. But reporting and governance frameworks are always playing catch up and fundamentally, business is always personal in Asia, even truer for SEA.

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

Launching Cap Connect with my co-founder Chris in 2021. We took a calculated bet, and it paid off. In a relatively short period, we've become one of the most active boutique IBs in the region.

Honestly, we could have gone either way if we didn't have a good support ecosystem of founders and VCs.

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

We are always tracking emerging sectors and themes, especially ones ripe for M&A in the next few years: e-commerce 2.0, SME and rural digitization, climate and agritech, creator economy and enterprise SaaS/AI.

However, I am particularly watching out and also actively participating in a long-term geo trend — the increasing cooperation between the tech ecosystems of SEA and India.

The geopolitical landscape is going through a tectonic shift. Countries like Indonesia and India are going to play an increasingly prominent role on the world stage and as a collective force representing 2.1B people with similar wants and needs.

The cooperation between SEA and India is playing out quite well in the tech arena, whether it's an increasing no. of acquisitions/partnerships, common capital pools, similar business models specific to emerging markets, and knowledge exchange via distributed workforces and migration.

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

Do what you say you are going to do, respect your time and think for yourself — you'll already be ahead of 90% of your peers.

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

Motorsport/F1, all day long

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

TV Show: Succession, Movie: RocknRolla

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

Vanilla, easy!