Tiang Lim Foo is the co-founder of Forge Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm that partners with founders building the future in Southeast Asia. They lead seed and pre-seed rounds and work hand-in-hand with founders to get from zero to one. He's a seed investor and board member at Qoala, and previously invested in category-defining companies like Xfers, CardUp, Homage, Rukita and many others.

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

I look to invest in and partner with the best founders building the future of Southeast Asia.

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

I've had KFC fried chicken in more than 19 countries and counting, from Mongolia to Czech Republic. It's the ultimate comfort food for me.

I also draw a lot of inspiration for my job from being a parent. So much of what I do is about working with and influencing people to make an impact.

My favorite superhero is Spider-man.

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

I think the best investment decision I made is starting Forge VC with a team of super smart and driven individuals. Really grateful to have the opportunity to work with some of the best!

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

Market sentiments might be volatile now, but innovation doesn't stop. I'm a massive believer in globally relevant software products coming out from Southeast Asia, across sectors like education, web3 and verticalized automation & digitalization.

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

Find out what makes you interesting as a person and get very good at that. There are a lot of smart and driven folks but not many who are interesting. Be interesting.

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

Entrepreneurship and company building. And comics. I read a lot of comics.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Halt and Catch Fire. It's such an underrated show.

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

I'm not a dessert person, but I'd go for a fried chicken flavor if there's ever one. Else, durian!