By Kendall Fisher (opens in new tab), executive producer at Grow Wire
If you’re a business leader or entrepreneur, growing your company globally (opens in new tab) is likely somewhere on your list of goals. And if you’re going international, expansion into Asia is not only beneficial, it’s necessary.
On this episode of the “Grow Wire Podcast (opens in new tab),” our host Jason Maynard sat down with Michael Smith—a current VC with SeedPlus (opens in new tab), a funding firm out of Singapore—who has not only worked nearly two decades in the Asian market, but he even started his own business (a bar!) while living there.
Early in his career, Smith took on a successful global sales position with WebLogic, which was later acquired by BEA Systems. When BEA offered him a role as the principal technologist in Hong Kong in 2000, he couldn’t resist, and he’s lived in Asia ever since.
From Bangkok to Singapore, Smith has worked for the likes of Yahoo and Spuul and opened his bar in Thailand. He knows the Asian market inside and out, and he shares his lessons learned along the way and advice for anyone else looking to expand their company overseas (opens in new tab), build a team in a foreign market or simply take on a career in another country. He reveals some of the experiences that can be applied in the U.S. and other big markets, including some insight into Yahoo’s mistakes.
Finally, Smith dives into his current role as a VC (opens in new tab), the surprises that come with it and some solid advice for business leaders when it comes to growing and building a global team.
For all of this and more, listen to the full podcast episode on Apple Podcasts (opens in new tab), SoundCloud (opens in new tab) and YouTube (opens in new tab), and as always, don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe.
Like what you hear? Follow Grow Wire on Twitter (opens in new tab) for more.