Podcast Summary: "Herston Powers: 1982 Ventures"

The Investor with Joel Palathinkal
Date: September 8, 2025
Guest: Herston Powers, Co-founder & Managing Partner at 1982 Ventures
Host: Dr. Joel Palathinkal

Overview

Main Theme:
This episode explores the journey and insights of Herston Powers, co-founder of 1982 Ventures, a Southeast Asia-focused, seed-stage fintech fund. The conversation covers Herston's path from Texas to New York to Asia, structural differences between Western and Asian startup ecosystems, opportunities in Southeast Asian fintech, fund management strategies, and advice for new entrants in venture capital.

Detailed Breakdown

1. Herston's Background & Early Career

• Origin: Grew up in Dallas, Texas, spent time buried in snow, as he jokes (01:21)
• Finance & Banking Experience:
  • Worked at Bank of New York Mellon on ADRs (American Depository Receipts), helping foreign companies list in the US
  • Deep exposure to Asian markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, India, China, Japan, Australia
  • "My current partner and I, we put together the strategy there and executed the early stage investments again across the region and nearly every country in Southeast Asia." (01:54)
• Transition to Asia:
  • Initial resistance to moving to Asia; mentorship advised value shows through in Asia if you avoid being the ‘ugly American’ and focus on relationship-building (05:09)
  • Culture shock moving from Texas to New York was greater than moving to Hong Kong

2. Asian Business Ecosystem vs. US

• Relationships are Central:
  • "What I didn't appreciate...is how important building relationships is in Asia and how long that takes..." (07:41)
  • Each Asian market—Japan, China, Korea—demands different business culture sensitivity
• Language as a Barrier:
  • Real business in China requires business-level Mandarin—“You're not going to just take a course and learn Mandarin.” (10:37)
  • Singapore’s use of English lowers the barrier
• Regulatory Hurdles:
  • Southeast Asia lags behind China and India in terms of maturity and is just starting to see unicorns and IPOs

3. IPOs, Listings, and Exits in Southeast Asia

• Pathways to Listing:
  • Standard methods: local listing, US IPOs, dual-listing (Tokyo/NY, HK/NY), and SPACs
  • “Southeast Asia...it was crucial for a company like SEA to get out there, get the mind share of Western institutions.” (14:13)
  • Notable Example: SEA (Garena) as a template for future tech IPOs
• SPACs and RTOs:
  • Reverse Takeovers (RTOs) mentioned as riskier, less common due to past fraud (17:03)
  • SPACs emerging locally—“Patrick Grove in Malaysia just IPO'd a SPAC two days ago.” (20:54)
  • Exits have historically been scarce, but SPACs may help drive liquidity

4. Transition to Venture Capital

• Banking to VC:
  • Exposure to VCs during advice on listings led to the realization “I want to be on that side of the table.” (16:13)
  • Emphasizes value of helping founders on the journey toward IPOs
• Breaking In:
  • “The fund that I was joining was a new fund itself. And that was probably one of the biggest...levers that allowed me to break into the industry.” (24:22)
  • Importance of joining new, small teams or new funds for career mobility
  • Firsthand development of fintech investment strategies for Southeast Asia

5. Early-Stage Fintech Investing in Southeast Asia

• Seed Focus:
  • 1982 Ventures spun out from earlier fund to focus on fintech seed investing in Southeast Asia
  • “There seems to be a gap in Southeast Asia for pure seed stage...for investors that are not afraid to be the first money in.” (26:59)
  • Expansion into Bangladesh and Pakistan, markets “probably 10 years behind Indonesia.” (29:05)
• Mandate Flexibility:
  • Unique/flexible LP mandates allow 1982 Ventures to invest in under-served emerging markets
• Specialist vs. Generalist Funds:
  • “Being specialized allows us to go really deep...screen and eliminate business models or deals that we know aren’t going to work very quickly.” (32:01)
  • Generalists have broader opportunity, but specialists have credibility, networks, and access within their niche

6. Southeast Asian Fintech Landscape

• Fintech is (Almost) Everything
  • “Everything that’s been done in the US, Europe, China, India, even Latin America is really just getting started today.” (35:31)
  • No publicly listed fintech unicorns in the region yet—Southeast Asia is “happening right now.” (35:47)
• Current Hot Sectors:
  • Buy Now, Pay Later: “Red hot” across Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam (38:49)
  • Earned Wage Access (EWA): Helping workers access earnings instantly (Wagely in Indonesia)
  • Financial Infrastructure: Companies building API-based financial infrastructure (“Plaid for Southeast Asia”)
• Growth Trajectory:
  • “We’re catching up fast...the ecosystem here has basically the tailwinds of Internet 1.0...I think it’ll happen a lot faster than it had happened in other markets.” (41:23)

7. Trends in Fund Management & Emerging Managers

• Proliferation of Emerging Managers:
  • Mini-boom pre-COVID, then a drop-off—“When Covid hit, those that didn’t truly believe in their thesis...went away.” (43:10)
  • Still room for more; region not yet as saturated as the US
• Fund Infrastructure Gaps:
  • Innovation like rolling funds, SPVs, AngelList not yet fully present in SEA; Singapore ecosystem is younger (<10 years) (47:19)
  • “We’re lobbying...for those platforms in the US to start offering those same products to fund managers out here.” (45:31)

8. Valuation and Exits

• Valuations Lower than US:
  • “If you see product 10, 20 million valuation in the US...that doesn't happen here...Our target...is about 3 million US post money.” (48:18)
  • Series A/B/C valuations catch up quickly, making seed investing especially attractive
• Faster Secondaries/Exits:
  • Strong step-ups: Seed to Series C/B can bring 30–60x within two years
  • Provides liquidity to return capital to LPs rapidly and build a repeatable track record (50:16)
  • “Seed is the best place to invest in venture capital. It’s where the best returns are.” (50:37)
• Cross-border Investment is Logistically Easy:
  • Most companies set up Singapore holding cos; wiring and structuring is straightforward (54:27)
  • Main challenge is deal access, not legal or regulatory obstacles

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On moving to Asia:
  “One of my mentors told me that in Asia, as long as you show value, the clients...will respect you. And as long as you are not the ugly American...you can make some really good friends and really good connections.” (05:09)

• On fund strategy:
  “The adage is: your fund size is your fund strategy.” (24:22)

• On why seed stage is compelling:
  “For Southeast Asia in particular, deal flow is incredible. So Series A, Series B, the good deals become hyper competitive. For somebody that's okay to write the first check like us, it’s wide open for us...” (50:37)

• Advice to aspiring VCs:
  “Don’t wait, just get started. Just start doing deals or start bringing deals to investors...Don’t try to figure out this kind of grand scheme...” (55:31)

• Founder importance:
  “At the stage that we’re investing in, the founding team...are incredibly important. That’s the number one sign of a good deal...If I don’t believe that that founder...can execute, then I’m not doing the deal.” (58:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Herston’s Background: 00:00–03:45
• Transition: New York to Asia, Relationship Building: 05:09–09:26
• Mandarin & Language in Asian Markets: 09:26–11:18
• IPO Process, Exits, SPACs: 11:33–22:21
• Transition to VC, Early Experiences: 22:21–28:10
• Seed Investing & Fund Building: 28:10–32:01
• Fintech in SEA: Hot Sectors & Trends: 34:43–41:23
• Fundraising Infrastructure & Emerging Managers: 43:10–47:32
• Valuations & Exits: 48:18–55:08
• Advice for Aspiring VCs: 55:31–57:36
• Rapid-fire Q&A (Fintech founder criteria, cross-border expansion): 57:41–64:14

Key Takeaways

• Southeast Asia’s fintech scene is at an inflection point—now is the time for early-stage investment, with returns and opportunities reminiscent of China and India a decade ago.
• Specialist funds (like 1982 Ventures) have deep networks and sharper selection ability, often gaining access to the best founders and deals.
• Building relationships is central in Asia and takes time; cultural nuances vary greatly by country.
• Founder quality is the most important criterion for investment at the seed stage.
• Entry barriers for US investors are more about dealflow than structuring; Singapore-based startups are generally straightforward to invest in.
• Valuations are much lower than in the US, creating significant upside for early investors as subsequent rounds reprice toward global norms.
• Advice for newcomers: Don't overthink it—start doing deals, seek out mentors, and have genuine enthusiasm for the work.

This episode is a vital primer for anyone interested in emerging Asian venture markets, seed-stage fintech, or launching a specialist fund in a high-growth region. Herston’s blend of pragmatic advice and candid storytelling makes this both informative and motivating.