Almost all value in early-stage investment is attributed to the founding team. Often, we encounter several players pitching a similar business model, but the differentiating factors lie in the founders’ execution capability, capital efficiency, market agility, and long-term vision.

A strong entrepreneur will not only identify a vast monetizable market size but also deliberate to target a specific value chain in that market that has the most potential. For instance, they decide whether to focus on first-mile or last-mile logistics within the industry, in addition to which vertical to serve—be it e-commerce, F&B, agriculture, healthcare, etc.

Once monetizing, a strong indication of product-market fit is the ability to profit (positive unit economics) from each order, combined with the pull factor to induce repeat purchases without having to incur additional promotion and marketing. These competitive advantages are usually reinforced through the team’s domain expertise and the capability to leverage some asymmetry advantages.

Furthermore, a common misconception is the debate between asset-light and asset-heavy strategies. However, my investment philosophy is centered on the efficient allocation and utilization of capital in the pursuit of an optimal return on investment. In other words, VCs have found success investing in asset-heavy or asset-light models so long as there is innovation in the products (e.g., space technology, data centers, autonomous/electric vehicles, renewables, etc).

All things considered, we are always at the forefront of the competition to invest in strong and exceptional entrepreneurs.