Building an Enduring VC Firm in Asia with Andy Zain of Kejora Capital (VC Lab)

Below you will find a summary of this insightful interview - read Part 2 here on the VC Lab blog:

---

On Kejora Capital

8 years ago, our first venture builder closed at $2m. Right now we have over $600m AUM and are about to announce our sixth fund.

We invest from pre-Series-A all the way to the growth stage. In eight years, we’ve fully deployed four funds and our portfolio only consists of 38 companies, as we are very focused on venture building.

We've also run startup accelerators and venture builders, though our focus is now on our VC funds. Across all our funds, our overall IRR is over 90%, while 60% of our portfolio companies are valued at over $100m each. 

---

On Career in the Startup Ecosystem

I've been in the Founder Institute family since before 2010 where I joined as a Director.

First and foremost, I still think of myself as an entrepreneur as building companies is a driving force in my life. In the early days, I built and exited several companies and I came to a point where my calling was to help other people build too. I wanted to create an impact on a large scale. I started by helping Silicon Valley companies fuse with South East Asia and enter the market. Some of them have been acquired and have gone on to become top companies in the region. There I met my partners and we launched our first venture builder where we built 10 companies that are doing great. 

---

On the Future 

We aim to service a company across its life cycle.

There are many great companies coming out of this region, and we want to provide an end-to-end service. Our growth fund has been successfully launched for some time and we are looking to expand our services to pre IPO very soon.

---

On Helping Founders

Firstly, do it for the right reasons.

Delivering returns is a fine goal. But this is a self-defeating long term strategy as it’s focused on not failing.

It’s better to think in terms of impact. You also need the 'know-how’. This way you won't look for the "safe bet", but will really make a difference. We only have 38 companies in our portfolio in eight years because we are very hands-on and passionate about the companies we work with. You can't help 10 companies at the same time, but we can do this with 2-4..

You also need to leverage your network. You can't do it all by yourself and build an ecosystem. This is why I am grateful to be a part of the Founder Institute family.

---

On Raising a VC Fund

The first fund is not that difficult as long as you've got a good track record, reputation and network.

You can state your thesis and there is no data for LPs to check. You can make all sorts of promises and claims in your first fund. Early on you can also raise from family and friends.

Our second fund was challenging, however. Though our first fund was going well, we did not realize the difficulty in raising a much larger fund. Our target round quickly went down from $300m to $50m.

When raising a larger fund from institutional LPs, your track record and performance data is scrutinized much more. To be a fund manager you must pay your dues many years before raising so having a track record vital. You must also be wary of the LPs requirements to invest in you and make sure you're aligned. Also, take into account your salary and other costs. Management fees are typically 2%, so, the smaller the fund, the smaller your salary and budget for offices, team members, etc.

For example, first-time fund managers with a limited track record might have to settle for $10m while more experienced VCs may be able to raise $20m-$50m.

---

On Strategy

As the top-performing fund in South East Asia and one of the best performing VCs in the world, Andy dives deeper and shares his insights on the following topics:

• Early Insights
• Venture building strategy 
• The South-East Asian Market
• Thesis

Read more insights in Part 2 here on the VC Lab Blog. 

Andy Zain is the Managing Partner of Kejora Capital, a growth stage venture capital firm based in Southeast Asia. Prior to launching Kejora, held a position as Director in SkyBee Tbk, an Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) listed company in technology, media & telecommunication sector.

For almost 20 years, Andy has been a serial entrepreneur, an executive, an advisor & involved in setting up businesses for several high growth startups and work with global brand clients such as Disney Mobile, Yahoo! Mobile, Cartoon Network, EA Games, and Gameloft for their go-to-market efforts to Southeast Asia.

Deeply rooted to the regional innovation ecosystem as Director of Jakarta Founder Institute, Chairman for MobileMonday Indonesia, also a member of the Myanmar Innovation Council. He recently also initiated the Indonesia FinTech Association. Previously, he established ideabox, a telco-focused tech startup accelerator in partnership with Indosat (www.ideabox.co.id).

He hold an MBA for Monash University Australia, and Post Graduate Degree in Business Law & International Finance. He is also an advisor to Prasetiya Mulya Business School, co-authoring the curriculum for Magister Management (MBA) program for New Ventures Innovation.