Meet the Protégé Ventures 21′-22′ Team!
Founded by a group of working professionals in 2017, Southeast Asia’s first student-run venture fund was born. As the venture capital scene in Singapore continues to mature, larger amounts of capital continue to flow into the startup ecosystem. However, there was a lack of systematic training programmes to equip students with venture capital knowledge and skills.
Stemming from the gap, we set out to change that paradigm and Protégé Ventures was established.
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Despite a tumultuous 2020, Protégé Ventures grew from strength to strength as our former partners: Theodora Boo, Jerald Low and Yong Hua Bing led our organisation to greater heights. Designed to augment our members’ learning experience, our initiatives include powering the VC Office Hours from the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition and organising masterclasses by renowned VCs such as Wavemaker Partners, Genesis Alternative Ventures and KK Fund. In addition to shadowing and networking with industry veterans, we are also proud to share that our members have also secured internships and full-time roles at these VCs.
Over our 4 years as a nationwide student venture fund-cum-programme, we have trained 217 students across various Singapore-based universities in our academy programme; imparting VC knowledge and technical skills required for our members to thrive in this industry. With every year, newly onboarded analysts are put to the test by going through a rigorous curriculum and are tasked with sourcing and evaluating deals. This year was no exception and we’re delighted to welcome 28 new analysts to Protégé Ventures.
With our newly minted partners at the helm: Benedict Chong, Nicholas Koh, Chan Chia Ler and Vincent Wong, we look forward to an exciting year of new initiatives as we solidify our position in the university startup ecosystem. A sneak peek into one of our exciting agendas would be the establishment of a Special Projects function, acting as a testbed for new ideas and realizing these ideas into promising initiatives.
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Partnerships and Marketing Communication
Our partnerships and marketing communication team seeks to solidify PV’s status as a catalyst for both student entrepreneurs and aspiring venture capitalists to thrive and grow. Building a partnership-focused foundation for all PV members to tap into, do look out for social media updates about Protégé and happenings within the ecosystem!
Clarence Ong
Clarence is a senior at SMU, pursuing a Bachelor of Business Management with a keen interest in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He is enthusiastic about blockchain technology, digital assets, the startup scene and venture-capitalism. Apart from Protégé Ventures, Clarence is also the president of Eagles Inc., SMU’s entrepreneurship club that organises SEA’s largest student startup competition, PAK Challenge.
He believes that entrepreneurs will become the main engine that moves the world forward because all jobs of the future will most likely come from new creations or ventures. As such, he is passionate about supporting his peers who are making a difference and changing their own little part of the world.
Yuan Khai Qi
Khai Qi is currently pursuing Finance at NUS Business School. She joined Protégé Ventures in 2020 to learn more about the Venture Capital scene and expand her social circle. She has previous internship experiences working in startups, UOB and Genesis Alternative Ventures, SEA’s first venture debt firm. She enjoys analyzing companies of all sizes and connecting with people from various backgrounds. During her free time, she loves watching investigation videos on Youtube and going for jogs.
Gordon Ng
Gordon is an incoming penultimate student at NUS Business School. Passionate about all things finance and investments, he has had internship experiences in DBS and Standard Chartered Bank. Unlike the public markets, he appreciates how the VC space allows him to connect and establish personal relationships with founders and like-minded individuals. Outside of work, he enjoys a good movie and exploring the island for hidden food gems.
Ho Ban Shen
Ban Shen is a junior at SMU pursuing economics.
Before joining Protégé Ventures, Ban Shen has worked at an early-stage HR Tech startup which piqued his interest in the startup ecosystem. Since then, he has pursued an internship with the venture arm of a single family office with a focus on early-stage deals.
In his free time, Ban Shen enjoys going for runs and learning about different verticals.
Wong Xin Hui
Xin Hui is currently an undergraduate studying Business in NUS. As a person who loves challenges, she enjoys immersing herself in an entrepreneurial environment. After starting an initiative with a group of friends to connect strangers for a meal together, she went on to work for a startup and is currently an intern at a venture capital firm. Her verticals of interest lie in digital media & fintech. A fun fact is that she appreciates spoilers for movies and dramas.
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Operations
Our operations team manages the foundations and infrastructure for the organisation, ensuring its longevity. Focused on building up & streamlining internal functions, the team pays attention to small details while being able to simultaneously focus on the bigger picture.
Nicholas Koh
Nicholas is a final year student at Yale-NUS studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He has experience ranging from Sales & Trading to VC to consultancy to food research to creative technology. Just like his past experiences, he is sector agnostic and enjoys learning about the intersections between various verticals. His favourite startup is still The Ocean Cleanup by Boyan Slat and in the long run, he is also looking to launch a startup that will solve climate issues.
Aside from his experiences and aspirations, Nicholas spends his time listening to podcasts at 1.8x speed (Equity by TechCrunch), watching sports highlights (Swimming, F1 and NBA) and finding hole in the wall spots across the country (Banh Mi Thit at Geylang).
Jarod Hong
Jarod is a 3rd year student at SMU, studying Information Systems with a major in FinTech. He has keen interest in the Start-up/VC space. His past experiences range from working for Singapore’s central bank to multiple start-ups including a FinTech unicorn, covering a multitude of roles ranging from sales to business development and operations.
Jarod is also the Vice-President (Operations) of SMU Eagles, an entrepreneurship club aimed to help student entrepreneurs launch their next business idea with the largest business plan competition in Singapore.
He loves to explore and learn about the next crazy innovations, from gene editing to automated robots to fashion.
Zhang Shenjia
Shenjia is a junior studying Computer Engineering at NUS.
Despite her technological background, she enjoys learning about startups of all sectors and is looking to gain a deeper understanding of the ecosystem. She has a great interest in the development of the startup scene in the Asia Pacific zone, particularly in ASEAN and China.
In school, she is a happy part of NUS Hackers. Outside of school and work, she enjoys art, music and learning languages.
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Investments
Our investment team invests in quality startups through rigorous investment processes and builds relationships with student founders. The team also manages our existing portfolio, rendering post-investment support and providing value to our stakeholders.
Benedict Chong
Benedict is a Finance major in his final year of study at Singapore Management University. Initially inspired by Shark Tank in 2017, he has actively explored the confluence of technology and finance in venture capital. This has led him to pursue internships with deep tech VC fund, elev8.vc, and data/SaaS-focused VC fund, Qualgro Partners. During his time there, he performed due diligence in deals within AI, MedTech, EdTech and telecommunications in Southeast Asian markets — although nothing excites him more than discovering new technology use cases to tangibly impact the lives of others.
Outside of tech and finance, Benedict enjoys dabbling in several art forms — including dance, design, and lettering. He also recently started geeking out on consumer tech, such as in audio and keyboards (unfortunately, they are quite expensive).
Mike Sun
Mike is currently pursuing computer science and technology entrepreneurship at SUTD. Alongside Protégé, Mike runs a social enterprise, Savour, that aims to reduce food waste. He links up organisations and suppliers via an e-procurement platform with a strong focus for expiring, blemished and/or surplus food. He is greatly interested in foodtech, agritech and AI enabled solutions. He aspires to be a smart farmer, applying technology to agriculture. Mike is also a passionate street photographer with a love for genuine moments.
Vincent Wong
Vincent is a penultimate year student at NUS pursuing Business with a specialization in Finance. He has previous experience in VC through his internship stint at Saison Capital. His verticals of interest include finance and media-related technology.
Apart from academics, Vincent enjoys diving and a good game of table tennis.
Rahul Paleja
Rahul is a final year student at NUS studying Business with a specialisation in Finance and Marketing. His experience lies mainly in tech, whether it’s in sales, strategy and even as a founder. Rahul enjoys learning about startups across different verticals, and reading about how they achieved product-market fit. On a personal level, making an impact is at the core of Rahul’s values, and he’s always looking to learn from those who have successfully done so.
Richard Yap
Richard is a sophomore at SMU studying Accountancy and Business. Before joining Protégé Ventures, Richard worked at Rakuten TravelXchange, a hotel wholesale and travel technology division within the Rakuten group. Afterwhich, he went on to work at TRIVE, a social impact tech-focused VC, and Kejora Capital, a Jakarta based growth-stage VC. He enjoys analyzing companies and learning about new business models. In his free time, he enjoys café hopping and watching Netflix. He also enjoys consuming mukbang videos to get his daily dose of ASMR.
Darius Cheong
Darius is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business Management with a major in Finance at SMU. Being part of Protégé Ventures has helped him land an internship with the investment team at Kejora Capital, where he was exposed to a wide range of venture deals across SEA. He enjoys being active, learning new things and drinking black coffee without sugar.
Fun fact: He’s a boring investor that’d choose to invest his own money in REITs over meme stocks or cryptocurrencies.
Tee Zhi Zhang
Zhi Zhang joined Protégé Ventures in his first year of studies at SUTD, where he is pursuing degrees in Computer Science and Technology Entrepreneurship. After joining Protégé, he has gone on to work at Kopi Date, a startup helping people build more meaningful connections, and Shopee, the e-commerce arm of Sea group.
He is keen in exploring the VC industry because he is fascinated by new technologies, ideas that are built upon such technology, and the people behind these ideas! He is especially interested in the verticals of AI and Big Data. He is also an avid player and fan of basketball and volleyball. A fun fact about Zhi Zhang is that despite being a vegetarian, he has gone on to complete his Commando journey in NS.
Darius Teo
Darius is a final year finance student from the Singapore Management University. He has prior internship experience at Plug and Play, a corporate innovation platform, venture capital and accelerator where he was involved with investments across multiple industries in APAC.
He understands the importance of digitalisation and is interested in startups operating in verticals surrounding Fintech (Payments and Asset management), Ecommerce, and Smart cities.
Apart from investments, Darius continues to build his market expansion and M&A strategic skills and hopes to transfer those skills as advisory aid to wonderful student founders.
Outside of work, Darius enjoys chilling with his dogs and loved ones.
Noel Tan
Noel is a penultimate student at SUTD, studying Systems Engineering and Technology Entrepreneurship in SUTD.
Alongside Protégé, Noel runs Clucking Good, a leading poultry pet supplies store, LittlePrintings, a 3D-Printing consumer focused startup; and Chicken Adoption Rescue SG — the first poultry adoption centre in Singapore.
He is deeply passionate about pets, commerce and platforms. In his free time, he plays games, reads and spends lots of time with his pets.
Benedict Ng
Benedict is a final year student at the National University of Singapore majoring in Finance. He has previous experience in Banking, VC and Fintech.
He enjoys analyzing companies across the spectrum, though he has a soft spot for fintech and consumer-tech verticals. Driven by an appreciation for nature and communities, he hopes to delve deeper into impact investments.
Fun facts: He won a medal in 2019 playing Ultimate Frisbee for Singapore in Germany, once got lost hiking alone in the Blue Mountains, and is guilty of watching the occasional anime.
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Special Projects
Our special projects team aims to act as a testbed for new ideas and realize promising ideas into initiatives that better Protégé Ventures and turn us into an innovative VC. Through identifying problems and areas for improvements, the team will then come up with a roadmap that value adds to different stakeholders.
Wang Dong Yue
DY is a sophomore at Yale-NUS studying computer science. DY found his interest in start-ups during his JC and NS days, where he worked on a e-scooter sharing project for PW, before the rise of e-scooters, as well as an applicant profile database for college applications during NS. Following that, he has since interned in both a start-up as well as a VC, as he looks to continue his start-up experience in university.
Beyond Protégé Ventures, DY also leads a new technology consulting arm at NUS StartIT, and is also working on a few projects. Outside of work, you can find him playing floorball or the piano, picking up Indonesian, watching Arsenal, or catching up on the latest TWICE or JJ Lin comeback song.
Marcus Wan
Marcus is a sophomore pursuing Engineering Product Development in SUTD under the SUTD Technology Entrepreneurship Programme. He is passionate about engineering and robotics and loves working on hands-on projects. He is also interested in how technology influences the start-up ecosystem and how start-ups bring out the commercial potential of new technologies. He wishes to utilise his technical knowledge to bring new insights to start-ups.
In his free time, Marcus is also an avid Dota2 player and has probably sunk more hours into the game than he would like to admit.
Lau Yue Howe
Howe is a final year Economics student at SMU, majoring in Data Science & Analytics. He maintains a keen interest in the latest developments in AI, and welcomes our new robot overlords.
In his free time, Howe can be found attempting to master every water sport known to man and hopes to open a dive shop one day.
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Research and Education
Our Research and Education Team prepares our members to be proficient in the fundamentals of VC. They also establish PV’s thought leadership in the student start-up ecosystem.
Chan Chia Ler
Chia Ler is in his 4th year at NTU’s Renaissance Engineering Programme, with a specialization in computer science. Having a deep interest in start-ups, his internships and work experience largely revolves around the start-up ecosystem, where he was exposed to many outstanding founders and companies. He is especially keen on the edtech and deeptech verticals.
In his free time, Chia Ler can be found solving problems in the bouldering gym, going for late night runs or watching science videos on youtube.
Tan Jie Hui
Jie Hui is a penultimate student in the NTU Renaissance Engineering Programme, specializing in mechanical engineering.
She has completed internships at both an early-stage startup and VC, as well as at investment banks. With an average daily screen time of 8 hours, she has a deep interest in the virtual world — influencer culture, internet pop culture and social discovery.
In her free time, she likes to check out TikTok-viral products and places.
Chia Siao Wei
Siao-Wei is in the graduating cohort of the Master of Science in Innovation programme at SMU. With a background in Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biotechnology, she is particularly interested in tech startups. Protégé Ventures has opened a world of learning opportunities in the innovation ecosystem. She now volunteers as an entrepreneurship coach to help youths in secondary schools build leadership skills through their business ideas.
Keira Xu Ruiqing
Keira is a third year student double majoring in Business Analytics and Management in NUS. As a strong enthusiast about technological innovations, she is highly interested in deep tech startups, especially those related to the healthcare sector. She started her VC journey from Protégé and moved on to intern at a boutique VC in Singapore, which were great learning opportunities. Outside work, she loves fingerstyle guitar, reading, as well as hiking with friends.
Keith Tan
Keith is a year 2 student in Nanyang Business School studying Business(Banking & Finance). Having found his passion for the start-ups, Keith did a short stint at Propseller, an early-stage Proptech start-up before moving on to REAPRA, an early-stage venture builder to better understand the role that each plays in the same ecosystem. Always excited to learn more about start-ups and the disruption that they bring, his verticals of interest include Edtech, Foodtech and Retailtech. In his free time, he enjoys meeting new people and forming meaningful connections over some waffles & ice-cream.
Mak Wei Zheng
Wei Zheng is a 3rd year student in the Engineering Systems and Design (ESD) pillar in SUTD. He is currently specializing in the financial services track in SUTD with a minor in Artificial Intelligence.
Prior to joining Protégé, Wei Zheng conducted food waste research and initiated service-learning projects with IMH and the Willing Hearts soup kitchen. Additionally, he worked at Paloe, a local outsourced financial services firm, where he helped conduct market research for startup consultancy.
His vertical of interest lies in agritech, green solutions, and healthtech. During his free time, Wei Zheng enjoys climbing and playing billiards. Additionally, he yolos the options market and invests in stocks as a side hustle.
Nathaniel Ling
Nathaniel is a recent Mechanical Engineering & Economics graduate from NUS.
With an inquisitive mind to explore various industries and verticals, Nathaniel has completed various internships across engineering and venture capital firms as he believes that having both operational experience and business acumen are essential to thrive in the current VUCA environment.
In his free time, Nathaniel will be consuming a large quantity of home brewed coffee (not a connoisseur but just a cheapo), playing floorball, and watching loads of kdrama introduced by his girlfriend/peers (definitely running into a kfever).
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New Analyst Batch 21’-22’
After rounds of rigorous selection and rewarding academy programs, we have recruited 28 new analyst for the new 21’-22’ batch. Meet them here:
Abdullah Khurshid
Abdullah is a Sophomore at SMU pursuing Economics. He joined Protégé Ventures to learn more about the synergies between entrepreneurship and finance. This interest came about after his first year in SMU, where he was introduced to the world of finance and was intrigued by the dynamism of entrepreneurship.
He believes in building relationships with others and actively promotes collaboration — that when people of different skills and capabilities come together for a common goal, amazing things can come out of it.
He also participates in the non-profit space and enjoys taking runs around his neighbourhood when he’s not solving math problems for his coursework.
Anaanya Elizabeth Bijay
Anaanya is a Junior at SMU, pursuing a double major in Finance and Financial Forensics. Through her experiences interning with startups in Australia, Singapore and most recently, the 500 TukTuks team from 500 Global, she has developed a keen interest in robotics, impact ventures as well as FinTech innovations promoting financial access and fraud mitigation.
She is also the President of the SMU chapter of Social Impact Catalyst (SIC), an organization dedicated to championing social entrepreneurship and social innovation, and the team behind the revival of TEDxSingaporeManagementUniversity.
A life-long melophile and tinkerer, she enjoys creating playlists and prototypes and dreams of building a robot capable of writing music out of the random melodies stuck in her head.
Benjamin Koh
I am a Year 2 Law student at SMU. Outside of law, I have a keen interest in technology and startups and this has led me to become a self-taught full-stack developer. I enjoy working on impactful and interesting projects.
A fun fact about me is that I have lived and studied in 3 countries other than Singapore! (Australia, Belgium and Brunei).
Bertram Chen
Bertram is a freshman at NUS studying Business Administration. Prior to joining Protégé Ventures, Bertram worked at gush, a fast-growing material science startup that focuses on indoor air-purifying paint. After that, he went on to work at Finprojections, a boutique advisory firm developing financial models for entrepreneurs and buy-side firms. Bertram enjoys evaluating investment opportunities and analysing companies regardless of their size or stage. In his free time, he enjoys working out, pouring over a good book, and playing football.
Bob Lin An
Bob is a Y3 student in NTU’s Renaissance Engineering Programme, specializing in Computer Science. Besides startups, he has previous experiences ranging from Technology Consulting at Accenture, Product Management at Shopee, to Software Engineering at Yoozoo Games.
On campus, he is the Entrepreneurship Director at SCSE Innovation Lab and a varsity volleyball player.
In his free time, he gets excited about cars and motorcycles, enjoys reading, and tries very hard to channel his inner Kevin Durant when he plays pick-up games. Recently, he has entered the blockchain space and is working on minting himself as a NFT.
Boo Li Yee
I’m currently a penultimate business student from SMU, majoring in Finance. Before joining Protégé Ventures, I’ve interned at a few tech startups and recently ended my summer internship at a family office that does Private Equity investments. I find the process of investing in a business exciting and I like analysing and reading about both early-stage and mature companies and how to better value-add to them. In my free time, I like to do different sports (especially golf and skateboard) and try out different food spots or check off the list of many bars I’ve compiled!
Cheryl Cheok Eu Ling
3rd year SMU student studying Accountancy & Business (Finance) DDP. Previously interned at a foodtech startup — ProfilePrint that focuses on digital food fingerprinting. Avid drama fan — prob can finish a series in a day, no matter the genre/where it’s from. Goal in life is to try out every food that makes my tummy happy. Interesting fact: got thrown into a jungle for a week back in sec 4 for ncc’s exchange to sussex ACF annual camp.
Chua Chuan Yang
CY is a freshman at NUS Business School.
Fun Fact: he got into the startup world by chance; it all started with fruitful pre-university stints in the public sector, where he learned a lot about growing the startup ecosystem here in Singapore. That struck his interest in the intersection between finance and entrepreneurship- now he seeks to learn more by plugging into the scene further.
Outside of Protégé Ventures, he heads one of the global partnerships team in NUS Entrepreneurship Society. He enjoys linking people up for win-win partnerships, going for a morning run and hunting for ice-cream on waffles during his free time.
Evadne Ong Yu Qun
Hi! I am currently a penultimate business student at NTU, specialising in Banking and Finance. My interest in venture capital grew after interning at a startup during summer in my first year at school. I am eager to learn more about the intricacies of building and supporting new businesses, and I have a leaning towards health tech and e-commerce!
Some fun facts about myself is that I am an IVP Badminton player in NTU and also part of MJ Hip Hop, a dance society. Besides these, I am also a part of the Varsity Sports Association (VSA), that serves as a voice for all athletes in NTU and a bridge between the sports officers and student athletes. I also love hanging out with my two dogs, family and friends!
Jeremy Goh Jin Quan
Jeremy is pursuing a double degree in BBA (Finance) and B.Sc. in Life Sciences with the initial plan of joining biotech investment funds. The plan is now obsolete as he quickly realized the thrill of being thrown into the deep end of unknown sectors and hence, he is now industry agnostic. He spent the past 4 years in the PE/VC ecosystem across sectors from interning in technology transfer offices, seed and growth-stage VC funds including Jerusalem Venture Partners in Israel, and most recently at Temasek covering renewable energy. On the side, he freelances as a venture consultant assisting start-ups in their fundraising, pitch, and operations.
He has two big dreams that serve as his North Star in his journey — One, start a venture fund identifying and investing in technologies making up the sixth Schumpeter Waves of Innovation and — Two, trek the waterfalls and glaciers of Iceland: the land of fire and ice.
Jeremy Ong Keng Chuan
Jeremy is a Year 2 Physics undergraduate with specialisation in Quantum Technologies. He fits the stereotype of a ‘Science Nerd’, leading a simple life dabbling in Mathematics or creating scientific hypotheses on a regular basis. If he isn’t playing with numbers, you can find him reading on all things DeepTech like Quantum Computing, and Condensed Matter Physics — as he has a staunch belief that the only way forward is with greater emphasis on Science AND Tech.
Having had worked at research labs like the Centre for Quantum Technologies in NUS, or the Material Sciences and Engineering laboratories in NTU, Jeremy has seen first hand the under-appreciated work of the Sciences in new innovations, and hopes to bridge the brilliant minds of scientists into the enterprising scene.
Jess Raphael Ong Wei Hao
Jess is a Sophomore studying Information Systems at NUS Computing. Alongside with Protégé, he fuels his interest in the startup ecosystem scene by also interning at a AI startup as a software engineer while studying. While he is mainly sector agnostic, his interested verticals include Deep tech, SaaS, and Consumer Tech. He is passionate about exploring and gaining valuable experiences through new adventures. Apart from work pursuits, he is a sports and fitness enthusiast that participates actively in dragon boat, handball and touch rugby.
Jordan Ang
Jordan is a freshman at SMU, pursuing a Bachelors in Science in Economics, with an interest in Political Science and Philosophy. He is enthusiastic about q-commerce, food & beverage tech, and the student start-up scene in general. His favourite part of being in venture capital is meeting cool and passionate founders with the fire in their bellies.
He believes that food is the way to the heart and that good stories are best shared over good food. In his free time, he’s an avid Texas Hold’em player and would love to connect over a few hands.
Lee Ren Cong Gareth Justin
Gareth is a Year 4 NUS Economics student specialising in financial economics. Having a passion for investments, he has interned at a few VC and PE Funds where he was exposed to the startup ecosystem. He is especially keen on the edtech and E-commerce verticals. A self-proclaimed social media lover who follows many influencers, he is particularly bullish on social commerce through KOL marketing.
In his free time, he loves to engage in first person shooter Esports titles with his friends (carrying them all the time) and is allergic to legs day in the gym.
Low Peng Han Derek
Derek is a penultimate student at NUS studying Business Administration. Before joining Protégé Ventures, Derek’s foray into the startup eco-system was when he worked at Dish Dash, a startup that delivers meals to corporate offices and subsequently co-founded a B2C platform that allows eateries to list up delicious surplus food that consumers can purchase at a discounted price. After that, he went on to work at IMC Ventures, a maritime and logistics-focused VC firm, and Aura Group, a boutique private equity firm. He is also an avid event photographer with a passion for capturing memorable and genuine moments.
Nicholas Chai Chen Yee
Nicholas is currently a year 3 Economics student in NTU. He joined Protégé Ventures in 2021 following several VC internships in REAPRA and Genesis Ventures. As an aspiring entrepreneur, Nicholas is sector agnostic and enjoys diving deep into various verticals to gain a deeper understanding of the different business models and keep up with the ever changing landscape.
During his leisure time, he is a bookworm and an adventurous individual who enjoys photography, backpacking and sports (Soccer & Floorball).
Ong Lee Wei
Joey is a penultimate student pursuing Economics and Management in NUS. She was the Chairperson of UNICON 2021, Southeast Asia’s largest student-led startup conference.
Joey is a hustler and a strong believer in the power of connecting with others. Having taken a gap year before university, Joey discovered her passion in the venture capital and startup space within SEA, since then she has been advocating for ASEAN-mindedness.
She cooks during her free time, and her comfort food is Samyang spicy ramen!
Philipp Wieschalka
Philipp is a final-year student in Finance at ESSEC Business School. He already gained relevant experience in Private Equity, Strategy Consulting, a 28m-funded healthcare startup and in the strategy department of a German automotive manufacturer. Philipp holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Münster and a M.Sc. in Strategic Management from the Rotterdam School of Management.
Learning more about new technologies and business ideas that address the major societal and environmental challenges our planet faces is what excites him about VC. In his leisure time, Philipp finds his balance to work and study away from the world of numbers — by reading or doing weight training. Therefore, it is obvious that Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger is his favorite movie.
Reuben Loo
Reuben studies Information Technology at Republic Polytechnic.
He operates a consumer startup and invests in SaaS & Blockchain companies. Previously, he raised funds for crypto ICOs and interned as a software engineer.
He loves learning about technology, business & venture capital and through books, blogs and podcasts.
Outside of work, he sings and bakes healthy snacks to relax.
Richard Goh Jiangwei
Richard studies Finance Analytics and Financial Technology in SMU. Prior to joining Protégé Ventures, he interned at F10 Fintech Incubator and Accelerator where he had the opportunity to see the exciting startup landscape in SEA and meet enterprising founders. In his free time, he enjoys watching basketball, playing poker and practicing his programming.
Ryan Kang Bing Hui
Ryan is a freshman at SMU studying business and computer science. Through his internship at Fave, he became deeply interested in FinTech space and further entrenched his passion in the entrepreneurial scene. He loves talking to people as he believes every individual has many interesting stories to share and lessons to learn from. However, he has an unhealthy reliance on TikTok for a daily dose of dopamine.
On the side, Ryan dabbles with technical analysis of equities and dreams about being a unicorn founder. So pink and fluffy!
Seah Jessie
I’m a final year undergraduate at SMU, pursuing an Economics degree with a major in Health Economics & Management.
I got curious and intrigued about the startup space after embarking on a small side hustle of starting my own homebased baking business in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. I later learnt more about the industry through an entrepreneurship module in school and grew to love the face-paced growth and innovative ideas presented by various startups around.
I’m open to learning about all sectors but am particularly interested in healthtech and AI-enabled tech. Outside of work, I love to challenge myself to a good HIIT workout, as well as whipping up new recipes in the kitchen!
Sharon Noelle Koch
Sharon is currently in her final year of pursuing a business management bachelors at SMU, with a major in entrepreneurship. Aside from being a part of Protégé Ventures, her career interests lie in the entrepreneurial space, the health and wellness sector, as well as disruptive technologies and she is currently interning with DeFi Consulting Group — a digital asset and DeFi startup.
In her free time, Sharon enjoys being outdoors, travelling to new places (barring Covid-19) or just curling up with a good book.
Soh Zi Yan
Zi Yan is a penultimate student at LSE studying BSc Economics. Having been briefly exposed to the start-up ecosystem through a Fintech internship, she joined Protégé Ventures to gain more in-depth insights. She is greatly interested in Fintech, Healthtech & B2B SaaS with an open mind to learn more about other sectors as well. She enjoys food but says no to mala.
Syakirah Farina
Syakirah is a first year business student at SMU and currently a part-time venture analyst at TRIVE Ventures. In her work, she has assisted the venture team to conduct due diligence on an investment into a startup, and is part of the deal origination team to filter, grade and connect startups who are looking to raise venture capital. Currently, she is intrigued in the cryptocurrency, consumer technology and the artificial intelligence space. Outside of work, she likes to research and invest in emerging cryptocurrencies, play competitive video games and experiment with the latest social media trends.
Tham Mei Shuen
Mei Shuen is a freshman undergoing a law and liberal arts double degree programme. She took a gap year after her A Levels to explore her different interests and gain internship experience. She has interned at a charity, a law firm and a food sustainability start-up. She enjoys exercising, exploring food and meeting new people.
Valerie Tan
Valerie is a Y4 student at SMU, pursuing Economics and Information Systems. Her hobbies include going on outdoor adventures, playing mobile and strategy games, and exploring new food places! An interesting fact is that she has never had a cup of coffee in her life (and doesn’t plan to anytime soon).
Vu Quang Minh
- Tech enthusiast, avid news reader
- Likes to play acoustic and electric guitar and upload on Instagram, play soccer during the weekends. Sometimes I like to post startup related short posts on social media groups like Facebook and LinkedIn
- Whenever I have a free time, I will always look up at Udemy/Coursera/YouTube tutorials to learn new programming stuffs or framework and new tech to increase my tech stack