The tech startup ecosystem is emerging stronger than ever before. VC investments in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region grew by 5.2x between 2015 and 2020. 

The SEA market has earned its reputation as a global tech growth space, with HR and work tech taking a significant share. With discussions of digitisation, collaboration, technology, and automation dominating the new era of work, HR and work Tech shall continue to witness significant growth in the region.

The tech innovators have an opportunity to build solutions that enable organisations to rethink the way they work, learn, hire, onboard, and communicate. All they seek is guidance, a platform to take their solution to the larger community, the right investors and opportunities to interact with talent and business leaders themselves.

To help startups be at the forefront of change and give them a chance to connect with all players in the HR and Work ecosystem People Matters TechHR Startup Program 2022 is here.

Pitch your products to some of the most renowned investors and VCs. Further, with one-on-one meetings with these investors, have in-depth conversations about your company, explore new possibilities, and get growth ideas. 

Here are some of the startup mentors you will meet in person at Marina Bay Sands Singapore on 25th August at People Matters TechHR Singapore 2022:

Jenni Risku

Impact Partner, Click Ventures

Currently Partner at Click Ventures and lead for impact/ESG, Jenni is focused on investing in mission-driven ventures and supporting next-gen tech startups.

Jenni started her career in cross-border investments (PE, M&A) and headed special projects and trade between Hong Kong, China and Europe (for a Hong Kong/China-based trade and investment Group).  

She eventually went on to take various roles in different countries within the start-up innovation ecosystem - either as a founder, co-founder, or first strategic hire on the ground to get things started in new markets/sectors.

Jenni is passionate about technology and women's inclusion in the tech ecosystem. As the founder of Women in Tech Asia and co-runner of Female Business Angel Network, she has been advocating for strengthening networks and representation among women in tech/angels/VCs.

Click Ventures has invested in startups like Wonderlabs, Kyc.Chian, Captiv8, and Entro, among others. 

Ajith Isaac

Ajith is an Investment Analyst at GREE Ventures. He looks at investments across verticals in India and Southeast Asia with a special focus on the blossoming deep tech ecosystem in the region. 

GREE Ventures’ portfolio includes companies like Appify, Anyplace, Kickflow and Fond, among others. 

He has worked across research domains from plant biology to neuroscience and finally on Gestational diabetes for his PhD at the National University of Singapore and Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore. 

Ajith is not only an investor but also has experience in starting and scaling a company. He co-founded a Medtech startup where his team aimed to develop a surgical glue that could be used in colorectal surgery. He also co-founded Human Library Singapore, a non-profit that aims to facilitate deeper conversations on topics such as race, religion, incarceration, gender, mental health, and disability. 

He has even worked as a tech scout for large corporations such as Unilever and Cargill where he built partnerships between multi-disciplinary teams within the large corporations and tech startups across Southeast Asia and India. 

Vinod Dontimalla

Regional Head of Human Resources & HRTech investor, Open Space Ventures

Passionate about the function and the tech innovations transforming the role, Vinod is responsible for the full spectrum of HR activities, including but not limited to stakeholder management, strategic talent acquisition, performance management, implementation of hr systems, and employee engagement and retention, among other things. 

He works with Open Space Ventures that provides venture capital funding to back companies in Southeast Asia creating a transformative impact where tech meets life. 

By focusing on the fundamentals and with a wide-scale operations team, Open Space Venture has backed about 39 companies, including GoTo (Gojek), Finnomena, Kumu, Biofourmis, Whispir and Halodoc. 

Ollie Wood

Director, Foundational HR

Ollie enables innovators and enthusiasts to take better career decisions in the early, late-stage startup and VC industry. With a long-term approach, he aims to help talent grow into roles and careers where they feel inspired and not forced. 

He works with startups and companies that are experiencing phases of high growth and helps their Founders and their management teams to put in place processes and systems that will enable them to scale their Recruitment and HR functions. 

Jack Hoi

Director, Seek Investment

Jack began his career as Investment Analyst in 2001. He spent a long time in the Boston Consulting Group as Project Leader, where he led growth strategy and operational improvement projects in Australia, USA, China, Singapore and Spain across travel and tourism, FMCG, financial services and pharmaceutical sector. 

In 2013, Jack joined Seek as Senior Strategy Manager and spearheaded strategy to define SEEK's approach in the broader human capital market especially contingent (including investment in Sidekicker, Workana) and HRIS. He also supported SEEK's international subsidiaries including a secondment to Brazil to advise the newly appointed CEO of Catho (the largest job board in Brazil). 

With a deep HR tech experience and passion for new-age solutions, Jack is excited about the emerging innovations shaping the new world of work. 

SEEK has invested in various early-stage businesses through its ownership interest in the SEEK Growth Fund, with investments majorly in the broader Human Capital Market including Online Education, HR Software as a Service (SaaS) and Contingent Labour.

Its portfolio includes names like Jora, Sourcr, JobAdder, JobKorea, and GradConnection, among others. 

So, whether you're looking to accelerate your way to your next investment round, or you've just started your company and want to change the world of HR and Work Tech, the People Matters TechHR Startup Program is the perfect place to meet investors and leaders looking for innovators like you. Click here to know more and register.