SoGal Hong Kong x Singapore invites four investors, angel & seed investors and the co-founder of HK's first regulated startup investment platform, to provide startup founders with insights and resources on fundraising amid these unprecedented times.
Questions addressed will include:
1. Is it a good time for startups to seek fundraising now?
2. Should startups expect a lower valuation compared to pre-COVID?
3. Are there any alternative avenues for securing funding?
Our guests are:
Maria Natashia, Investment Manager, Prasetia Dwidharma
Based in Indonesia, Natashia focuses on investment opportunities in internet companies in Southeast Asia as well as working together with the 60+ portfolio of internet companies to grow. Prior to work with a local investment, she has also experienced working with an international fund focusing in China and SEA that gave her a bit of insight from China market. Prior to do Investment, she has the overall experience in tech ecosystem by working with startup as well as being in the incubator and coworking space industry. Her passion in entrepreneurship field came in when she started her career as Community Manager for entrepreneurship education company.
Milena Nikolova, Angel investor and advisor | Corporate finance and WM specialist
Milena has 20 years of finance experience across investment banking, wealth management and venture capital investing.
As Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank in London, she advised leading European banks and insurance companies on mergers, acquisitions and IPO transactions totaling over $10bn in deal value. In Wealth Management in Singapore, she worked with ultra high net worth individuals on a wide spectrum of topics, including financial assets allocation, wealth planning or corporate structuring.
Over the last 5 years Milena has been an active angel investor and start-up advisor, while also devoting considerable time to charitable causes. She is a partner at Women on a Mission which aims to raise awareness and funds for women survivors of war or abuse.
Milena is a CFA Charterholder and holds an MSc in International Accounting and Finance from the LSE.
Atin Batra, Founder & General Partner at Twenty Seven Ventures
Twenty Seven Ventures is a VC firm investing in early-stage EdTech and Future of Work startups across the world. 27V looks for entrepreneurs with an overwhelming drive to build a business that not only creates shareholder value but also leaves a positive impact on our fragile world. The firm has invested in 6 companies alongside Steve Cohen’s Point 72 Ventures, Mark Cuban’s family office, Urban Us, BMW, Google and other Tier-1 investors.
Most recently, he was a Principal at the global VC firm Q Venture Partners, where he helped invest in Deep Tech & connected Hardware startups in North America. Prior to that, he led the Swire Properties’ B2B accelerator ‘blueprint’. Originally from India, Atin spends his weekends trail running Hong Kong’s beautiful country parks.
Karena Belin, CEO of WHub and COO/CFO/RO of AngelHub
Karena successfully co-founded WHub and AngelHub with her associate Karen Contet Farzam. Together they are on a mission to empower startups to drive wealth and economic growth.
AngelHub is HK's first and still only SFC regulated Startup Investment platform for professional investors and growth stage companies scaling in Asia.
WHub is the largest startup community platform and power connector to help startups unleash their full potential by connecting them to all the resources they need, powered by a network of over 500 partners globally with over 2 million reach.
Since 2013, Karena has been passionate about entrepreneurship and a leader in the start-up scene. She acts as ambassador, consultant, speaker, mentor, member and judge at events and organisations such as the APK, Chicago Booth GNVC, Google EYE, RISE Conference and Web Summit, and more.
In addition, Karena holds a double diploma in business and administration from the University of Mannheim and the MBA business school ESSEC in Paris. She has worked 15 years for Procter & Gamble in various roles including Finance, Sales and Strategy across Europe, North East Asia and Greater China before co-founding WHub & AngelHub. She has extensive background in business and financial planning, business acquisition and integration.