Cocoon Ventures - Associate
Where // Hong Kong, HK -- Cocoon Ignite Ventures is the investment subsidiary of Cocoon HK, the leading network of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong that focuses on community building, education and early stage investment.
Why // In order to have a meaningful impact to a system, it’s helpful to see challenges and opportunities from both sides of the table. Having traditionally been on the other side of the table, I wanted to work with the funding side to understand how the two sides could compliment eachother in an effort to produce better results.
What // I collaborated directly with the co-founding team and investment director to shape the first round of deployed capital. I met with dozens of entrepreneurs and participated in industry events to help build a deal pipeline, lead due diligence efforts, and developed a number of working investment thesis’ for the fund based on our collective expertise and regional compartive advantages. These themes centered on IoT hardware and platforms -- as a result of Hong Kong’s proximity to Shenzhen-- and various e-commerce models -- as a result of the region’s dominance in global shipping and logistics. I also led the research to understand the best model for Cocoon’s first iteration of a corporate-backed innovation lab.
Skills/Key Activities: Financial Modeling, Due Diligence, Business Strategy, Fund Strategy
Results // We vetted dozens of viable investment opportunities and ultimately put capital to work with a number of companies listed below. We also worked to set some ecosystem standards for investments, using a SAFE document structured with no cap and a negotiable discount rate.
Investments included Shopline, CafeX, SoundBrenner and WorkPop.
Press: Robot Baristas Serve Up the Future of Coffee,