Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures just announced its first three investments in to TradeGecko, RedMart and Coda Payments. The three moves coincide with the incubator’s efforts to grow as a Southeast Asian specialist. Golden Gate Ventures has invested in several startups in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Vinnie Lauria, founding partner, explained that their investment decisions depend on startup traction, team and the e-commerce industry. Though Golden Gate Ventures doesn’t specifically focus on e-commerce startups, Vinnie believes they have the highest chance of success during their earliest stages.
“We selected these investees for two reasons,” he said. “First, for their strength as high-growth start-ups that are already impacting regional buying and selling behaviors positively and expanding e-commerce in Asia. Second, because they plug us into a market of more than half a billion people. Southeast Asia sees 650,000 new internet users come online each month. Smart mobile devices are the future in this part of the world and our portfolio puts us right at the heart of the mobile space.”
Paul Bragiel, Founding Partner, added: “While e-commerce is a strong thread through our first investments, it is only a starting point. We are actively looking across content sites, apps and B2C services and we are looking into places that other funds are not represented. Many people I talk with in the valley think Asia is just China and India but we see a huge booming market across the region. We are really excited to be at the heart of it.”
Vinnie went on to explain that TradeGecko’s team has very strong technical skills, while RedMart’s team is extremely data-oriented.