GO DEEPER
08 Sep 22
Press Release: Tin Men Capital announces the first close of Fund II and next stage of growth
SINGAPORE, 8 SEPT- Tin Men Capital, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, today announces the first close of its second enterprise technology Fund II. This comes on the back of a successful Fund I which was launched in 2018. The new Fund II will continue the vision of Fund l in building on Tin Men’s track record of investing in B2B technology startups from South-East Asia.
Tin Men’s focus is software companies that primarily address opportunities in underserved and under-digitised industries. The firm’s backyard in South-East Asia presents several areas where technology can play a dramatic role in levelling up legacy businesses, which have historically relied on large capital investments and big workforces. As both capital and labour come under pressure, technology adoption has been championed by industry leaders and governments alike as a way to address these bottlenecks.
For startups addressing such opportunities, the drivers are clear: long-term contracts with established businesses, high gross margins as infrastructure costs have plummeted with widespread cloud adoption and increasing desire among customers to adopt digital technologies. At the same time, it is well known that the vast majority of venture capital has gone towards B2C companies, leaving an opportunity for Tin Men to step in to support B2B founders. Notably, capital alone is not sufficient for B2B founders. South-East Asia is a rapidly maturing region, but founders continue to seek guidance from their investors, not just on high-level governance matters, but also on how to hire and scale up their teams, build out their go-to-market efforts, systematise their internal processes, and attract later-stage investors and future acquirers – all areas where the Tin Men team has substantial heft.
The firm is led by Jeremy Tan and Murli Ravi, both of whom have a long track record in financial services and operating businesses across Asia, North America and Australia. Murli has previously held roles in Temasek Holdings and at JAFCO, Japan’s largest and oldest venture capital firm, where he was Head of South Asia. At JAFCO, Murli oversaw over 20 investments in companies ranging from pre-revenue startups to large businesses with tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
Prior to Tin Men, Jeremy was Asia-Pacific Head of M&A and Strategy for Puma Energy, a subsidiary of Trafigura Group, one of the world’s largest commodities houses, where he led large financial transactions across Asia-Pacific. Before Trafigura, Jeremy spent several years in the financial services industry, including at Morgan Stanley, TH Lee Partners and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Tin Men’s third co-founder Benjamin Tan has departed Tin Men Capital and the firm wishes him success in his future endeavours.
As the firm continues to institutionalise and build out its leadership for the next stage of growth, Tin Men Capital has appointed John Tay as Partnership Lead. John graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London with a Bachelor in International Business with a background in startups, having co-founded Soule Enterprise, a social enterprise in 2013. Prior to being a part of Tin Men Capital, John was an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. John will be driving the development of strategic partnerships on behalf of Tin Men Capital with stakeholders within the enterprise technology ecosystem in South East Asia.
“As a team, we have managed to achieve significant success while doubling down on innovation and operational growth in an area that is often overlooked – the untapped opportunity of B2B technology businesses. The partnerships we have built with investors, team members, founders, and CEOs of our portfolio companies are the driving force behind Tin Men. This will continue as we expand the team still further,” said Jeremy Tan, Co-Founder. “Through the years, Tin Men has been able to systematically scale to deliver value to all our stakeholders. Jeremy and I have a shared ambition of building out an institution with longevity. The deep ecosystem we have in place across our network of investors, founders, startup executives, channel partners and supporters in government is core to this and John will be instrumental in developing it further,” added Murli Ravi, Co-Founder.
Tin Men’s advisory board spans industry, investing and entrepreneurship, and consists of Robert Binyon, the Chairman of several Asia-focused private equity funds and board member of Japan Strategic Capital and Schroder Asia Pacific Fund; Lee Ah Boon, former COO of Fullerton Financial, part of Temasek Holdings; Haresh Khoobchandani, Vice President of Sales at Autodesk Asia Pacific; and Bala Vissa, Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD. With their guidance and under the co-founders’ leadership, the firm has established a respectful and knowledgeable yet down-to-earth culture that appeals to founders who want to build impactful companies and have fun while doing it.
