Ep 30: Dr Finian Tan (Chairman, Vickers Venture Partners - 5th most consistently performing fund manager worldwide)

Dr Finian Tan is a Singaporean venture capitalist and Chairman of
Vickers Venture Partners: a VC he founded in 2005 with 4 other
partners and which is now ranked the 5th most consistently
performing fund manager worldwide.





Prior to Vickers, Finian was inter alia:


Regional Director & Head at J.Aron - Goldman Sachs’ Asian
trading arm;

Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for
the Singapore Government, where he oversaw the creation of the $1
billion dollar TIF fund (he was subsequently appointed as
chairman of the said fund); and

A Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet &
the founding partner of its Asia Pacific Operations, where he led
the investment into Baidu and remained its largest backer until
IPO.






But how did it all begin?





Born on St Finian of Clonard’s Day, Finian had what might be
considered an ‘unconventional’ childhood for someone who grew up
in Singapore. He would spend his days on the beach with friends
and family crabbing, spearfishing, snorkeling, and swimming in
the sea!





He ended up studying engineering at Singapore Polytechnic before
pursuing a degree at Glasgow University where he swept all of the
academic awards.





In this STIMY episode, Finian shares:


4:10: What it was like growing up in Singapore in the
1960s 

6:14: How he ended up studying engineering at Singapore
Polytechnic 

8:19: How the bankruptcy of his father’s company impacted his
family

9:15: Planning it “like a war” to win all the academic awards
at Glasgow University

13:09: Completing his Masters & PhD at Cambridge
University

15:05: Working as a Chief Trader at Shell

15:51: Being poached by Goldman Sachs & later heading
J.Aron - the Asian arm of Goldman Sachs

18:12: Why Finian decided to leave Goldman Sachs to become
the Deputy Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade &
Industry

24:21: Joining Draper Fisher Jurvetson Eplanet & figuring
out where to invest by drawing a line in his book

27:01: Why Finian chose Baidu to be his first & only
investment (at $7.5 million!)

28:57: Big decisions made by the Baidu board 

31:51: Founding Vickers Venture Partners

34:15: Building Vicker’s reputation in the VC space

35:07: Best platforms to generate deal flow

36:44: Why Vickers pivoted into the deep tech space 

44:24: Investing in Samumed, which is working to reverse
aging by drugging the Wnt signaling pathway!

47:05: How Emergex is involved in the COVID-19 vaccine fight

55:31: RWDC - a company that is creating 100% biodegradable
plastic that looks, feels & costs like plastic 

58:01: The silver bullet

1:00:28: Spending time with entrepreneurs

1:01:52: Values that Finian looks for 

1:03:01: What went wrong with 24 Quan (Finian’s biggest
investment failure)

1:05:31: How Eavor is making breakthroughs in the geothermal
space

1:12:13: Plans for Vicker’s Fund IV

1:15:21: Institutionalising knowledge as part of Vicker’s
succession plan

1:17:11: What Finian looks for when hiring someone

1:32:17: “To whom much is given, much is required”

1:37:16: Charity Water & education in Africa






Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/30