Berjaya’s Vincent Tan at DNA-TeAM Disrupt next week

By Karamjit Singh October 12, 2012

Berjaya tycoon to talk about his experience as an angel to tech companies
Cradle’s Johnathan Lee to also share his observations on angel investing in Malaysia

Berjaya’s Vincent Tan at DNA-TeAM Disrupt next week AT last month’s inaugural DNA-TeAM Disrupt event, I had asked the audience if they would like to listen to Tan Sri Vincent Tan, non-executive chairman of the Berjaya Group, speak about his experiences investing in technology companies and especially as Ganesh Kumar Bangah’s [now head honcho of the MOL Group] angel investor back in 2002.

Naturally the 70-strong audience said “yes.” For next Tuesday’s (Oct 16) Disrupt, I suspect the crowd will be slightly larger, even though we have not marketed the event until now.

But I guess when your guest is Tan himself, some last-minute adjustments to schedules can be accommodated if it’s a chance to listen to his thoughts on being an investor in so many tech businesses.

I remember back in early 2001, Tan had around eight Internet companies sitting in an incubator. Only one made it to a listing, Ganesh’s MOL AccessPortal in 2003, which was subsequently privatized in 2008. I recall one of the companies was a broadband play.

But I am sure there are lots of stories Tan can share with us and I for one am excited at the opportunity for entrepreneurs to ask him questions. Unfortunately, because of the limited space at PlugNPlay at Gardens, MidValley, we will only be accepting 100 reservations!

The other panellist will be Johnathan Lee, vice president of Commercialization and Ventures at Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd. He will share more details about the angel investing incentive that was announced as part of the Malaysian Government’s proposed national Budget 2013 two weeks ago.

Having been with Cradle since 2008, Lee also brings a lot of experience to the session and will share his observations on angel investing in Malaysia.

The title of our next Disrupt session is “Are angels from Heaven?” The venue is Plug & Play Technology Garden, Level 7, The Gardens South Tower, Mid Valley City.
It will start at 5.30pm sharp and last till 6.30pm, with refreshments served after.

The DNA-TeAM Disrupt series caters to anyone who has a passion for technology, and revolves around sharing and learning, and networking and camaraderie, says TeAM (the Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia), but begins with an interactive panel discussion on subjects and issues of interest to technopreneurs.

The DNA-TeAM Disrupt series is organized by DNA and TeAM, with support from IBM Malaysia and Plug & Play Technology Garden. Media partners are Amanz.my, BFM89.9, Big Orange, LowYat.net and Entrepreneur.my.