It is 10 in the morning when Lam decides to show up at work. The working hours were supposed to start at 7.30 am, but Lam did not feel the need to be on time.

When he finally showed up at work, Lam spent most of his time surfing the Internet, watching movies or chatting with his friends. For any task that he was assigned, he deliberately slowed his performance, taking more time to complete than he really needed.

As a public servant working for the city government, Lam has held his job for nearly five years, making roughly US$300 per month, about the average national GDP per capita income.

His manager was frustrated and tried to manage his performance first by intimidating him, and then by incentivising him to work harder. None of the methods really worked. Coming from a wealthy family which owns a retail store, a family-run hotel, an accounting firm, and several properties for rent, money is not really a big deal for Lam – he already had all that one might need.

Despite an excellent educational background, graduating from one of the top universities in Japan with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Lam has no desire to outperform his co-workers, who are many years his senior and have held the job for much longer than he has, at least for the time being.

“I have been doing this simple and mindless job for so long that I have become really good at it. For example, it used to take me several days to design my agency’s newsletters; now, it only takes several hours. Yet, I also do not want to turn in my work earlier. I use that free remaining time to pursue my own leisure,” said Lam.

Successors of economic boom

Lam was born in 1988, so he is part of Vietnam’s millennial generation, which is estimated to account for almost one-fourth of Vietnam’s 95-million population.

In 1986, Vietnamese government launched a reform package called Doi moi which completely abandoned the central planning economy, paving the way for the country to transition to a market-oriented economy. From 1986 onwards, Vietnam experienced a sustained period of high economic growth, lifting millions of people out of poverty, completely transforming the country’s landscape, and becoming a lower middle-income country.

In 2005, it officially became a member of the World Trade Organisation, and since then, it has entered into various free trade agreements with many countries, even with the former archenemies like China or the United States.

Also Read: Then vs now: A look back at Vietnam’s changing e-commerce battleground

As Vietnam’s economy prospers and opportunities to make money are omnipresent, a sense of political and economic security is well established. Many millennials are born in the good economic times, witnessing their parents to acquire wealth and modern amenities, and are largely unaware of their difficult childhood or their parents’ struggling past.

“My grandparents often talked about how hungry they were decades ago, and how people died of starvation. Now I have to go on various diets and do exercises to lose weight,” said Hung, a PhD candidate at a university in Singapore, who is also a public servant. For younger members of the millennial generation, the time of hardship was even more distant and unthinkable.

A generation of identity crisis

Dao is a lecturer at a university, specialising in economics and commerce. She graduated from a high-ranking university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and went on to earn a Masters’ degree in Europe. She was very popular among her students; however, she always sensed something was missing in her life.

“I am a university lecturer, so I am supposed to know everything and be a role model for my students. Nonetheless, I think that I have imposter syndrome, that I do not have the right credentials or experience for my job. I get everything so easily that I wonder if I really deserve my students’ respect,” Dao said. Many millennials have a lingering feeling of insecurity and understatement.

Similarly, May also had the same problem trying to find her place in Vietnam’s fast-changing, but still in essence a Confucian society. Confucianism, which originated from China – Vietnam’s neighbor and long-term rival, – is a set of social and ethical beliefs that emphasise filial piety, hierarchy, conformity, and male-dominance. Growing up in a strictly traditional Vietnamese family, May noticed the role-sharing system which made all the burden of housework fall on her mother, and the favor and perceived superiority of her brother over her.

“After studying 4 years in Australia and seeing how equal males and females are in Australia, I cannot bear the Vietnamese culture anymore. I tried to date Vietnamese guys but even though they were around my age and received Western education, they still have deep-seated patriarchal attitude and try to make me feel inferior”.

However, May’s decision to date foreigners was met with resentment and opposition from her family. For some time, she suffered from severe depression, and her relationship with her family was greatly strained. After working in Vietnam for 3 years upon graduation, May decided to go to Europe for a Masters’ degree.

“I felt more like myself living abroad. However, my major is economic development. Since Europe is a very developed place, there is not a lot for me to do. I am considering finding jobs in an ASEAN country such as Cambodia or Laos, so I can be closer to home but still have the necessary freedom to be who I truly am,” said May.

Parental pressure

Sharing May’s sentiments of parents’ intrusion and control over their personal life, Hung said that he had to break up with his previous girlfriend because his parents disapproved of her. In addition, to comply with his father’s wish, he had to stick to his current job despite how much he hated it.

“My father has been a loyal public servant for all his life, so he wants me to continue his legacy. Also, my family has enough wealth to support me for the rest of my life, so my parents only need me to have a stable job to keep me out of trouble,” said Hung. He fought with his parents many times over the issues but always succumbed to their demand.

“They sacrificed a lot to give me a better life, so I do not want to disappoint or infuriate them. Besides, my life is quite comfortable; the roads are all smooth and secure. Nevertheless, I feel saddened whenever I think of my passions, wasted skills, and opportunity costs. I feel like I am living someone else’s life,” said Hung.

After 1975, Vietnam initiated the family planning program which allowed each couple to have a maximum of two children. Therefore, naturally, most millennials are the only child or have at most 1 sibling.

As GDP per capita grew from less than US$250 per year in 1986 to more than US$4,900 in 2024, and the birth rate fell from 4.43 per cent per year to 1.96 per cent per year over the same period, millennials enjoy the fruits of their parents’ hard labor, but also endure their overprotection, and their high expectations.

Also Read: Rising trend in Vietnam: Young professionals embracing social media content creation

According to research by Herdindha and Riyanto (2012), parental pressure can cause children to fear the reality and the future, and become constantly anxious. Even when they are successful, they feel dissatisfied and restless. “My parents even dictated what they wanted me to study or who I should date. Regardless of my feelings towards their domination, I achieve all their goals, but I always feel they want even more from me,” said Hung.

Regarding Lam, he fought off his parental pressure by retreating to his own world and became disinterested in everything. He even rebelled by refusing to meet with any of his parents’ dating prospects.

“After years of misery, I now turn a deaf ear to my mother’s complaints and criticisms. Maybe one day, I will change my mind, leave this job and take over my parents’ business as they wish. However, for now, I do as I am pleased, trying to live one day at a time,” said Lam.

Nonetheless, Lam and Hung faced the paradox of choosing between following the easy path their parents lay out for them or revolting to pursue their dreams. Their parents’ success was so enormous that they are probably never able to escape their shadow. Indeed, there is a joke among Vietnamese that it is easier for poor people to break out of poverty than for well-to-do people to break out of complacency and comfort.

Plenty of distractions

If Vietnamese millennials ever feel discontented and bitter, thanks to Vietnam’s global integration and economic advance, there are plenty of distractions for them to occupy their time and their mind.

With the abundance of electronic devices, computers, smart phones, tablets and Internet, Vietnamese young people are busy with their online life, playing video games, online shopping, updating their Facebook, Twitter, and Zalo blogs, or talking to their friends via Viber, Zalo, and Messenger.

In fact, Vietnam boasted over 86 million Facebook users and 62 million Twitter users. According to a study by Gracia Monica, there were at least 20 million gamers in Vietnam on the mobile platforms alone. The game market in Vietnam was also the fastest growing market among ASEAN countries.

In addition to the Internet, gathering and drinking alcoholic beverages after work or even over lunch is also very common among Vietnamese. According to a report by Euromonitor, young adults in their 20s or early 30s, or millennials, are driving up sales in the beer industry.

In fact, Vietnam ranked first among ASEAN countries and among the top 10 country in the world in beer consumption. “My friends and I drank almost every day for all the reasons. After a long torturing working day and a heavy dose of alcohol, I just go home and sleep, and the whole cycle repeats the next day,” said Hung.

Also Read: Automation, AI, and agritech power Vietnam’s VC momentum

Travelling is also another obsession among young Vietnamese people in light of a booming tourism industry in Vietnam. Moreover, they become more creative with their travelling arrangements and options, from going on traditional tours to hitch-hiking, backpacking or trekking. In addition to popular tourist spots, Vietnamese youths are eager to explore less-travelled corners and foreign exotic destinations.

During May’s three years working in Vietnam after returning from Australia, she travelled extensively, more than she had ever done in her entire life. In addition to touring many cities in Vietnam, she travelled by herself for two weeks to Cambodia, then with her friend for 2 weeks to Thailand. Sometimes she just hopped on her motorbike and went on a completely spontaneous trip to some nearby resorts, neighbouring provinces or mountainous areas over the weekend.

“Travelling gives me something to look forward to and keeps me busy. I also learn many life lessons and make many meaningful acquaintances along the way. More importantly, it gives me the freedom and adventure that I desperately need considering my suffocating work environment and my parents’ over-protection. It is my way of rebellion and survival,” said May.

Fighting for their own way

Despite facing with unconventional challenges, familial and societal pressure, Vietnamese millennials work hard for their own way of life and exert the values of their generation. After divorcing her husband, an act that outraged her parents and made her vulnerable to workplace and social judgment, Dao decided to move out of her parents’ house to start a new life.

She volunteered to lead the university’s Communist Youth Union to carry out various charitable projects in economically disadvantaged areas and team-building activities. Furthermore, she together with her friends opened a restaurant selling Western food such as pizzas, pasta, etc.

She offered job opportunities for her students to gain knowledge and first-hand experience with business management and customer services. She said,” I want to enrich my life experience; I want to fully live, research, study, and grow. I feel more confident now when teaching the students because I myself experiment the theories in practice and learn through my own trials and errors.”

Fighting against the rigid and obsolete system of work-for-life and tenured positions in Vietnam’s remnant central-planning system, many Vietnamese millennials opt to work as freelancers or start their own businesses. The nascent start-up eco-system has been thriving in Vietnam for the past few years.

According to Dezan Shira & Associates, in 2022, Vietnam had around 3,800 start-ups spreading in all sectors, with many companies receiving millions in funding from venture capitals. The startup deal value in 2023 was US$529 million.

In terms of freelancing, the website freelancerviet.vn has boasted over 300,000 members, and more than 60 per cent of the members were born from 1990 to 1996. Most millennials turn to freelancing for personal freedom, creativity, work-life balance and autonomy, typical characteristics of the generation.

For other Vietnamese millennials, slowly but surely, they find their way to chase their dreams and realise their full potentials. For Hung, besides the tedious government job that he was obliged to keep, he also worked for a construction company on a project-based contract. He believed this job better reflected his ability, gave him more income, and he could make a career out of it once he had the opportunities.

In sum, under the seemingly easy life, Vietnamese millennials face tremendous obstacles in overcoming the shadow of their parents’ generation and instilling their values in the existing system. However, equipped with technology, education, and financial security, the generation has the capacity to lift Vietnamese economy forwards in the near future.

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If you dropped into the Bay Area during the mobile boom of the late 2000s, chances are you brushed against products touched by SC Moatti. Her apps picked up Emmy nods and Wall Street Journal Innovation Awards, and today billions of fingertips swipe across interfaces she once shepherded.

Yet Moatti’s résumé is anything but a straight‑line sprint through product management. The Paris‑born engineer has toggled between founder, Big Tech PM, community builder, Stanford lecturer, and, for the last six years, managing partner at Mighty Capital — a “product‑first” venture firm beating the power‑law odds with a one‑in‑five hit rate.

Listening to her on the recent appearance on Startup Project felt like a masterclass in three disciplines at once: making great products, spotting winning startups, and governing companies from the boardroom.

Below are the takeaways that stood out, stitched into a single narrative for founders, product managers, and aspiring investors alike.

A product lens can redraw the VC playbook

Traditional venture portfolios assume failure is the default and build 30‑plus bets per fund to snag a lone outlier. Mighty Capital flips that ratio. By investing in only 15–17 Series A‑stage B2B tech companies per fund—and choosing deals where 500,000 product managers in Moatti’s Products That Count community can accelerate distribution—the firm has turned one-in-twenty success into one‑in‑five.

The key: start due‑diligence where most funds finish. Instead of chasing the hottest category, Mighty Capital first validates team quality, customer traction, governance health, and a fair term sheet. Only then does it ask, Does our product community give this startup an unfair edge? When the answer is yes, the firm wins 80 per cent of competitive deals, even against brand‑name giants.

Also Read: How Category Design drives productivity and efficiency

What makes a great product? Mind, body, and spirit

Moatti’s philosophy springs from her book Mobilised: technology is an extension of ourselves, so great products mirror what makes great people.

• Mind: We crave cognitive stretch, so our tools must learn and solve hard problems. IBM’s Watson did this in 2011; today, foundation‑model LLMs pick up the baton.
• Body: We appreciate beauty and efficiency. ChatGPT’s conversational sheen shows how delight can convert a raw capability into daily habit.
• Spirit: We long for meaning and trustworthy intimacy. The next great frontier, Moatti argues, is “deep personalisation that still safeguards privacy”—AI that sounds human and knows you well enough to serve rather than spook.

If your roadmap stops at functional wins, you’re only two‑thirds done. A product that ignores emotional resonance or ethical data stewardship may ship—but it rarely endures.

Big ideas, narrow beachheads

Asked why so many AI startups feel small, Moatti pointed to the cult of speed. Serial founders (and fast‑moving coders) rightly seek quick validation, but they often choose problems that can be solved quickly rather than those worth solving.

Instead of another slide‑deck summariser, she suggests aiming at moonshots that only AI can crack—drug discovery with too many variables for human lab work, self‑driving systems parsing chaotic streets, or “Her‑style” companionship to fight the global loneliness epidemic.

Start with a tractable wedge, yes, but anchor it in an audacious vision investors can underwrite across multiple rounds.

Also Read: The product management strategy behind building AI agent platform

The art‑and‑science of early‑stage investing

Data‑driven public‑market veterans often assume the private world hides richer spreadsheets. Reality: at a US$1 million ARR Series A, numbers illuminate patterns, not predictions. Mighty Capital augments the metrics with founder references, customer interviews, and a sanity check on board dynamics.

Why? Because, as Moatti notes, a board has only two levers—money and people. If you must wield control rights to force change, you’ve already lost. Effective governance means coaching CEOs before crises, not litigating after them. Build influence early through trust, context, and clear alignment—not term‑sheet fine print you hope never to invoke.

Skills for the next‑gen product leader

Every year, the Products That Count advisory board refreshes its list of “core PM superpowers,” and every year the list looks different. A decade ago, effective PMs obsessed over persuading engineers; today, half of product orgs run engineering. Tomorrow’s hot skill might be prompt design, model evaluation, or AI safety. That fluidity is the point: world‑class product managers practice meta‑learning—the ability to absorb new frameworks as fast as the domain shifts.

Moatti’s prescription is simple: embed yourself in vibrant peer communities, consume books like Crossing the Chasm and Prime to Perform, and treat every release, podcast, or AMA as a chance to recalibrate. The only durable edge is the speed at which you update your mental models. Choose roles and networks that keep you on that upgrade treadmill.

Moatti’s story ultimately reminds us that product, capital, and leadership are not separate tracks. They’re mutually reinforcing skills along one continuum: understanding people and delivering value at scale. Whether you’re coding the next breakthrough, pitching a partner meeting, or chairing a board call, the mindset is the same — solve meaningful problems beautifully, and the returns (financial or societal) will follow.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

Join us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to stay connected. We’re building the most useful WA community for founders and enablers. Join here and be part of it.

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For most of Silicon Valley’s history, liquidity arrived in one dramatic burst: an IPO that converted paper gains into spendable cash overnight. An uncomfortable truth has crept into the ecosystem—start‑ups now remain private for a decade or more, while employees, founders, and early backers confront real‑world expenses long before Wall Street rings the opening bell.

The quiet revolution solving that mismatch is the rise of structured, late‑stage secondary markets, and few firms illustrate the shift better than EquityZen, whose Co‑Founder and CEO, Atish Davda, recently laid out the industry’s mechanics and future trajectory.

The three eras of private‑equity liquidity

Secondary trading has unfolded in three distinct waves.

Phase 1—the dot‑com era—relied on early IPOs; Amazon, for instance, listed after just four years of founding, handing risk and opportunity to invest to public investors.

Phase 2 emerged in the late 2000s, when privately held giants such as Facebook and LinkedIn changed hands through US$25 million block trades arranged by bulge‑bracket desks. That market served hedge funds and family offices but excluded the rank‑and‑file employee & retail investors.

Phase 3 is today’s technology‑enabled marketplace, where standardised contracts and digital onboarding push minimums as low as US$10000, opening the asset class to accredited but not super‑rich investors.

Why structure beats heroics

Davda argues that two features differentiate modern platforms from ad‑hoc brokering: process standardisation and issuer alignment. EquityZen has amortised a single deal framework across ≈50 000 private placements touching 450–500 companies, collapsing legal costs that previously made sub‑US$1 million transactions uneconomic.

Also Read: Exploring the rise of finance-as-a-service in APAC

Equally important, issuers are invited to approve every transfer. Almost all start‑ups reserve a right‑of‑first‑refusal (ROFR); ignoring it spawns IOU‑style forwards that can evaporate if a seller disappears.

By working through company counsel, EquityZen not only avoids that risk but occasionally receives ROFR assignments when founders want price discovery without weakening an ongoing primary round.

A portfolio‑construction lens

Early‑stage venture is a power‑law game in which one decacorn must pay for many write‑offs. Late‑stage secondaries, by contrast, resemble public growth stocks: investors hope for doubles or triples, not 100 × returns. Portfolio implications follow:

• Sizing matters. Secondaries act as a bridge between liquid equities and classic venture; 5–10 per cent of alternatives is a typical allocation.
• Selection matters. Domain experts—say, security engineers vetting cybersecurity vendors—may favour single names. Generalists may prefer pooled vehicles that approximate thematic ETFs ​.

Inside the marketplace flywheel

Liquidity—not the sheer number of listings—defines marketplace health. EquityZen reports ~700 000 registered accounts alongside ≈2 000 SPVs holding US$1.5–2 billion of active positions​. Every time a late‑stage start‑up prices a new financing, closes an M&A transaction, or files to go public, that “external print” refreshes valuation anchors and pulls fresh supply onto the platform.

Supply itself is expanding. Employees hired during the 2015‑2021 boom are hitting four‑year vesting cliffs; many hold life‑changing equity yet still need down payments, tuition, or childcare funding. On the demand side, family offices, RIAs, and even municipal pension plans are hunting for mid‑risk growth assets that align with long‑dated liabilities.

When those two curves intersect on a compliant venue, friction—not appetite—becomes the bottleneck. Technology‑driven standardisation keeps eroding that friction quarter after quarter.

Also Read: Eco-investing: Driving change through climate technology and strategic finance

Regulatory moat

In a business where information asymmetry is structural, reputation compounds. EquityZen refuses to market individual deals, declines to sell order‑book data, and builds intentional friction—long FAQs, investor accreditation checks—into its funnel.

The result is slow initial conversion but durable trust ​. It is also why several high‑profile issuers now tag the firm as their “preferred partner,” steering employees away from grey‑market brokers that sidestep company approval.

What the next cycle looks like

The IPO window has been mostly shut for three years, yet the pressure is visible: sponsor‑driven M&A is rising, late‑stage rounds are re‑appearing, and macro expectations point to lower rates in 2025.

Any of those events—an acquisition, a pre‑IPO crossover round, a direct listing—generates price discovery that ripples through secondary markets. Davda contends that risk‑adjusted returns today mirror the opportunity set last seen in 2014, right before the unicorn wave crested.

Liquidity is not a post‑script to value creation; it is value creation’s connective tissue. The professionals have navigated secondary markets for decades. Thanks to infrastructure players like EquityZen, the rest of the innovation economy can finally participate on institutional terms—and that participation is set to accelerate in 2025.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and general‑interest purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or financial advice. All opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any referenced companies. Before making any investment decision, readers should consult a qualified professional and conduct their own due diligence.

—

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

Join us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to stay connected. We’re building the most useful WA community for founders and enablers. Join here and be part of it.

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The post How product design is democratising access to growth‑stage equity appeared first on e27.

SLEEK EV, a Singapore-headquartered electric scooter maker operating in Thailand, has announced a US$8.5 million first close of its Series A round, led by KYMCO Capital.

The round also drew participation from “more than twenty supply chain players from Taiwan and Mainland China”, according to the company.

The fresh capital lands as Southeast Asia’s two-wheeler markets — among the largest and most entrenched in the world — begin the difficult transition from internal combustion to electric. In Thailand, where scooters and motorcycles dominate urban commuting and last-mile delivery, SLEEK is betting that the next phase of electrification will be won not just on vehicle hardware, but on infrastructure, software, and distribution.

Also Read: SLEEK EV secures funding from ORZON Ventures to advance affordable electric mobility in SEA

SLEEK said the funding will be used to expand production capacity at a facility along Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), accelerate R&D for “cutting edge AI-driven software and AI agents”, and increase the number of its EV S-Charge stations by more than seven times.

The company also pointed to existing relationships with partners, including PTT OR, Krungsri Auto, Toyota Tsusho, and Grab. It said it will continue to build strategic channel partnerships with dealers and national regulatory bodies.

Making Thailand a regional electric motorcycle hub

SLEEK — which also counts ORZON, January Capital, and A2D Ventures among its backers — is positioning its Thailand build-out as more than a local expansion. It wants Thailand to become a regional electric motorcycle hub — a credible ambition in a country that already plays a major role in the region’s automotive and parts supply chains.

The playbook implied by SLEEK’s announcement has three clear pillars:

1. Scale manufacturing inside Thailand (EEC expansion): By scaling production capacity domestically, SLEEK aims to shorten lead times, build closer supplier relationships, and create a platform that can support higher volumes as adoption rises. Locating along the EEC also signals an intention to align with Thailand’s industrial development corridor, where logistics and manufacturing ecosystems are already clustered.
2. Build charging and swapping infrastructure, not just sell bikes: Two-wheel EV adoption lives or dies on convenience and uptime, especially for riders who depend on their scooters for income. SLEEK’s plan to expand EV S-Charge stations by more than seven times is a direct attempt to remove the “where do I charge?” friction that slows mass adoption.
3. Push for safety and operational standards: The company said it aims “to set a new standard for regional charging and battery swapping on electric motorcycles to achieve safety, quality, and operational efficiency respectively.” In practical terms, this is a bid to shape norms in a market where inconsistent battery practices, fragmented charging experiences, and operational uncertainty can undermine consumer trust.

In Southeast Asia, becoming a “hub” is rarely about one factory. It is about whether a country becomes the place where supply chains concentrate, distribution networks anchor, and standards get adopted. SLEEK is trying to participate in that full stack.

The “OS” ambition for urban mobility

SLEEK is explicitly framing itself as more than an EV manufacturer. The company’s long-term ambition is to become “APAC’s trusted full stack EV motorcycle Operating System”, where “partners collaborate, data compounds, and actions convert to a new way of urban mobility.”

That positioning matters because electric two-wheelers produce a continuous stream of operational data through connected systems — vehicle health, battery performance, charging behaviour, route patterns, and rider usage. SLEEK describes itself as an IoT-enabled manufacturer, with scooter hardware “equipped with IoT and synced with a mobile application”.

This is where AI software can become a real differentiator in an end-to-end ecosystem:

• Fleet uptime and predictive maintenance: AI models can flag components likely to fail, reducing downtime — critical for delivery riders and fleet operators.
• Battery lifecycle optimisation: Software can manage charging behaviour and swapping cycles to extend battery life and improve safety.
• Demand-aware infrastructure operations: As station networks expand, AI can help allocate batteries, plan station expansion, and reduce congestion at peak times.
• User experience and support automation: The company’s mention of “AI agents” suggests it is building automated assistance and workflows — potentially spanning troubleshooting, onboarding, and service coordination.

Also Read: Electric vehicles at the crossroads: Trust vs innovation

Put simply, the scooter is the device; the software layer is the control plane that can make urban EV operations reliable at scale.

What KYMCO Capital brings: supply chain leverage and distribution acceleration

For SLEEK, the lead investor is not just a cheque; it is a strategic anchor.
KYMCO Capital is invested in by Kwang Yang Motor (KYMCO), described by SLEEK as a “global powersports manufacturer”.

SLEEK said KYMCO Capital will bring “60 years of industry experience in the two-wheelers” and support efforts to optimise supply chains, “synergise the proliferation of battery and charging/swapping technologies”, and “supercharge its distribution across Southeast Asia.”

This partnership can accelerate regional distribution in three concrete ways:

1. Manufacturing know-how and supplier access: Two-wheelers are a scale game. KYMCO-linked networks can help with vendor qualification, cost optimisation, and production ramp discipline — areas where many EV startups stumble when moving beyond pilot volumes.
2. Credibility with channel partners: In Southeast Asia, two-wheel distribution is relationship-heavy: dealers, service centres, financing partners, and fleet buyers all want proof that a brand can support vehicles for years. A strategic investor tied to a long-standing manufacturer can reduce perceived risk.
3. Technology alignment for charging and swapping: Interoperability and safety are major hurdles in battery ecosystems. A partner with deep two-wheeler experience can help ensure that charging/swapping approaches are operationally robust and scalable across markets.

EV two-wheeler fight is getting crowded

The competitive pressure in Southeast Asia’s electric two-wheeler space is intensifying, even as adoption remains uneven.

The region combines:

• deep-rooted incumbent brands with extensive dealer and service networks
• new EV-native startups offering connected vehicles and alternative ownership models,
• and low-cost imports and fast-moving entrants that can compete aggressively on price.

In this environment, winning is not just about launching an electric scooter. It is about building distribution, financing options, service reliability, and charging convenience—and doing so across multiple cities where infrastructure and regulations differ.

SLEEK’s strategy, as described in its announcement, addresses the competitive squeeze by leaning into:

• Channel partnerships (the company namechecked partners spanning energy, automotive services, and platform ecosystems),
• Infrastructure density (S-Charge expansion),
• Software integration (IoT + app + AI-driven layer),
• Manufacturing scale-up (EEC facility expansion).

That combination is also a defensive move: competitors can copy a vehicle design faster than they can replicate a functioning, high-uptime ecosystem.

EV space is maturing, but the transition will be uneven

Southeast Asia’s EV industry is maturing in a recognisable way: moving from early adopters and pilots toward infrastructure-building and operational scale. That maturation is visible in three broad shifts reflected by SLEEK’s announcement:

• From “vehicle-first” to “ecosystem-first”: The market is learning that charging, swapping, servicing, and financing are not optional add-ons.
  From consumer curiosity to fleet economics: Delivery and ride-hailing fleets can be powerful catalysts because total cost of ownership and uptime are measurable.
  From experimentation to policy and standards: As EV penetration rises, regulators and industry players tend to converge on safety expectations for batteries, charging, and operations.

Is the region “ready” to move to EV?

In practice, readiness is city-by-city and use-case-by-use-case. Dense urban areas with high two-wheeler utilisation and predictable routes are often the most viable starting points, especially when paired with charging/swapping networks and strong after-sales support.

Also Read: Electrifying Southeast Asia: Unleashing the radical potential of electric vehicles

SLEEK’s bet is that Thailand, with its industrial base and urban demand, can be a cornerstone market for that transition, and that the winners will be the companies building the system, not just the scooter.

With fresh capital, a strategic backer tied to decades of two-wheeler manufacturing, and a plan centred on production scale plus infrastructure and software, SLEEK is now stepping into the hardest phase of any EV story in Southeast Asia: execution at street level.

The post SLEEK’s Series A signals a more mature EV playbook appeared first on e27.

“You need to be a math genius to work in data.”

“Tech is only for engineers.”

“Women don’t belong in data leadership.”

Outdated misconceptions like these have long discouraged women from pursuing careers in data and technology. But as we celebrate Women’s History Month, the women of Confluent are here to challenge these myths—and show what it really takes to Accelerate Action.

For some of these women, joining the tech sector was a deliberate choice—an ambition fueled by a clear vision of where they wanted their careers to go. Others arrived by chance, discovering opportunities that piqued their interest and inspired them to learn more. 

While the industry has made steps forward in closing the gender gap, there’s still more ground to cover. Across engineering, HR, product, and sales, women are proving that success in data isn’t about checking every technical box; it’s about curiosity, problem-solving, and a drive to make a real impact.

Wait, so you don’t need to be an engineer to work in data?

The biggest misconception most women have? You must be an engineer with a relevant degree to excel in data. In reality, the most important skill is a willingness to learn. 

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that working with data requires you to be a ‘techie’,” says Marián Leonard, Director DACH & Southern Europe. “The truth is, anyone with a relentless curiosity about how data streaming solves problems for organisations and creates business value can thrive in this field.”

Collaboration and communication are equally critical. The tech industry doesn’t just need coders; it needs strategists, problem-solvers, and creative thinkers who can bridge gaps between teams, internally and externally, and be comfortable with ambiguity.

“We need professionals who understand human dynamics, manage stakeholders, and translate between technical and non-technical worlds,” says Veronika Folkova, Senior Director, People Business Partners for Global Legal Organisation and APAC. “Impact often comes from understanding organisational dynamics, creating effective development programs, and building inclusive cultures––none of which require deep technical expertise.”

Also Read: Women call for clearer, impartial financial education sources — Sophia Survey 2024

With AI and automation on the rise, there’s growing demand for roles that blend data insights with business acumen. According to Murielle de Gruchy, HR Leader, “There are plenty of roles that rely more on soft skills, relationship building, and the ability to understand customer challenges—and then solve them with data solutions.” 

Bringing more women on board is only the beginning

But recruiting women is only half the battle—retaining and advancing them is just as crucial. According to a 2024 report by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Boston Consulting Group, the gender imbalance in Southeast Asia’s tech sector persists, with women making up only 34% to 40% of the workforce in technology, while Reuters reports that just 52 companies in the S&P 500 have female executive directors, underlining the global struggle to achieve gender parity in leadership. 

For Folkova, organisations that hire women without providing clear paths for leadership and support risk perpetuating the “pipeline to nowhere”.

“Companies often prioritise hitting diversity metrics in their hiring practices, which is important, but frequently stop there. They focus on the numbers––getting women in the door ––while neglecting the systematic issues that affect retention and advancement,” she says.

Even when women secure roles, systemic biases often stand in the way of their rise to senior positions. 

Keerthana Srikanth, Senior Software Engineer, notes: “Finding a sense of belonging can sometimes be a challenge because of the gender imbalance. This can translate to other issues such as disparity in recognition or compensation, and biases in day-to-day interactions.”

Caregiving responsibilities further complicate women’s career journeys. “Women often have to work harder than men to prove their capabilities, even when equally skilled,” explains Nadine Capelle, Staff Solutions Architect. “And even after proving themselves, many still struggle with imposter syndrome. For mothers, balancing work and parental responsibilities can be overwhelming.” 

Real progress requires a rethinking of workplace norms, from flexible scheduling and how leadership potential is measured, to creating an environment where women feel empowered   to speak up.

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“Tech companies need to foster an environment of belonging and zero tolerance for mistreatment. Feelings of psychological safety enable everyone to work at their best and ensure those around them are held to the same standards,” says Charmaine Bernal, Senior Director, Customer Operations Engineering.

Advice for women embarking on—or advancing—their tech career

So what can women do to ensure they not only enter tech but stay and succeed?

Leonard: “Don’t let the fear of not ticking every box stop you. Curiosity, adaptability, and the ability to solve problems matter more than a perfect resume.”

Capelle: “Pursue tech if you truly love it. Gender is never a barrier—your passion and dedication are what count.”

Bernal: “Dive in! Find a company whose values match yours and build a support network. Pay it forward: when you get opportunities, share them with others.”

Srikanth: “Seek mentors, ask for feedback, and believe in yourself. Advocate for fair compensation and promotions—you’re worth it.”

Folkova: “Remember that your unique perspective and approach are precisely what the tech industry needs––they’re about reshaping the industry to be more innovative, inclusive, and effective through diversity of thought and experience.”

An inclusive future for everyone in data

I truly believe that by busting myths, breaking barriers, and supporting fellow women in the industry, there’s room for everyone to make their mark in tech. If you have the curiosity, drive, and readiness to adapt, you don’t just belong in the industry—you can help redefine it for generations to come.

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