Our top 27 contributors of 2024
At e27, we believe that fostering community-driven growth is essential to building a platform that thrives on collaboration and shared knowledge. The industry insights contributed by our community members bring immense value, helping professionals across sectors stay informed, inspired, and connected.
As we approach the end of the year, we take a moment to celebrate the voices that have shaped our platform. Here’s a round-up of 27 noteworthy contributors whose insights and expertise stood out. Their contributions have made 2024 a more informed, dynamic, and engaging year.
We look forward to continuing this journey together in 2025.
Anndy Lian is a business strategist with experience advising companies and governments across Asia. A blockchain pioneer, serial entrepreneur, and investor, he currently serves as Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organisation, leading national digitisation efforts. His book, NFT: From Zero to Hero, has sold over 8,000 copies.
“My proudest moment this year? Seeing Bitcoin hit US$100,000—a milestone that highlights crypto’s growing adoption and potential. In 2025, I’m excited about AI and crypto leading innovation, with their convergence unlocking endless possibilities. I love the interaction with the e27 community members. Many have connected with me on LinkedIn and X, fostering meaningful conversations and collaborations.”
Anton Lucanus is a published scientist and the Founder of Neliti and Reputio. A former breast cancer researcher, he advocates for open access to scientific knowledge and invests in innovations focused on longevity, ageing, and biohacking.
Bernadetta Septarini, a Content and Social Media Marketing professional at ArmourZero, entered the cybersecurity field without prior experience but quickly discovered a passion for simplifying its complexities. She is dedicated to sharing insights that make cybersecurity accessible and engaging for all.
“Being nominated as a top contributor last year was a proud milestone that fuelled my passion for writing. This year, I challenged myself to publish more consistently, and I’m thrilled to have achieved my goal of releasing articles almost every month. As we move into 2025, I’m excited about the rise of AI and its potential to transform not just cybersecurity but how we approach our entire careers. I hope to inspire others to see AI not as a threat but as a tool we can use positively and effectively.
To the e27 community, thank you for fostering an environment of growth and collaboration. I look forward to seeing how this platform continues to provide insights, expand networks, and help startups gain the recognition they deserve.”
Camellia Chan, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexxon, leads the company’s strategy, R&D, and global expansion. Since 2007, she has grown Flexxon into a global enterprise with a presence in over 50 cities.
“As we look to 2025, I’m excited to see a growing shift in how cybersecurity is approached, especially with the integration of advanced hardware-level protections. This is the year where hybrid defense models—combining dynamic hardware safeguards with pre-existing software capabilities—will gain momentum. This layered approach ensures no single point of failure, paving the way for enhanced resilience against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.”
Christopher Quek is the Founder and Managing Partner of TRIVE, a Singapore-based firm specialising in venture capital, private equity, and business transformation for family businesses and offices across Southeast Asia. With over 13 years of experience, he has provided one-on-one advisory to more than 2,000 startups. He is also a CAIA and CFA charterholder.
“One of my proudest moments was achieving the CFA charter after three failures over six years. I liken that journey to entrepreneurship—keep trying until you succeed. In 2025, I anticipate a surge in Venture Capital and Private Equity deals across Southeast Asia as allocations shift toward alternative investments. To the e27 community: life will only get better in 2025. Stay hopeful for the big breakthroughs in VC and entrepreneurship.”
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Dae Ro Won is an experienced executive with over 20 years in Fund Management and Venture Building. Specialising in cross-border projects and startup expansion, he provides tailored solutions across Korea, Singapore, and Southeast Asia. He is the Director and CEO of Wilt Venture Builder.
“My proudest moment of 2024 is launching Zero100, a Venture Studio program bridging Korea and Singapore, where we train Korean entrepreneurs for three months before supporting their startup ventures in Singapore.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel Tan observed that many SMEs were burdened with high finder’s fees and facing issues with loan brokers cherry-picking customers or profiteering. Seeking a more transparent and efficient solution for borrowers, he founded FindTheLoan.com, Singapore’s first loan marketplace, to revolutionise how SMEs access financing.
“In 2024, AI dominated the headlines, from healthcare to finance, personalised medicine to chatbots. But many other innovations such as those in fintech continue to change lives. Platforms like Kiva allow individuals to lend money to small businesses or individuals in need, providing an alternative to traditional bank loans and driving financial inclusion by giving rural populations access to capital.
In edutech, learning platforms have made education more accessible to people around the world. Farmtech, such as precision farming helped farmers in Africa and other parts of the world increase crop yields and improve their income. Telemedicine platforms made healthcare more accessible remotely saving lives. Excited to see what 2025 will bring and hope you are too!”
Darryl Dickens, Founder of Out-Position, specialises in positioning and Category Design for tech startups, innovators, and growth-focused enterprises. His expertise helps businesses craft unique market positions that drive differentiation and sustainable growth.
“Healthcare is seeing radical change to its business and operating models as well as an acceleration in innovation and tech adoption. It’s being driven by these three factors and will continue to accelerate in 2025: post-pandemic reverberations and the necessity for change; aging demographics that are impacting and accelerating on healthcare systems; and AI maturity and adoption.
In particular, the home is increasingly seen as an overlooked component of infrastructure for ‘aging in place’ or ‘hospital at home’ models. New categories emerging such as Comprehensive Healthcare at Home, will enable seniors to age longer from their home, as well as progressively use their home for medical recovery from illness or surgery. This in turn frees up beds and eases pressure on the overall healthcare system, but also improves health outcomes. It’s a great time for innovation and redefining healthcare categories!”
Darryl is currently the Co-Founder of LFG, a travel discovery engine, where he leverages on his extensive global experience to drive startup’s early stages. He is an operations and creative leader who’s spent the last seven years helping tech companies grow across Asia Pacific, from startups to major tech platforms. He’s done everything from leading 60-person teams to building products from scratch, particularly in Australia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
“Looking ahead to 2025, I’m genuinely excited about two major shifts happening right now. The way we search for and discover information is being transformed by AI assistants that actually understand what we’re trying to accomplish, with tools like Perplexity reshaping everything from information seeking to shopping. Meanwhile, the space industry is hitting remarkable milestones, with companies like AstroForge securing the first-ever deep-space mining license and Northwoods Space successfully testing satellite connectivity systems, showing how space tech is becoming part of our everyday reality.”
Davin Dedhia is the Co-Founder and CMO of Auptimate, a platform empowering fund managers, family offices, and professional investors to swiftly launch their Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and syndicates online. Auptimate ensures investors can concentrate on their primary focus of investing, handling the legal, compliance, and operational aspects of SPV creation and management.
Fanny Fajarianti is a digital marketing specialist with over three years of experience in SEO, paid advertising, and content strategy. She is dedicated to helping brands achieve online growth through innovative and effective marketing solutions.
“In 2025, I’m excited about the continued evolution of AI and automation in digital marketing, especially in SEO and paid ads optimisation. These tools are empowering marketers to deliver hyper-personalised experiences at scale, and I’m eager to explore how they can make campaigns even more effective!”
Felicia Theodorus is a certified marketing professional, writer, and content creator with over a decade of experience. She authored Big Impact, Small Budget: Winning Marketing Strategies for Startups and runs Insight Arc Media, publishing platforms like The Javachip and Feliccine. Recognised as a top blogger and beauty influencer in Indonesia, she delivers fresh insights across business, lifestyle, and societal trends.
“Looking ahead, I’m thrilled about the advancements in technology, particularly in the fintech space across Southeast Asia. Despite the challenges and changes we saw in 2024, there’s a sense of resilience and innovation in the region. Fintech is transforming how businesses and individuals interact with financial services, fostering inclusion and growth. I’m also eager to see how AI innovation will continue to evolve, especially in enhancing productivity and enabling more creative, human-centric solutions. It’s an exciting time to be part of this dynamic ecosystem.
To the e27 community, thank you for being a space where ideas thrive, and connections are nurtured. The Contributor Programme has been invaluable in amplifying voices and fostering collaboration. Here’s to another year of building, sharing, and growing together—let’s make 2025 extraordinary!”
Georg Chmiel is a seasoned business leader, company director, and senior advisor with 30 years of experience in scaling companies and navigating disruptive technologies. With expertise in capital markets and technology businesses, he has extensive global exposure across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He is the Co-Founder and Chair of Juwai-IQI Holdings, a leading proptech group in Southeast Asia, and the Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Chmiel Global Advisory, a boutique advisory firm.
“My proudest achievement this year has been witnessing a return to strong, profitable growth across all the businesses I am involved in. Looking ahead to 2025, I am excited about the continued advancements in AI, the stronger growth of social commerce, and, above all, the hope for an end to hostilities in current conflict zones.
To the e27 community, I want to say this: it’s an incredible platform for learning, sharing, and growing together.”
Also Read: Funding the green transition: Southeast Asia’s climate tech leaders of 2024
Ivy Nhi Chau is the CEO and Founder of Ivy+Partners, a communications firm focused on integrated campaigns for local and international brands. With nearly a decade of experience, she leads a team dedicated to creating impactful, culture-focused PR solutions. She is also a member of The Public Relations and Communications Association Southeast Asia (PRCA SEA) and a founding member of One Asia Communications.
“2024 was a transformative year for me, as I witnessed the powerful interaction between PR and technology. While PR amplified the voices of tech companies, technological advancements, especially AI, took PR to new heights. As we step into 2025, I’m excited to see how AI continues to shape the future of communication, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in our industry.
I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to the e27 Contributor Programme for fostering such a vibrant community for knowledge sharing and networking within the tech industry. The platform has been instrumental in connecting me with fellow thought leaders and professionals, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities it has provided. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead for the entire e27 community!”
Izwan Zakaria is a startup, venture, and tech lawyer at Izwan & Partners, a corporate law firm dedicated to supporting tech companies and startups in navigating legal complexities and raising capital both in Malaysia and internationally.
“2025 is likely shaping up to be a big year for Southeast Asia’s tech scene. We should anticipate greater cross-border partnerships as we see more AI and blockchain adoption, driven by clearer regulatory clarity on the horizon. As a startup lawyer, I’m excited to work with e27’s team more closely to empower more founders to build the future of tech in the region. If you’re a founder, 2025 is a great year for startups to shine!”
Jackie Tan is a 2x founder with 2x exits. He lectures in data science at Nanyang Technological University and entrepreneurship at Singapore University of Social Sciences. As Co-founder and CEO of BorderDollar, Jackie focuses on closing the trade finance gap for SMEs and leveraging AI for supply chain and procurement solutions. His work integrates data science, fintech, and algorithm design to drive efficiency in trade finance.
“My proudest moments this year include winning a couple of hackathons I participated in for fun—it’s a hobby of mine. I’m excited about the possible recovery in funding volume as more VCs start investing again.
How much you get out of a community is proportional to how much you put in—the e27 community is amazing and you will be in the company of the most motivated, hardworking, and clever individuals.”
Jenny Zheng is a seasoned professional with over six years of experience in the blockchain industry. In 2017, she founded Blockcast.cc, a respected Singapore-based blockchain media outlet, establishing her as a key figure in the space. In 2022, Jenny joined Bybit, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, where she serves as the Business Development Lead for their NFT marketplace/Web3 business, further advancing her expertise and contributions to the industry.
Karen Kim is the CEO of Human Managed, an ASEAN cloud-native data platform empowering businesses to make smarter decisions for cyber, digital, and risk outcomes. She focuses on aligning purpose, strategy, and operations, applying design-thinking and a service-first approach to branding, service design, and business development.
“One of my proudest achievements was leading the development of an industry- collaborative whitepaper on the emerging technology of federated learning and privacy preservation. The whitepaper titled “Better Intelligence is Collective: Unlocking the Potential of AI with Federated Learning ” included contributions from experts from Microsoft, Snowflake and Paynet. Seeing the research insights resonate with stakeholders in our ecosystem has been extremely rewarding.
In 2025, I believe that Service Design will become critical in the age of AI products. While there is a plethora of AI-powered features, products and agents flooding the market, service interactions need to be better designed. Customers want AI powered interfaces, that are not only efficient and effective, but also thoughtful and human-like at times, collaborative and nuanced at others.
The Contributor Programme at e27 has amplified my voice as a tech leader, allowing me to share insights on emerging technologies and industry trends in Data and AI with a global audience. It has helped in creating awareness about the solutions offered by our company, Human Managed, for operationalising AI in enterprises across the ASEAN region. The editors at e27 have always been open to ideas that have been proposed and I look forward to continuing this collaboration.”
Leighton Cosseboom serves as Principal and Head of Marketing at AC Ventures. He co-founded C2 Media, the parent company of Content Collision, Indonesia’s top-of-mind PR firm for tech companies and VC firms, and ContentGrow, a managed freelance talent network and workflow app for global content teams.
Lisa Gibbons is a Web3 consultant and Founder of the Metaverse Tourism Association. She advocates for a hybrid future in tourism, ensuring equal access to opportunities, and is co-founder of the first Irish Pub in the Web3 Metaverse. With a Master’s in International Tourism, she is passionate about using virtual environments for sustainability.
“This year it was an honour to be chosen as one of the leading female voices in Web3. As a woman in a position of leadership I believe it is crucial for us all to pave the way for future female leaders to use their skills, showcase new opportunities and have an opinion when it comes to how advanced technologies are being used in society. 2025 will be the year when we see AI and immersive tech infiltrate some of our most important industries. This will bring unprecedented change when it comes to the way we value productivity and also bring more freedom to create, express and showcase our cultures in ways that would have been previously unimaginable.
Lydea Quek has nearly a decade of experience in cybersecurity, having honed her expertise with leading companies like Fortinet, Thales Security, and currently at Hackuity. Her career is driven by a passion for solving complex challenges and tailoring security solutions to meet the unique needs of clients. Outside of her professional life, she is deeply committed to promoting well-being and mental health.
“This year, I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in building meaningful relationships with customers and partners, driving impactful conversations around cybersecurity in APJ. In 2025, I hope to see businesses accelerate their growth by proactively tackling security challenges and turning them into opportunities for innovation. To the e27 community, thank you for fostering collaboration and driving innovation in this ever-evolving space!”
Maggie Po is the CEO and Founder of FullSuite, a 10-year-old offshoring company specialising in building offshore teams for venture-backed technology startups in the US. The company serves as a Humans-in-the-loop partner for AI-powered startups in the private capital market industry.
“This year, I’m incredibly proud of contributing to conversations around purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Through my articles on e27, I’ve explored the intersection of passion and sustainable business practices, while also sharing insights on how startups can navigate challenges and scale effectively.
Heading into 2025, I’m excited about the growth of startups in both LegalTech and FinTech and how FullSuite can support these startups as they scale. The intersection of AI application and ethical, data-driven decisions and how founders leverage this responsibly is something that interest me.”
Malcolm Tan is a serial entrepreneur and Founder of Gravitas International and Qrypt Technologies. He serves as Chief Strategist at Technicorum Holdings and Strategic Advisor for Kingswap DEX. He specialises in Cryptocurrency and Blockchain law, advising on over 80 projects, focusing on DeFi, fintech, and Regtech. He is the author of How to ICO/ITO in Singapore and DeFi — The Latest Financial Phenomenon.
Moch Akbar Azzihad M is an entrepreneur focused on leveraging technology to create impactful solutions. As Founder & CEO of Converco, he develops blockchain-based solutions for secure, fast, and low-cost transactions, revolutionising the traditional financial industry.
“One of my proudest moments this year was integrating AI into Web3 projects, which opened new doors for innovation and elevated user experiences. Looking ahead to 2025, I’m excited about the continued synergy between AI and blockchain to create smarter, decentralised systems. To the e27 community, thank you for fostering collaboration and amplifying voices that shape the future of technology!”
Paolo Denese has over a decade of experience pioneering digital initiatives and launching innovative platforms. As an AI Strategy Advisor, he bridges AI applications with business goals, driving impactful strategies in publishing, media, and the creator economy. His work includes leading the GlobalRMB media brand and launching the Storya AI publishing app, attracting thousands of users and authors globally. He focuses on creating scalable AI solutions and fostering cross-cultural collaboration.
Since founding Paloe (formerly Excide) in 2015, Sam Lee has become a trusted advisor in preparing startups for Series A and Series B rounds. With extensive experience acting as interim CFO for various tech companies during their fundraising phases, he has helped more than 70 companies craft financial models and effectively communicate their stories through data. His expertise spans working with companies like PolicyPal, Haulio, X0PA, Detrack, Moovaz, Geniebook, USEN, Rainmaker Labs, and Gobbler.
“In Southeast Asia, the funding winter appears to be thawing, with an uptick in Series A announcements likely in the first half of 2025. However, investors are expected to adopt more stringent selection criteria, prioritising startups with clear traction, strong unit economics, and sustainable growth plans.”
Sarah Dongmi Choi is an experienced startup ecosystem builder with eight years of expertise in fostering growth and innovation. She specialises in Korean startup acceleration, helping early-stage ventures scale globally and maximise investment opportunities. Currently serving as Senior Manager at Chungbuk CCEI, a leading public accelerator funded by the Ministry of SMEs, Sarah plays a key role in supporting startups in their journey to success.
“Being named one of e27’s Top 10 Female Contributors last year opened many doors. This year, as a LinkedIn influencer, I’ve been interviewed by major Korean media and honoured at the Global Women of Influence Awards 2024 in Singapore. I was also recently recognised as one of the Top 10 LinkedIn Voices by an Asian media outlet, gaining widespread recognition.
I’m passionate about helping startups build resilience and entrepreneurs develop strong leadership amidst uncertainty. In the coming year, I plan to share actionable insights and strategies for thriving in challenging times. Additionally, I’ll focus on personal branding to equip entrepreneurs and investors with practical tools for success.
Working in a government-affiliated organisation and a startup accelerator in South Korea, I’ve gained valuable insights and connections through e27’s content and network. I look forward to the community’s continued growth, supporting global expansion for companies and helping investors discover outstanding businesses.”
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