Smeef posted:

I'm a partner in a startup in Southeast Asia. In November there were just the 3 of us. Since then we've added 4 full-time staff, an intern, 3 part-time staff, and one contractor. We'll have about 20 staff and operations in 5 countries by August.

The tech scene out here is starting to really take off, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more entrepreneurs coming here to found startups. Tons of human capital, cheap cost of living, high rates of internet connectedness, ridiculous rates of smart phone penetration, huge markets. The community is pretty chummy and supportive. There really aren't a lot of drawbacks. Singapore and HK are the two easiest places in the world to do business, and even Thailand has recently seen a VC firm founded.

We're funded, but I think funding is overrated. It's certainly not an absolute necessity out here where you can hire junior programmers for $700/month and rent an office with a swimming pool for $1,500/month.